Real hard time starting

Tonight it was about 11pm and probably eh 40-50 degrees and I tried to start my maro and it took EIGHT TO TEN SECONDS to turn over. Like it was turning but the engine wasn't starting up. I even pumped the gas a bit and after a few pumps it turned on... Though it didn't *seem* like the extra gas helped it turn over. What could it be?

anyone please/?

is it carb or fuel injected i know with my car which is carb if i leave it sitting along time with out starting it it has a bit of a hard time starting

well Xeno.. it shouldnt be because of the temp because my car cranks over fine when its 40-50 degrees here. considering thats a damn heat wave for michigan in the beginning of march. i'm no expert, but i'd have your starter looked over. theres a good possibility that it could be slowly on its way out. i know my car used to have a hell of a time starting before i got my new starter and now it fires up quick and hard.

* its always nice to set off car alarms when you start your car. lol

Yeah I'll have my starter looked at during the week. I have two questions.
1: How long will the starter continue to keep trying to start (in seconds) until the battery is dead?
2: How do I start it if it doesn't turn over? and I'm stuck somewhere?

really xeno.. all i have to say is if you havent already.. invest in a good cell phone. you'll need it at least once for a car related matter.. because they always seem to wanna die when you're nowhere near home.

i've actually unfortunately had the starter go out when i was in the middle of an intersection. What you have to do is get the nice guy behind you to push his car slowly into the back of your car. What this does is act like a starter, because when he pushes you the crank is moving, and when you start the car with the crank moving it will fire up. I would highly recommend you buy a new starter. Mine was $119 and it was a realitively easy fix. After the new starter, no more problems. Hope that helps

really xeno.. all i have to say is if you havent already.. invest in a good cell phone. you'll need it at least once for a car related matter.. because they always seem to wanna die when you're nowhere near home.

Thanks man you are so reaassuring sincei 'm over 100 miles away from home visitng GF ...>_>

Anyways i'll havei t looked into..

But It starts up in a heartbeat after its been running for a while. Wouldn't a bad starter have trouble starting any time or just the first time?

Nope the selonoid is going bad.

Mine would start mine after it was running for about ten minutes. But after that it wouldn't start for anything.

you need to replace that thing man, its going to screw you over big time

um to me from what you described your engine was cranking for 8-10 seconds but not firing. right? if thats the case it is either a spark or fuel problem....

i'll have a mechanic check it out soon. But like i said if it runs for like 5 mins andi turn it off it turns over in a heart beat. ho wmuch does a solenoid cost?

If it is the solenoid, then your better off buying a whole new starter system. solenoid and all, but if you wanted to risk it,
http://www.thepartsbin.com/performance/?makeid=CV&model= would be a good place to start.

Well my father said he thinks the solenoid is getting stuck when i try to turn it over. So when if turn it over for 8-10 seconds it isn't getting the solenoid to work though after a few tries it fires up. Though I need to feed it gas a bit to get it going when it starts to turn over.

Your dad's right man. i had the exact same problem and i checked the fuel system and there was nothing wrong. I am almost one hundred percent positive that its the solenoid. Replace the starter system.

Your dad's right man. i had the exact same problem and i checked the fuel system and there was nothing wrong. I am almost one hundred percent positive that its the solenoid. Replace the starter system.

He's one of those crazy dads who will run out in his underwear to chase down the ice cream man AND to mow the lawn at the same time.... >_> But he knows tons about cars.

How much was your starter system + installation?

As far as installation you can do it yourself, i did mine, took only twenty to thirdy minutes, the trick it clearing the exhaust when your pulling out the colored solenoid line. For the price, their are two different starters one for the five speed and one for the six, luckily the 5 is twenty dollars cheaper. I got one from your auto shop, took a day or two to deliver and the total with shipping was little over a hundred. This is for both the starter and the solenoid. Also check to see if the auto shop to see if the want the old starter, i was able to sell my old one for fifteen bucks, so i saved a little.

Ironically, Its been having a decent time starting up last few days... Just kinda goes over on first turn. Do cars just act up once in a while and go back to normal?

cars can do whatever they want to

eh.. your car was just fakin it..

Yeah probably. How much should a new starter cost? Mechanic quoting me for some 260$ for just the starter. Any links to where cheaper? (didn't find anything on ebay)

All right pal, took me thirdy minutes, but here you go.............
https://www.rockauto.com/dbphp/mak,CHEVROLET

Should find it. They sell for $110-160

Ahh thanks I saw that site but got lost. Found it this time. I think i'll get that and have mechanic install for 70$ (labor) Or is it a weekend job that I can't mess up too bad?