Starting Problems

I have a 99 chevy Z71 with the 5.3l V8. It has 65k miles on it and I've only owned it for a few weeks. If it's been sitting for more than an hour or so, it won't start back up on the first key turn. It will crank but won't start. It starts every time on the second key turn. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

It sounds like it could be a clogged fuel filter. Try changing that. For $10-15 it doesn't hurt anything anyway.

how long are you letting it turn over.....if your just bumping it, then almost no car will fire after sitting an hour

I put a new fuel filter in it and had the pressure tested from the pump. The filter seems to have gummed up the pump b/c even after replacing the filter, the pump is not supplying enough pressure at start up. I think I'll have to end up doing the pump but the service center wanted 800 to do it. I think I'm going to do it myself. Anybody have any helpful tips on which is easier, dropping the tank, or removing the bed to do it?

My truck was hard starting sometime back as well. It turned out to be a clogged fuel filter and improperly working fuel pressure regulator. My mechanic said that he had never seen a fuel filter as clogged as mine was. It seems to be a big problem with all newer Chevy's.

Did your problems go away with the replacement of the filter and regulator?

Yes they did. It also caused it to hesitate, and that went away as well. I'm not saying that this is you exact problem, but it's worthy of looking at.

i have this same problem, i replaced the fuel filter and nothing changed, but i just want to know if im losing performance during driving thanx

Well, I went ahead and put a new fuel pump in it. It really was easy with my Father in Law's help lifting the bed off. I made sure to clean up the ground on the driver's side frame rail and replaced the wiring harness to the fuel pump with a new one that was reccomended at NAPA. The whole process from start to finish with a trip to NAPA after the old pump was removed for identification only took about 2 hours. Starts right up every time on the first turn of the key. Thanks for all the suggestions. Hope this helps someone else.

Well, I went ahead and put a new fuel pump in it. It really was easy with my Father in Law's help lifting the bed off. I made sure to clean up the ground on the driver's side frame rail and replaced the wiring harness to the fuel pump with a new one that was reccomended at NAPA. The whole process from start to finish with a trip to NAPA after the old pump was removed for identification only took about 2 hours. Starts right up every time on the first turn of the key. Thanks for all the suggestions. Hope this helps someone else.

So, how did you go about removing the bed?

The bed was easy to remove with the help of a buddy to lift it off. Of course, remove your negative battery cable first. There are 8 18mm bolts holding it to the frame. With those removed, remove the gas cap and the small screws holding the filler hose to the bed. Remove your tailgate by opening to a 45degree angle, undoing the cables on the side and then lift up and toward the passenger side of the truck and it'll come right off. Remove the tail light assemblies from the bed by unscrewing two phillips screws on the inner side and unclipping the bulbs from the assemblies. (push the lights and harnesses down underneath the bed to get them out of the way). The last step is removing the harnesses (4 of them) from the rear of the truck that are attached to a block under the bottom of the back end of the bed. Just unclip them and let them hang down. Remember which one clips to which block or mark them if you need to. It sounds like a lot of work but really, it's only unclipping a few harnesses, and unbolting it. It's a better alternative to undoing all the fuel lines, dropping the tank, jacking up the back of the truck, and then working on your back. If you plan to take the pump out, blow the top of the tank off with some air first to avoid all the dirt and dust falling into the tank, and make sure to use a non ferrous metal punch that won't create a spark to loosen/tighten the collar back on. Hope this helps someone else.

I have a similar problem with my 92 Z71... I know this thread is old but i hope you or someone can pick up on this... It is tempermental, the throttle... I can start the engine one moment and when it runs the gagues all over the dash are dancing back and forth, but another moment I need to run alcohol into the carb to start it and it decides to quit in traffic causing me to pop the hood and give it another squirt... I have a temoprary solution to stoping it from stalling........ I drive in as high a gear as safe for the engine and when i have to stop (traffic or lights) i throw it in neutral and bring my RPM to about 1.5 and it wont stall on me... I just dont get it cause even in mid drive it (the problem) will correct itself for a couple days. Or just one hour. And just pop back up again... How did you fix your problem have you found out what it was all in all? Can Anyone give me a pointer?

Well, I fixed the starting problem by putting the new fuel pump in it. I'm not sure what is causing your problems. Have you checked all your fuses and grounds for the harness?