Cranks Long before Starting

I'm a newbie to this forum and posted a message a week and a half ago, but didn't get any responses. I'm getting close to buying a new fuel pump, and wanted to ask again in different wording before I do so, since the fuel pump is so expensive. I have a 2002 Olds Intrigue with a 3.5L engine, which is hard to start. The car (my wife's car) cranks for about 20 seconds before starting. It used to start on a dime. She started having problems around 70K miles, and currently has 101K miles. The first thing I changed was the fuel filter at 70K miles (no difference). Never had any SES light. After reading this forum, I changed the Crankshaft Position Sensor (no difference). I also checked the vacuum line for the fuel pressure regulator (had quite a bit of fuel in the line). I changed the fuel pressure regulator and the car started great for one week (I purchased the original A.C. Delco part). After one week, the problem returned. I then re-checked the vacuum line on the FPR, and there is no longer any fuel present. A neighbor suspects the fuel pump, and checked the pressure, which was about 35 PSI with the car running. When the car is turned off, it bleeds down to 0 within 10 to 15 seconds. I don't want to keep shot-gunning this car by replacing everything, but would you buy a second FPR or replace the fuel pump? (according to the GM service manual, fuel pressure should be 48 - 55 PSI with the car running). Could a defective FPR drag this number down, and cause the pressure to drop to zero with the car off? Any help would be appreciated (a new fuel pump is around $300.00).

If you had not checked the fuel pressure and posted it's numbers I would suggest the usual suspects.

Clean the throttle body really well, spark plugs, air filter, clean MAF and/or check the connector and make sure no corrosion, fuel filter, PCV. The other favorite is the ignition switch.

These other things should keep you busy if you want to prolong the purchase of the fuel pump. You could get a really cheap used fuel pump from www.car-parts.com and just try out your fuel pump theory. Check with your pressure gauge to make sure you getting the correct PSIs. Drive it till it dies and then get a new pump.

Let us know how it goes.

read up on this forum about the camshaft position sensor. They are about $40 and take 10 minutes to replace. Buy GM on these.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/search.php?searchid=1991428


I will give you $10 for all those extra parts you now have.

I changed the crankshaft position sensor and camshaft sensor on my car, but I got OBD2 codes each time telling me the part was bad. =Usually you get codes with these 2 sensors.

This is also one of the issues I have with my '02. Last night I cleaned the MAF and the throttle body with spray cleaner. It seemed to help when I tried it last night and this morning if fired right up like it used to. The wife'll be driving it today, so I'll find out soon if the fix is in....

It worked fine the first few times, but now is back to long cranks/dies on initial fire-up when warm/heat-soaked. It does re-start, and runs fine afterwards. With no codes, the manual isn't very helpful. Any ideas?

Thanks

Tom

Here's a fuel pump for 2001-02 Intrigue on E-bay:
http://motors.search.ebay.com/_Car-Truck-Parts_W0QQcatrefZC6QQcoactionZcompareQQcoentrypage ZsearchQQcopagenumZ1QQfcclZ1QQfclZ3QQfgtpZQQfmmdZI ntrigueQQfmmkZOldsmobileQQfposZ17403QQfromZR2QQfrp pZ50QQfsooZ2QQfsopZ2QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQfyhiZ2002QQf yloZ1999QQlopgZQQmppfqyZQQsabfmtsZ1QQsacatZ6030QQs adisZ200QQsaobfmtsZinsifQQsaprchiZQQsaprcloZQQsarg nZQ2d1QQsaslcZ2QQsatitleZQQsbrftogZ1QQsofocusZmppf

Based on what you are posting, i would try the fuel pressure regulator first.