cold starts?

Hello again everyone... Its been a while since I last posted here, which is probably a good thing as the car has been fairly dependable for a while.

Ive got a 94 coupe with the 3.1 and 136,000 miles.

Anyway I use the car to deliver pizzas while I am in college, which means I start it and kill it A LOT. It always starts alright in the real cold weather, however once it warms up and I am restarting it, the motor revs immediatly up to about 3000rpm for a couple of seconds then goes back down to normal. I assume this has something to do with the very cold weather, but what is also wierd is that it does not do this all the time. Sometimes it starts and idols perfectly. Others, it revs high on its own. If there is anything I should look into regarding this please let me know.

Couple other constant annoyances I've had with this car over the past few years:
1. My 3rd starter is dying. Granted delivering pizzas is abusive on a starter, but they dont die like a normal starter. Something keeps going in their selenoid and eventually I have to click it like a dozen times before it turns over.
2. If the car sits for more than 2 or 3 hours I have to let it idol a good 5 to 10min before it will go into gear. If I put it in drive right away it barely drifts forward... or backward in reverse, no matter how much I rev the motor. However once it finally goes into gear it runs perfect ... till I let it sit again. I've been told this is probably trans fluid leaking out of the torque converter and into the trans while it is sitting... no easy fix.
3. Those friggin pull down door handles keep breaking.

Sorry for the long ranting post, but if anyone has good advise for me, I am all ears.

Thank you
Andy

Another car maybe?

I think I'd look at the IAC to see about the startup "flare"...cleanout the port, possibly check PCV valve too (make sure it rattles) as that's another parallel path around the throttle blade.

Regarding the starter motors...wiring connections are very important, and if you have cold weather, the connections can be easily compromised by salt & moisture. I'd remove and wire brush carefully, even the side-terminal on the battery can leak acid down inside the red plastic protective boot on the B+ cable and corrode the wire connection with no other exterior evidence. I have personally seen that twice.

Last resort is to take a dead one to a rebuild shop and a) have them rebuild it and b) tell you what was wrong with it internally.

Be careful working on the B+ cable...lots of energy stored there.

Regarding the slow gear "pickup" in the trans...it was once recommended to me to drop the pan and change the fluid pickup "foot"...if dirt accumulates there the restriction is accentuated in cold weather. I never did this and so I can't say if it worked or not. It could be a hydraulic control problem where the clutch-apply pressure isn't doing as commanded (likely a mechanical problem). I am not knowledgeable enough about the internals of the trans to suggest a fix other than to install a rebuilt unit with a warranty.

Like Crazyhorst said, I would just do a pan drop and change the filter. If fluid were leaking out your torque converter, it would so it worse when its warm since the fluid gets thinner. Sounds like as plugged or partially plugged filter to me. You better get the fluid changed before you burn out a clutch pack.

Thanks for all the quick responses.

Another car is getting more and more tempting, but I only got 3 more months till I graduate from this amazing broke college experience. So for now I need to nurture this one.

As for the flare on startups the IAC is almost new and the port throughly cleaned as that has been a problem in the past. Good call on the PCV valve its worth the $3 just to change that.

As for the starter I completely changed the B+ cable the last time it was going. A $50 nonrefundable dealer part that did no good. Its been only 3 to 4 months since I completely cleaned all the connections... guess I'll do that again before jumping into another starter.

As for the trans. As soon as I noticed it starting to act up the first thing I did was drop the pan and change the filter and fluid. It has only gotten worse in about the year since, but I guess it wouldnt hurt to do it again on the next warm day.

Thanks for the help
Andy

How many times do you start it in an average day? No possibility of leaving it running while you deliver pizzas? Perhaps you have a second key you can carry on you to unlock the door with the car still running?

Also do you keep going for OEM starters? My uncle does alot of starting and stopping of his F-250 (farm) and the OEM starter just couldn't handle it. He got a starter much more solidly built that lasts and lasts and lasts. We do the same thing on our aircraft at my university. Take out the OEM starters and install starters that can handle starting 10 times a day or so.

Yea when delivering I probably start it and stop it 5 to 6 times an hour. Ive gotten in the habbit of stopping it just to save the gas. All OEM starters... been trying to keep as much money out of the car as possible.