I need some professional help

[sdsniper]

I have a 1992 Pontiac Firebird. its got a v8 350 engine and its a 5 speed. Its been sitting in the garage for a year and now it wont run. i try to start it and the altenator spins. i went to get the altenator checked out and it turns out that its still good. im trying to figure out what it could be. When i try to start the car it sometimes turns on for at least 2 seconds then dies out. i has oil and gas so i know it not that. im thinking that it could be the starter or the fuel system. anyone think they can help me

[CreepingDeath94]

If it is turning over and sometimes almost starting or stalling out, then it sounds like your starter is working good enough to do the job. If the fuel is old and nasty, that could be some of the problem. Check/replace the fuel filter and maybe drain out the old fuel and put some new fuel in...

[ikeyballz]

u got another problem. theres no such thing as a 350 5 speed unless u got a conversion... lol well other then that, maybe your ECU is dead...if you have another bird, try swap the ecu.. if your injectors arent getting the pulses they wont shoot any fuel into ur cylinders...and yeah, what creepingdeath said :P and if you turn yur car on and you dont hear any buzzing then it might be ur fuel pump..it sounds like a fuel prob, but be sure ur getting sparks to your cylinder also. pop on a spare sparkplug to one of the wires and ground one end..if you see sparks flying that means its alright, if it dont, go chase down the electric system..
rotor, rotor cap, ign coil, distributor.....after that, i guess u might as well buy a new car hehe jp :\

[ikeyballz]

er, i mean when u crank the engine, check the plugs..if they arent sparking thats ur prob. gotta crank or else it wont spark :B (im sure u knew that but yeah..)

[sdsniper]

Thank you for the help. ill be sure to try that thank you!!!!!!!!!

[sdsniper]

I just finished checking for the buzzing noise and theres was not one... i also found out that the spinning that is occuring is the starter. I made a mistake on the year of the car and i found out that its a 1991 5.0(what size is that?) but anways i got a feeling that its the fuel filter or the fuel pump and the dang starter...

Heres a picture of the engine(i know its dirty)

[The Right Formula]

Originally Posted by sdsniper

I just finished checking for the buzzing noise and theres was not one... i also found out that the spinning that is occuring is the starter. I made a mistake on the year of the car and i found out that its a 1991 5.0(what size is that?) but anways i got a feeling that its the fuel filter or the fuel pump and the dang starter...

Heres a picture of the engine(i know its dirty)

No buzzing noise, huh? Fuel filter not getting juice. You mentioned it was sitting for a while, yes? was it started at all during that time? Was the battery disconnected? Even when letting a car 'sit' you still need to maintain it (drive it around every few weeks just to keep everything flowing the way it should be).

A spinning starter is good. It's not an electrical problem (at this point). Pull a few plugs and check to make sure they still have a nice tip. If you have any doubts when looking at them, change them for the heck of it, as you're going to want to do it at some point anyway.

If you're handy with tools and don't mind getting a bit dirty, you can always swap out the fuel pump (and drain all the old gas in the process - 2 birds...well, firebirds in this case with one stone). After all is fixed up with that, you may have to try to start it a few time for the new pump to pressurize the engine and it may run rough for a bit while the old gas burns off. Just be sure to not give it throttle until either the idle smooths or the engine is warm.


--Jay

[sdsniper]

k sounds good thank you ...so im gonna change my fuel pump. I will also check all my wires and change them and i will also change the starter for the heck of it. my poor car has been sitting there for while. its kinda a long story but im going to fix my bird up for sure.


To do list:
-New motors for the power windows
-New E-Brake handle becuase the old one wont stay up
-New tired for sure
-New fuel pump and filter
-New wiring
-Drane the gas tank
-New starter
-phewww shocks too
:-(

Wheres santa when you need em

[CreepingDeath94]

The 5.0 is a 305 motor to answer your earlier question. Also, I would check the spark plugs, wires, cap, and rotor before just swapping out the fuel pump as it is probably not the cheapest part on the car and it is pretty labor intensive. Im pretty sure you have to drop the rear axle at least a little bit to drop the tank, so keep that in mind. Anyway, good luck.

[sdsniper]

Originally Posted by CreepingDeath94

The 5.0 is a 305 motor to answer your earlier question. Also, I would check the spark plugs, wires, cap, and rotor before just swapping out the fuel pump as it is probably not the cheapest part on the car and it is pretty labor intensive. Im pretty sure you have to drop the rear axle at least a little bit to drop the tank, so keep that in mind. Anyway, good luck.

thanx a lot everyone!!!!!!! ill keep you updated

[ikeyballz]

sounds good..be sure to check your fueses tho.. it would suck to change the pump and just a fuse be blown...

[sdsniper]

Originally Posted by ikeyballz

sounds good..be sure to check your fueses tho.. it would suck to change the pump and just a fuse be blown...

no doubt im gonna check everything before i do anything huge. these window motors arent cheap :-(

[sdsniper]

Merry Christmas everyone. I HAVE AN UPDATE ON MY BIRDY. I checked all the plugs and wires under the hood and i found that a rat has chewed through a couple spark plug wires. im still going to change the wires and plugs but i got the vehicle to start for about 5 seconds. I aslo think that the fuel pump is bad becuase when i start the car it will start for not even a couple seconds until it dies. im thinking that the fuel pump is done with or the fuel injector....pheww thank you everyone merry christmas

[ikeyballz]

hey, i doubt ur fuel pumps gone if it started for 5 secs! maybe some rat chewed the fuel pump wire.. lol idk but yeah.. awesome getting it started

[97cavalier]

Originally Posted by ikeyballz

hey, i doubt ur fuel pumps gone if it started for 5 secs! maybe some rat chewed the fuel pump wire.. lol idk but yeah.. awesome getting it started

It can still be the fuel pump, because my 95 z28 camaro did the same thing, started for 5 sec and died, it was the fuel pump.