1990 GMC SIERRA starting issue 350 tbi v-8

[1979Lee]

I have a 1990 GMC SIERRA 1/2 ton shortbed stedside With 125k
the engine is the original 350 w/tbi and 700R4 Tranny.
the problem i have with this truck is that when you go to start the engine you have to crank it for at least 5-7 seconds before it will start.
It runs excellent after that but when it comes time to start it same problem.

I have replaced the following parts , fuel pump/sock(old one wore out) and filter, ignition module(old one broke), cap/rotor, plugs ,wires, air filter, tbi to intake manifold gasket,.

when you drive on a long trip oh say 50 or more miles,
you go to start it and bam! starts instantly!

this truck get good mileage for such a large V-8
(18-20+ mpg highway) and idels very smooth.
it does have the ole small block chevy valve stem seal problems and uses maybe 1/4 to 1/2 half quart of oil every 3000k,
not bad for a 15 year old truck that used to tow a 25 ft 5000 lb
travel trailer (previous owner).

Does anyone know why it starts like this?
Is there a way to fix this problem?
Any one else have this problem?

One other thing has anyone elses white paint turn to $#!*
my bed paint is still good but the cab forget it

thanks in advance

1979Lee

[big_blue_chevy2006]

iv got a 90 chevy half ton with a 350 tbi same thing u have jus chevy. my truck did it to and it was the starter, after that was replaced it was perfect starts up much better and quicker. i know a few other people that have the same problem one of my friends has an 88 and it takes a while to start to and its also the starter.

[1979Lee]

Originally Posted by big_blue_chevy2006

iv got a 90 chevy half ton with a 350 tbi same thing u have jus chevy. my truck did it to and it was the starter, after that was replaced it was perfect starts up much better and quicker. i know a few other people that have the same problem one of my friends has an 88 and it takes a while to start to and its also the starter.

Thanks for the fast reply!
my starter is good/newer.
it turns over well, just slow to fire up at times, good idea about the starter .

[Fireplug]

What would a starter have to do with long crank times?????? The starter turns over the engine only and unless its cranking very slow it has nothing to do with long crank times

[1979Lee]

Originally Posted by Fireplug

What would a starter have to do with long crank times?????? The starter turns over the engine only and unless its cranking very slow it has nothing to do with long crank times

thats what i thought too

[broughy84]

I don't know but, I had the slow initial starts, and after my starter died and I changed it, the slow starts were gone.

[1979Lee]

Originally Posted by broughy84

I don't know but, I had the slow initial starts, and after my starter died and I changed it, the slow starts were gone.

thanks for all of the reply to this thread!


again my starter is good thats not the problem,
the problem is that when you go to start
it will take quite a few cranks to get the engine to run, it turns over excellent,.
one thing i noticed about starting this engine is that if you crank it for about 1-2 seconds let off and crank again ,it starts immeaditly
i still am scratching my head on this one?

My other car is a 1978 cadillac deville w/ a carbuerator not efi and it will start a hell of a lot faster you know one pump of the gas pedal and bam! ignition!!!
Every other fuel injected car i've ever encountered
dosent have this slow to start problem.


thanks again!!!!

[kenny-1907]

Sounds like possibly it may be taking longer than normal to get fuel possibly.......... I had an 88 full size Jimmy with the TBI, chack that your injectors are not leaking on top. To see this simply remove the air cleaner cover, start the truck and have a look around the top of the injectors , you should not see any fuel. Another thing to try is pouring a bottle of injector cleaner into the tank.

[1979Lee]

Originally Posted by kenny-1907

Sounds like possibly it may be taking longer than normal to get fuel possibly.......... I had an 88 full size Jimmy with the TBI, chack that your injectors are not leaking on top. To see this simply remove the air cleaner cover, start the truck and have a look around the top of the injectors , you should not see any fuel. Another thing to try is pouring a bottle of injector cleaner into the tank.

Thanks for your reply.
Already tried using injector cleaner, there was no difference.
Will check injectors tomorrow to see if leaking.

Thanks.

[roonie]

i have a 90 chev also.just to my truck also has this problem.when warm it starts rather quick but if it sits a while then takes a few cranks yet spins over fast.wonder if fuel filter might help??just a thought.also my light color paint was peeling quite bad.stripped it and scuffed the powder coat primer and repainted it.Is this what you meant about @# white paint??apparently the powder coat primer on these units had no tooth so to speak.If they were left in the garage they were good.if the sun gets at them forget it.my darker blue is in good shape.it was mostly the light colors combined with exposure to uv rays.let us know what the starting problem is so that all of us can remedy ours.that would be great!!

[Thunderbolt]

Originally Posted by 1979Lee

Thanks for your reply.
Already tried using injector cleaner, there was no difference.
Will check injectors tomorrow to see if leaking.

Thanks.

It could be the fuel pressure regulator. This is one of the sytoms they have when bad because they bleed the pressure of when the pump is not running instead of holding the pressure. This in turn means that the pump has to get fuel back to the injectors before the engine will start causing the delay in starting.

[SageCuda]

Sounds like a fuel pressure issue. You might try turning the key on and waiting till you hear the fuel pump stop, then turning the key to crank and see if it starts better. If it doesn't, then odds are you have either injector issues or possibly weak spark for some reason. If it starts better, then you have a fuel pressure problem.

[1979Lee]

Originally Posted by SageCuda

Sounds like a fuel pressure issue. You might try turning the key on and waiting till you hear the fuel pump stop, then turning the key to crank and see if it starts better. If it doesn't, then odds are you have either injector issues or possibly weak spark for some reason. If it starts better, then you have a fuel pressure problem.

thanks for to all for there insite!!

It sounds like i will need to replace my fuel pressuer regulatior then.
i tryed your idea about waiting till you hear the fuel pump stop idea to no avail .

so does any one know how to replace the fuel pressuer regulatior ?

is this a common problem?

thanks again

[roonie]

1979Lee please let us know if it was in fact the fuel pressure regulator as my 90 chev is doing the exact same thing!

[1979Lee]

Originally Posted by roonie

1979Lee please let us know if it was in fact the fuel pressure regulator as my 90 chev is doing the exact same thing!

i will let all of you know when i change it ,it will be after xmas though
$$ issues you know how that can be ,
auto zone or kragen sell the fuel pressue rebuild kit for around $30.00

went to the junk yard yesterday to see if i could find a 90 gm truck with
the correct tbi220 throttile body to no avail, but i found an older tb
off of a cadillac 4100 engine (mid 80's) , its smallerin size but virtually idintical, to remove the injector/regulator assemblly,
remove three screws both fuel lines and the injector wires and bam off to the work bench !
then replace the diafram and gaskets and o-rings.

thats all ,
hope this helps anyone out (including myself)