97 astro van wont start...please help.

[joey1]

i have a 97 astro that will not start.it gets spark to all cylinders and i hooked up a fuel pressure guage and it goes up to about 55 lbs. i pulled out the new plugs and they are dripping wet. the problem started with loss of power.i had to have the pedal more than half way down to keep a steady speed and you could hear air being sucked into the air filter.i tried spraying starting fluid into the throttle body and it worked the first time but not since.now the van wont start at all. the plugs,wires,cap,rotor,fuel filter,oil and filter,air filter were all changed about 3000 miles ago.everything else on the van works-all lights,blower motor,fuel pump and it cranks fine just wont start.any help would be greatly appreciated.

[tableman]

You are going to have to start, from the basics. You will have to determine if your plugs are dripping in fuel from trying to start it or something is wrong with the fuel system. If you can put the van where it is warm, pull out all the plugs, then pull out your fuel pump relay, then disconnect you oil pressure switch connector. Then turn the engine over for at least twice for 5 seconds. Now let the van sit for 30 minutes to let any remain gas in the cylinders evporate. While waiting for the fuel to evporate, it would be worth while to pull your EGR valve and examine if it is stuck open. (classic symptom of a stuck open EGR valve is lack of power) Now determine if you have spark, yes, install spark plugs, hook up oil presure switch, install fuel pump relay, cross your fingers and try. If you don't have spark, you will have to start looking at the coil assembly and work backwards from there. You maybe asking yourself why you have to unhook your oil pressure switch, in these vans the fuel pump can be fed through the oil pressure switch once you have oil pressure from turning it over. Good luck

[joey1]

this might sound dumb but what is a EGR valve?

[tableman]

EGR stands for Exhaust Gas Recirculation Valve,
it is located behing the air filter housing. I think it would be a good Idea if you bought a manual for the van, Haynes or Cliton the selll for around $20. That will help you locate things. Or try www.autozone.com

[dimotorsports]

Same here... but on an 87.

I am about to burn it to the ground!
Someone please help us!
Background: 87 Safari, 4.3 V6, Auto, 2wd, 165k mi.

I have replaced nearly everything under the sun..
Here's list of new items right off the top of my head:

Fuel pump, relay, fuel filter, injectors, regulator..
Dist. cap, rotor, plugs, wires, coil, ign. pickup, finally the distributor.

PCM, TPS, EGR, IAC, O2, EGR sel., All vaccum lines, PCV, Air filter, cleaned the TBI body...

I am looking into a bad engine ground, possible bad PROM and CALPAK now, but I am grasping for straws...

Here's an exaple of what it does...
Short trips with long (couple hours) lay overs.. Van is fine.
Long trips with short lay overs... your stuck.

Just a while ago...
I went out, cranked the van first try, drove it around the block several times while cold. Came back, parked it in the drive and let idle for about 30 min., when I came out to check it, it was not running and would no longer start..

When this problem is present... the injectors are not spraying fuel...

I am tired of chasing this problem and being towed home..
If anyone has some insight... please help.

[reallytired]

same problem here!!

This sounds about like the problem I'm also currently working on. I haven't done as many checks on the different components as you have discussed here, but almost everything sounds the same.

I have a little newer Astro, 93, with 12 showing on the diag codes and the van is not starting. It started out not starting on occasion- not affected by cold or hot weather. Changed out the cap & rotor, because they definitely needed changed. Drove it around the block, before it stalled again on the way back at a stop sign. Since then it only seems to run 1-2 minutes before it dies - if it will start. Most of the time it does not start. Fuel filter was changed about a year ago, suppose to last quite a while from what I understand. I just changed out the fuel pump, because one of my friends said that it is what it is sounding like & I had similiar symptoms back when I changed out a fuel pump on a Caravan - fixed it then. Cost of pump vs. pressure gauge was same also, but definitely not the work involved. I have watched the injectors shooting fuel into the throttle body when it starts, but when it does not start, no matter how many times it does turns over the injector does not let out any fuel.

So do I need to check the oil pressure sensor, throttle position sensor,
or ecm? If there is anything else let me know.

I have not checked the fire, but I will definitely double check that with a timing light

[tableman]

Wow that is a lot of parts swap in,
The PCM needs to get information from a crankshaft position sensor, and camshaft position sensor to properly control ignition timing and fuel injection, maybe it is one of those sensor, I am not sure if you model years have this but worth a check. Go to www.autozone.com, to find where these parts are located.

[dimotorsports]

no crank sensor on an 87... but thanks for the idea.

[joey1]

changed cap and rotor and plugs again still not starting!!! the van is getting spark and fuel so no reason not to start.my question to anyone is if the computer or pcm or whatever it is called is bad will i still get spark and fuel? i bought the shop manual and its not too helpful with my problem.i really hate to junk the van cause it is very practical and in good shape but im getting to the end of my rope and its too cold now to play in the garage.anyone with any sort of help please reply or email me @ [email protected]. to recap the problem started when i changed the motor.it was hard to start so i gave it a full tune-up .then it kept trying to start then finally did and ran rough for a minute then perfect.ran good for about 3000 miles then started to lose power from time to time.now it wont start at all. fuel pressure is 55-60 with key on and stays there for a while(more than a half hour before dropping).getting spark to the plugs and they are wet when i pull them out.i know they are sparking cause i put one in the wire and close to the body and it sparks.i sprayed starting fluid into the intake but nothing at all.i also checked the timing by pulling a plug and with piston to tdc it checks out ok under cap meaning rotor is at that plug wire. what am i missing here? it has to be something simple cause i checked everything i possibly could.grounds are good and everything else works as it should.PLEASE HELP..

[joey1]

after a month,countless hours and money i finally got it!!! turns out the converter was clogged.on a hunch i pulled the pipes off the exhaust manifolds and it started right up.so i just hollowed out the converter and good as new (just a bit louder though). sounds better too.thanks for the input and good luck to all.

[drew300]

My van is now hard starting. I'm told it's the fuel pump, they need 60 psi to start, but will run on less (50 psi) Again, that's what I've been told.

I prime mine by turning the key, the pump runs for 2 seconds, turning off, wait a few seconds, prime again, and so on a few times, then it starts and runs.
Also, I've primed it a few times, tried some startinf fluid. It starts immediately, and primed, it will continue to run.
I should ad that if I drive it every day, it starts fine, just the 1 prime, it's when I leave it for a week, it's hard to start.

Also. you mentioned new plugs....
I've had new plugs that wouldn't work, yet the motor ran great on the old ones. Hard to imagine ALL the plugs were bad, but it happenned.
Also, I friend of mine replaced the plugs on one engine, it started fine until one day he flooded the engine. It wouldn't start on those plugs again. The old ones worked fine.
Can you try some known-good plugs?