91 Regal has been sitting for a year+

[desertnavy]

I just bought a 91 Regal Limited with 3.8L at an abandoned vehicle auction. A new battery brought all the lights/bells/door locks to life. A new ignition key brought the dash/turn signals to life. The engine crankes fine, but didn't start. I only cranked it for 60-120 seconds total in about 8-10 attempts. I imagine the fuel in the engine has evaporated, but I don't want to spend the next 8 hours cranking when that won't fix the problem. Is the fuel system self-priming? How long should it take? Can I/should I use starter spray? Any other ideas?

Mahalo,
Kelly

[93rgeal87gn]

u would hear the fuel pump when u turn the key on... if you dont the fuel pump is dead...try spraying staring fluid into the intake if it fires its not getting fuel

[regalfriend]

Sounds like a fuel problem like 93rgeal said. On the side...did you change all fluids before trying to start.?

[GTP Dad]

I agree with regalfriend, make sure you change all the fluids before you try to start the car. The fuel may have gone bad so pull as much out as possible and replace with new. There is a possibility that the fuel pump has gone bad due to the fact that it has been sitting so long. If you don't hear it running then I would assume that it has locked up. Change the oil and filter along with putting on a new fuel filter. The trans fluid should be ok but if you have shifting issues you will probably need to change the fluid and filter. Don't forget the coolant!

Once you change the fluids then try the starting fluid method. If it runs then the fuel pump may have gone. Once you get it running then use some good quality injector cleaner to make clean the gunk out of them.

[mikelund]

I would hope you got a great price for the car. You will get some good advice on the forum. Do yourself a huge favor and spend about $100-140 to buy the shop/service manuel from HelmInc.com. The detailed diagrams and troubleshooting flowcharts will give you hours of fun if you are doing the work yourself and confidence that some things take hours of work to track down if you're paying someone. Either way, a reasonable price for accurate and complete information. These fine folks on the forum can shorten the troubleshooting time dramatically when you know what you're looking at and where's its located.

[nyc tech]

First check ignition components are fine(spark plugs,wires etc)If your fuel pump is defective you will not hear the pump sound.One way to to check the fuel pump without bringing the fuel tank down is by disconnecting the fuel filter line going towards the engine.Make sure you take the off the fuel pressure first,container to collect the fuel if any.Just crank the engine for 3 seconds if fuel found on container then fuel pump is good.