I have an 88 Formula with a 305 TPI. The car starts fine when it has been sitting for a while like overnite. But if I drive it to the store about 20 minutes away or wherever and go shop for a while I come back out and start it and it has a hard time starting. It will crank and crank and it will finally spit and sputter and finally come to an idle while it blows smoke out the exhaust. The smoke smells like raw fuel. So I have come to the conclusion that it is either leaking injector(s) or maybe the 9th injector sensor on the back of the manifold needs to be replaced. The fuel pressure regulator has been replaced with an aftermarket adjustable one. But the car is bone stock besides a K&N air filter and Flowmaster exhaust. Somebody has to help me because its embarassing to start my pride and joy in the parking lot acting like this and having people stare at me. Not even the worthless dealers have an answer.

 

i cant believe no one helped you out. What colour is the smoke? I think blue smoke means youre burning oil? i totally forget the colours though. I would compression test all the cylinders to see if your piston rings are sealing otherwise you could be getting some oil up in the engine. Thatd be my best guess but what do i know

EDIT : just found this in another post should add to what i was saying

"Blue smoke on startup is usually valve seals. It's allowing oil to drip down the guides when the engine is shut off. Depending on the condition of the heads it could also be really worn valve guides but it's usually just the seals.

Blue smoke all the time is usually rings.

Black smoke is unburnt fuel which usually means it's running rich for whatever reason.

White smoke and I mean really white smoke is antifreeze.

My truck always puffed blue on startup and all the plugs on the passenger head fouled up in 6 months. I changed the valve seals on the passenger head and now don't need to add any oil between oil changes and the plugs are still clean after 3 years."

 

The smoke is like a whitish color but it isn't coolant. It is definitely fuel. You can smell it. Somehow on start up the car is flooding itself out. But only when the engine is warm. When the motor is cold it starts great because of the extra fuel. That's why I think it might be an injector leak or that 9th injector sensor on the manifold by the temp. sensor. Nobody seems to have an answer or wants to offer any support. So any input would be great.

 

Could it be the coolant temp sensor or the intake air temp sensor?

 

I have replaced the IAC sensor because thats what a guy at a local dealership told me what he thought it was. But he was wrong. That was $50 on a new sensor I didn't need. But I am not sure if it is one of those sensors you mentioned. I wish I knew for sure because it gets expensive to start replacing sensors and then you find out its something else later on.

 

You might have a bad coil ,or the modual sounds like heat soak.

 

A bad module or coil may sound like an idea. I know I am getting spark and it looks like a pretty good nice blue spark. What module are you talking about? In the distributor? It is an electronic distributor. I don't know any other way to check the coil other than by eye and seeing that it has a nice blue spark. And would this lead to hard warm starts but good cold starts?

 

If the smoke is white in color, I'd pull all of the spark plugs and look for a "clean" one. It could be a leaking head gasket. Once the engine is warm, there will be 10-14 lbs (or so) of pressure in the cooling system. This could be forcing water through a small leak in a gasket and causing the smoke. However, if this is the case, I would think you would see water in the oil (may look like a milkshake). I'm not saying that this is the problem, just a possiblilty. I've seen at least a few TPI motors that had the front intake manifold bolts work loose and they can leak water at the thermostat cross over on the intake. Some leak externally, some leak into the lifter valley, and it could leak into the front cylinders (potentially). While you're at it, a compression test never hurts. Once you eliminate all the variables, it may be easier to fix.

My thoughts.

 

Yeah a compression test can't hurt. That is a good idea. My only concerne is that I think the smoke is fuel. Because when I have someone start it when it is already warm it smell just like raw fuel when I stand behind the car. I was thinking that when it sits fuel is leaking down into the cylinders and making it hard to start when its already warm. Note that it has to sit for 20 minutes or more for this to happen. If you shut it off and start it up right away it's fine. And when it is sitting over nite and I start it in the morning it starts fine. Thus like the extra fuel that leaked in just helps it start like a choke. Because it hardly even cranks and it is running. That is why I was thinking it is a fuel leak down problem. But I will check the things you mentioned too because it is a good idea and will eliminate those possabilities. Thanks.

 

Check the spark after warm-up and see what it looks like,and if your concerned about leaking injectors you might check to see if your oil smells of fuel,if it's leaking that bad YOU WILL have fuel in the oil. If you have a pressure gauge check for leak-down,if you don't have a gauge get one you will be glad you did.

 

i say go to a local parts store and buy a fuel pressure guage for like 25 bux. i would buy 1 anyway just b/c u said u have an aftermarket adjustable fuel pressure regualtor. i had the same problem on my IROC when it USED to be TPI,and i think it was the injectors leaking...but mine didnt smoke,just had to turn over a few times for it to start when it was warm.


hope this helps

 

If you think the injectors are leaking or cruddy, you might take them to a local tech college and they might have an injector testor that will tell you if it is bad and the spray pattern, etc.