I removed the EGR system on my 92 vette as I did a cam swap and re-tune of the OBD1 computer. My car starts hard now. Even with the old chip in the ECM, it still starts harder than ever. That elimnates too much initial timing in the new tune, cause the problem is there with both chips. The valve lash is on the money, and the car makes about 400 RWHP so I doubt the rockers need adjusted. The cam and crank sprockets are dot to dot, I took it aprt again to verify. I R&R'd the starter to change the oil pan gasket. there was no shim on it, so I don't think I would need one now. I also tried removing the starter again, and reinstalling it. The only thing left is the removal of the EGR system. I don't see how that could affect starting, but I am not super familiar with LT1 stuff.

The symptoms are as follows. Engine will crank smoothly for approx. 2 seconds, then catch. Like something is binding internally in the engine. Then it spins freely for another second or so, then another catch. Free spin for a few seconds, and then catch. This is all with the key in the start position, never letting off.

Temperature doesn't seem to affect the problem. Hot or cold, the hard strating persists. Any ideas?

???

 

Either your starter is bad or you don't have enough current to crank it over sufficiently.

Do a little test to see what the voltage accross the battery is when you crank it over.

BYW how's the weather in UT? Are close to skiing territory?

 

The starter should be good, it is less than 6 mos old. I also have installed a brand new optima battery, no change in the symptoms.

Any other idea's?

Weather here kinda sucks. It's been unseasonably cold lately. It also sucks for racing around here, the elevation is murder on HP. Rocky Mountain Raceway (the only 1/4 mile track in Utah) is actually being investigated to find out if it is infact the slowest track on Earth. Bandimere CO is 1000 ft. higher, but people gain .2 when they go from here to there. Freaking DA here is usually about 10k.

I live within an hour of most of the mountains where the Olympic events were held, so skiing is pretty good for me here. Well, snow boarding actually, I don't ski.

 

You have it made. I flunked my first year of college cause I went skiing all the time when i lived in Jersey. Now I live in FLAT Virginia. I've seen bigger zits.

As far as your problem goes, it sounds like you have a current problem. Do the test that I described. If the voltage goes below 11 volts when you're cranking, the problem is the charge to the battery.

This does not mean the battery or the alternator is bad. It could be a bad connection and the most common point is the ground at the frame and the ground at the engine. These connections seldom get checked. If these are not in good shape, this will prevent the alternator from charging the battery properly but more noticeable is that it won't allow enough current to crank the starter. Take both ends of the grounds off and clean them real well. Don't forget to check the positive battery cluster on the passenger fender. Be sure the battery connections are clean too.

BTW if you bought the starter from one of those cheap auto stores like Autozone or Advance, I would suspect it highly but try what I said.