Hello everyone i'm new to these forums ,but ive been using them as a help guide for awhile with small issues on my camaro. I'm not a car guru so be gentle lol.

Anyhow we have a 1995 Z28 Camaro. I basically inherited it from my wife.
Over the past week we've been dealing with an increasingly annoying issue of difficult cold starts. It seems like the longer the car sits off the harder it is to restart later. I dumped some Lucas fuel injector cleaner in it to start off ,but that didn't help the issue.
Then i discovered the previous owner before had a new fuel pump installed 2 years ago along with an ignition switch. The fuel filter hadn't been changed in about 4 years so to help solve the issue we installed a new fuel filter along with dumping some dry gas in to kill any moisture in the system.
The camaro started decently after replacing the fuel filter it even had more power than it did before. We parked the car ,and it sat for around 5 hours came back to it ,and it gave me a hard start again. Then when the wife left for work today it gave her a hard start.

We also periodically experience the S.E.S light. Sometimes it stays on throughout a trip ,and other times it goes off after awhile ,and never comes back on the rest of the trip. (Not sure if thats related to the current problem.)

So at this point we are thinking its either the fuel pressure regulator ,or the fuel pump. I don't understand why it would be the pump though considering it was changed 2 years ago unless the previous owners neglect to change the filter for all those years caused havoc with it.

I think after the wife gets home my dad is bringing his fuel pressure tester over to test the fuel pressure.

Does anyone have anymore insight on this issue ,and maybe could recommend a place to get parts for reasonable prices. I about crapped my pants when i heard 150-300 for the fuel pump.

 

Frequently, extended cranking for startup is due to the fuel system not holding pressure, BEFORE the engine starts. Put the fuel pressure gauge on it, and turn key to run, without starting the engine. Fuel pump should prime for 2 seconds and shut off. It should reach at least 40psi, and hold close to that pressure when it shuts off. If the pressure drops rapidly, its going to be hard to start. To see if that MAY be the cause of the problem, turn the key to run and back to off about 5 times, BEFORE trying to start the engine.

If you have an SES light, GET IT SCANNED. Even if the light goes off, the code is still stored. You may have a problem getting your 95 scanned, since it has an OBD-I PCM and a 16-pin OBD-II style ALDL connector. Just make sure whoever scans it knows they need to use an OBD-I scanner, and an adapter plug, or jumper the 12-pin scanner connector to the 16-pin ALDL connector, per Shoebox's photo:

http://shbox.com/1/xraycable.jpg

 

could possibly be bad o2 sensor(s), when mine went bad it made it load up and caused it to not start as it should have, also could be what is throwing the cade

 

How likely is it being something as simple as the O2 sensor? The thing is i don't want to have to dump a lot of money into this if i don't have to considering i don't make alot to begin with.

This is things I'm thinking
-As much as i hate to say it the pump could be going bad thanks to the fuel filter not being changed for all that time which all the pressure retained between the pump & filter screwed the pump up
-Or is it possible that maybe the vaccum line on the fuel regulator is bad. As it could not be creating enough suction to hold fuel in the regulator.

Things i know that were repaired/replaced on the car are:
Fuel Filter
Oil Filter (numerous times)
Fuel Pump
Igition Switch
Battery
Tires
Tranny Mount
Exhaust system (original fell off ,and we replaced it with a single as we needed to fix it for inspection)

(thats about all i can remember without the repair log in front of me)

 

I would say you have two options. (if the engine light is on) Go get it scanned (50 bucks here in town) you will have the codes telling you what is wrong.

Option two would be to get a fuel pressure guage and check the fuel system for proper pressure. (Somewhat of taking a chance here) But it does sound like a fuel system issue. As mine was doing this as well and it WAS/IS the fuel pump.

I know how it is to have a small budget, but you have to start somewhere. I personally did the second option and well it checked out and worked for me.

Edit: Also you can prime the fuel lines about 5 times consecutively (key on engine off) and then try to start, if it starts up after that. More then likely it is a fuel system issue.

 

Replacing parts WITHOUT diagnosing the problem is going to cost you more in the long run. That's what everyone condemns the dealers for - throwing parts at it in the hope they'll get lucky.

The vacuum line to the fuel pressure regulator does not "create enough suction to hold fuel in the regulator." It tweaks the fuel pressure to maintain a fixed (43.5psi) DIFFERENTIAL pressure between the fuel rail and the intake manifold, since that's what controls how much fuel flows through the injectors when they pulse open. Simply attaching a fuel pressure gauge, reading the pressure without the vacuum line connected, then reconnecting the vacuum line and reading the pressure will tell you what you need to know about your fuel system.

 

If you go to a local parts store such as autozone or advenced auto they will have obd2 testers that you can use at no charge, they will tell you where to start.

 

Except the OBDII testers won't work on the '95.

 

they have adapters for obd1 cars to or you could short across with a paper clip and count the flashes

 

Here where Im at, only places that scan OBD1 are shops, no auto parts store does OBD1 here. OBD2 cannot read an OBD1 computer. Aside from all of that Injuneer has it all pretty much covered. OP said he was having fuel pressure looked at later anyways.

 

No, there are no adapters to use an OBDII scanner with OBDI, unless the scan tool is an OBDI/OBDII scan tool to begin with.

You can not use the paper clip method on a '95. The '93 model year was the last year that would work.

 

"What we got here is ..... failure to communicate."

 

That's a good one, Fred. "Failure to communicate" in more ways than one.

 

Still waiting on the fuel pressure tester ,but the priming the engine trick worked. It allows me to start the car in one (but sometimes long) crank

 

Alright guys this is what has happened so far...We hooked a fuel pressure tester to the car & heres the results..

With it keyed on (engine off) the pressure goes to about 45 psi then within seconds (assuming this is when the pump shuts off) the pressure drops to zero.

With engine is on & running pressure holds at steady 39-40psi as soon as the engine is shut down it drops to 20 then continues to drop steadily down to zero.

Therefore by my observation from all this the pump is working ,but the pressure isn't holding due to the spring inside the regulator apparently being shot.

One of the guys at the auto parts store suggested maybe a small pinhole leak in the fuel line ,but we searched the lines while the car was running & while it was keyed on & we found no leaks.

Now since we figure its the regulator...HOW THE HELL DO YOU GET TO IT!?! we can see where it is ,but it seems to be a pain to actually get to to work on it. Does anyone know of any guides/tuts on how to do it. I'm hoping we don't have to disassemble a bunch of stuff under the hood to get to it. i thought it was towards the front of the car ,but its towards the back almost underneath the windshield.