Thread: starting problem. when go to start the engine will sometimes die

i bought this car at a very cheap price and test drove it before i bout it and new what problems it had. i replaced the egr valve which was bad and replaced both left and right hub bearings, lower ball joints, and tie rods. but the only other problem i cant seem to fix is when i go to start it sometimes it will start to start then die out unless i give it a little gas for a second or two. i took and tried poring about a third of a can of sea foam into the vacuum hose thinking maybe there was a build up of carbon in the engine since the egr valve had alot. anyone have any other ideas on what could cause this problem? and the car idles fine once started.

2004 pontiac grand prix 3.8liter

i reset the engine light about a month ago when i replaced egr valve and it hasnt come back on and no i didnt think to clean out egr tubes or throttle body. whats the best way to go about doing that. Im gonna replace the spark plugs this saturday

thank for the help im gonna try cleaning the throttle body tomorrow. just got some cleaner stuff for it and ill do the other things on saturday. and ideas to take the TB off easily?

Remove the air tube and undo the TB bolts??? It's not very difficult to remove the entire TB. Will also have to disconnect the elec. connections for the IAC, etc...

Clean up the TB until it shines like new and I'd bet it will run like a champ. If still having idle issues then replace the IAC as well. Cleaning the MAF wouldn't hurt either (just use approved MAF cleaning spray, NOT anything else).

also what should the spark plug gaps be for the grand prix. im replacing them but im curious as to how worn they are

ok well i just completely replaced the idle air control valve and the max air flow sensor and cleaned all the carbon i could where the old iac was and drove it stopped and started it several times and that appears to of been the problem. It starts perfect every time now i guess time will tell us if that was the problem for sure or not

Take a read through the below and grab some nice copper or irridium plugs. NO PLATINUMS!!!

Gap should be at .052-.055. I run the NGK Tr55's in my GT and they work great.

4) Spark Plugs - Change out those stock spark plugs with new ones to restore any lost power. Brands that most tend to go with are either Copper Core Autolites or NGK Spark Plugs. Get these at your local auto parts store also. They range as follows in order from hottest to coldest plugs...remember...you want the hottest spark possible...so running a super cold plug on a larger pulley to combat knock isn't the best plan...ACD's, AL606's, and AL605's are basically for stock cars or very small bolt ons still running the stock S/C Pulley or modded N/A guys...you want to keep a hot spark. NGKTR55/AL104's for your 3.4" Setup, TR6's are a tad cooler...best used around the 3.25" pulley area, and AL103's...are for the extreme supercharged application...3.0" pulley or lower. Here is a picture to reference the firing order and the correct coil number if yours aren't numbered or you just need a quick reference picture: http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d6.../plugwires.jpg

AC Delco Factory Replacements: Stock
Autolite 606: Stock
Autolite 605: 1 Heat Range Cooler
NGK TR55: 1 Heat Range Cooler
Autolite 104: 2 Heat Ranges Cooler
NGK TR6: 2 Heat Ranges Cooler
Autolite 103: 3 Heat Rangles Cooler

thanks for the help finished up the last of the maintenance today and it runs awesomely now. the spark plugs were a pain in the butt but once we finally got them was glad i replaced them. the gap on the old ones we took out was .92 approx on all six of em. but i went to take the throttle body off to try and get the rest of the crap out of it cause i couldnt completely clean it all out and when i was taking one of the bolts on it loose to take it out this liquid started spraying out of it so i tightened it back up really quickly. do you know what that fluid is and if its safe to continue taking it off to clean it throughly?

ok cool thats not bad...when i put the tb back on is there a place i need to add coolant back into or when i start the engine will it fill it back on its own?

i appreciate all the help that pretty much solved all the problems i was having