Hard start after Phenos - Solved

[scmorgan]

Get a cup of hot chocolate, sit down and get comfortable, and read...<p>Many people have mentioned that their cars are slow to fire up after sitting overnight, some of them after phenolic spacer installations. I believe I have figured out the problem, so pay attention. <p>Since the fuel system is a hydraulic sytem, pressure can be lost overnight with virtually no noticeable leak. Unlike most modern vehicles which prime the fuel pump when the key is turned on, the KL system does not fire the fuel pump until after the key has been turned to the start position. This alone would make this problem a non issue. (Hmmm, maybe we'll make a small change in the ECU code to fix this.) <p>The only fuel system circuit break that occurs during the removal of the intake manifold is when the banjo bolt and fuel pipe is removed from the fuel rail. <p>When removing the intake manifold such as for a pheno install, the fuel feed pipe is removed from the fuel rail. There are two copper crush washers that seal the system. First, of course, it is important not to lose these, but to put them back during the reassembly. Secondly, it is very important that the washers and the sealing surfaces of the banjo bolt and fuel rail are clean and without scratches or nicks. Lastly, it is important to torque the banjo bolt down sufficiently. We generally use 30-35 ft-lbs, but have gone as high as 40 ft-lbs. This is our experience, so don't cry if you strip anything out. <p>You can also replace the old copper washers with new ones very easily. You may be able to find them at the local auto parts store. The dimensions are 12mm I.D. x 16mm O.D. x 1mm thick (or .478 I.D. x .630 O.D. x .040 thk for those that are metrically challenged). <p>Following these guidelines should solve the hard start problem. Since it was occuring after some pheno installs, we looked for a solution to prevent Outlaw Engineering phenos from being associated with any problems. I only ran across this thread by accident as I was lurking around one night. In the future, if anyone has problems that they think are related to pheno installs, please contact us from our new website at www.outlawengineering.com. We are here to help. <p>Best regards to all,
Sean Morgan
Outlaw Engineering<p>[ May 08, 2003: Message edited by: Sean Morgan ]</p>

[scmorgan]

Outlaw Engineering has just procured a production lot of these washers and will start including them with the V-6 kits as soon as they arrive. The part number that was originally listed was actually for the oil pan drain plug, but was not the same size as the fuel rail washers, so I editied the post to take it out.