2000 TC hard starting

[cncpro]

Hello everyone,

I just bought a 2000 TC with 145K miles. It runs great and it even starts well when it's cold outside but when the weather gets warm I have to crank it for 5-10 seconds before it barely manages to start.

For example - yesterday the car fired right up at 6:30AM and the temperature was about 45°F. At noon time it also started easily for a quick ride to get a sandwich. By 3:30 in the afternoon it was sunny and about 75°F and the car was difficult to start.

I have changed the motor oil & filter, air filter, and spark plugs since I bought it but none of that seemed to make any difference. I also changed the oil pressure sensor because I was getting an oil pressure light occasionally - especially when cold. Since replacing the sensor my oil pressure light never comes on except when first started (normal behavior).

A friend proposed the following theory:

He says that the car may be waiting for oil pressure to build before allowing it to start and that the oil may be building oil pressure more quickly when it is cooler because it is thick...

Is that theory possible?

Does the car wait for oil pressure before allowing the engine to start?

Any other ideas?

 

[V-Tally]

I had a 2000 tc with the same oil light problem (only when it was cold out), and a hard warm start problem as well. Try turning the key to on and then off and then back to on before cracking. My problem had to do with gaskets in the fuel pump going bad, and the pressure would drop in the lines while it sat. This was explained to me by several mechanics. I don't think that these cars wait for oil pressure to build before starting (I could also be very wrong about that). If the on off on thing works for you, know that eventually the pump will need to be replaced. I never got around to that, as a family member totaled my car.

 

[cncpro]

Thanks for the help V-Tally. I'll look into that

 

[cncpro]

I've tried the on/off routine before cranking and sometimes it seems to help and other times not so much. Lately the problem seems to be all but disappeared on it's own but that could be a result of the cooler weather we've had since the problem was at it's worst when it was hot outside...

I've done more reading on this subject and I am mostly convinced that leaky fuel injectors could be the issue. Basically all the fuel pressure dribbles into the intake while the car is off so if I try to start the car before that fuel either evaporates or drains into the motor oil the car is hard to start because it's flooded... An interesting theory at least...

If the problem starts back up I'll replace the injectors :headbang:

Otherwise, I'll have to assume that the fuel injector cleaner I've been running through the car actually helped.