Our '99 5speed wagon with 94k (bought new) has recently began to take
several spins before it starts...but not always. Sometimes from a cold
start it will take 6 or 7 turns. If I shut it off and restart, it will
fire right up, normally, sometimes :-)

I should also add that we also get an intermittent check engine light
that does not seem to affect performance at all and it began occuring
way before the hard starting problem. That intermittent stuff is enough
to drive a guy nuts!!

I wanted to start trouble shooting by changing the fuel filter.......a
real bear to crack the lower line connection...I gave up ..any tricks
or hints for this?

I seem to remember a tech saying that if it gets hard to start, think
fuel pressure regulator.

The car runs and idles perfectly otherwise.

I hope to sort this out asap, as we are going on vacation soon.

Your suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Lenny

 

If you're getting a check engine lamp, always check the codes first.
Often, you'll get a large hint as to the cause of the driveability
problems you've been experiencing.

 

Thanks

 

Since the just the code read was $65.00, I decided to take a shot and
install the $46.00 fuel pressure regulator, about a 10 minute job. Not
only does the car start perfect all the time now, but I haven't seen
the check engine light for over a week including a 1k road trip with
many stops and starts.

Musta got lucky. :-)

Lenny