EGR delete cold start issues

[MikeA]

howdy all, I have a 1996 Tahoe with a new (15k miles GM crate 5.7 vortec) motor, chassis at 181k miles. I bought this with the EGR deleted, long pipe headers, no Cats, only 1 O2 sensor. It is tuned for the delete I have no active codes, no check engine light.
Almost every time I start it it struggles a bunch to fire. Especially difficult in the morning after it has sat or at end of day going home from work. I’ve read a bunch of people having cold start issues when EGR is present not my current situation. I checked fuel pressure, from the pump I get 56psi and once it’s running it settles at 51psi. Not sure where to go from here, as of now this is my daily driver and it’s not reliable in current situation. Thanks for any info!

 

[bigfootchiro]

What do you mean exactly by “struggling?” Does it only do this at start, and then runs fine? Are there problems while driving? A video of the issue would be very helpful. You can take a video, upload to your YouTube account, then post the link here.

 

[Doubeleive]

when was the last it had a tune up, that alone could be the problem.

 

[MikeA]

when was the last it had a tune up, that alone could be the problem.

Probably last tune up was 2015. I checked all plugs for corrosion/gap this winter when it was down, trickle charged battery. From Sept. to March I only put 10 miles on the truck and started it from time to time but it was having the same starting issues. This has gone from storage to daily driver now. I'll take videos of the starting issues and post. Going to check electrical connections again. By "Struggling" I mean for the first couple seconds it's like the battery is almost dead when cranking then it starts turning over like normal but won't fire. Other times I crank it and it fires up in less than 1/2 second. I had to crank on it 4 times for about 5 seconds each this morning before it fired

 

[drakon543]

still a little unsure of your exact problem but it almost sounds more like a starter issue. i had nothing but problems finding a good starter for a camaro i used to have and my Tahoe. i switched the starter over to a gear reduction starter from the oem larger starter and its a night and day difference.

 

[MikeA]

Here are 2 links for videos. One shows a good normal start, other shows my situation. Last night I dropped the cover at the torque converter to take a look at the flex plate, everything there looked good. I removed the starter connection cleaned off and retorqued it still starting issues. Could be starter as you suggest, I get a strange disconnect every few starts where radio resets etc. All external wire connections are new and making good contact/ground. might be internal to the starter?

 

[96-2D-Hoe]

I had something similar happen in my truck a while back but only once. I'm still not sure what it was but suspected fuel pump or ignition switch. I've cleaned up all my grounds and battery connections and it hasn't happened again.

FYI 51psi is low for fuel pressure. But that could be voltage?

Have you cleaned up all ground cables? Maybe also Positive to alternator and fuse block? Your dash voltage is only showing 12v when you turn the key on the bad start and the good start shows 13v. There's also a ground cable from the fuel pump that I cleaned recently and my fuel pump seems a little quieter since I did it.

Best of luck.

 

[MikeA]

I had something similar happen in my truck a while back but only once. I'm still not sure what it was but suspected fuel pump or ignition switch. I've cleaned up all my grounds and battery connections and it hasn't happened again.

FYI 51psi is low for fuel pressure. But that could be voltage?

Have you cleaned up all ground cables? Maybe also Positive to alternator and fuse block? Your dash voltage is only showing 12v when you turn the key on the bad start and the good start shows 13v. There's also a ground cable from the fuel pump that I cleaned recently and my fuel pump seems a little quieter since I did it.

Best of luck.

Yes I've got all new cables and checked connections from battery to fuse block, starter, block, sidewall, alternator. Haven't looked at the one at the fuel pump thanks! **When the crate motor was installed they used the original distributor, ignition relay etc. So I have all new Delco parts on the way as well might as well replace while I'm monkeying with it, got a new DB starter as well, never used them but read a bunch of their reviews. I'll update when its all installed in a couple days. Hopefully that does the trick.

 

[bigfootchiro]

That doesn’t seem like a starter issue, because it turned over, started, and died. I’d be looking into spark/fuel. Any codes?

 

[MikeA]

Negative no codes, no check engine light. I've had it throw P0302 one time last week right when I started it, checked that plug etc had spark good connection, hasn't been a problem again. I've got a Delco ignition coil, rotor and cap coming tomorrow, I bought a DB starter it just landed at the house 30 minutes ago but I drove it to work today, go figure. All the ignition stuff is either original to the chassis or hasn't been replaced for the 4 years the previous owner had her. More updates to come