93 hard to get started

[carlsaturn]

93 bird-has mind of its own when it comes to starting. it seems to be random. happens mostly in cooler weather. it takes 9/10 + tries before it will start. sometimes it goes for weeks with no problems. then acts up for several days or weeks, then does good again ect. had it in the shop twice it never acted up so they couldnt find anything wrong! very frustrating.it also seem to use a lot of water/anti-freeze. any help or suggestions?????

 

[64yellowbird]

Is it a 3.8L?

 

[carlsaturn]

it is a v6. if that helps.

 

[carlsaturn]

sorry it took so long to get back. my computer crashed.

 

[64yellowbird]

3.8L were notorious for head gaskets going bad. You may want to do a block test. Does it blow white smoke out of the tailpipe or even worse...coolant dripping out?

 

[carlsaturn]

no white smoke. never really runs hot. i thought the radiator might be leaking so we put some stop leak in it. it seemed to help. this car runs really good when it runs. you just never know when its gonna act up and not want to start.

 

[64yellowbird]

maybe you need to be more specific then. When you threw in the coolant issue it made it sound like they were related. Look near the battery for acid eating through the plastic side tank on the radiator. the front covers leak coolant on these too and sometimes you can't see it because it's leaking on the inside. See if the oil is creamy (under the filler cap).
Does it crank and not start or does the key turn and you get nothing?

 

[carlsaturn]

it crank over and over and over but wil never fire up. go out ten minutes to one day later and it fires right up! i;ll check the things you mentioned.

 

[64yellowbird]

it crank over and over and over but wil never fire up. go out ten minutes to one day later and it fires right up! i;ll check the things you mentioned.

It's been awhile but I think this has a TFI module on the distributor? (google it and look at pics). If I recall right that could be one of the issues of that going bad and you'd need to replace that and the stator in the distributor. Just a guess.