Do bad rings cause a hard start?
Do bad rings cause a hard start? My car has become increasing harder to crank up. It will occasionally start right up, but most of the time, it takes a few tries to get it to idle. I know my car needs a new tune, but it wasn't always this bad. This is also only when the car is cold, once its already warmed up, starts up fine.
Its hard to say I would check fuel pressure. I have seen the check valve go bad in a lot of GM pumps and the pump actually loses its prime after it sets like over night (they usually start right up and then die) after cranking for awhile the pressure builds up and it starts. After you finally get it started it will start every time until it sets again for a long period of time. How does the car run other wise?
Doubt it's your rings. Check other places first such as making sure it's getting fuel/air/spark. You can go ahead and check cylinder pressures but it's going to have to be pretty low on more than one cylinder for it to be hard starting like that. Also, if the motor is that worn out you will see other issues as well such as smoking, excessive crankcase pressures and possibly blowing oil out of seals.
But like I said, check other things first. Fuel pressure would be the first on my list...
But like I said, check other things first. Fuel pressure would be the first on my list...
The car has been smoking, and i've posted a couple threads in the past seeing what is wrong with the car. It has to be valve seals or rings, and I still have not had the time to get the compression and leakdown test done. My question then would be are hard starts a symptom of either of those problems? I guess i'm trying to figure out what else am I going to have to fix now other than a rebuild 
The car doesn't always smoke at start, in fact I drove it yesterday and once it cranked I didn't notice any smoke. I noticed that it doesn't really smoke that bad unless I get on it. Afterwards, it will keep smoking for a long time. Once I saw it was smoking, I haven't really got on it at all. The car had been sitting for a few days when I started it up yesterday, and I was suprised that it didn't have a huge puff of smoke at startup like it does some times.
Also, with the car being a '01 I know that they have the bad rings in it
. I was talking to a local guy, mentioned it was an '01 and instantly the first words out his mouth were rings! lol
The car doesn't always smoke at start, in fact I drove it yesterday and once it cranked I didn't notice any smoke. I noticed that it doesn't really smoke that bad unless I get on it. Afterwards, it will keep smoking for a long time. Once I saw it was smoking, I haven't really got on it at all. The car had been sitting for a few days when I started it up yesterday, and I was suprised that it didn't have a huge puff of smoke at startup like it does some times.
Also, with the car being a '01 I know that they have the bad rings in it
. I was talking to a local guy, mentioned it was an '01 and instantly the first words out his mouth were rings! lol Trending Topics
I still have not had the time to get the compression and leakdown test done
Also, with the car being a '01 I know that they have the bad rings in it . I was talking to a local guy, mentioned it was an '01 and instantly the first words out his mouth were rings! lol
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.My main question was just trying to find out if my hard starting problem would be attributed to bad rings, or if I have a whole different problem on my hands.
As per the 01 issue, thats awesome to hear
, but I'm still pretty sure it has to be rings . Thanks for the info! Last edited by matrik; Aug 31, 2009 at 12:18 PM.
Some others already answered your question accurately. Yes, bad rings can attribute to slow/weak starting. If the engine is down on compression in 1 or more cylinders, it'll have a tough time firing. On some of the import stuff I work on, those motors won't even turn over if they're 15-20psi below factory specs.
