After sitting for a while (overnight, while I'm at work, etc), it takes a while for my 1990 LE to start. More often than not, it won't start on the first crank and one the second one it will sputter and stall if I don't give it a little bit of gas. I'm assuming it might be the fuel pump or something along those lines but I'm not sure.

Also, I've never done any serious maintenance on the car except for changing the spark plugs so I'm sure it could be a lot of problems. I'm fairly new at car repair and I figure I should give it a tune up. If someone could also give me a few tips on tune-ups with these cars, I'd be very thankful.


edit 1: I changed out my spark plug and plug wires and that fixed the stalling problem when starting it after it has sat overnight. However, it still takes a while to start. If I were to estimate, it takes about 10 seconds total of cranking before it turns over.

Hey, welcome to the club!

One suggestion to make your and our lives easier: Put your car year, model, etc., in your signature so that we can see what you've got without you having to type it every time.

Moving on...

Since my car is dead in the driveway, I hardly seem qualified to guess on your issues. If I had to though, I'd say to at least see what your spark plugs look like, check the gap, replace if necessary. If those look good, check your fuel pressure. That will take a special gauge, but they can be had for like $36 at autozone or wherever.

The "sitting for a while" part of your problem leads me to think fuel problem. Maybe a pump, maybe a leaking fuel pressure regulator. A gauge will tell you quickly if that'* the case.

Good luck.

As mentioned..a general tune up is a great start.

From there many have changed the ignition system over to a Delco Type 2 system found on the 92+ cars. It has a stronger voltage that gives a better spark at the plug.

Sorry that I took way too long to respond. I'll look into the Delco Type 2 ignitions. Wheres the best place that I could get one? I ordered a Chilton'* service guide so I'll be able to work on my car soon.

That Chilton'* is better than nothing, but just barely.
I recommend that you check your plug wires as well.

Junkyard or ebay for the Delco ignition system, depending mostly on how good your junkyard is over there. I got mine off ebay, but mostly because I couldn't find one in my yard at that time. I'd go on with what cars to get one from, and so on, and so forth, but I already did a writeup on it, so here:

http://thejmfc.com/autos/delcoignition.html

That should tell you pretty much everything you need to get started on that project.

Thank you for the answers. How long should this swap take and about how much will it cost? and should it help make my car start better? The engine is in fairly good shape and has never been driven very hard.

Today, I'll change my plug wires. From the looks of it, they were never changed with the previous owner (my grandma). I'll change the spark plugs while I'm at it. I changed those about a year ago but I cheaped out and got the least expensive ones I could find.

Well, a swap to Delco type coils and ICM might take you a half hour, if you take a beer break or two. Very easy to do, very quick.

It may or may not help you to start faster. It certainly won't hurt things. If you have other problems though, it might not be the change that makes the big difference. Fuel pressure should be checked, if it hasn't already.

I just replaced the plugs and their wires. After I did that, it fired up right away. It had been sitting with its hood open for just under a couple hours (actual work took less than one). It seems like the idling was smoother and it took off without any hesitation. The real test to see how much it helped will be in the morning after it has been sitting all night. I'll replace the fuel filter soon.

Always nice when it'* the cheap and easy fix. Hope it stays fixed in the morning!