One cold morning my 88 gxl wouldnt start. It was like 5 degrees so I kinda thought well its just to cold. It got up to like 35 and still didnt start then I knew I had a problem. So today I went out and cleaned all the spark plugs and wires and tried to start her. When I turn the key to start it everything turns over and stuff but the sound it makes seems very hollow like its not hitting. It ran fine the last time I had it started. I am stumped on this one and would like some help plz.

Also there is a hose on the very top of the engine the one closest to you if you were to look straight down on it. Where the hose connects is blown up like a mushroom and hard as a rock. Just a hunch but I dont think that that is normal.

 

take a picture of this swollen hose....

sounds like its flooded though to me....what do you mean by "sounds like nothings hitting" nothing should be hitting in the first place, please clarify this statement

 

lmao well if its a vac line i dont belive it should effect it turning on i can see that line effecting its operational performance i.e it not staying on and dying...BUT maybe it flooded? when was the last time u changed plugs plug wires, oil, oilfilter, fuel filter? make sure all grounds are connected! if not make sum they make a HUGE HUGE HUGE difference!

 

It sounds like it isnt sparking. You know how when you turn the key to start the car how it has sort of a low rumble. My car now has a crazy high pitch whine. There is also hardly any smoke coming out the exhaust and the last time it was flooded there was alot of smoke coming out the exhaust.

 

how many k's on the motor?
it might be a spark issue but Im just going on the fact that the most common no start problem is flooding....so I'd start there, like do you smell gas?
there's a lot of threads on no starts, id search them out because this could go on for a long long time

 

theres only about 20 k on the block thats alright and I know flooding is almost always the starting problem but I had it flooded before and this time there isnt the same symptoms. The only thing I can think of that I changed was I just put on new belts but thats it.

 

usually a difference in cranking tone means the engine is severely flooded, try performing the unflooding procedures outlined in the FAQ thread.

also sometimes holding the accelerator all the way down will help start a severely flooded engine, not just in the S5 with fuel cut: more air=more compression.

 

sounds like 0 compression flooding (no compression pulses when starting). If spark is ok, then you need to re-establish the oil film inside the motor by adding 2 capfuls of ATF or oil into the lower sparkplug hole in each rotor housing. Then off & on until you hear the compression pulses return. It may take several minuets of working the starter before it fires up. Make sure you give it gas when it fires up.

If this fixes the problem and you didn't flood the engine by shutting it off cold, then your injectors most likely need rebuilding, flow testing, & blueprinting.