Volvo Penta 5.0 EFI Ford (1995) Hard to Start When Warm

[Prince2e]

I have 5.0 EFI that will start absolutely fine when cold over and over again. Once it cranks, it’s completely fine and I never have any issues. If I turn the engine off and try to crank it up after it’s been sitting for awhile, it takes a good 5-6 seconds of cranking before it drags into catching and cranking up. Once it’s cranked- no issues. If i turn the engine off and start it within 5 to 10 mins after use, it will crank fine. This has been an ongoing issue with these 5.0 and 5.8 EFI FORD engines and NO ONE has a SOLUTION that i’ve seen. Any help here would be great. Thank you!

 

[ESGWheel]

While I am not familiar with your motor, but since the gauntlet is down regarding no one else, I will take a stab. From your description it sounds as if it may be slightly flooding causing the extra long starting cycle. Given its EFI and its age, it may be your injectors leaking by after shutting down. Post shutting down the fuel line still has pressure and thus can leak by an injector that is not up to snuff. If only a short time, not enough fuel has leaked by, starts ok. If longer, more fuel and hence a slightly flooded condition. Cold start, no issue as its already evaporated and/or need the extra juice anyway.

Try this: post shutting down when its nice and warm, open hatch and pull of spark arrestor. Look and sniff over the next 20 or 30 minutes. If the gas order gets stronger with time, there is your issue.

 

[Horigan]

In my experience this happens more with older gas. Even with fresh gas it will take a few seconds of cranking to fire up when warm. This is even with recently cleaned injectors.

 

[ChrisinPHX]

I've got a 1995 5.8Fsi that had this. New injectors did the trick for me. I've also seen where the low pressure pump gets super hot (most likely partially clogged) and has problems on hot starts.

 

[Prince2e]

I've got a 1995 5.8Fsi that had this. New injectors did the trick for me. I've also seen where the low pressure pump gets super hot (most likely partially clogged) and has problems on hot starts.

After I made this post I purchased new fuel injectors which will be here tomorrow. I’m also replacing fuel regulator since I have access to it. Hopefully this fixes it!! I will update for the future people who come after me!

 

[Scott Danforth]

I would have recommended cleaning.

Hope you didn't buy eBay or Amazon injectors

 

[ESGWheel]

While changing out the fuel regulator pay close attention to any debris in the device. VP has a legacy of painting the interiors of their fuel pumps and that paint does not stand up to the ethanol fuels. Not sure about your situation but would not surprise me if this is a source of contamination that is causing the injectors to leak by (if that is in fact the issue as described in posts 2 and 4). If you see small flecks of (black) paint then your new injectors should work fine but the source of this contamination should be addressed in the future. Given the age, perhaps all the paint has already ‘peeled off’.

Anyway, my money is on the new injectors and you will see a noticeable change. Looking forward to your next post!

 

[ChrisinPHX]

I would have recommended cleaning.

Hope you didn't buy eBay or Amazon injectors

Oh hell no. LOL. Not when I did it. Accel injectors from Summit Racing for me. Summit also has our low and high pressure Carter fuel pumps. Hope Prince2e did something similar.

 

[Prince2e]

While changing out the fuel regulator pay close attention to any debris in the device. VP has a legacy of painting the interiors of their fuel pumps and that paint does not stand up to the ethanol fuels. Not sure about your situation but would not surprise me if this is a source of contamination that is causing the injectors to leak by (if that is in fact the issue as described in posts 2 and 4). If you see small flecks of (black) paint then your new injectors should work fine but the source of this contamination should be addressed in the future. Given the age, perhaps all the paint has already ‘peeled off’.

Anyway, my money is on the new injectors and you will see a noticeable change. Looking forward to your next post!

That’s the first thing I looked into was that because these pumps were known for the paint eroding away in side but none of that was the case. They were definitely leaking when I took them out but clean in the inside. The fuel regulator was also. I connected everything back together and started working on some other things like my “high idle”. Had a bad TPS sensor. Replaced that and now the boat idles at 600 RPM. The real test tomorrow will be on the water tomorrow.

 

[Prince2e]

Oh hell no. LOL. Not when I did it. Accel injectors from Summit Racing for me. Summit also has our low and high pressure Carter fuel pumps. Hope Prince2e did something similar.

I purchased some rebuild injectors off ebay from a reputable store. I can tell they work because it sure does start instantly now

 

[ESGWheel]

I can tell they work because it sure does start instantly now

That is encouraging news and the real test will be how it runs at speed.

IMO inexpensive injectors can have their place. I needed to send mine out for cleaning (pump paint issue) but timing was everything. Not wanting to shorten an already short season in the Northeast and needing to have the engine able to run for the winterization process, I ordered a set off e-bay (abt $40 for entire set of 8) and installed them after hauling the boat out for the season. They worked fine for the winterization process. Got mine cleaned and when spring came, swapped my now cleaned OEM injectors back in.

Hope all goes well and if some issues at higher speeds, you can send your OEM ones out for rebuild / cleaning while still enjoying the boat. Good luck!

 

[ChrisinPHX]

I purchased some rebuild injectors off ebay from a reputable store. I can tell they work because it sure does start instantly now

Rebuilt is better than new Chinese junk, so you're probably in great shape.