Hi All,
This problem just started a few days ago. Especially when cold, the car cranks fine, but takes a long time to start. I usually crank for about 5-6 seconds, then pause and try again. So far, it eventually starts every time. Once started, it runs just fine, right off the bat - no idle problems, and it drives fine. Last night, this seemed to happen again, but after I had driven it 10 miles home from work, when it was warm. This is the first time I noticed the problem when the car wasn't cold. It's fall in Portland, Or., so the temperatures have been around 40 at night, maybe 55 in the day. The car cold starts hard anywhere within this temp range. What could this be? Thermo-time switch? I've read elsewhere on this forum that a bad cold start valve would cause horrible idle problems while the engine was cold, which is not the case here. Any answers are greatly appreciated - I don't want to pay $120 an hour for diagnosis if I can help it...By the way, I never smell raw gas, If anything, I suspect it's not getting ENOUGH gas, though this is the speculation of a shadetree mechanic...

Thanks, Kirk

First off, welcome to the forums.

I'm going to guess that it may be the cold start valve. That would be where I would start and move on from there.