87 5000 cs quattro cold start problem

[Brett Dikeman]

At 11:52 PM -0500 1/9/02, George Kotjarapgolus wrote:
>My 87 tq with 184k still amazes me in that it starts on most every occasion
>in the first few seconds.  The problem that have experienced on real cold
>morning (about 20 degrees or below) is if I do not suceed in those first few
>seconds, it will catch, sputter and I lose any chance of keeping it running.
>Another attempt is useless.  My mechanic told me my pulls are wet and told
>me to change them and he was right.  I change them and it start right up
>with the new dry plugs.

So new plugs have eliminated the problem, or not?

This is odd...usually, my 5kCST started -better- in the cold; it
would barely turn over and it would catch.   The colder, the faster.
Warm/hot starts were another matter :-)

When it does start, does it idle smoothly, or does it run rough?  At
what RPM, roughly?  Does it start "hunting" around, idle
rising+falling, before or after it has warmed up?

If the plugs are coming out wet, then perhaps you have leaking
injectors.  You can try a bottle of Techron or similar fuel injector
cleaner(just make sure it says it's O2 sensor/catalytic converter
safe; most are) but it's not guaranteed to fix the problem even if it
is the injectors.

I assume you're up to date on all the usual maintenance items like
plug wires, rotor, cap, etc?

Brett
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