90 Buick century SOMETIMES dies when first starts up

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I just bought a 1990 century with the 3.3 V6 and I've ben having an issue. Every once in a while (maybe once a day) I'll start it up, then it bogs out, takes a little bit to start it, then it eventually starts. Minutes lat r I'll drive it and when I give it a lot of gas it sputters. Then a few more minutes it's perfectly fine. No sputtering. Keep in mind this is not every time I start it. It runs somewhat rough at idle In park. Please help I need this for my daily driver to work! Thanks
 
Re : buick Century

I noticed no one was helping you so I will try:

It sounds like a fuel problem. Not sure how many miles are on your car. Many components have an expected life cycle before maintenance or overhaul is required.
What does the repair manual say?(The manual is the first place to go).
Is your check engine light illuminated? If it is you could do a self test on it on the computer.
Difficult to diagnose your specific problem without the maintenance manual , your computer codes if any or existing mileage . Sounds like a leaky injector or mat sensor, O2 sensor if your model has those but I can't be for sure without consulting the maintenance manual for your specific model series.

I hope this helps
 
Alive 55 said:
I noticed no one was helping you so I will try:

It sounds like a fuel problem. Not sure how many miles are on your car. Many components have an expected life cycle before maintenance or overhaul is required.
What does the repair manual say?(The manual is the first place to go).
Is your check engine light illuminated? If it is you could do a self test on it on the computer.
Difficult to diagnose your specific problem without the maintenance manual , your computer codes if any or existing mileage . Sounds like a leaky injector or mat sensor, O2 sensor if your model has those but I can't be for sure without consulting the maintenance manual for your specific model series.

I hope this helps
Click to expand...

The vehicle has 277,000 miles on it. The guy who had it before was a mechanic and very organized about his vehicle. He has a record of what's been done to it. I noticed fuel filter wasn't on the list, and spark plugs was 6 years ago.
I checked the codes and TPS Was the only code that came up. I addressed that issue and it's still hesitating when I give it hard gas.
 
Alive 55 said:
I noticed no one was helping you so I will try:

It sounds like a fuel problem. Not sure how many miles are on your car. Many components have an expected life cycle before maintenance or overhaul is required.
What does the repair manual say?(The manual is the first place to go).
Is your check engine light illuminated? If it is you could do a self test on it on the computer.
Difficult to diagnose your specific problem without the maintenance manual , your computer codes if any or existing mileage . Sounds like a leaky injector or mat sensor, O2 sensor if your model has those but I can't be for sure without consulting the maintenance manual for your specific model series.

I hope this helps
Click to expand...

The vehicle has 277,000 miles on it. The guy who had it before was a mechanic and very organized about his vehicle. He has a record of what's been done to it. I noticed fuel filter wasn't on the list, and spark plugs was 6 years ago.
I checked the codes and TPS Was the only code that came up. I addressed that issue and it's still hesitating when I give it hard gas.
 
90 century

Sorry I neglected to add that before you do anything that you should perform a tune up and check for any broken vacuum lines. I took it for granted as I always perform those actions without thinking about them.
Perofrming a good tune always gives you a good starting point on a used vehicle. You may even discover something relevant to your problem while performing it.
 
When you are testing the fuel pump pressure with the car running at idle the pressure should be steady ad at app. 38 to 45 lbs if not pinch the return line an see if you have a pressure increase (80lbs). If your pressure readings are not in this range you may need a fuel pump. Also when you turn the engine off the fuel pump should hold pressure for a few sec. and then have a slow drop. HTH
John
 
90 Century

Take a look at your choke system. It should be wide open when engine is warmed up and go towards the closed position when first starting up or cold.
 
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