Start up problem: Is it my piston rings?
Hello everyone, and good day!
I have a 4g63 SOHC 7G galant with a start up problem. When I do a cold start, it would take several attempts for me to get the engine running (usually with a dash of gas pedal presses). I have tried all of the following things to make it work at the first cold start, but none of these has ever worked:
1. New plugs
2. cleaned MAF (I tried starting the car with the MAF disconnected, it works when it is not a cold start, so I guess this is not the culprit)
3. Checked the injectors (I even cleaned them).
4. Checked the timing
5. Replaced the plug wires
6. Replaced Cylinder head (from a low mileage car with the same SOHC 4G63)
To note, the engine cranks at every attempt, sometimes I hear an ignition, but it never gets the engine going. Now the question that I have been dreading to ask, "is this problem related to my piston rings? Do I have a bad seal in my pistons?" To add to this, when I do get the engine running, there is a few seconds of hesitation in the engine when I put it into gear (this is something that I still experience even with an ATF fluid change, Diamond SPIII). However, once it gets warmed up, it runs considerably well without any hiccups.
I was thinking of doing an engine swap, but being in a country that has complicated laws when it comes to changing an engine, I decided to stick with the engine itself. Any advice would be very much appreciated here :)