1995 Corolla difficulty starting

[bogsdude]

My corolla starts very difficult. It seems to be some sort of fuel issue as when i crank the engine it turns over and over and only when I hold my foot on the gas does it start to act differently. I can get it to start after I crank it long enough and runs just fine once it's started. I've replaced fuel pump, fuel filter, distributor cap/rotor, spark plug wires, spark plugs not too long ago, i've replaced pcv valve. I blieve it's something simple causing the issue but i just can't put my finger on it. Hopeing someone had this same issue.

[Kiwi-Corolla]

Hi and welcome to the forums,

I've never had this problem, but it could be something as simple as a dirty IACV (Idle Air Control Valve). Even if it's not, it's worth cleaning anyway. Just take the throttle body off, flip it over, take the 4-screws off (be careful not to round them) and then spray some carb cleaner in the hole and clear any carbon deposits out. If that doesn't solve the problem then double check that the spark plugs are gapped correctly.

Have you tried doing a diagnostic test? You'll see a little box on the passenger's side of the engine bay that has 'Diagnosis' written on it. Take a paper-clip or something similar, bend it straight and then put one end into the TE1 port and the other end into the E1. Then go back to the car and turn the ignition to ON (don't start the engine). The check engine light should flash. If it continually flashes with no noticeable pauses in between then there is no fault detected. If it does flash with a pause in between then it means you've got a fault.

To read the code it is telling you, you have to watch the amount of times it flashes. For example, if the code was 35 it would flash 3-times, have a short pause, then flash 5 more times, then have a long pause. If it repeats the same code after the long pause then that means it's the only fault with the car, if it flashes for a different period of time then that means there is more than one fault.

If that's a little hard to understand then it'll be best to take it to a auto electrician who will have proper diagnostic gear.

As I said before, I've never experienced this problem personally, so there will no doubt be other people who can give you more detailed advice on how to fix it, but the diagnostic check is a good place to start.

All the best.

[ganda1f]

+1 on the dirty and sticking IACV. Had a very similar problem, except that it started and stalled after a second. IACV was not opening, not enough air, engine got flooded. Then it was REALLY hard to start.
The IACV gets clogged by the oily residue that comes from PCV which vents into the intake.