I've been experiencing an ongoing problem with my engine starts.

First of all, '74 2.0L stock engine with stock FI. I used my car as a daily driver for several years and never had any significant issues. This problem defined below started to occur last Fall. But with a hip replacement and some other related medical issues, I am just getting back to troubleshooting this problem.

The engine starts cold anywhere, anytime. If I run the engine for 30 to 45 minutes or longer, then after a short stop, the engine starts right up. No worries.

However, if I run the engine for about 5 minutes, say to the local market, I often have to wait until the engine returns to it's cold state, (could be an hour or more) before it will start. When this happens, you can smell a lot of fuel going through the engine as the exhaust smells very rich. Kind of like being in a flooded mode.

Please note this is not a vapor-lock situation. The engine has plenty of fuel. There is spark, and when the engine does restart, it seems to run fine.

Any thoughts?

My thanks in advance.

I posted a similar thread some years back. If you have the time to search it was " warm- hard to start" or some similar wording. Basically it comes down to the heads cooling off faster than the cylinders and causing a too rich mixture for the cylinders to fire. Something Paul Anders suggested was, before turning on the key switch, depress the throttle fully, then crank. It worked for mine.
By the way, hope your medical problems are better.
Tom

Several things can cause this. A bad cht can cause rich run condition. A leaky injector will cause fuel to continue to run after engine shut down till the fuel pressure subsides. Next time it happens, hold accelerator to floor while cranking, DO NOT PUMP! Just hold it to the floor. If it starts after 5 or ten seconds, its flooded.