Yes sir, more fluid was the answer. Feel like a dumbass but I think I did not move the shifter through a range of gears when doing the fill lastime. Added more fluid last night and seems to be fixed, although every time I work with Tranny fluid I end up making a mess; need to figure out a better system for this car.

The rest of the car is nearly new in condition and feels like I am driving a new car in terms of how tight the steering etc. is. A few things have aged. The sunroof position dial has a rubbery coating the feels tacky to touch, and the red radio desiplay of station numbers and names seems to be missing a few digits here and there; maybe they will come back with time in use but not a big deal.

Going to get new tires today as the old ones are from 1997 and sidewalls are cracked. Also going to order the sunroof parts. Will post a few pics when all done.

Major question now is if I let me teenage kids drive it. I have 4 kids and three teenagers; two driving and one about to start.. They eventually wreck everything they drive. I think bluebook on this car is about $1k so if they wreck it, not likely to get the value to me back from insurance. We do have a kid car but they end up taking either my car or my wife's car when schedule conflicts arise. Wife does not want them driving our 2013 Toyota, may be buying another kid car to save this car for myself

 

I wouldn't let my kids drive that car; my Wife's Passat was pretty nice inside before our 20-year old started using it. One of his friends even managed to yank off an interior door handle, after the door's end stuck on the grass after he got in.

The ATF definately should be filled or checked correctly, but when done a time or two, is not that difficult or messy. You probably know that the engine has to be running any time that the 'fill' plug is out; because when the engine shuts off, fluid up in the torque converter, valve body, and various clutches will drain down and overflow out of the filler stand-pipe. Let me know if you'd like photos of the setup that I use, made from some inexpensive Home Depot supplies. You can achieve a more complete fluid change by pulling the pan (27 each T-27 Torx head screws- use a cordless drill to speed that up) and allowing the car to sit overnight to allow the majority of fluid to drip out.

If or when you change the ATF, I recommend using Valvoline Maxlife Dex/Merc. Lots of people use it in these ZF transmissions, and it's what I've had in three family cars for a number of years.

 

Update

Seems like it is becoming difficult to start. Had to crank it awhile last night and more so this morning before it would start up.

I am thinking that the new fuel filter I put in is getting clogged up with crap being flushed out of the gas tank. I did drain and fill with fresh gas before running it the first time but maybe some crud has come through clogging the new filter?

I am going to try to put in a fresh new fuel filter and see if the problem is fixed.

Anyone else have ideas of what could also be causing this? maybe the plugs or injectors are crudded up too. Seems to run really good once it starts.

Thanks for the info on the transmission change, will look into it more if I decided to change it again after I fix the current issues. Also, FYI, decided kids don't get to use my car, at least until I crap it out somehow.

 

good man! kids get hondas lol. figured fluid was low. fuel filter is a good guess for hard starting. when it runs is power down at the higher revs? run seafoam in the gas tank. 1 can to 1 tank is my mix but i learned (by accident) a car will run on seafoam alone haha

plugs probably have build up on them, maybe pull one and see? post a pic if the tip is an odd color

 

I wouldn't suspect the fuel filter all that much; at startup, the fuel flow is so low that the filter's resistance (and pressure drop) would have to be extremely high to affect starting. And after a start, any attemp to drive would cause more extreme pressure loss due to the higher fuel flow, and you say it drives OK once started. More likely is the coolant temperature sensor, which are well-known to go bad. Simple and cheap to replace, I'd start there. It wouldn't be a bad idea to inspect the rubber ducts, check valves, and vacuum hoses for breakage. Lastly, the "purge valve" which sits on the air cleaner housing might be sticking open. When leaky, these cause starting problems because gasoline-saturated air from the carbon canister over richens the fuel-air mixture. Once again, the clues are probably stored in the ECU's memory as fault codes.

 

Thanks everyone for the input. You are correct, fuel filter is not the culprit. I also tried cleaning MAF, new coolant temp switch and looking at spark plugs which were good, and running seafoam in the gas.

Wish it would throw a code so I can stop guessing. In the mean time, love driving it, and think I will check for stuck air system valves as mentioned above. Who knows, may go away as driven more.

 

Forgot to ask a question.

When I replaced the fuel filter, I expected the line to be under pressure and was prepared for gas to squirt out. Did not seem to be the case and gas just dribbled out when I removed the hose connections. Car had been driven within the hour of changing the filter. Is there a fuel check valve in these things to keep the pressure? car drives great so the new fuel pump is working but was wondering if I have a cold start fuel pressure problem.

 

There is a check valve, but not to maintain pressure. It is for anti-backflow, to keep the pump and discharge hose primed and full of fuel (my opinion). The one-second pump operation when turning the key to "Run" is all that is needed to get the pressure up to normal. Now, a malfunctioning pressure regulator (on the fuel rail for the injectors) could be defective, but I wouldn't worry about the lack of pressure you saw. However, in the future pull the fuel pump fuse and start the engine to dump pressure before opening any part of the pressurized parts of the system, for safety's sake.

 

Thanks for the info about the check valve, and also how not to douse myself in gas. Good news; the hard start is gone. Not sure I fixed it, rather it fixed itself as I drove it some.

Now if my sunroof parts will come, I should be driving a really sweet car.

 

Okay, hard coldstart is better but not totally gone. Been reading some about the fuel pump priming process and find conflicting info. Some say the pump should prime when the driver door is opened, others say it should prime when the key is inserted or turned to on and lastly I have read it does not prime and only turns on when the crank sensor reports 28 rpm or some such number.

Anyone know for sure when or if it primes on a 97 1.8t? Did some testing with my ear on it and my daughter in the drivers seat. Only hear it pumping when cranking, no prior prime.

Maybe this is normal and a couple of seconds of cranking to start is normal?. Just seems long time to start compared to my other cars I own.

Let me know if you know what is normal. Thanks