long crank, trouble shot but still persistant
 

My brother pulled his civic (94 cx 106,000) out of storage after studying abroad for the last 1.5 years. i just replaced the timing belt, tensioner, water pump, drain/refill all fluids, adjusted valve lash, new plugs, fuel filter, pcv, new gas and finally adjusted ignition timing.

the issue behind it is it cranks for an excessive amount of time before firing. however, if i crank it for a "rev" or 2 then turn ignition off and then turn the key back to start it will fire right up. for what ever reason the engine just needs to turn over once turn off ignition and let the pump reprime and it will fire on the first (of second attempts) turn.

what could cause the need to turn the engine, re prime and result in an immediate engine start? the battery tests strong. I haven't replaced the distributor cap or rotor due to the fact that im throwing his money down the drain, even though it was due for all of it as just scheduled mx.

I also haven't done a compression test to rule out engine issues. Should i do this first before working on anything else? He hasn't had it on the highway yet either or long drives since its been pulled out of storage.

Re: long crank, trouble shot but still persistant
 

I would try a new ECU or Distributor. Not go buy one, but plug someone elses up real quick. diagnose what the prob is.

..Perhaps its something random. Fuel filter.. Injectors.. Any CEL? Perhaps the idle air control valve. may be bad. My old Honda use to not start on First try & that was bad(IAC)

Re: long crank, trouble shot but still persistant
 

I dont have a spare civic to take parts off at the moment, no CEL and fuel filter is new. IACV is freshly cleaned and long crank persists. Im just going to have him run a few tanks of injector cleaner through and see if that helps.

Re: long crank, trouble shot but still persistant
 

there is a service bulletin on this. Have you checked anything in regards to the fuel pump?

Re: long crank, trouble shot but still persistant
 

laack, I took my dad's old 91 civic last summer. The car had been sitting outside for 3 years not a single start or anything done to it. I had all my fluids changed, new air and fuel filter, and installed new plugs. For the first little while I had to hold the key for about 8 seconds before car would start. I don't have any issues now on it now but at the time if it didn't want to start after 5-8 seconds I just stopped and re tried and like you said, started without a problem. I tried that seafoam stuff to clear up anything inside the engine and that also helped a bit. 1.5 years in a garage is cozy