Chevrolet Repair: 98 chev lumina, chev lumina, fuel pressure regulator

Question
My girlfriend has a 98 lumina, I took it to a shop to have a cv axle replaced as it was making noises when turning, while i had it there i told them that when you start it you have to give it a little gas and hold for about half a minute. So what they said is the intake gasket was leaking antifreeze and that could be it so it was changed still have the same proplem. She bought it used 217,000 km nice little car but not worth putting to much money into it. My guess would be fuel filter, air filter basicly a tune up as we dont know when done last. any sugestions would be great. thanks Clint

Answer
You haven't told me what engine you have. The 3.4 engine does have some starting problems...There is a bulletin to replace the injectors. even after the injector replacement one of the Chevy zone reps told us that you'll just have to give it a little throttle opening when starting. But having to hold it open for a half minute is not acceptable.

With the mileage on the vehicle I would first make sure all the maintenance items such as plugs, gas filt, air filt, pcv, and clean throttle bore are done. If it still acts up but runs fine after warming up a little and does not stall out...it may be better to just leave it alone.

If you do want to get it fixed, possible problems can be: fuel pump, dirty injectors, leaking fuel pressure regulator, and IAC valve. These are just guesses and would need to be properly diagnosed.