I started my 1991 Chev Lumina for first time in 8 months. Its a 4 door sedan, 3.1 engine. Base model im sure. It started fine on first crank. However, the next day it would crank fine but will not start. The gas in the tank is about three years old. I added fuel stabilizer after I bought this car 8 months ago but I doubt it would do any good at that point. checked for fuel pressure at the fuel rack. There was bit of squirt on first press. However, no pressure developed on repeated start attempts, key turns after this. So it seems to be a gas delivery issue. Gas pump relay fuse was intact. I can hear a 2 second hum in back of car when I just turn the key. Could it be a blocked fuel filter? It started perfect the night before several times. I'm going to try and drain the gas from the tank. I tried putting a 1/2 inch hose down the filler neck but it doesn't get to gas. It's a pain. I guess the only choice is to drain by loosening the filler neck or to disconnect the fuel filter. However I see a complication with the fuel pump being behind it - may prevent pumping out gas with my manual fuel pump. Any advice greatly appreciated.
The gas in the tank is about three years old.
Stabilizer has to be added to fresh gasoline. The gas in that car is deteriorated. Drain it out and clean out the entire fuel system. (You may need to remove the fuel pump and siphon it out through the pump access hole.) Also see the FAQ section on starting problems.
It is definitely not worth putting a lot of money and/or effort into a 33-year-old Lumina.
That would give good access.... the only issue is the tank is over half full. Can you drop a gas tank over half full? What about removing fuel filter and see if the fuel pump could pump out the gas. That assuming the pump is functional. It hums.
So you need to drop the tank to get the fuel pump out? You could try changing the filter if it's accessible, possibly it's just just plugged up.