I have a 2006 Pontiac torrent that has been occasionally having a very rough start. It sounds like an explosion in the engine and then after starting I typically hear a couple popping noises. Due to this I had changed out the spark plugs and wires, as I thought it might be a spark plug not firing as they were fairly rusted and looked original to the car that had 130,000 km on it. After changing over it seemed to be fine for a bit and running a lot smoother, but now I am having the same rough start and popping noises every now and then( I should mention that I have also cleaned out the MAF recently as well and replaced the air filter).It hasn’t activated a check engine light, so I am not sure if it’s just a fuel injection issue or not. If you guys have any ideas on it, I would be really grateful!
Should also mention that I was having flooding issues prior to changing the plugs. Had to typically give it some gas to start periodically, but the issue has gone away since changing the plugs and wires
06 torrent has 3400 v6. They have plastic ribbed intake plenum gaskets that fail due to heat cycles. Maybe you have changed them? A failure can cause vacuum leaks and burning coolant which could cause a rough idle. Next is bad headgaskets which fail in a slow gradual decline in motor performance.
It could be the head gasket actually. The last mechanic I took it to about 15k ago said it had a really slow leak. Haven’t noticed a huge reduction in oil at changes though. Coolant level has also been consistent for the last year, so that isn’t a concern to me. I haven’t smelled the burning coolant smell either, so I don’t think that’s the issue.
So just an update. Took it into a mechanic and they still weren’t able to diagnose the issue. They tested the fuel pressure, spark, cleaned the MAF. They did a Terraclean fuel service to Decarbonize the system, so hoping that solves the issue.
Hmm, describe “give it some gas”? You don’t have a carb. Pumping the gas pedal with the ignition off does nothing. Computer does not know you are pumping pedal. You crank motor, it starts. Holding the pedal at 1/2 depressed supposedly richens the mixture. Holding pedal to floor is supposed to lessen gas flow and remedy flooded conditions. If you have leaky injectors, you may have a rich condition at a warm start. Does it start the same when it sits overnight vs restarting after you go to store and motor is warm?
What I mean by give it some gas is that it struggles to start so I have to push the pedal while turning it over in order for it to start.
I have noticed that it typically happens on colder mornings and usually only if the car has been sitting for a bit. If I was to start after it just ran, I typically have no issues.
It has single coil pack. Like gm has used for 20+ yrs. no distributor. The rear bank plugs are a major pita to change. But OP says they were just done with new wires. Maybe wires were misrouted? I would manually clean the throttle bore. An induction cleaning service is not effective at that. The throttle is drive by wire so care should be taken to prevent the stepper motor from getting out of whack. Crud in the bore can affect starting performance.