In the early 2000’s I had a 1986 LeSabre, and two 1989 le Bonnevilles all with the 3.8 and all with the same problem. Above 20F they would start and run fine. If it got below that they were very hard to start. If cranked long enough they would eventually catch, and holding down the throttle seemed to help, but it also caused a backfire that burst the air box. I held it together with bungees and it actually acted like a relief valve. Once running they would run fine even if left to sit for a few hours, but overnight and it was again almost impossible to start without a great deal of cranking. If I knew it was going to be cold, I would put a trickle charger on the battery so I knew I would have enough battery to crank, and I would also put the charger on start mode. One day my daughter forgot about the charger and drove out of the driveway dragging it under the car. She swore she never heard it but what can you do anyway, what would cause the no start?

Are we trying to diagnose a problem from 24 years ago?

A hard cold start could have been a injector leaking down and flooding itself.

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Andrew - owner/operator of Bonnevilles Unlimited

2004 Bonneville GXP | 60k | White Gold Tricoat | custom built supercharged 3800 hot rod | garage queen
1997 Corvette | 57k | Silver Metallic | Z06 wheels | Date-night Hauler/Parts runner
2014 Town & Country Limited | Cashmere Pearl | 110k | Family Hauler
2002 Ram 1500 Quad Cab Sport | Black| 270k | Official Bonneville Hauler

Yep 24 years ago, but I was just curious since there were no forums back then and I have always wondered about it since it happened to all 3. I figured if it was a common malady that someone here would know. It’s never too late to learn something new.