New to the forum and looking for guidance.

I have a 1996 Blazer 4D that is used every so often (sometimes every month or so). Mileage is 216,000. I keep it at a vacation house for when I am there, which is sometimes every few weeks. Got it free from a friend who is not mechanically inclined, so no help from there.

The last couple of years it went through stages when it would sometimes refuse to start. No whine from the fuel pump when the key was engaged. About a year ago I had to bang on the fuel tank with a rubber hammer to get it to "whine" and start.

Last November I drove it several hundred miles round trip, got it in and parked it. Next morning-no whine, no start. Refused to start for about five months. THEN, out of frustration I added a couple of gallons of fresh gas and a can of Techron Concentrate fuel additive and banged the tank again. No start.

About three weeks after that it started right up on the first try. After that-no whine or start.

Last week I came back to this house and it started right up. Let it run for a half hour to use some fuel and get it through the injectors. This past week it's about 30/30 for starting attempts. I was about to have it towed to a shop and now I don't know if it can be trusted to drive without further "repairs". The selling and servicing dealer gave me a printout of all repair work and no fuel filter was ever replaced. Plan to do that in the next few days.

I'd like some advice on what to do next.

Thanks so much.

 

My pastor had the exact same problem in is 02 Blazer. Shop diagnosed it as a fuel pump. Once it was replaced, no more problem. Same symptoms. Now it may be a relay or other issue, however the shop you take it to should be able to determine that for you before they do the work.

Hope you get it squared away.

 

Sounds like the fuel pump is marginal. Most likely, it was "gummed up" with varnish and fuel residue. The "Techron" fuel system cleaning additive dissolved the residue, and things came back to life.

You've probably done some permanent damage/wear to the system. A fuel filter is a must, every 30,000 miles or every 3 years, whichever comes first. Your fuel pump is probably no longer "good as new, " but it seems to be working now. Keep an eye for "specials" or "closeouts" online and get a fuel pump for it. You're going to need one eventually. It's you're call whether to do it now, or wait for the failure.

Techron is one of the best widely available fuel system cleaners/treatments. If a dealership or shop in the area has BG products (check http://bgfindashop.com/ ), the BG "44K" is actually a better fuel system cleaner. You can also sometimes find BG 44K on Amazon.com. Run that in about 5 gallons of gas to clear things up as good as possible.

At a minimum, for the future, when you leave this one parked, you should have a full tank of fuel and add a fuel stabilizer to the tank. "Sta-Bil" is one such fuel stabilizer. If there is actual ethanol free gasoline available in the area (verify this, see below), filling it with that will also help. At least you won't have damage from dried ethanol in the fuel system with that, only "varnish" from the gasoline. Be sure to drive it far enough (at least 5, maybe 10 miles if possible) after putting the "long term storage" fuel in to get that fuel throughout the fuel system (through filter and into the injector assembly and return line).

How do you know if "ethanol free gas" actually doesn't contain ethanol? Here's a quick, DIY test. Get a glass jar with a good lid, a "jelly jar" for canning works well. With a permanent marker, or even better with a hard metal tool, mark or scratch a line about a half inch above the bottom of the jar. The exact level isn't that important, but it should only be about 10% of the volume of the jar. Some jars are already marked with lines, if you have that, skip making your own mark and use one that's already present. Put water in the jar exactly up to the mark. Fill it the rest of the way with the "ethanol free gasoline." Put the lid on and shake the jar vigorously for 30 seconds or so, to completely mix the water in the gas. Let it settle overnight, and note how much "water" settles out at the bottom. It should have exactly the same amount of water that you started with. If it lost gas at the top and "made " water at the bottom, that extra "water" is the ethanol from the fuel. Ethanol dissolves in either gasoline or water, but it dissolves better in water, so it will separate with the water, not the gasoline.

 

Racer_X Thanks for the reply. I was thinking the problem was along the lines you described. Will need to get going with those things when I'm with the vehicle again.