I have a '97 Blazer with almost 180,000 miles on it. I have stuck by her side through thin and flush. Radiatior caps, radiator flushes, ball joints and suspension work, all the plastic stuff inside is breaking, dead A/C, alternators, ignition switches. I am on the verge of buying something new, but I want to keep her. She has really been a reliable vehicle overall, and is great for work and Ohio winters.

I am tired of paying the dealership 10 million dollars an hour labor. I am relatively mechanically inclined. Where can I find a picture or diagram that says where everything is located. It's the 4.3 Vortec that I think they all had that year.

My most recent problem involves getting it to start. The starter is fine, the battery is good. It seems that when she is cold she really hesitates. I had a semi-tune up about 25,000 miles ago. The only thing I didn't replace was the spark plug wires. I had this problem tonight. I put a space heater under the hood and with some coaxing she fired. She misses and hesitates, but once she is warm, she runs like a raped ape. So I know that whatever is failing is related to the ambient air temp and temperature under the hood.

Someone had suggested to me a $25 control module near the distributor.

Any ideas would be appreciated about finding a diagram and diagnosing this porblem.

Thanks!

 

Check your local autoparts store for a Haynes or Chilton manual.

I suspect the part you need is called the IAC. Idle Air Control.

since your on-line. Check out AutoZones website. They have some of the diagnostics stuff on thier website.

 

If the wires have never been replaced, that may be a place to start. Also, while you're at it, pull a few of the easier plugs just to see how they are doing. Check the gap and inspect for signs of wear or fouling. You can check the spark plug wires by filling up a pump-handled spray bottle with water (after a thorough cleaning) and going out at night. With the engine running, spray the water on/around/near the wires and look for sparks jumping either between the wires or from the wires to another ground somewhere.

Also, don't rule out either bad gas or clogged fuel injectors/poppet valves. Run a can of injector cleaner through the next 2-3 tanks and see if your problem improves. You may also want to do a fuel pressure leak down test to see if you have some injectors/poppets stuck open.

Good Luck!

 

Yes siree. The injectors are electronic valves that open and cloes many times. They may be dirty. I heard that Chevron with Techron injector cleaner is no good. GM will not disclose to anyone which injector cleaner really works.

 

Scott... Where have you heard that Chevron w/ Techron is bad? I have used it almost exclusively for the last atleast 5 years at every oil change in any vehicle that I maintain... Never had a problem. In fact, Chevron was the only fuel injector cleaner that freed up the problematic injectors on my grandfathers s10 w/ 2.8L. We tried 3 others over the span of 3 years. Each one would work well right after they were put in, but the injectors would gum up again within 2-3 months. After 2 tank fulls of Chevron w/ Techron, the problem hasn't come back and that was 2 years ago.