3 questions, what was the distributor issue on these 4.3l, what scan tool can I use on the obd 1.5. Can somebody direct me to a thread for info on this, i cant seem to get the search box to work for me, thanks.

 

https://blazerforum.com/forum/2nd-ge...-review-90827/

 

i appreciate the info, so the basic defect is that it was made from plastic and the holes to mount the cap would crack? at least thats what im getting.

 

That and they prefer ac delco caps and rotors. Other brands don't seem to last very long.

 

thanks for that info. it has a random miss fire so i'm digging in to it further tomorrow. I already did a pressure leak down test and supposedly eliminated the spider, regulator and injector. Also sprayed for intake leaks, nothing there either. Hopefully I will find something in the ignition system to fix the miss fire.

 

There are two separate issues.

1) The gears wear, causing timing variations
2) The plastic gets old and cracks around the cap mounting screws

These engines are somewhat sensitive to quality on plugs, dizzy cap and rotor. AC-Delco only, no substitutes on those three items. Plugs can be copper (AC-Delco R44LTS6) or iridium (AC-Delco 41993). If you go copper, change them religiously every 30,000 miles. Iridiums last about 3 times longer than copper. Check the gap when installing. Those are supposed to be pre-gapped at 0.060", but once in a while, you get some that aren't even close.

Even if you buy another dizzy (Skip White or other source), it's usually a good idea to throw the cap and rotor away and install a genuine AC-Delco cap and rotor. That just saves time and frustration.

Plug wires can be problematic as well, but as long as you stay with quality brands (AC-Delco, Delphi, maybe Denso), it seems to be OK. Be sure to put some dielectric grease in all the boots at the dizzy cap and at the plugs when assembling things. Wires last through at least two sets of copper plugs, but need changing every time with iridium plugs.

I answered your search question on the search question discussion thread.

 

ok, been gone doing some other things, now back to he blazer. Oh my, what a mess. So I ordered a new Delco cap and rotor, and got some oem plugs, ac copper. Who designed this car, I can't even see the distributor. It seems like the whole top of the distributor is loose, can't imagine why l'm getting a random miss fire. I thought maybe it was a broken cap or perhaps the ear on the distributor broke but after i removed the cap the distributor, (the top of the housing) is moving around like it's broke. I thought maybe the mounting bolt was loose but no. Also found a few broken vacuum lines as well,probably not helping things. Are these distributors prone to breaking? I know the ears can break and the gear can be an issue but the shaft housing? can anyone shed some light on this for me, thanks.

 

Everything above the mounting bolt on the stock one is plastic, and the plastic parts are prone to cracking. So, I guess, logically it could crack near the base or anywhere.

Your experience is even worse than mine. On mine, the only thing holding the cap in was gravity, inertia and whatever strength was left in the plug wires. Mine was running fine, except for fuel injection issues at start up. When the cap came off in my hand when I tried to pull the first spark plug wire, I was wondering, "How is this thing even running?"

BTW, if the plastic "fatigued" like that, you might have bad motor mounts which could be adding some vibration to things beyond what it was designed to withstand. The motor mounts on these things are also poorly designed, and prone to failure. The engine won't come out, but it will shake and vibrate more than it should, which can cause fatigue issues on other parts (exhaust cracking, and even "plastic fatigue" on some interior bits). I guess we can add the stock dizzy to parts subject to "plastic fatigue" from vibration.

 

Sounds like the best option will be to just purchase a new distributor and go from there unless there is some fix for it

 

When I encountered the problem (Friday before Memorial day), that's what I went with. I had somewhere to drive to on Sunday, so I went with a local source for a metal framed dizzy (CarQuest labeled, looks like maybe made by "Power Select" and labeled "Made in China").

The universal answer here on BlazerForum.com seems to be "Skip White 6671-BK" which I'm told is also labeled "Made in China".

Reading reviews on Amazon, anyone selling a metal framed dizzy for these engines gets all great reviews. The plastic ones (AC/Delco, Delphi and a few others) get some negatives for longevity and are much more expensive.

I wish I could find a "Made in USA" (or even NAFTA) one with a metal frame.