Blazer Runs in Idle and Neutral Fine, Bogs Down in Drive Sometimes Stalls
#1
Blazer Runs in Idle and Neutral Fine, Bogs Down in Drive Sometimes Stalls
My 2001 Blazer is not drive able at the moment. The car starts up great and idles just fine. When in park or neutral, the car can rev up with no issues. When put in drive it wants to bog down and die when reaching 1/2 to 3/4 the way to shifting into second. If I keep my foot down on the pedal, it continues to struggle driving and jerks as it bogs down every few seconds (RPM DROPS).This has happens in reverse as well. It sort of looks like Im struggling to shift a manual to onlookers. The most interesting thing about this is no check engine light codes are triggered so I cannot diagnose it that way. I guess it narrows my solution search down a bit but I am still left with a few different options being the culprit. Got an oil change. I bled the fuel line nipple while the car was running, lots of gas coming out so its not a faulty pump, right? I can hit 6-7k RPM in Park and Neutral so its getting plenty of gas? I checked and cleaned the air filter, seemed to be OK. Check the valve to see it was opening and closing properly which it was. I feel it should be an air or fuel problem? Interesting note, when the RPM's drop, the temp gauge drops immediately to COLD (needles off position). The problem started while driving up a bumpy backboard up a mountain. I don't usually drive in these conditions but feel that the problem may have something to do with it. Anyone ever experience something like this? I'm pretty new to DIY vehicle repair, so I included a video of the car acting up just in case it might be obvious to anyone who might be out there in the forums. Thanks for any help you can provide.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IL6...ature=youtu.be
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IL6...ature=youtu.be
#2
you need to use an actual fuel pressure gauge to test the fuel pump
#3
weird, I wonder is it tranny at all?
#4
Have you replaced the distributor cap and rotor recently? Mine did that and it ended up fixing it. Now I'm on to other engine miss problems 6 months later.
#5
EDIT: After going outside and inspecting the location of the distributor cap and electrical lines connected to the spark plugs on the the engine, the fuel line nipple is faced directly towards the set of 3 plugs on the right side of the cap. I have a feeling some fuel over the past year or so from purging watery fuel lines has corroded or caused and issue with the connection. After looking up bad distributor cap and rotor symptoms, it seems to match my issue pretty closely.
Last edited by jb34r5e; 08-11-2014 at 09:26 PM.
#6
#7
I have been doing a lot of reading and was wondering if a clogged fuel filter would cause the car to behave the way it does and lose RPM when going up hill under a load. Think I might replace it after checking the fuel pressure with a gauge.
#8
If it is unknown when the fuel filter was replace, good idea to replace it. Be advised that the filter connections are soft and require a flare nut wrench and highly suggest putting some Liquid Wrench or similar on the threads the day before.
After replacing the fuel filter, cycle the ignition key several times to allow the fuel pump to purge air from the fuel lines. Then start engine, let idle a minute or so, then shut off. Now check the fuel pressure at the intake with a gauge (key to ON, engine off).
What condition is the MAF in? Is the electrical connector fully seated? Check connector contacts for corrosion.
Check vacuum lines under the hood. Replace any that are questionable.
After replacing the fuel filter, cycle the ignition key several times to allow the fuel pump to purge air from the fuel lines. Then start engine, let idle a minute or so, then shut off. Now check the fuel pressure at the intake with a gauge (key to ON, engine off).
What condition is the MAF in? Is the electrical connector fully seated? Check connector contacts for corrosion.
Check vacuum lines under the hood. Replace any that are questionable.
#9
I used the pressure gauge to find out if it was a loss in pressure that was causing the car to shut down like this. The pressure remained in the 55 -60 frame even when the car did the jerking. I included the video here. Fuel system seems to be working properly.
Video:
Video:
#10
If it is unknown when the fuel filter was replace, good idea to replace it. Be advised that the filter connections are soft and require a flare nut wrench and highly suggest putting some Liquid Wrench or similar on the threads the day before.
After replacing the fuel filter, cycle the ignition key several times to allow the fuel pump to purge air from the fuel lines. Then start engine, let idle a minute or so, then shut off. Now check the fuel pressure at the intake with a gauge (key to ON, engine off).
What condition is the MAF in? Is the electrical connector fully seated? Check connector contacts for corrosion.
Check vacuum lines under the hood. Replace any that are questionable.
After replacing the fuel filter, cycle the ignition key several times to allow the fuel pump to purge air from the fuel lines. Then start engine, let idle a minute or so, then shut off. Now check the fuel pressure at the intake with a gauge (key to ON, engine off).
What condition is the MAF in? Is the electrical connector fully seated? Check connector contacts for corrosion.
Check vacuum lines under the hood. Replace any that are questionable.
EDIT: I cleaned the MAF sensor and the throttle body and had no problems for about 5 mins driving and then the problem came up again. The smooth running of the vehicle in the first 5 mins makes me believe that the throttle cleaner helped it run a bit better. I put a decent amount of water through my fuel system a while back on accident (fuel can with rain water inside) and am thinking the fuel filter is contaminating my fuel with moisture and could be bogging the vehicle down. I will try this next and see what happens.
Last edited by jb34r5e; 08-12-2014 at 04:22 PM.