Got a 97 LS 4.3
Was coming home from work tonight and started having problems with bogging real bad when I tried to accelerate moderately. But the time I got close to home, I could barely touch the gas and not really get over 30 mph without it bogging and hearing backfires trying in the intake.
I know I've not got a lot of gas in the tank (it's almost payday), could my fuel pump be overheating and not giving me enough pressure since it's probably not submerged and it's a sunny 85 degree day where my Blazer has been in the sun all day at work?
I recently replaced both 0² sensors in the Y-pipe (the one on each side anyway), and all plugs, and MSD 8.5 mm wires and an Accel cap and rotor, I was going to replace the coil, but was told the stock coil was pretty high-output as-is.
Could I have an ignition problem still, or does it sound more like a fuel/fuel delivery problem? Or possibly timing, though I have no clue why timing would change. All the maintenance was almost 2 months ago and I've had no problems.
My Service Engine light came on on the way home, however I don't have access to a code reader unless I risk a drive across town to Autozone and not sure I want to chance it right now...
Hoping to figure out something quick, got a son that goes to daycare and a self that goes to work in the mornings!!

Well, took the Blazer to AutoZone because it was acting a bit better and still had the light. Came up with an 0² fault, Bank 2 Sensor 1, that's the passenger side sensor, correct? the one closest to the manifold?
Would a bad 0² sensor cause it to run that horrible? I'm guessing it ran ok for a while because it was still cold, then ran worse as it got heated up?

 

try checking the cat (ie: remove it) it's probably plugged, and toast. i had the same issue with my Jimmy, switched the cat, problem solved.

 

I have had one cat failure on a 4.3L and that's EXACTLY what it did. The more throttle you gave it, the less it would pull. Remove the cat and see if that fixes!

 

Well, I'll see what I can do, right now money is a big issue with some recent short term health issues, the paycheck is a little light.
Sine the Blazer has an 0² sensor after the cat, what would the effects of going straight pipe to the muffler be? Would it throw anything off? Some friends own a muffler shop....
I was going to replace the 0² sensor today or tomorrow, but if the cat is plugged it'll just cause a new sensor to go bad, right? I just hate spending the money on the cat if that happens to not be the problem for whatever reason, and there's really no way to tell without removing the cat is there? (No, it wasn't glowing when I got to work today).
Just trying to find the best solution I can afford...

 

if you have a friend that owns a muffler shop, i'd think he would be willing to help you out by removing the cat for you. as for spending money unnecessarily on parts (like replacing the cat for no reason you said), the O2 snsor is probably acting up due to the problems with the cat plugging up.
if you don't have any emmision testing in your region, then yeah you could "punch" the cat out (but i never told you that), and run it. i know of someone who did that on a 1st gen Jimmy, and never had any issues, but that was loooong before we had any etesting requirements around here. keep us posted on your progress.

 

Well, called the shop, and it appears that even though it's the same management, the employees are new, and it doesn't sound like they want to chance it. The price they quoted me though was lower than I expected (the converter alone at AutoZone was $200, they'll replace mine for $130 at the shop), so I'll probably just do that. The converter will have to wait until Friday when I've got a ride so I can drop it off, and I'll just do the 0² sensor after it gets done, hoping it can drive for one more day in the meantime...

 

kinda sucks about the change in employee's. you'd think the "boss" would be able to get something done regardless. maybe that's what was happenig (too much) and head office caught on. good luck with the cat swap, but i'd hold off on changing the O2 just yet. have the codes wiped, and drive it for a bit before spending the extra money unwisely.

 

if you need to buy a long drill bit and drill a few holes it the cat, its cheap but when inspection comes around dont expect to pass

 

why bother "drillin' a few holes"? take a friggin' pry bar, j-bar, hell, anything long enough to reach, and smash the s**t outta the shell. this is gonna be waaaaay better, 'cause sooner or later, the rest of it's gonna break free, and it's gonna rattle like a mother.

 

Well, it's a husband and wife owned shop, with just a couple employees, and the wife has been in a bit of legal trouble recently, and I think that's part of it. I'm in Indiana, so no testing here, and that makes me soooo happy... Lol.
So you think that the 0² might not be bad after all? I noticed on the way home from work yesterday that the engine light went off on its own... But it's still sluggish under hard acceleration, just seems to stop pulling even though it keeps revving when I hit it hard about 55-60....
The new cat should be going on as I speak, give or take a bit, I'll pick it up after work tonight.
I was going to replace the 0² anyway, because it's got a 1 year warranty, and Jegs said mail it back and they'd refund it since it threw a code for bad 0² sensor, so I won't be out anything but the sales tax and shipping back to Jegs since I'll have to buy one local.
Maybe I will hold off a bit and see what happens... See if my gas mileage picks back up to where it was before I did my maintenance...