Quick question, only need two one word answers. '98 LS w/HD Towing Package that has been put through her paces and performed such without any issues, well exceeding my expectations. Once a week roundtrips of 2 to 3 hours at Interstate speeds with a Husky Centerline TS hitching a covered cargo sometimes encroaching my GCVWR of almost 9600ish pounds in 95 degree heat in the middle of the afternoon with the AC blasting me as if I was on the growing Antarctic ice sheet. I love the 4.3 more than my other half most of the time. I am doing her plugs for the second time since aquiring her, starting our affair when she so young at just 37K miles; 100K later, giving her 6 reasons to keep the sparks coming, that time from the original ignition module and wires. For our second upcomiong 100K anniversery, should we start fresh with a new ignition module, dist, and wires in addition to the new plugs (AC Delco Pro INCYWW)? Or is this a "If it aint broken don't fix it type of thing?" Part cost and the extra labor is not an inhibitor of our lust by the way.

I offer my thanks in advance.
Best Regards Everyone,

Ryan

 

No

Yes

 

The stock plastic distributor is a known problem. If it's not cracked or worn out now, it will be someday. A new aluminum one is around 50 bucks and makes sense, IMO.

That said, yours has pretty low miles and is probably fine. But it sounds like you and your Blazer have a lifetime commitment, so you can consider it an investment in your future together.

 

Thank you gentlemen. I wonder if, the wires where they connect to the distrib., come from the factory with a heathy dose of dielectric grease? I have never messed with this area of the motor....and you can see the dielectric grease that oozed out as the wires were plugged in....thinking I'm just going to do the plugs and call it good. But if and when I do mess with it, I'll definitely check out that aluminum option. Thank you again for your time.

 

One of the specs that we always advise to check and correct is CMP retard. Not all scanners are capable but there are cost effective options. When this is out of spec it means that there is timing chain and/or distr gear wear and less likely, cam gear wear. This can be compensated for by modifying the distr hold down bracket and adjusting or chasing the wear component. If this is the distr gear then either you can replace the distr gear or the entire distr or just go with the hold down adjustment. I don’t like replacing OEM AC Delco parts because modern replacements are often inferior and I don’t like wasting money. My original plastic distr is going strong at over 200k miles with a new gear and hold down bracket and CMP retard in spec. The new gear didn’t help very much so it’s mostly the timing chain but I had the distr out and was in learning mode at the time. There are things that make sense changing on a schedule but on an older truck I see wiring problems as much as OEM part problems.

George