I recently inherited a 1987 s10 2 door blazer with the 2.8L, A/T,4X4. Overall, it is in very good shape, especially the interior. The only problem, is that it has sat for 10 years.

I have done the following to prep it to start for the first time in 10 years:
[ol][*]New battery[*]Siphoned old fuel out of gas tank[*]removed plugs and wires[*]Poured a little bit of Marvel's Mystery Oil down each plug hole and let it sit over night. Put a socket on the crack pulley and rocked it back and forth a little bit to make sure the oil seals are moist again.[*]Turned the engine over a couple of times to blow the Marvel Mystery Oil out[*]Gapped and installed all new plugs[*]Replaced the rotor. I tried to replace the distributor cap, but I got the wrong one and the existing one looks to be in good enough shape to get the motor running.[*]Installed new plug wires according to the firing order in my Haynes service manual[*]Added fresh gas[/ol]
I tried to crank it multiple times with no luck. So I sprayed a little starter fluid down in the throttle body. It turned over for a second and died. So it seems like it is getting spark, but isn't getting fuel. With the air filter off, I don't smell any fuel coming from the throttle body after trying to start. Is this a correct diagnosis?

My next step is to replace the fuel filter. When I turn the ignition on to provide power to everything, I hear a buzzing noise that is coming from something below the windshield washer fluid resivoir. Is that the fuel pump?

Basically, my thought is that either the fuel filter is clogged and replacing it will fix the issue. Or, the fuel pump is bad.

Please let me know your thoughts and anything I'm missing or doing wrong.

Thanks for your help!

 

fuel pump is in the tank(rear of truck). Turn the key on and listen under the truck for the pump. There should be a port that you can see if your getting gas.

 

Have you tried giving it gas while starting seeing as it has sit for years it might be hard starting for the first few. Also not sure about 87 but it may be when they still didnt have good choke settings so they dont start without some pedal.

 

your diagnoses sounds about right.

Have you located the fuel filter yet?







May '87 4x4x2 had the fuel filter located behind the power steering pump on the drivers side of the engine. Its was a real bear to replace.

Your fuel pump is in the gas tank, unless it has been modified for what ever reason.
you have three basic options.
drop the tank- good lusk with 20+ years of dirt and rusty bolts.
Lift the body- again good luck. No doubt your body bolt nuts have rusted free from teh baody.
Whack a hole in the bed of the cargo area.

I have experience with thefirst two option andcan give you tips if you get to that stage.
On the plus side, your fuelpump is like $50 or so. Make sure that gas tank doesn't have any holes in it when you drop it out. POR-15 sells a great product to fix the tank, or buy a new one.

 

Hanr3 - I finally found the fuel filter this evening. The Haynes manual was totally misleading and wrong. It said that it was bolted to the driver's side frame rail. But it is actually behind the power steering pump. It sure is a pain to get to... I was able to disconnect the fuel line going into the filter and the fuel line coming out, but wasn't able to get to the nut that holds the filter to the bracket. I'll have to come up with something....Very tight location.

Anyway, after I disconnected the line going into the filter, I turned the ignition on to see if the fuel pump would try to prime or build pressure and no fuel came out.

If the fuel pump was working correctly, shouldn't fuel have squirted out?

So , I'm leaning towards the issue being with the fuel pump. I think the buzzing noise I hear coming from under the windshield washer fluid resivior is the relay switch for the fuel pump.

Dropping the gass tank sounds like the best option for replacing it. I'll apply some penetrating lube to the bolts, so they can loosen up.

Anything in particular I need to look out for?

Anything tricky with disconnecting the fuel lines from the tank, or removing the old fuel pump?



Thanks for your help,

ml8163

 

Hanr3 - I just read this thread https://blazerforum.com/m_9393/tm.htm and saw where you mention the ignition being the possible problem with the fuel pump. Well, when I went to pick this blazer up, Grandma had lost the keys. So, I had to have a locksmith come out and pop the door lock. They also replaced the ignition so I could get it in neutral and put it on a trailer to haul home.

Could the new ignition be my issue?

How do I check?

How do I rule out wiring, etc. before I drop the gas tank and replace the pump?

Thanks,
ml8163

 

there is a wire under the hood over the brake booster. It goes nowhere. Run a wire from your battery to that wire and your fuel pump should run. Its a direct wire to teh fuel pump to test.

there should also be at least two relays under the hood. Swap them and see if that makes a difference. While your moving the wires form one to the other look for any melted plastic. If you see any, replay the relay.

The only way to test the wires in the gas tank is to drop it. Easier said than done.

I used PB Blaster and my toruqe gun at first. Torque gun has 675foot pounds of torque in reverse, no go. More PB Blaster and my 3/4" socket set, I used a 4' long breaker bar on the end of my rachet handle and cranked for all I was worth. I used extensions to get the rachet below everything so my extension bar to bolt was a 90 degree angle. I finally broke half the bolts off, and the others managed to work loose. I learned a good trick that day, actualy several tricks.
1) use a pair of vise grips to lock your closed end wrench in place. Losk it so the wrench rests against something solid, like the gas tank. Then clamp it in place.
2) Try tighening the the bolt first, then untighten it. If you get it to tighten, spray more PB Blaster on teh threads. You want to soak those threads. PB Blaster wil penetrate between the threads and loosen up the rust, and lubricate. NEVER us WD-40 for rusty bolts. Use trick #1 to tighen as well.
3) Once you do manage to break the bolt free, tighen it up and spray the threads, loosen some more, tighten, spray, repaet one bilion times if needed. Eventually it will come off or break in the process.

Once you do get ALL 4 bolts free, then take the two nearest the bumper out first, tip the tank towards the bumper so you cna loosen and remove the hoses and electrical wires. Note how the hoses run in ralation to the strap. Trick to loosening the hoses, spray them with WD-40. It will soften the rubber so you can break it free. Plus the softer rubber makes putting it back togehter easier. I like to spray WD-40 on all my rubber hoses, new or old, when working on them. About the only thing I use WD-40 on.

Where was I.....

Once oyu disconnect the wires and hoses, remove the other two bolts and drop the tank out.
I put the truck up oon my ramps. Lay on my back and rest the tank on my shins. My legs can hold a lot more than my arm. This also frees up my second hand to work on the bolts. Plus once the tank is free I can point my legs toward the ground and let it slide off my feet nice and gental like. Remember it still has gas in it. More fumes=more dangerous. Gas fumes is what is highly explosive. If your tank is almost emtpy, it is full of more fumes. NO piloit lights, smoking or anything until you plug the holes, or fill the tank with water.

Gas weighs roughly 8 pounds per gallon. 10 gallons is 80 pounds plus a 15 pound tank. No way your holding 95 pounds with one hand with you remove bolts with the other. Real pain in the butt to work around a floor jack holding the tank too. Not too mention the floor jack is only one point of contact and if the tank shifts balance changes. I like to use my legs. Much safer.

Buy new nuts and bolts. Replace the hardware with grade 5 or grade 8. Stainless steel will help if you have to do this agian.

Your straps will stick to the tank. There is a rubber piece between the tank and strap, yep for a reason, replace if oyu can't salvage, any rubber will work. I used spray on rubber coating for the undercarriage. check your local autoparts store.


One last thing, carefull when you tip that tank. 20 something years of dirt will be on top of it, and it wont be stuck in place. Although I did read somewhere that the average guy eats like one bussel of dirt per year.

Make sue its not an electrical problem first, also check your fuel lines, they may be plugged. See if you can blow air through them.

Post up.

Added:
If oyu have power to the relay with the key on, ignition is not the problem. Actually if your dash lights come on ignition isn't the problem. If this were a newer modle, then yes it could be your problem. GM installed a security feature that kills power if something other than the key is used to start the truck. Let me clarify the relay power thingy. 12v power should be constant. Ignition power activaates the magnetic coil in the relay which pulls a switch to make contact with the 12v power to power the fuel pump. Relays are used when amps is too high. If oyu try to run it to a switch you will need one hell of a switch. Kind of like adding aftermarket lights and try to power them through that little switch they give you. Once it gets hot it melts and your lights dont work. It needs to go through a relay.

 

Thanks Hanr3. I've got the fuel lines disconnected from the tank and I'm getting ready to tackle to bolts holding the strap. I prepped them with some penetrating oil about 20 minutes ago, so I'm letting that soak in for a few minutes.

Oh yea - good advice on blowing air through the fuel lines...

I'll post back when every thing is done.

 

nice write up Hanr3

 

Thanks!

I see your on-line, lunch break or more troubles?
How is it going?