hey everyone. glad to be on the forum but i need help with a problem. i have an 86 s10 blazer 2.8L v6. its in great condition but the problem is i ran out of gas on my way to the gas station. i was able to get about 1/4 tank of gas in the tank but the car wouldnt start. i had no time to troubleshoot the problem because i had work. so i left it on the road and my dad was able to get it started and drive it back home. but once he turned it off it wouldnt start again. i checked everything that i could think of. theres plenty of gas, the motor cranks, i checked the battery and its fully charged, theres propper output from the alternator, i can hear the fuel pump working, ive tried to jump the battery, cranked the motor and sprayed carb fluid in the TB. can anyone out there help me out?

 

Assuming that you are getting spark I'd say that you have a fuel problem. You may have ruined the fuel pump by running out of gas. I recently had a fuel pump go bad. I could still hear it running, but it was bad. It wasn't pumping enough PSI into the engine. It was only running at around half pressure, and it wasn't enough to run the engine. I would start there. I don't know what the pressure should be on your engine, but I'm sure that someone on here can give you some specs and the procedure to check your presure. Good luck.

 

Since you ran the truck empty, your fuel pump and/or filter is probably clogged from the sludge buildup in the bottom of your tank being sucked up. My first blazer (1990 2.8 v6) did the same thing before. Unfortunately, I don't know of a quick fix for this appart from taking down the fuel tank and cleaning/replacing the filter and pump.

Like Brian said, you could still hear the pump run but it will not be able to deliver enough pressure to run the engine. Other people in this forum are much more knowledgable and would probably be able to help you diagnose this further.

 

I'm on the fuel pump bandwagon. I think it'll need tro be replaced as well.

 

and m00nie lives again. where you been??

 

i havent changed the fuel pump but i switched out the inline filter, fuel regulator, and injectors. i checked the fuel pump pressure and it was still within specs. i basically did everything i could without actually pulling the tank. when i crank the engine, it sounds like its trying to start but it juss cant. ive sprayed carb cleaner in the TB again and it still sounds like its trying to start but wont. u guys still think its the pump even though im getting proper pressure?

 

I'm thinking that you did not run out of gas in the first place. My fuel guage goes well below the E. You may have a distributor module problem. If I am not mistaken, your module is under your rotor inside the distributor cap. 80's GM cars were notorious for ignition modules going bad. You may go out today and it will start and run fine for a while. If it does, those are the symptoms.

Just a thought, not science.

 

^^^^^ dITTO. If you can hear the fuel pump working and the fuel pressure is fine then check the ignition module in the dist. My '91 did the same exact thing to me. Could have just been a coinsidence that the truck shut off when you were running low on gas.

 

that was my second guess. i was juss assuming it was my fuel since i ran it dry. and juss thinking that maybe i had spark. u guys kno if theres a way the test if i have spark with a multimeter?

 

I've always checked the spark by either pulling a plug, leaving the wire connected, and grounding the end to something. Get someone to crank the engine. You'll see it arcing if you have spark. I recently bought an inline spark tester from Harbor Freight. Best $5 I ever spent.