1997 Jimmy with 174K miles.
2 wheel drive, 4.3L vortec
A year ago we took the car in for smog cert and tuneup. Replaced plugs, wires, cap & rotor, coil. Tuned up car and it ran fine
Per owner/girlfriend, fuel pump and sending unit were replaced approximately 4 years ago (@ 145K)
We were driving to work in the morning and noticed that the car was running a bit ragged and intermitently felt sluggish. When stepping on the accelerator, we didn't seem to get the normal acceleration response.
Drove car about 3 miles to nearest exit. Pulled off freeway and car stalled out.
Was able to restart car and drove about a quarter mile when it died again.
When we looked under the hood, we discovered a blown heater hose. Temp gauge was about 210 (halfway on gauge) but we are unsure if this is accurate. The temp gauge never redlined. We added about 1.5 gallons of water to refill the radiator and overflow.
We have not been able to get the car restarted since. The engine does turn over and it *seems* like it wants to start, but....
Diagnostics done so far -
Sprayed starter fluid in throttle body - engine turned over but never started.
Pulled cap and rotor, there was a little bit of spark residue on the inside of the cap, no visible cracks, rotor in fine condition
Pulled coil wire, turned engine over to check for spark - which was present.
Turned ignition on, heard fuel pump working.
Ran battery check w/load - no problems there.
Oil had been changed the day before problems started - pulled dipstick checking for water in oil (thought it might be head gasket, but if all the water escaped through blowout of heater hose is it possible to blow a head gasket and *not* have water in the oil?)
Ran fuel pressure test off the fuel rail with following results:
@ignition @1 sec @30 sec
Test #1 62psi 55psi 50psi (gradual decrease 55>50)
Test #2 62psi 55psi 51psi (gradual decrease 55>51)
Test #3 61psi 55psi 50psi (gradual decrease 55>50)
Rechecked plug wires, making sure all connections are good and in proper firing order
After all this, the car still won't start.
Any ideas? All suggestions are welcome and additional questions will be answered promptly.
THANK YOU!!!
p.s. from the owner/girlfriend - I really appreciate the help in getting this problem solved....I miss my Jimmy
2 wheel drive, 4.3L vortec
A year ago we took the car in for smog cert and tuneup. Replaced plugs, wires, cap & rotor, coil. Tuned up car and it ran fine
Per owner/girlfriend, fuel pump and sending unit were replaced approximately 4 years ago (@ 145K)
We were driving to work in the morning and noticed that the car was running a bit ragged and intermitently felt sluggish. When stepping on the accelerator, we didn't seem to get the normal acceleration response.
Drove car about 3 miles to nearest exit. Pulled off freeway and car stalled out.
Was able to restart car and drove about a quarter mile when it died again.
When we looked under the hood, we discovered a blown heater hose. Temp gauge was about 210 (halfway on gauge) but we are unsure if this is accurate. The temp gauge never redlined. We added about 1.5 gallons of water to refill the radiator and overflow.
We have not been able to get the car restarted since. The engine does turn over and it *seems* like it wants to start, but....
Diagnostics done so far -
Sprayed starter fluid in throttle body - engine turned over but never started.
Pulled cap and rotor, there was a little bit of spark residue on the inside of the cap, no visible cracks, rotor in fine condition
Pulled coil wire, turned engine over to check for spark - which was present.
Turned ignition on, heard fuel pump working.
Ran battery check w/load - no problems there.
Oil had been changed the day before problems started - pulled dipstick checking for water in oil (thought it might be head gasket, but if all the water escaped through blowout of heater hose is it possible to blow a head gasket and *not* have water in the oil?)
Ran fuel pressure test off the fuel rail with following results:
@ignition @1 sec @30 sec
Test #1 62psi 55psi 50psi (gradual decrease 55>50)
Test #2 62psi 55psi 51psi (gradual decrease 55>51)
Test #3 61psi 55psi 50psi (gradual decrease 55>50)
Rechecked plug wires, making sure all connections are good and in proper firing order
After all this, the car still won't start.
Any ideas? All suggestions are welcome and additional questions will be answered promptly.
THANK YOU!!!
p.s. from the owner/girlfriend - I really appreciate the help in getting this problem solved....I miss my Jimmy
