I just received a 1986 S10 pickup for free and it keeps stalling out when you step on the gas while driving. The gas in the tank is about two years old and it hasn't been driven more that 10 miles in the last four years. My question is, could this problem be the fuel or fuel filter? I don't want to do anything to the truck until I know it will be worth trying to make it road worthy.
Hi!
Just a couple of general thoughts...
Definitely change the gas. If it is old or has been sitting most of the time, you can bet it is very stale. Try to take the old gas out of the tank first, unless there is only a very little bit of it.
Give the engine a tune up or at least a once over. Change the oil and examine the other fluids.
Change the fuel filter, just to be safe. When you put in fresh gas, you may stir up the junk that could be at the bottom of the tank.
As long as it the engine runs well given the circumstances, and the truck seems to drive OK, it is worth the cost to try and fix it.
What sort of engine does your truck have?
William
Nathan,
Drain the tank, fill er' up with 89 octane. Gasoline "binds" when it sits; the hydrocarbon molecules start getting friendly with one another and form clumps. When you have a huge ol' clump of hydrocarbons, only a few of the molecules are exposed to the spark and actually ignite; the rest just get sloughed off in the exhaust.
Doc
The truck has a 2.5 L 4 Cyl engine with 140,000 miles. It is the long bed with the manual transmission. The only other problem that it has is the right directional doesn't flash. I don't think that will be too bad to fix. The body itself is in great shape. Something for free, I can't complain.
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