Fuel injector problems with an S-10 Blazer . . .
Can't get cold start without starter fluid, or by first switching on the ignition to run the fuel pump 3 or 4 times in succession before cranking.
I brought it in for a fuel pump pressure test. It registered slightly below specs, and this is apparent from the way it wants to stumble or fail at start up with the ignition priming procedure or any hot start. So, it will, at times, start hot, but weakly.
Trouble is, you hear differing opinions, some guys saying that a fuel pump either works or it doesn't. Since the car runs without stumbling or quitting once it gets started, this might seem to support their view, except that you consider how vacuum is induced to the fuel line once the engine is up and running, which might well explain why it runs fine once it gets started, and why it's hard starting without the aid of that suction from the manifold.
The problem got started not long after I stupidly put some cheap, bargain priced fuel treatment in the tank. It had the odor of that old fashioned carb cleaner. I thought maybe it might have dislodged some gunk from the tank, to clog up the fuel filter, so I replaced that. No change.
Going on the assumption that the mechanic who ran the test was right on the money (my money, the 500 bucks he was talking) about the fuel pump needing to be replaced, then that's the job I'm going to be doing myself, to keep that money, so much as I can, in my pocket instead of his. So here's the thing . . .
I talked to a guy the other day who told me he had the same problem with his car, and fixed it by an easy workaround: he bought an external electric fuel pump; didn't have to drop the tank. It must have been somebody else who did the work for him, because he couldn't tell me what was done with the wiring.
Obviously, they just left the bad in-tank pump where it was, since there was no dropping of the tank required. Pressure from the external pump would simply suck the fuel right through the in-tank pump, turning the impeller just like wind through the window driving the blades of a switched off fan--nothing to it. Best I can figure, they must have simply disconnected the wiring harness from the old pump and connected it to the new in-line pump, where it was mounted to the chassis along the fuel line somewhere between the tank and fuel filter.
The guys down at the auto parts store were horrified to hear this, predicting all sorts of disaster for the computer and many another thing. Even so, the man who told me about it swears that it fixed him up, and gave him no such trouble, working just fine from that time on.
So what you all think--or what have you heard, or seen, or done, hand's on?
I do find a "Mr. Gasket" micro-electric fuel pump at O'Reilly's for about 40 bucks, but on their website they stress "NOT for fuel injection". Clearly, you'd need to get a pump that delivered the correct pressure and volume to the injector, which might require a pump of a slightly higher capacity than the in-tank pump, since it would work against more resistance with that extended intake line.
It begins to sound kinda hairy, I guess.
-- JP