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Damn, an 85?...still a pup at 25!
You will need a very long screwdriver or a ratchet with about an 18" extension & I think a 9/16 scocket----those bolts ---JUST COME OUT--- THEY DO NOT & I REPEAT DO NOT COME OUT OF THE HOLES IN THE DOGHOUSE---just LOOSEN them all the way then take the glove compartment off -- then take the bolts out at the BOTTOM REAR of the doghouse
My best suggestion to you is to go to an Auto parts store and buy a manual covering your vehicle--they give you pictures and better details.
ENJOY CHANGING THOSE PLUGS---YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR IN FOR! !!
So, it failed smog check because a vacuum hose from one of those 2 little evap. saucers in front right was off. The smog tech said find where it goes and put it on. Well I found 1 line setting on the motor with nothing connected to it and I put it there. We will see tomorrow.
There is a pipe about 3"diam. sitting open on the manifold. What the heck is that???
There is also a small black plastic part with 2 spots for vacuum lines and a metal rod sticking out of the bottom just sitting on top the motor in a whole??? I could push on the metal rod and move it up and down. It must be broken off ?
And I saw a piece of tubber tubing with a sparkplug stuck in it and attached to the radiator. Just behind the radiator cap. Was that my heater hose??? Thanks again for all the help. Gotta go back outside and figure out why I cannot open rear doors with the key.
I can drive for 5 to 30 minutes fine and then van stops and wont start again until it sits for 20 mins. or so except today it would not restart after even an hour. Is the electronic fuel pump a bad idea? Tech says why would ANYONE put an electronic pump in front of a carburetor? And he worked at a carburetor shop for many years and knows them well.
My ex-girfriend had a Bronco II doing the same thing you are describing---
that nearly drove me crazy until I found about it---I just cut the wires and took the switch out & threw it away and soldered the wires back together and never had a problem again.
Anyway, problem is, he didn't install a pump large enough to feed the vehicle thus it dies and can't keep up with the demand. (I learned this the hard way too after I tried to install an electric pump in my Sierra. Mounted the electric pump to the fender and it just couldn't keep up).
Anyway, look at the block, if you can. You might be able to tell where a fuel pump was mounted?? Or perhaps it's still there, just not hooked up. If it is a mechanical pump, replace with a mechanical pump. You'll be much better off. If the pump is electric in the tank, replace with electric in the tank. I am guessing it's mechanical though since the last owner tried to rig an electric one in the engine bay. Unless he was also trying to by pass the electrical one in the tank. But that would just be moronic.
Tech said it was too much trouble and money to fix. After disconnecting several vac lines, fuel line, and the solenoid to carb he said come and get it. Charged me $85 and I towed it home. So, I am on my own. I spoke with autozone and they said as long as new motor has a carb and is not throttle body injected, I can make it work.
Sunday morning my son and I will start. There are 2 knock sensors hanging off the 92 motor and the 85 only has 1 . I am going to start with replacing the canister in case charcoal may have been sucked up into carb as tech suggested, also will replace fuel filter in carb. Then clean carb. Elec fuel pump is doing its job per pressure gauge tech attached to it. Need to figure out how much pressure is coming from pump and how I can regulate that.
Tech and owner said get rid of it. Well it is a little difficult to do seeing how it runs for 5 mins and quits. Plus, I really like this van. Guess a smoke test will help when I am finished with vac lines, If I can get it too run and drive to shop. Any and all help I am very thankful for as I hope to have this running Monday night.
OR..... get a tank from a van with an in-tank pump. You'll prolly have to run some lines, but that might also work too. Go to the junkyard and pull the fuel lines and tank from the van with the in-tank pump. You might even get lucky and have the pump still be there and workable. But it might just be best to get a new in-tank pump if that is the route you go down. See if you can find a late 80's early 90's van with a carb'ed intank pump. That will be closest match.
I have a P0118 code showing - Engine Coolant Temp Circuit High Input.
Replaced the temp sensor and reset , code is back in less the 5 mins.
Does anyone have any ideas where I can start to chase this down.
Thanks
Dan in Alabama
Now working on vacuum lines. What a mess! I guess some people just disconnect them and say "Oh well". I cant rest until everything is put back together. Anyone out there familiar with the layout on a 85 to 94 1st gen. carburated, v.6
4.3 engine? I have GMC factory service manual but its not much help with vacuum lines other than emmisions.
First problem was the line that provides the vacuum, as mention in the previous post, it goes across the engine from the vacuum intake, look for it about half way behind the AC compressor and rear of the engine on the driver side.. It is a very thin hose, it get brittle over time and cracks. It goes to the front of the engine just behind the large can (I don’t know the name) that is used for the AC at the front of the engine, on the passenger’s side. The cost of this hose is about $12, replace this first, GM part number 15967970, on the bag. The second problem was the flexible hoses near the area of the first hose. They also got brittle and cracked, lost vacuum, I also replaced the hose that goes to the round sphere that is just to the left of the right front wheel. Get some 5 / 32 hose and replace all of them. Good luck....
My 97 GMC Safari runs rough after it warms up if I have the brake pedal depressed and the AC turned on in Drive. Or at slight accleration at any speed will run rough some times. I have replaced both o2 sensors, Mass Air Flow sensor, EGR valve, TPS sensor, IAC motor, PCV valve and vacumn line. I have replaced the fuel pump and filter about 6000 miles ago. The fuel pressure when turning the key to on positon and at idle is 56 PSI. Snaping the trottle increases fuel pressure to 62 PSI. When it starts to run rough fuel pressure will flucuate 2 PSI. The spark plugs
and wires are fairly new. Any help would be wonderful!!
The bolts stay in the 'doghouse so they are no worry.
I followed procedure as with any electrical repair, disconnecting the battery, then all the wiring to the alternator, and then removed and replaced it.
The van ran just fine, the ammeter was just over the halfway mark. We went to town, and on the way home turned on the headlights, the battery light came on . So of course I eliminated every possibility and ended up exchanging the alternator for another as faulty, replaced it with the same procedure, again the ammeter was just over half and no obvious issues. Then the gauge panel dropped, voltage dropped to 0 from the alternator and of course the battery dropped dead leaving me stranded on the off ramp of the highway with no such thing as a good Samaritan to help out. I got it down to where we purchased the alternator and they claimed it was a “pre-existing” condition and not caused by either alternator . However other than awful bearings the old alternator worked fine, so I am arguing the point with them, one of theirs is a result of my new issues.
They are claiming I have a short, that the battery wire from the alternator through the fuseable link to the battery is burned out/melted and shorting my entire system. How exactly would such have occurred when I merely replaced the alternator? Where should I even begin to look for this “short”? the symptoms are as follows.
The 20 amp fuse that protects the gauges burns only minutes after starting the van leaving no instruments working. An ammeter connected to the positive battery terminal and grounded to the vehicle reads the same voltage as the battery, there is continuity on each of the 4 fuseable links, however none to the battery cable that connects to the back of the alternator leaving me to believe there was a weak spot on that wire that burned through and has shorted it all out? The only issue prior to this is misreading oil/gas gauges, and an intermittent check engine light. Prior to the fuse burning on the gauges, the headlights “on” buzzer would continually chime even when the vehicle is running.
Any suggestions? It is a 1991 Astro, 4.3L, 2wd.
My question is will or could there be damage done if I continue to use it in my standard astro?
The running gear all stayed the same. The only difference would be between AWD and 2WD. But even then, the fuel requirements for the 4.3 motor probably stayed the same and so the same pump was probably used.
HELP!!!!!
I also replaced all the plugs , wires , cap , button , filters , etc. , when i replaced the fuel pump.
Now I go out to start the van and nothing , the engines just turns over and wont fire off. I checked the fire , it has fire at the plugs , i checked fuel at the check valve , and there was fuel there , but i dont have a pressure gauge checker , but it squirted fuel to the back of the van when i realeased the pressure valve, so seems like plenty of fuel there . This is my only vehicle and is needed badly , daily ...
Please any help would be greatly appreciated.
If you have fuel and spark, but no fire, then I highly suspect bad timing and since these newer motors can't be adjusted for timing, that leaves crossed wires somewhere. If the truck ran fine before you replaced stuff and the fuel pump went out, then go back over the things you replaced and test them out. Since it appears the fuel pump is good, check all the plugs, wires and cap and rotor. Somewhere in there is your problem since those are the things you touched before you had problems.
From my own experience, I just did plugs and wires on two different vehicles. One vehicle (an '87 Blazer with a 2.8 V6) I replaced the entire ignition system. It ran terrible before i started, then after replacing everything, I couldn't even get it to fire. It turned out that a previous owner had installed the distributor wrong and my wiring was 180 degrees off. I adjusted for that and the truck ran perfect.
I just did plugs and wires on my 04 Astro with the 4.3 and it was running terrible before I dove into it. Replaced all the plugs and wires and after, it still ran terrible. Even worse than before. I had a code reader with me and that helped to diagnose the problem. It turned out I had a mis-fire in the #2 cylinder bank. I pulled that plug and found a bad plug. Replaced that plug and it solved the problem. (it was also throwing a lean code, but that was related to the mass air flow sensor and wasn't affecting how it ran)
So start with the things you just replaced. Check all your wiring, check your connections, check the gap (although I think the plugs required are a platinum pre-gapped plugg), check your firing order (you did replace one plug and wire at a time right?) and check your cap and rotor to make sure they are good. I remember having to re-use an old cap and rotor once on my 4.3 S-10 awhile back because the new one was wreaking havoc on the system. Start with that and see if it will solve your problem...
i just wanted to let you know that , the van run fine for like 2 days after replacing fuel pump , and all the wires, etc, and then it starting acting like it did b4 the pump replacement , rough idling , missing at all drive speeds , but if you like, mashed the gas , a good bit , it will clear out and run fine .. no power loss , or nothing like that , just at cruise speed and constant pedal , the missing is evident ...
i rechecked all the plugs and gaps, and wires... gaps were fine , as mine calls to set at .60 , there was only one that was just a fraction off , reset them , all to correct specs... checked all wires for resistance , and they was in specs.. i have checked all the components , egr, pcv valve , iac, etc ... all are within the specs...
as i stated in early response , the van now just doesnt want to start ... but after cranking on it for a good long while , it finally started up, and ran pretty decent but , still has miss in it ... :mad: i just dont know what else to do , as i am unemployed and was trying to get by, by hauling scrap metal , but now that has stopped..
im scared to head out in it , afraid it will leave me on side of road somewhere !!! please , someone any info will , help to keep me from , burning this thing to the ground !! lol
thanks and will be waiting for reply .... peace and take care ...
nice
I own a 1996 GMC Safari. I am the second owner. It's been a great van. No major problems thus far. 115,000 miles as of today. I have a few things to ask maybe someone can give me some ideas.
1. It idles rough. Like I'm in a monster truck. The dealership told me to replace my motor mounts causethe ones I had were trash and I did. It lowered the amount of rough idle but it's still rough.
2. When I first start the van and pull out of my drive way onto the main road and give it gas to reach the speed limit, the car sems to loose power. It's as if me pushing on the gas peddle is causing it to stall.
Get to the "Symptom FIRST", not what the problem caused!
In addition, it will run poorly until it warms up and even then it will still sometimes runs poorly. By poorly, I mean it has a real rough idle, surges while at stoplights and will even die at stoplights and stopsigns unless I feed it just a tad bit of fuel while holding the brake more firmly to keep the vehicle from rolling forward.
I have found that it while it is likely to act up first thing in the morning, there is no rhyme or reason to when it decides to act up although... I have also found that if it does act up, I can shut the entire thing off (not wise in an intersection) cycle the key to the off position, cycle it back on and wait for the fuel pump to pressurize and then start the vehicle. It will then start just fine and run with no issues whatsoever. No surging, no rough idle, no threat of dying in the while stopped at at stoplight.
I have also found that it is most likely to exhibit symptoms if I just jump in and crank. (Like we all probably do unless you own a diesel) However, if I get in and turn the key to "run" wait a few seconds for the vehicle to come to life, then crank, it is more likely to run with no issues. I have also found that at times, I will get in, it will be hard to start. It will crank and crank and crank with no fire, unless I floor the gas, then it will come to life and as long as I feed it fuel, it will run. If I let off the gas, I get my rough idle and sometimes it will even die before I get it into gear, or it will die as I put it into gear. If I start cranking and all it does is just crank with no fire, I can cycle the key completely off, then back on, waiting a few seconds and it will start and idle, run and drive with no issues.
So in short, there is a rhyme and reason to when it acts up. If I just jump in and start the vehicle, it is likely it will act up and have serious drive-ability issues. If I jump in, turn the key to run, wait a few seconds for the vehicle to "wake-up", then it is more likely to run with no issues (although this doesn't work 100% of the time. More like 80%).
Any ideas on what it could be? Fuel pressure is fine, plugs and wires are new. Mass airflow sensor is good.
One of the other things that it will do is that if is exhibiting issues, is that when I rev it then let off the gas, it will idle all the way down to almost dying and then usually it will die. Or sputter and come very very very close to dying and only by feathering the gas can I keep it alive. Again though, cycling the key off and then back on will generally cure all issues.
Could it be an idle control valve??