That could be your issue.
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1986 K5 The over-achieving grocery getter
- Thread starter CriticalAction
- Start date
1986 K5 Chevy Blazer
I was going to say it's burning oil but 1/2 qt per 1000 miles is a lot so yes you will keep fouling plugs.
I have had my plugs for 7 years and they are still fine, about 35k miles
I have had my plugs for 7 years and they are still fine, about 35k miles
Buring oil will give you the deposits you are calling out on the plugs. Question is, are all the plugs fouling that way or just one or two of them?
Some something I learned about fuel injections, since I tried, like all of them....
1 - Oil consumption clouds the O2 sensor, fooling the system into “seeing” the unburned oxygen differently
2 - Exhaust leaks anywhere within 3’ of the O2 sensor will actually suck unburned oxygen into the system, making the unit add fuel
3 - Fuel filter cleanliness on aftermarket systems is more critical than factory
4 - Sniper likes the O2 sensor 12”+ from the merge point of all 4 cylinders on that side, and are factory set at an AFR that is rich so as not to risk running an engine too lean. It also didn’t seem to me to recalculate the tune as fast as other aftermarket systems
1 - Oil consumption clouds the O2 sensor, fooling the system into “seeing” the unburned oxygen differently
2 - Exhaust leaks anywhere within 3’ of the O2 sensor will actually suck unburned oxygen into the system, making the unit add fuel
3 - Fuel filter cleanliness on aftermarket systems is more critical than factory
4 - Sniper likes the O2 sensor 12”+ from the merge point of all 4 cylinders on that side, and are factory set at an AFR that is rich so as not to risk running an engine too lean. It also didn’t seem to me to recalculate the tune as fast as other aftermarket systems
7 of the 8 plugs came out looking very wet, black, and lots of the deposits. I did put the O2 sensor in the correct location like you are saying Bent. I'm guessing I'm getting some oil on the sensor. Thank you for the replies though gentlemen. Maybe I should build that 383 stroker now...
Unless you have the parts already and a hookup at a machine shop, you can buy one cheaper.
I have approximately 5k in my 383 I built and the 383 I bought is 3.9k with a warranty!
Before throwing out the baby with the bathwater, any thoughts into finding the source of the consumption?
Easy check is valve stem seals. Pretty common but it would give a bit of blue smoke on start up. I don't recall any mention of smoke being seen though.
If the valve guide seals are solid it would be a deeper issue in those cylinders.
1/2 per 1000 miles isn't good, but I've had worse and those smoked like mad at idle and going down the road. I don't remember seeing smoke from yours during BB, which leads me more to the valve stem seals. If you end up. Going after them get the umbrella seals instead of the o-rings.
Easy check is valve stem seals. Pretty common but it would give a bit of blue smoke on start up. I don't recall any mention of smoke being seen though.
If the valve guide seals are solid it would be a deeper issue in those cylinders.
1/2 per 1000 miles isn't good, but I've had worse and those smoked like mad at idle and going down the road. I don't remember seeing smoke from yours during BB, which leads me more to the valve stem seals. If you end up. Going after them get the umbrella seals instead of the o-rings.
I was being mostly sarcastic but I do have the 350 tbi block i just pulled out of my 91 burb for the LS swap. The plan was for that one to become a 383 at some point but you are correct that crate engines are getting stupid cheap. What engine did you purchase if you don't mind me asking?
It doesnt smoke at all at idle or upon startup so it points to something deeper I guess. I was being mainly sarcastic with the 383 but I have options. Engine build budget just wasnt in the plans right now.
Any other thoughts as to what it could be? My knowledge is admittedly limited as far as diagnosing things of this nature. I guess if the transmission is coming out it doesn't take much to pull an engine as well.
I would have to get back to you on that as I dont remember for sure. I havent messed with the tune though so whatever Holley targets in the stock parameters would be it. As far as timing I cant remember for sure but I wanna say cruising was 32-36 degrees. I could be completely off there though as well...
Obviously it is parked at my parents house until I can drop the tranny for fixing. Bertha the Burb is pulling DD right now. So no way to find out soon.
It’s a Blueprint Racing 383.
@Bent77 AFR values: idle=13.5, cruise=14, wot=12.5
I have adjusted nothing on the Holley tune since installing it. Literally just installed it and let it do its thing. I'm thinking about replacing the O2 sensor in case the excessive amount of oil has contaminated it in some way but not made it fail. I do not know if that is sound reasoning or if sensors either just work or don't work. Thoughts?
I always thought the Blazer seemed really rich at idle. Like could smell fuel as it was running and parked...
The L96 in my Suburban killed the rebuilt 4l80e in less than 500 miles so now the Blazer is pulling DD until I get that transmission out and rebuilt. Since installing new spark plugs the Blazer runs much better. The transmission is still not shifting correctly however it now seems to just come and go. I will have several days of it shifting perfectly normal and then it will go back to shifting at 3000 rpm and very hard no matter what I do. Fluid is a little overfull but not burnt and still perfectly pink as it should be. To me I think its definitely TV body or governor related but if it was governor it wouldn't come and go... Idk.
Oddly enough it hasn't been marking its territory in the apartment parking lot so it isn't leaking out of the front input seal too much. However, I bet any sustained driving it would start doing it again. Plan still is to pull it down to replace necessary seals, pull pan and have the valve body checked out. Then reinstall with fresh fluid, internal filter, AUX tranny cooler, new TV cable, and an inline filter from Derale (same one on my Burb).
Not much of an update but this is the non sexy stuff of building a rig... Not every update will involve fancy new parts I guess!
I have adjusted nothing on the Holley tune since installing it. Literally just installed it and let it do its thing. I'm thinking about replacing the O2 sensor in case the excessive amount of oil has contaminated it in some way but not made it fail. I do not know if that is sound reasoning or if sensors either just work or don't work. Thoughts?
I always thought the Blazer seemed really rich at idle. Like could smell fuel as it was running and parked...
The L96 in my Suburban killed the rebuilt 4l80e in less than 500 miles so now the Blazer is pulling DD until I get that transmission out and rebuilt. Since installing new spark plugs the Blazer runs much better. The transmission is still not shifting correctly however it now seems to just come and go. I will have several days of it shifting perfectly normal and then it will go back to shifting at 3000 rpm and very hard no matter what I do. Fluid is a little overfull but not burnt and still perfectly pink as it should be. To me I think its definitely TV body or governor related but if it was governor it wouldn't come and go... Idk.
Oddly enough it hasn't been marking its territory in the apartment parking lot so it isn't leaking out of the front input seal too much. However, I bet any sustained driving it would start doing it again. Plan still is to pull it down to replace necessary seals, pull pan and have the valve body checked out. Then reinstall with fresh fluid, internal filter, AUX tranny cooler, new TV cable, and an inline filter from Derale (same one on my Burb).
Not much of an update but this is the non sexy stuff of building a rig... Not every update will involve fancy new parts I guess!
Those are the same I used on the Sniper, and close to what the Edelbrock system is set at (I did alter it slightly leaner)
I wondered at the time of the Sniper did not read the O2 correctly it was always rich, fouled plugs quickly
Did we talk about the vacuum readings already.?
No nothing of vacuum readings. What about them?
Ill take a look to be sure. Thanks for the idea. Sometimes its that little stupid stuff that torments for a long time.
Been a while!
So leaving off from before with the transmission problems what I have done since then is a full fluid drop and filter change. I also installed a spin on filter, thermostat, and large plate style cooler all from Derale. I also tried to clean out the TV valve because we have been able to deduce that is what was sticking. Whether or not its just dumb luck I have not had any problems since doing all of this as far as transmission problems go. It shifts better than it ever has at the moment so I cannot complain.
![20200329_103147[1].jpg](https://ck5.com/forums/data/attachments/312/312310-3fac571cbd34c4239a7bed4f34ec8198.jpg "20200329_103147[1].jpg")
![20200329_103209[1].jpg](https://ck5.com/forums/data/attachments/312/312311-463b92a74b250a6949c308e8b67a9805.jpg "20200329_103209[1].jpg")
![20200329_103227[1].jpg](https://ck5.com/forums/data/attachments/312/312312-29a13a670173e97756edc9b4e9011dce.jpg "20200329_103227[1].jpg")
Another problem I was having when driving in the cold winter up here with the new radiator setup is the engine will not get up to operating temperature. So I bought some vinyl and hole reinforcements and it honestly came out pretty nice after some time struggling on my moms sewing machine. It did exactly what I wanted it to and I could not be happier. It should hold up long enough to last a few years instead of using cardboard like I have before.
![20191229_193530[1].jpg](https://ck5.com/forums/data/attachments/312/312313-bb754cd4cc2856f6fae6e2f6d7d3da0b.jpg "20191229_193530[1].jpg")
I also pulled the rear bumper and gas tank skid off to go get powder coated because I didn't have enough time to get it done before BB2019. They were both starting to surface rust pretty bad and it looks like crap so I figured it was time.
![20200329_103053[1].jpg](https://ck5.com/forums/data/attachments/312/312309-0c643f18ef7da7d3fb5d4b6d31f377b2.jpg "20200329_103053[1].jpg")
Currently Bertha is the daily and the K5 sits idle finally getting some attention. I am pondering the idea of trying to go down for the FSI/BB2020 continuous thrash of wheeling but haven't decided yet how much school I want to take off. That being said the improvements for the Blazer for this summer are:
- Roll bar/half cage
- New body mounts
- Tie rock sliders to frame and run supports to the cage mounts with bushings
- Work on the off idle tune for the Holley
- Maybe ORD custom front springs
- Maybe rear traction bar from ORD as well
- I am also starting to put together a list for 6.0l/4l80e swap but that is a longer ways off
- Make a few trips this summer!
So leaving off from before with the transmission problems what I have done since then is a full fluid drop and filter change. I also installed a spin on filter, thermostat, and large plate style cooler all from Derale. I also tried to clean out the TV valve because we have been able to deduce that is what was sticking. Whether or not its just dumb luck I have not had any problems since doing all of this as far as transmission problems go. It shifts better than it ever has at the moment so I cannot complain.
Another problem I was having when driving in the cold winter up here with the new radiator setup is the engine will not get up to operating temperature. So I bought some vinyl and hole reinforcements and it honestly came out pretty nice after some time struggling on my moms sewing machine. It did exactly what I wanted it to and I could not be happier. It should hold up long enough to last a few years instead of using cardboard like I have before.
I also pulled the rear bumper and gas tank skid off to go get powder coated because I didn't have enough time to get it done before BB2019. They were both starting to surface rust pretty bad and it looks like crap so I figured it was time.
Currently Bertha is the daily and the K5 sits idle finally getting some attention. I am pondering the idea of trying to go down for the FSI/BB2020 continuous thrash of wheeling but haven't decided yet how much school I want to take off. That being said the improvements for the Blazer for this summer are:
- Roll bar/half cage
- New body mounts
- Tie rock sliders to frame and run supports to the cage mounts with bushings
- Work on the off idle tune for the Holley
- Maybe ORD custom front springs
- Maybe rear traction bar from ORD as well
- I am also starting to put together a list for 6.0l/4l80e swap but that is a longer ways off
- Make a few trips this summer!
Blazer Bash 2022 Prep
Now that I was done with college and had started working full time I figured there was no reason I could not attend BB this year. So on a whim I said I was going and let my dad know we better start preparing.
Even though I haven't been on the forum much over the past couple years just having college/work/life get in the way. I still have been working on the Blazer a little bit since then. I ended up not thinking that transmission cooler would be enough to cool the 700r4 so I replaced it with the largest one Derale sold in the same style I had installed before. I then just moved the one I had over to my Suburban so no money was wasted. I apparently forgot to take pictures but it looks the same as the current setup just a bigger cooler.
The other problem I wanted to address was the Holley Sniper was never quite perfect but then last summer I all of a sudden had a stumbling problem with AFR going crazy on the readout. The engine was running terribly and we were struggling to figure it out. We thought we got it after finding the cap/rotor had a lot of moisture/buildup on it and it seemed to help but it wasn't fixed completely.
With some googling it seems that failing injectors has been an issue with Snipers before so we pulled the intake hat and I looked down the bores as my dad started the engine and sure enough one injector wasn't firing at all. I called Holley tech support and right away they set me up with a UPS label to send it to them. After they took a look they called me and let me know that apparently one connector had come loose from the injector and therefore not allowing it to fire. They fixed it up for me and send it back free of charge. After installing it again it ran flawlessly and I dare say better than it ever has. Makes me wonder if it or something else has been causing problems since it was first installed.
Anyways, due to a multitude of reasons I wasn't too thrilled about driving the Blazer down again. The bigger ones being the AC compressor is broken again, tires starting to crack between the tread, and not being able to risk taking additional time off from work if we have a significant break on the trail. So the decision was made to trailer it down to avoid these problems. My dad already had a 24' 3 axle goose that would have easily done the job, however I came in the yard the Friday before leaving for BB and I see a brand new 24' tilt bed twin axle Midsota goose in the yard next to the old trailer. Turns out my dad decided to go shopping and came home with a new one while also listing the old trailer for sale.
The day before we left for Utah he also sold the old one for $500 less than what he paid for it 10 years ago so it ended up working out well anyways. We got a job box and bolted it to the front, added tie down points, secured the spare tire, and dropped the tire pressure from 125 to 90 psi. The tire pressure change made a big difference in how it road since this is a twin 8K axle trailer with what seems to be 0.5" of suspension travel. Here it is loaded up the weekend before we left.
More updates to come but I am glad I made the trip down and am back on the forum.
![20220904_201623[1].jpg](https://ck5.com/forums/data/attachments/405/405150-57b4aef68d743794a252e11c35fa0bd4.jpg "20220904_201623[1].jpg")
![20220904_201559[1].jpg](https://ck5.com/forums/data/attachments/405/405151-3d7f66adc96e7119874fc5b481f663d8.jpg "20220904_201559[1].jpg")
Now that I was done with college and had started working full time I figured there was no reason I could not attend BB this year. So on a whim I said I was going and let my dad know we better start preparing.
Even though I haven't been on the forum much over the past couple years just having college/work/life get in the way. I still have been working on the Blazer a little bit since then. I ended up not thinking that transmission cooler would be enough to cool the 700r4 so I replaced it with the largest one Derale sold in the same style I had installed before. I then just moved the one I had over to my Suburban so no money was wasted. I apparently forgot to take pictures but it looks the same as the current setup just a bigger cooler.
The other problem I wanted to address was the Holley Sniper was never quite perfect but then last summer I all of a sudden had a stumbling problem with AFR going crazy on the readout. The engine was running terribly and we were struggling to figure it out. We thought we got it after finding the cap/rotor had a lot of moisture/buildup on it and it seemed to help but it wasn't fixed completely.
With some googling it seems that failing injectors has been an issue with Snipers before so we pulled the intake hat and I looked down the bores as my dad started the engine and sure enough one injector wasn't firing at all. I called Holley tech support and right away they set me up with a UPS label to send it to them. After they took a look they called me and let me know that apparently one connector had come loose from the injector and therefore not allowing it to fire. They fixed it up for me and send it back free of charge. After installing it again it ran flawlessly and I dare say better than it ever has. Makes me wonder if it or something else has been causing problems since it was first installed.
Anyways, due to a multitude of reasons I wasn't too thrilled about driving the Blazer down again. The bigger ones being the AC compressor is broken again, tires starting to crack between the tread, and not being able to risk taking additional time off from work if we have a significant break on the trail. So the decision was made to trailer it down to avoid these problems. My dad already had a 24' 3 axle goose that would have easily done the job, however I came in the yard the Friday before leaving for BB and I see a brand new 24' tilt bed twin axle Midsota goose in the yard next to the old trailer. Turns out my dad decided to go shopping and came home with a new one while also listing the old trailer for sale.
The day before we left for Utah he also sold the old one for $500 less than what he paid for it 10 years ago so it ended up working out well anyways. We got a job box and bolted it to the front, added tie down points, secured the spare tire, and dropped the tire pressure from 125 to 90 psi. The tire pressure change made a big difference in how it road since this is a twin 8K axle trailer with what seems to be 0.5" of suspension travel. Here it is loaded up the weekend before we left.
More updates to come but I am glad I made the trip down and am back on the forum.
Blazer Bash 2022
Trip down was definitely odd in the sense that nothing went wrong. Caught us so much by surprise that we couldn't figure out why we were getting into Moab so early. However, after some thought we usually had to fix something on the way down that drastically increased the travel time.
I was impressed that we seemed to get half decent mileage on the way down considering we were pulling a billboard on wheels. 12 mpg according to the readout on the duramax.
Got lucky and as we were pulling into the AirBnB we had already met some more of the group staying in the adjacent unit.
Ran Steel bender the first day or attempted to like a lot of people did. Had a bit of an annoyance just a couple of miles in when I lost a wire to my coil that took almost an hour to find. Came down off of an obstacle and the hitch hit hard(stupid thing needs to go). After all the diagnosing we we were at wits end because we did not have a coil on hand to try. Only reason we found the broken wire was we had pulled the tow strap out and another guy happened to pull up with a complete distributor he said I could try. Since the only thing we hadn't tried was a coil we decided to start there before completely replacing it. As I was pulling out my coil the heat shrink broke and I saw the disconnected wire. I am guessing the wire had disconnected on the hit but not the heat shrink which is why we didn't see it.
A bunch of others ended up having way more trouble then I did with fueling/etc. and that put it into perspective that I shouldn't be complaining. Then we got to the BBQ and heard the day that Ron had with his K5 camper... Over all I gotta look back and be happy that it was a day not spent at work with some cool people doing cool stuff in a cool place. Wish I would have taken more pictures but got some cool ones the first and second day.
Had a good time at the BBQ considering I have never won anything at a *door prize* event before...
Didn't get much pictures the second day but honestly just enjoyed the Kane Creek Run without any drama and cool views.
Honestly thought John Wayne was about to come prancing out on a horse here.
Not the coolest trip report but it was vacation for me and I honestly have never been much for pictures/social media when I am enjoying myself.
Trip down was definitely odd in the sense that nothing went wrong. Caught us so much by surprise that we couldn't figure out why we were getting into Moab so early. However, after some thought we usually had to fix something on the way down that drastically increased the travel time.
I was impressed that we seemed to get half decent mileage on the way down considering we were pulling a billboard on wheels. 12 mpg according to the readout on the duramax.
Got lucky and as we were pulling into the AirBnB we had already met some more of the group staying in the adjacent unit.
Ran Steel bender the first day or attempted to like a lot of people did. Had a bit of an annoyance just a couple of miles in when I lost a wire to my coil that took almost an hour to find. Came down off of an obstacle and the hitch hit hard(stupid thing needs to go). After all the diagnosing we we were at wits end because we did not have a coil on hand to try. Only reason we found the broken wire was we had pulled the tow strap out and another guy happened to pull up with a complete distributor he said I could try. Since the only thing we hadn't tried was a coil we decided to start there before completely replacing it. As I was pulling out my coil the heat shrink broke and I saw the disconnected wire. I am guessing the wire had disconnected on the hit but not the heat shrink which is why we didn't see it.
A bunch of others ended up having way more trouble then I did with fueling/etc. and that put it into perspective that I shouldn't be complaining. Then we got to the BBQ and heard the day that Ron had with his K5 camper... Over all I gotta look back and be happy that it was a day not spent at work with some cool people doing cool stuff in a cool place. Wish I would have taken more pictures but got some cool ones the first and second day.
Had a good time at the BBQ considering I have never won anything at a *door prize* event before...
Didn't get much pictures the second day but honestly just enjoyed the Kane Creek Run without any drama and cool views.
Honestly thought John Wayne was about to come prancing out on a horse here.
Not the coolest trip report but it was vacation for me and I honestly have never been much for pictures/social media when I am enjoying myself.
