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1989 K5 - Gradual Learning

First 4x4 - learning basic maintenance / upkeep and maybe some small mods.
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Good job dropping a distributor in can be trying for even the rest of us.
Forgetting to plug in wires been there done that. Could tell more than a few stories.

Carbon build up on the pintle and seat of egr is most likely the reason. It could be cleaned, not easy but possible
 
shima said:
All I need to do now is time it and take it out for a test drive. Will keep you guys posted on the results.
Click to expand...

So I go out there to time this thing tonight...

First thing I noticed is that the timing mark was wandering around a bit while the EST was disconnected. I tried recording a video of it but it was hard to capture. If you watch the video, just be warned about the flashing light from the timing light. Don't want to hurt anybody's eyes.

It is the most clear in the first five seconds of the vid:

View attachment PXL_20250703_004358860.TS.mp4

After that, I had a real b**** of a time keeping it running. I'd set the timing to 0 as best I could and then I'd reconnect the EST and fire it back up and it wouldn't stay running without my foot on the gas. I was texting a bit with @ZooMad75 and he kindly recommended I give it a couple of degrees. I was fussing with the distributor, turning it a few degrees one way (advanced) and then thinking I went too far... so I'd turn it back the other way. It got to a point where it wouldn't stay running even with the EST disconnected.

I did some digging and found an old thread from 2003 where a guy said to clear the codes between attempts. I tried that and I do think it may have helped... but then eventually I ended up having to use my steering wheel club to keep pressure on the gas pedal so that I could keep it running. I brought it back to 0 degrees with the EST disconnected. Then I reconnected the EST and again used the steering wheel club to keep pressure on the gas pedal. It stayed running but would stumbled when I took the club off the gas. So I put the club back on and gave it a few degrees (advance). Finally I took the steering wheel club off of the gas pedal and it idled on its own.

At this point I figured I should go ahead and test drive it. Honestly I wanted to crash it into the median on I-25, but I have to admit that it drove really well. It felt smoother and stronger than it has in years. There was still a minor shake, but it was definitely lessened. I am guessing that the old EGR really was stuck open and the new valve is helping... and then perhaps the ignition module inside the distributor is playing a role too.

Regarding the timing mark jumping around... I am guessing that is where the remaining shake could be coming from. Rob filled me in on the work to replace the timing set. I am going to do some testing prior but I think that's definitely in my future. I also wanted to ask about my distributor. The two bolt holes on the distributor base (for the cap to screw into)... those are both wollered out now. The distributor cap bolts just slide through those holes and don't actually thread... so my cap jiggles real easily. Would you guys be concerned about that enough to get a new dizzy? I don't know if mine has ever been replaced.
 
If the cap can wiggle then the timing can wiggle.

Kudos to you for all the hoops and diagnostics you’ve done.

Delete the FI and emissions and throw a carb and regular ignition on it and quit futzing with it.
 
for would be concerned about a loose cap. It could damage the cap and or rotor and stall the truck in a bad spot. Temp repair get some #8 or 10 machine screws and nuts to match. Then nut and bolt it down.

should get better when idle relearns.
 
The loose cap is new info. Plus it’s an easier fix. Though like Wes mentioned if the cap was wobbly you should see tracks on the cylinder terminals were the rotor has made contact. If it has it’s time to swap for fresh.

I’d look for witness marks on the cap first.
 
I got the distributor cap all secured. Went to Home Depot and picked up some small nuts and bolts and got it snugged down.

The timing is reset back to 0°. I have driven it around on a few short trips. It takes a little bit of throttle to get started. Otherwise it fires off and dies right away.

When idling it still has a decent shake on it. Again, I don't think it is as bad as it was prior... but it's enough to bother me.

Code 32 came back as well. Oddly enough the Service Engine Soon light came on when I was cruising at about 25-30 miles per hour. The EGR system is not supposed to be checked at those speeds, so perhaps that is a clue. I don't know what that would indicate though (bad ECM?)

Anyhow, I want to bring the K5 to Blazer Bash this year... and I'm kinda at my wit's end with this crap. I tucked my tail between my legs and made an appointment for August 1st at Jim's Independent GM Repair here in town. It will be the first time I've brought any of my vehicles into a shop in years.

I'm going in with two complaints: the shake at idle and the recurring code 32.

As a last ditch effort, I bought a TBI rebuild kit today. Figure I might as well give that a try and see if it gets me anything. Wish me luck.

Thanks for everyone's help over the years. I am really excited to meet some of you guys at Blazer Bash. I've been on the forums for almost a decade and have never gone to BB. Time for that to change!
 
I had a S10 Blazer from that era that drove me nut trying to figure out what was wrong. It would run great for a while and then out of nowhere it would run like crap and back to running great. I fought with it for a couple months before a friend of mine who was a GM tech told me to do what he called a tap test. He told me to access the ECM and start it up. While it was running tap on the ECM and see if it changes how it runs. Sure enough it started running like crap as soon as I tapped on it. Apparently vibration will work some electronic components on the board loose from the solder joint and they'll make intermittent contact.
 
SPLATT said:
I had a S10 Blazer from that era that drove me nut trying to figure out what was wrong. It would run great for a while and then out of nowhere it would run like crap and back to running great. I fought with it for a couple months before a friend of mine who was a GM tech told me to do what he called a tap test. He told me to access the ECM and start it up. While it was running tap on the ECM and see if it changes how it runs. Sure enough it started running like crap as soon as I tapped on it. Apparently vibration will work some electronic components on the board loose from the solder joint and they'll make intermittent contact.
Click to expand...

I have a couple of ecm''s stashed away that should work if you want to try them.
 
I picked the Blazer up from the shop on Tuesday 8/5. The guys there were nice, and I believe they are also knowledgeable. One of the techs said he had been working on TBI engines since they came out. So that was good to hear.

Unfortunately overall I have mixed feelings about the experience:
  1. They found a small vacuum leak near the firewall on the driver's side (one of the HVAC lines)... that's great!
  2. They said that the timing was off... I had timed it to 0 before dropping it off, so either I'm an idiot or something is amiss there... okay...
  3. Outside of that they said everything looked fine. They said that the shaking could be due to an imbalance in the engine or perhaps it has a mild cam in it. They didn't say much of anything about the EGR. They said commonly they will just block the line off with a BB. They said the system is finicky (I obviously agree).
  4. They said that they felt it was driving a little bit better and they wanted me to try it out. If I wanted to bring it back to them for longer, then they said part of the bill could be applied to future work.
Regarding item 3: All I know is that the previous owner told me the engine was out of a Suburban and that it had been machined prior to going into the Blazer. No mention of a cam. I don't recall the Blazer always shaking like this, but it has been shaking so long that I'm second guessing my own memory. I'd be seriously surprised if there was some mechanical imbalance in the engine but who knows.

Regarding item 4: The shop only had it for 3 business days. I had to pick it up before I went out of town on vacation. I have to give them the benefit of the doubt in that they would have done more if time allowed.

It was a $300 bill. Stung a bit. If I recall correctly they billed an hour and a half of work and some other things.

On the drive home, I saw that there was a spark plug wire on the passenger floor. Turns out they found a cut in it. That's great... but on the drive it shook worse. The CEL came on and stayed on. When I got home it had codes 32, 42, and 43.

So now since Blazer Bash is so close... I need to just get it back to where it was before I brought it into the shop. Both garage bays are tied up right now but I am going to try and hammer on garage work so that I can get the Blazer in as good of condition as possible before the event. Wish me luck!

RE: The ECM... I will absolutely try tapping it when I have it in the garage... this isn't the first time that a bad ECM has been brought up in this thread. I've never done solid due diligence with that theory.
 
I agree the Egr code is finicky. last time I delt with tbi egr issues Oem egr was still available. Took the Napa egr valve off install oem GM no more code. Unfortunately this doesn't help you.


Double check the shop got the firing order correct, since evidence of them messing with wires.
 
@ZooMad75 came by the house yesterday to drop off a radio for Blazer Bash (thanks again Rob!). I had intended to be working on the Blazer... but I'm dealing with a problem on my daily driver and it was occupying the bay when Rob arrived.

We shot the shit awhile and then took the Blazer for a ride. It behaved for him on the test drive... it didn't shake much when we fired it up and it even idled at stop lights fairly well while we cruised around.

When we got back to my place, I said "hey humor me for a few minutes and let's see how it acts when we park it". It started hunting almost immediately. The RPMs were up and down. Rob had a great idea to try turning on the AC to see if that helped. It definitely did (at least a little bit). I ran to get a timing light so that we could verify where it was at... I hadn't looked at it since getting it back from the shop. We saw it was at 3* advanced just like the shop receipt had said.

While sitting there spitballing, Rob noticed that the plug boot on cylinder 7 was arcing to the manifold. This has happened twice before on my Blazer. It was happening back when @Capt Ron came by to help me a few years ago... and I noticed it one time after that prior to yesterday. This will be the third time I've replaced the spark plug wires in 20,000 miles. I cannot explain why it keeps occurring. I promise you guys that I'm not ripping the plug wires out like an ape or anything like that. I even bought a Lisle tool that Rob suggested a while back to make sure that the plug boots don't get damaged.

Anyhow, that was a clear problem. He suggested I do a set of plug wires and an IAC to be safe. This will also be my third IAC in 20,000 miles.

Parts are on order from RockAuto and they get here last minute (Thursday). I also bought these f***ing things ($100?!?!) as extra insurance. They get here Thursday as well. If they get me through BB then whatever... they'll be worth it I guess.

I leave for BB Friday morning. Wish me luck, god save the queen, etc. Thanks again to Rob for coming by... I appreciate every single person that reads this thread and helps me out.
 
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shima said:
@ZooMad75 came by the house yesterday to drop off a radio for Blazer Bash (thanks again Rob!). I had intended to be working on the Blazer... but I'm dealing with a problem on my daily driver and it was occupying the bay when Rob arrived.

We shot the shit awhile and then took the Blazer for a ride. It behaved for him on the test drive... it didn't shake much when we fired it up and it even idled at stop lights fairly well while we cruised around.

When we got back to my place, I said "hey humor me for a few minutes and let's see how it acts when we park it". It started hunting almost immediately. The RPMs were up and down. Rob had a great idea to try turning on the AC to see if that helped. It definitely did (at least a little bit). I ran to get a timing light so that we could verify where it was at... I hadn't looked at it since getting it back from the shop. We saw it was at 3* advanced just like the shop receipt had said.

While sitting there spitballing, Rob noticed that the plug boot on cylinder 7 was arcing to the manifold. This has happened twice before on my Blazer. It was happening back when @Capt Ron came by to help me a few years ago... and I noticed it one time after that prior to yesterday. This will be the third time I've replaced the spark plug wires in 20,000 miles. I cannot explain why it keeps occurring. I promise you guys that I'm not ripping the plug wires out like an ape or anything like that. I even bought a Lisle tool that Rob suggested a while back to make sure that the plug boots don't get damaged.

Anyhow, that was a clear problem. He suggested I do a set of plug wires and an IAC to be safe. This will also be my third IAC in 20,000 miles.

Parts are on order from RockAuto and they get here last minute (Thursday). I also bought these f***ing things ($100?!?!) as extra insurance. They get here Thursday as well. If they get me through BB then whatever... they'll be worth it I guess.

I leave for BB Friday morning. Wish me luck, god save the queen, etc. Thanks again to Rob for coming by... I appreciate every single person that reads this thread and helps me out.
Click to expand...
I’ve used those plugs boots on 3 different vehicles. Never an issue even when laying on the header pipe. They suck to put on if you’ve got 90* boots but they work great.
 
Not sure whats happening here poor quality wires maybe.
Been running same ac delco set since at 2003 maybe longer, 4 or 5 sets of plugs in that time. Maybe that is the explanation 20+ year old parts, not made in china or worse.
I am also running the factory heat shields.

Are
you using dielectric grease in the boots? This can help with leakage. 90° plug ends and wire loomed at valve cover bolts, help keep them from heat damage.
The heat sleves will certainly help.
 
Yep, I am running the factory heat shields. Honestly on a couple of cylinders I think the plug boot rubs right up against the heat shield.

I have been using dielectric grease but I might start to use a little more. I always tried to use it sparingly because I didn't want to glob it on. Might get a little heavier handed from here on out.
 
Only need a pea sized dollop ea end.
Sometime the heat shields need shaping, or bending.
 
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