[jeffg1010]

SO, as I mentioned in a previous post the Blazer broke down on it's inaugural test drive. I initially assumed it was out of gas. The symptoms would've convinced any seasoned car guy. But there was more to the story.

After I put gas in, it cranked but wouldn't fire. I rapidly killed the battery trying to crank it, so I assumed I had flooded it and killed the battery trying to get it to refire. I was wrong.

So, once I got fuel in it, it wouldn't even crank. Seemed like a ground issue. So I started chasing down battery related wires and sure enough. The four mile drive around our "loop" had heated up the header enough to melt the starter wire. I guess it wasn't properly insulated or protected from the header so she died. After a couple days of cussing it and discovering the issue, I repaired the wire. She was cranking again.

But up next was a firing issue. It would only fire if I manually added fuel to the carb. Once I got her warmed up, she would run good. But I cannot carry a 5 gallon can of gas and manually prime it every time I go to the store.

I started with the easy stuff. Fuel filter. Because, I've heard the horror stories about old fuel breaking down and gumming up the system.

Well, they are true.

I replaced the fuel filter with a clear version and I was SHOCKED at what I saw next. When I cranked it, the fuel that filled the filter looked like Jack Daniels with ground pepper mixed in. Dark liquid filled with black specs. It was a mess.