In over my head!

J

jamesfit77

Guest
Hey guys, I'm new to off roading and decided to get my feet wet by purchasing a 1985 m1009 blazer. It's a 6.2 diesel with a 2 1/2" lift and 33's. Soooo cool, lol except that I know nothing about auto mechanics and have endless gremlins with my charging system. Now it should be said that one of the reasons I bought the truck was to educate myself a little about basic maintenance, but wasn't expecting the crash course I ended up with. After replacing the starter solinoid, both batteries, and...
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B

Big-Hoe

Guest
Diesel K5, wicked, finally someone that can pull my 96' Tahoe without breaking a sweat. Congrats on figuring out your problem. I'd bet that everyone on this site has been fooled by a bad ground once or twice. Post some more detailed info on your starting problem, I'm sure you'd get some good feedback. Get her fired up and come to one of the two trail runs tomorrow. One in Burnstown (the Gorge) and one in Carp. I'll be at the Carp run. My advice on fullsize Chevy's: CARRY SPARE U-JOINTS! The cheap ones break often. The top of the line break often and take other parts with them! Don't bounce or hop on rocks while on the throttle/spinning the tires. Oh, and if Logan dares you to go through a mud pit in 2WD believe me, it won't work out. :lmao:
 
Kunker

Kunker

Administrator
Club Member
Cranks but won't start I presume? Not much to a 6.2 for starting other than glow plugs and fuel. Look up the expected resistance on the GP's, test what you have, and see if they are shot. If they are good, see if you get voltage down to the plugs when expected. My dad would bypass the stock GP wiring and run them to a switch with a blinker relay in between to cycle the plugs.

Good luck, and welcome to OVO.ca!
 
J

jamesfit77

Guest
Thanks guys! I plugged in the block heater lastnight and had no trouble starting today, so I'm guessing that my plugs are ok. The problem now is that I checked all the grounds I could find, cleaned them and now the front battery is charging but not the rear. I know that the driver side alt cahrgers the front and the passenger side alt charges both. I'm guessing that I have a bad ground on the second alt. Can I just run a wire from the alt to the negitive on the rear battery? And does anyone know a good shop in the Barrhaven area, just in case I can't figure this out.
 
Kunker

Kunker

Administrator
Club Member
Plugging in the block heater would indicate that the glow plugs are suspect, not that they are okay. Although I'm wondering if it isn't related to the charging issues and insufficient voltage.
 
J

jamesfit77

Guest
Soooo this morning I can't get it to start!! Block heater plugged in and lots of juice. But it just turns over and over. I think it might be my starter solenoid again, I just replaced it. When the old one went bad I could jump it with a screwdriver but now when I try it, it won't even spark. Any ideas? I'm about ready to sell it!
 
Kunker

Kunker

Administrator
Club Member
If it turns over, I wouldn't think it's the starter solenoid. Could be glow plugs (did you ever check them out?), or a fuel issue (air locked?)? The 6.2's are about as simple a diesel as you can find, so it's a good platform to learn on. The other thought would be try ether to see if it'll start that way.

Where are you located anyway?
 
J

jamesfit77

Guest
Im in Barrhaven, Halfmoon bay. I thought it might be flooded so I changed the oil today and still nothing...hmmmm
 
Kunker

Kunker

Administrator
Club Member
W

whateverworks

Guest
Even if the glow plugs are done in the engine should still create enough heat on nunerous cranking to start it up... Are you sure the engine is getting fuel? Alot of deiesel engines will hydro-lock if the get too much fuel in the cylinders but seeing as it is not doing this then it could be possible... When you crank it to start do you see any white smoke (raw fuel) coming out of the tail pipe? If no white smoke then I would say it's not getting enough fuel or none at all... If you cannot see the tail pipe while cranking it over have a freind take a peek for you. Possibly the fuel filter is plugged as well?
Also... How is the air filter? Is it plugged up? Maybe not allowing enough air in?
How long did the Blazer sit before you bought it? Is there fresh fuel in it? Has the fuel thats in the tank been sitting in it for a long time? Seeing as deisel does have some wax in it, it could be possible the lines and injectors are plugged as well with Parafin Wax...
Deisels really only need 3 things to fire... Fuel... Air and Compression... Heat from cycling the engine with the starter should create enough to get it to fire after numerous cranks from the starter...
I don't know everything about deisels but the basic are all here on what to inspect before dropping a shit load of cash on a boat anchor of an engine... These engines are very very expensive to rebuild... Last time I built one was in 1991 and it was over $6000 to rebuild back then... And that was only the parts needed to rebuild it never mind the labour.
Alot of people would drop the engine off at the wrecker and find a small block or big block chev to put in that place cause even with all the mods of changing from deisel to gas was alot cheeper than rebuilding the engine.
Food for thought... And some thoughts to look into...
Hope this helps...
Kelly
 
dwcjwerfner

dwcjwerfner

Well-known member
Club Member
My dad had an '85 3/4 with the 6.2, they were notorius for getting hairline cracks in the fuel lines and then the fuel siphons back down. Dirk also had this problem with his 6.9 in the 87 Ford. Cranking eventually may get them started but the starters in them are very expensive (ask Dirk how he knows). My recommendation would be to put an inline fuel pump on the truck along with the mechanical that way the engine never has to worry having fuel at the mechanical fuel pump. Mechanical diesel injection systems are great until you get an air leak and the electric pump just lets you cheat the system as that is how I fixed my problem in the 6V71 in my bus, oh but I would also recommend putting a in line filter in front of the new electric pump in case your tanks is full of undesirable stuff. (ask me how I know)
 
T

The Beast

Guest
I haven't looked under the hood of a car in almost 30 years, but that would make it circa 1a 1985, lol. Back in the day, if it turned over but didn't start, the first step was always to add fuel to the tank. It can work surprisingly well. Indeed got someone I know a free truck that hadn't started in almost 20 years, and he never bothered to fix the fuel gauge. Above comments on fuel lines seem like really good advice.
 
J

jamesfit77

Guest
Thanks for all the help, but due to the weather and not having a garage I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and shell out the cash to get her towed to a garage and fixed:( Anyone have an idea where I should take it. I don't mind spending the money just don't want to get taken to the cleaners. Thanks for any help.
 
J

jamesfit77

Guest
SO got it all sorted out. Truck is running like a champ. Even in this -20 weather she starts right up. The problem or problems were, the glow plug module had been removed, the wrong glow plugs were put in and the ends were filed to fit into the connectors. The block heater didn't even have a core in it and the fusible links were fried. The whole system was getting 24v including the plugs so it all got fried. Thanks guy who I bought the truck from, especialy for the fake block heater! Oh well lessons learned. Thanks again for all the help guys! Now maybe I can try this off roading thing:)
 
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