2001 Blazer starting problem.

Im having a intermediate problem with my 2001 blazer.
Its in excellent shape and well maintained.
I just replaced the fuel filter and fuel pump last year ('08).
This year Im starting to have a hard time getting it to start.
I can sit there turning the key and the motor will just crank and crank. It coughs and puts(like it wants to start) a bit and sooner or later it starts up.
Ive tried pumping the gas pedal and holding it to the floor and not doing anything with the gas pedal. When I do pump it you can smell raw fuel. If you dont pump it you dont smell anything.
I just replaced the muffler and gasket on the truck a couple weeks ago.

I cleaned out the throttle body and I poured a bottle of Lucas tune up in a bottle in the tank and ran it before the muffler change out.

It has been starting fairly easy since I put the new gasket and muffler on until Sunday(9-13-09). I left it sit for a couple days again and went to use it yesterday and it wouldnt start for me.
I really dont have the funds to take it to the garage yet. They said it will be a process of elimination which would run about $50 or $500. That is too much for me. Im jobless right now due to the economy situation.
I did notice one time while I was running it down the road last week at a speed of 35 mph tops that it went to die out 2x's on the way down the road and back here in town.
It was like it just wanted to stop running then got a jolt and kept running.

I have checked the fuel pressure ignition on with engine not running (62 lbs.) At idle 53 lbs.

I have just replaced the battery this year. Its brand new.
And I noticed since I started having a problem starting the truck the motor would just die out while cranking and then crank again. You will see this in the video and notice the gear drive lights outen when it does it. I tried to start it easy and then had someone else try to start it while I video taped it.
Can anyone help me out with this problem please?
I have a video of what the truck is doing here

http://www.vidilife.com/index.cfm?f=media.play&vchrMediaProgramIDCryp=88F0D224-62B8-45E3-80E8-E

Do you have spark?

I would probably suggest not cranking the motor for more than 10 seconds at a time. Than give the starter a chance to cool down. Cranking for a minute or longer is a sure way to destroy the starter!

Yes I told my friend not to keep holding the ignition over like that after I cut the video. I didnt want to say anything to him while I was taping. I was just happy to have someone help me out. lol!

Im going to pull the plugs tomorrow on it and see. But I did pull the coil wire and have my friend crank it over. I did see spark coming out of the coil wire.

I tried starting it today and just got some coughs and puts out of it.

Im having a intermediate problem with my 2001 blazer.
Its in excellent shape and well maintained.
. It I really dont have the funds to take it to the garage yet. They said it will be a process of elimination which would run about $50 or $500. That is too much for me. Im jobless right now due to the economy situation.
http://www.vidilife.com/index.cfm?f=media.play&vchrMediaProgramIDCryp=88F0D224-62B8-45E3-80E8-E

Proper testing before throwing parts at it will swave yo a lot of money.
When no start check for lose of fuel or spark.
I would start with a coimplete fuel pressure test.
The only true test on a fuel pump is to check the direct fuel pressure from fuel pump.
A quick test is to block off the return line and see if fuel pressure comes up to 75-85 lbs.
But do not run the pump at full pressure very long.
Also when testing fuel pump and pressure you need to tape a gauge to outside windshield or outside mirror and drive it on the road for 20 -30 minutes
until the pump gets has run a while to check for a pump fading out after hot.

Hard to start cold or hot and fuel pressure testing guide lines.
Check cold start fuel pressure.
Check engine running fuel pressure.
Check engine running on the road fuel pressure.
Then shut it off and watch for fast leak down.
Pinch off at rubber part or block off return line and check full pressure.
If pump has full pressure with return line blocked and low pressure without it blocked most usually the fuel pressure regulator is leaking or not holding pressure.
Later V6 and V8 gm engines should have 60-66 fuel pressure.
Cold start should be 64-65 lbs of pressure.
If you do not have full fuel pressure on a cold start the injectors will not squirt fuel.
Do not leave home without it.
Engine running should be 60-66 lbs pressure depending on engine load.
Full pressure with return pinched off should be 75-85 or more.
And if it has a fast leak down after shut off you have a leak in system.
Post back fuel pressure readings.

But do you have spark to the plugs? And is it good spark, highly intense blue spark. Not a weak orange spark. How much of a gap will it jump?

Im going to check each plug Wednesday for spark. Ill post my finds on what type of spark I get.

When the truck did start, I did check the fuel pressure on the rail. It was 62lbs. with key turned over engine not running. 53lbs. at idle. But thats when it started.
Ill post my findings tomorrow on the spark plugs.

I pulled each plug so far and all were wet. Plug 4 was the worse with some black deposits on it. The drivers side 1,3, & 5 were nice, but wet.

Im going to check the spark on a plug later today.

I did manage to get a video of it after I checked each plug out & dried them.

Here is how it went.
I am wondering if the starter may be bad on it? I keep getting the dead spots? Or can it be the distrubutor?
http://www.vidilife.com/index.cfm?f=media.play&vchrMediaProgramIDCryp=6A8DEBC9-17C7-4691-8E12-F

I have checked for spark at the spark plugs. Im getting a nice bluish white spark. Looks strong. But still wont start.


Any Ideas???

Problem solved... Cap & Rotor.... Thanks for the replies guys!!!!

I just replace my Airtex fuel pump with a Delphi one since it's been a problem over the last year. Still won't start... get spark, wet plugs. What made you go for the distributor and rotor? I may try this since I am having the same problem you are. My pressure reads the same, 61 at start, 56 idle. Was the bad distributor and rotor causing out of time condition?

Glad ur on the road! I hope to be soon.

I tried spraying starter fluid in the throttle body and couldn't get it to fire up. So thats when I decided to check the cap & rotor as I knew it had to be a spark issue. So I thought anyway. There were no codes either and it was the next easiest thing to check out.
Good luck with it. Lmk how you make out.

Yeah, same here. Pulled the cap and rotor and the contacts are all oxidized white bad and the rotor oxidized green bad. I'll replace for sure in the morning. It is probably causing a delay in spark or a short. Thanks, I'll let you know if the new one helps in the morning......

Yours sounds as the same condition as mine was in. Exactly the same condition. How much mileage did you get out of the cap and rotor? Is it the original? Or did you buy the truck from a previous owner. I got about 35K out of mine. I got the truck 2nd hand.
I also got my cap and rotor from advance auto. Around $50 for both.
It comes with a notice about vent issues with the distrubutors on blazers. I just noticed the paper tonight. LOL! I have to check mine now that I actually read the notice.

Well, that was it. New cap and rotor and she fired right up.... Funny how it just went, no symptoms like missing or running poorly.

Thank goodness you put your solution in your post, or I'd still be hunting....

Thanks!

Thanks for the info.
My daughter called me last night and said that her Blazer would not start.
She said it had been running fine with no problems at all.
Thanks to you here on this forum, the first thing I changed was the cap & rotor. Problem solved, Blazer runs great.
My question, why did it go from running fine to no start that fast. She said there was not a miss in it at all.

Depends on what was bad on cap and rotor.
Cracks draw moisture.
And short out spark to all or part of plugs.

And sometimes they get shorted inside pastic that you can not even see by looking.

If cap and rotor was burnt you need to check and or set the camshaft retart setting.
To much camshaft retart in cap causes spark jump and burnt terminals and rotor.

Did you look at yours to see what the problem was?