89 4.3 S-10 blazer no power

I have a 89 s-10 blazer with the 4.3 in it. and about 150k.

When i bought it, it had sat for around 4 years not running.

I discovered it had a clogged cat, and removed it replacing it with a piece of straight pipe.

After several parts including: front half shafts, tranny mount (took care of driveshaft vibration), idler arm, plugs, wires, cap, roter, egr valve, lower ball joints, torsion bar mounts, starter, edelbrock intake, complete vacuum line replacement, shocks, brakes, brake lines, pcv valve, new exhaust, (and of course a guard for the front,a set of running boards, and some big ol' muddin tires)

The blazer still has no power. It will do the speed limit but takes its sweet time at it. It almost acts as if the cat is still clogged but as i stated before does not have one on it. Also everything after the cat is new with a flowmaster 40series muffler.

The vehicle does not bring up any codes at any point.

The only problems this blazer seems to have is it puffs a little when first started (valve guide seals from sitting 4 yrs) and it shifts hard into 2nd when cold (gotta love the 700r4).

I love this ol' 4x4 and wished i could get it to run like it should so any help would be great.

Just a guess but maybe It sat too long...

Rust in your gas tank -

Your problem is probably:
- fuel pump going, pressure is low, but runs (may get a "lean")
- given the parts you just dumped in there - get a new (or southern) tank/sending unit/ (new) pump, new filter and hell, pump relay (cheap)

Doesn't fix - triple check your timing
- disconnect ESC - if no change in idle replace your ignition module.

I have a 89 s-10 blazer with the 4.3 in it. and about 150k.

When i bought it, it had sat for around 4 years not running.

I discovered it had a clogged cat, and removed it replacing it with a piece of straight pipe.

After several parts including: front half shafts, tranny mount (took care of driveshaft vibration), idler arm, plugs, wires, cap, roter, egr valve, lower ball joints, torsion bar mounts, starter, edelbrock intake, complete vacuum line replacement, shocks, brakes, brake lines, pcv valve, new exhaust, (and of course a guard for the front,a set of running boards, and some big ol' muddin tires)

The blazer still has no power. It will do the speed limit but takes its sweet time at it. It almost acts as if the cat is still clogged but as i stated before does not have one on it. Also everything after the cat is new with a flowmaster 40series muffler.

The vehicle does not bring up any codes at any point.

The only problems this blazer seems to have is it puffs a little when first started (valve guide seals from sitting 4 yrs) and it shifts hard into 2nd when cold (gotta love the 700r4).

I love this ol' 4x4 and wished i could get it to run like it should so any help would be great.


Check the base engine timing for specs.
Any engine miss or dead cylinders?
A good old tune up might pep it up some to.
How was or what plugged up the cat?

I have also replaced the gas tank and fuel pump also (tank leaked above half tank)

I have checked the timing twice and it has a complete tune-up

keep firing me ideas anything helps i really really want to get this figured out (i am so stumped)

tbi injectors comes to mind - probably clogged or just shot from sitting so long.

I have also replaced the gas tank and fuel pump also (tank leaked above half tank)

I have checked the timing twice and it has a complete tune-up

keep firing me ideas anything helps i really really want to get this figured out (i am so stumped)

On the timing did you pull the bypass wire and set base timing to specs?
Have you checked the exhaust back pressure?
Also is the fuel pressure up to specs?
What kind of spark plugs did you feed it?
Is the pcm going into closed loop.
Engine running tempt?

On the timing did you pull the bypass wire and set base timing to specs?
Have you checked the exhaust back pressure?
Also is the fuel pressure up to specs?
What kind of spark plugs did you feed it?
Is the pcm going into closed loop.
Engine running tempt?

i did pull the bypass wire and set the base timing to specs

i have not checked the fuel pressure because i dont have the fuel pressure tester.

i used champion plugs

and the engine temp is running normal

What color with the timing wire you disconnected? Did you disconnect it from underneath the glove compartment?

Also, I would replace the O2 sensor. With 150k miles, it is due for a replacement and will affect performance a lot.

The other thing to check is a wheel that is stuck due to a rusted caliper.

Raise and check all wheels for ease of rotation, I bet one of them seized closed and is sucking power from the engine bigtime. In normal conditions, with a good push the tire should rotate at least once before stopping.