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My friend inherited his grand fathers' 87 Chevy 10 pick up truck (V-8 not sure what size, I think it's fuel injected.). So he says the other day it was driving fine went to start it the next morning and nothing. It cranks over fine it just doesn't start. He said he got some starter fluid in there and it ran for a moment and promptly died.
'87 would be the first year (I think) of the throttle-body fuel injection system in those pickups. They were pretty trouble-free.
Your friend has a fuel-delivery problem. Start with what is easiest.
Change the fuel filter. If the truck had been sitting awhile, it might have gotten a lot of junk in the gas tank, and the filter is now plugged.
If changing the filter doesn't help, you likely have a bad fuel pump. Replacing it will require dropping the gas tank.
Sometimes, if you turn on the ignition key and bang on the gas tank with a rubber mallet, it will cause the fuel pump to work again - but only temporarily. But at least you'll then know it's your fuel pump. Another way to make an educated guess about the fuel pump is to turn on the ignition key and listen for a 1-3 second "hum." If you hear it, your pump is working. If not, you've probably identified your problem.
That truck should have a TBI on the engine or in better words, an electronic carburetor. It will have the fuel pump in the gas tank. These are a known issue with the crap gasoline we get to buy today. The ethanol turns to goo if you don't keep fresh gas in the tank. Here's some things to try before replacing the fuel pump. Check the fuel pump relay. I'm not sure where it is on that truck. Check the fuel pump fuse. Replace the fuel filter. If those don't fix it, take a block of wood and decent hammer. Put the block of wood on the gas tank and hammer on the block of wood. Sometimes this will dislodge the pump. If that doesn't get it, you'll need to drop the gas tank and replace the fuel pump. You also need to clean the gas tank. If you see no rust inside the tank, take one gallon of 9% vinegar, a small squirt of Dawn, and fill the tank with water. Allow it to sit for 2 days. The acid in the vinegar will eat away at the corrosion and gunk. Drain it and rinse it out with water. Take a quart of alcohol, put it in the tank and swish it around so it soaks up any remaining water and dump it out. Install the new pump/seal and remount the tank.
You might also make sure there's spark to the plugs before starting any of the above. But if it'll run on starting fluid, spark is not the issue.
should I be able to see gas coming out of the fuel injectors?
There is only one fuel injector. It's a throttle-body. It sits where the carbs set.
And yes, you can see gas spraying out of it IF the engine is running and IF you really want to stick your noggin directly above where there is spraying gas.
You should see fuel only when it's cranking over or running. You won't see fuel by pumping the pedal with the engine off. Also, do not hold the pedal wide open as that kills the injector signal. That's for clearing a flooded engine.
With a noid light you can see if the injectors are getting the signal to fire.
Throttle bodies were bad about the injector wiring harness getting brittle and breaking.
there's likely to be a fuel supply hose coming to primary injector. disconnect it and ask someone to crank engine. If fuel comes out, pump is working. if not, you either have completely clogged fuel filter ( I am yet to see one) or obstruction in fuel line down the road to tank, or bad pump.
Personally, considering how abruptly it happened, I vote for pump. Filter would have caused slow performance deterioration over couple years.
Now, GMs are famous for having bad negative connection on pumps. Easy thing is to locate it and clean.
Most likely the fuel pump as others have stated. Check the fuel pressure and go from there.
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