Project Arrested Development

[DeanTX]

So after a trouble free initial trip around block yesterday, today the gremlins showed up. Remember I have the new Fi-Tech EFI. Well today I crank the truck and it will not idle below 1,600 RPM. No one has touched it between yesterday and this morning. After trying to fix it by going back to base tune no luck. The idle speed is still set at the same 650 according to the ECU. Called Fi-Tech support and they told me to set the IAC Steps to a value between 3 and 10. I will try that ASAP and report back.

[reaper71]

Yes, the IAC steps will help we had to do the same thing on Dad's truck and it finally settled down.
Also you will need to put some miles on it so it will be able to "self tune"

[jkeating1]

Originally Posted by reaper71

...Also you will need to put some miles on it so it will be able to "self tune"

Drive it up here to Walnut Hill Ave and take me for a ride. Better yet--toss me the keys!

[joedoh]

outstanding!

[iowaboynca]

Making me a little nervous going with the FI tech system...

But all you guys that have them seem to like them. I'm sure I will too. Also, I love the look of your truck. It looks...right.

[DeanTX]

Even though I bought this truck when it was completely disassembled I did get the title with it. The title was from the second owner and was from 1960. I swear it was as yellowed and wrinkled as my birth certificate! I had my fingers crossed when I went to the DMV for a title transfer (I know I shoulda done this before I put all the time and money into it) and it went without a hitch.

I was afraid they would make me get the previous owners signature notarized. Which would be tough since he died in 1992.

As soon as I get the EFI sorted out I'll get insurance and take it to get inspected, which is required to get plates. I'm sure it will pass since it will be my son-in-laws' shop that does the inspection.

[DeanTX]

jkeating the shop where I am building the truck is between Royal Lane and Walnut Hill. I'll get directions from you hopefully soon and drive by so you can check it out.

[DeanTX]

EFI update: I have the Fi-Tech EFI installed and I had some issues initially. It turns out these issues were self-inflicted. The reason it was idling too high was a vacuum leak on the intake manifold. I wondered why my power brakes were not feeling very powered. Once I found and fixed the leak the EFI is behaving fine.

Another EFI issue I had was bad hesitation on acceleration. This was during a test drive around the block. Tech support said not getting fuel, and advised me to check fuel pressure. I told him both the tank and pump were new. They repeated to check the pressure. I had a spare fuel pressure gauge so I plumbed it in the line after the filter and again right out of the tank. Only showed 5 lbs pressure. Bad pump I thought. After investigation it turned out that the pump was not getting fuel because there was not enough gas in the tank. I had only put a couple of gallons in it, but because of the way my 2001 4x4 Blazer gas tank works the fuel does not make it to the pump pick up until at least 2-3 gallons are in the tank, the fuel settles toward the front of the tank but the pick up is in the rear of the tank. So with the 2 gallons it really could only pick up a cup or two of fuel. Once I filled the tank with enough gas, the stock S10 pump pegged the needle way past the 60 lb. mark. After adding gas to the tank the EFI was fine. It turns out that on that test drive I probably would not have even made it back to the shop if I had gone another block due to being out of gas.

During my troubleshooting of these issues the support line was very helpful, in fact they told me my problems were not because of the unit. They told me it was likely a vacuum leak and they were right. On the hesitation they told me it was either not getting fuel or not grounded properly. They were right on that one too.

Once I got these two things figured out with the Fi-Tech EFI it screams with instantaneous throttle response and great driveability. No carbs for me ever again.

Now the next issue for the truck is the 700r4 tranny. This "newly rebuilt" tranny was given to me by a friend. It goes forward fine but will barely engage in reverse. On the slightest incline it will not move backwards. So now I gotta pull the transmission instead of cruising the streets and being awesome. Just part of working out the bugs I guess.

[HUSSEY]

Looking good, you've made a lot of progress in the past couple of months. Those bolt on throttle body unis from FI-Tech or Holley really seem to be the way to go anymore. I wish they were around before I committed to my stock Chevy TBI setup.

[DeanTX]

If I started with a complete TBI engine I would have used it too. They are torquey engines.

[DeanTX]

Update: Been a while. The Fitech is working well. I did have a new fuel pump fail and leave me stranded. It was stock in-tank S10 type. I found a good deal on Craigslist for a vintage visor so I did some fab work and got it to fit nice.