My father in law gave me a 1997 S10 4.3L last year. Its still in progress becoming a daily driver but one of the main problems i have is it takes a couple minutes of cranking and sitting before it fires. It cranks fine with full power and it will act like it gets a little spark but wont start. After turning the key and letting the lines prime it will start. I dont have alot of money to replace parts here and there to troubleshoot. Could anyone tell me whats going on? I thought maybe a bad fuel pump or fuel regulator. Once the engine starts though it runs fine except at idle RPMS, it will studder when i accelerate. It does it everytime i try to start it. it doesnt take as long after i have started it withing the past hour but after sitting a bit it takes a while again. Anyone had this problem before?

 

If you can test for the proper amount of fuel pressure, you can eliminate the fuel regulator from this situation.

The only way to eliminate your chances of buying a billion different parts to fix one issue is to do ALOT of testing and ELIMINATING.

 

I have hooked up my code reader and its not throwin an codes. Now I know it's an older truck with less sensors but what can I use to test pressure with?

 

A pressure tester
Fuel Pressure Tester | AutoZone.com

 

I had that problem and it turned out to be the check valve in the fuel pump assembly. You can replace the fuel pump or do as I did. I put a check valve in the fuel line near the tank and now it starts right away.