1996 GMC Sierra - Page 7 - Answered Questions & Fixed issues

Hi there:On 1996 GMC Truck 5.0L SFI 8cyl the Engine Control Computer is located under hood, driver side, front side of shock tower, mounted on upper fenderwell.Hope this helps; also keep in mind that your feedback is important and I`ll appreciate your time and consideration if you leave some testimonial comment about this answer.Thank you for using FixYa, have a nice day.

There is a tool for that, to take the spring tension off the armYou can still wrestle it off, by lifting the arm off windshield& on the arms right side & under it ,is a small tab you slideout.Then the arm comes off & you can reinstall in a different place

check your main cable to your starter see if its bare and touching ground anywhere

4 wires total

When was the last time the van was tuned-up? Cap/rotor/plugs/wires? is it a distributer ignition system? how many miles are on the truck? And We have had alot of problems with most caps/rotors until we switched to delco-remy cap/rotor. they are a little more expensive but seem to last and not have to replace them yearly lol. And have you removed the screens that are supppose to allow condensation to escape the cap/rotor? they clog up and cause problems.they are located underneath/on the bottom of the distributer, u can use a small pick or screwdriver to remove it/them.it's not always easy. i can't remember if there were one or two screens on that year/model. But with the random misfire it is generally the cap/rotor, so i would start there. Make sure to Label the wires, cap before removing so you do NOT get wires crossed. Also be careful not to over tighten the bolts holding down the cap because they strip out easily. if they are stripped, try using teflon tape on the screw(s) to help grab the thread. Otherwise you will probably end up having to use a small machine screw with a nut to hold the cap down, it sucks to do it this way.

Disconnect the negative battery cable.Disconnect electrical connections from starter motorRemove two bolts securing the starter motor to the engine.Remove starter motorReverse procedure to install

the starter on your sierra is located on the passenger side at the rear of the engine it will have two bolts going straight up side by side into the engine

Have you checked your fuel pressure ?

yes, in the fuse box under the drivers side dassh there is a 15 amp fuse

I would say that you probably have some bad plug wires. Replace them and see if the problem goes away.

Tap a screw into the old ones(screw them in a ways so they'll catch good), and use pliers, or hammer to remove them.Then take a socket that fits inside the new freexe plugs good and tap them in FLUSH with the block! that simple...

try changing the fuel filter

If your drive shaft is not bent. You need to check your U joints, One on each end of the shaft.

These have a central port injection system. The central port injection is very finicky on fuel pressure. Spec off the top of my head is 58-60 psi. As little as 1 psi under minimum spec is enough for the vehicle not to start. You first step is to accurately measure fuel pressure with a good fuel pressure gauge. I'll see if I can't round up the actual spec for you in the mean time. Let me know if you have any questions and I'll do my best to answer them. Thank you for using FixYa.com! I’m happy to assist further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/jeremy_d728a59f986299fa

• Shifting from 2HI to 4HI Press and release the 4HI button. This can be done at any speed, and the front axle will lock automatically.

• Shifting from 4HI to 2HI Press and release the 2HI button. This can be done at any speed, and the front axle will unlock automatically.

• To shift from 2HI or 4HI to 4LO, the vehicle must be stopped or moving less than 3 mph with the transmission in NEUTRAL

• Hope this helps.

There is a "thermal actuator" in the front diff on the passenger side. Mine went bad in the middle of Nowhere, Az. It will have a 2-wire pigtail that will need to be disconnected first. With a large wrench,it's a simple replacement from any auto parts store. When you take it out, reconnect it outside of the differential and have someone you "trust a lot" to sit in the front seat and put it in 4 hi. There will be a piston that slowly moves outward. If this happens it is not the thermal actuator and keep asking friends or websites.

Quick lesson... on each bulb (or load on the circuit) you have a power side and a ground side. Blowing the fuse is a short to ground on the power side. You're looking for continuity (zero resistance) to ground on the power side.

For each circuit you do the following, ignition and power off.
1) Remove the bulb.
2) With your mulitmeter set as a ohmmeter, measure the continuity to a good known ground point on both sides of the circuit at the bulb socket.

You should have one side with continuity (this is the ground side) and one side with very high resistance to ground, or no continuity (this is the power side).

Your problem circuit will have continuity to ground on both sides of the circuit. Trace down where this is shorting and you just solved the problem.

either the speedomter cable is broken or the speedometer is. Have a speedometer shop check it out.

They make harness that plug right into the existing harness on the truck. About 25 dollars. This is your best bet as you wont be repairing them about a year from now and every year after.

The truck shouldn't bounce when you are driving. He should replace the rear shocks. They control bounce. Hope this helps.