I don't expect anyone to "do the work for me" I'm just new, and not totally mechanically inclined, so figuring out things is harder on me than most. But I'm eager to learn. Anywho, I have a laundry list of issues. I have a 98 blazer 4dr, 2wd. I bought this from a lien sale, so I expected some issues.

#1 Both mirrors are glued/bolted in place, they do not adjust and are not really in the right spot anyways for me. Likely needing replacement. For this I've found the Kool Vue replacements, but they are dirt cheap, are they too cheap? or just a gem of a find? anyone with experience in these would be appreciated.



#2 The stereo has been ripped out, and the dash has been "modded" and subsequently, in my opinion ruined. local junkyards have come up dry, and I fear even if I found another dash, I would have a horrible time figuring out where all the bolts are to remove it. any help on this would be awesome, esp where I might find a new dash besides a junk yard, I'd love to replace with a woodgrain look.




#3 The headlights have been poor man rigged into place, and are poorly out of adjustment. I can't seem to actually control them with the dial either, no running lights, truck comes on, lights come on. The mounting bolts seem broken...hoping new headlight enclosures would help this...




#4 The tailgate handle seems to be very loose, like I'll pull the whole thing out someday opening it. Is this common? Easy way to fix?



#5 The rear bumper corners were severely damaged, can these be bought? Even if I didn't colormatch, and they were left a black would be ok, they'd match the top of the bumper.



#6 When I turn the wheel Left, and back up, sounds/feels like my tire tread is rubbing/catching on something. Any ideas?

#7 Check Engine is throwing a P0420 code. is this going to require the cat, the o2 sensors? both? anything else that may be doing it?

More to come as I think of it, I'm sure. The wiring inside where the stereo goes looks FUBAR. Is there a way to replace those back as far as anyone could have been messing with them? Or is that a crows nest better left to a Pro installer when I buy a new stereo?

Any help/suggestions/links are greatly appreciated. and once I get my hands dirty, and start to learn this truck some, I'll be sure to post help from knowledge gleamed from this experience. Hope you are all well. Have a good day.

 

#1 - If it sounds too cheap, it likely is. I have never really liked after market mirrors primarily due to the quality of them.
#2 - The dash hooks on primarily with spring clips, but I believe there are some screws along the bottom and I seem to remember a few above the gauge cluster. Shoot an email to s10warehouse on eBay.com and I'm sure he'll be able to get you the parts.
#3 - It looks like you are in need of some new headlights. Maybe use the last bit in #2...
#4 - You should be able to tighten it up inside the tailgate.
#5 - See #2 for suggestions.
#6 - Can you see where it is catching?
#7 - You really have to diagnose the problem before you can determine what needs to be replaced. P0420 - Catalyst System Efficiency Below Threshold (Bank 1) - have a read through that and do what you can to narrow it down.

 

Thank you for your response. #2 will be especially useful, for mirrors, seats, console, dash, the whole 9 yards.

I'm going to go check out #4 now.

#6 I have given it a cursory look, and don't see, I'll give it a closer look tomorrow.

#7 Iam leaning more and more towards the cat, truck does have 165k on it, it's not intermittent, just waited till the day after I bought it to pop up, so wiring is doubtful. I have no misfires, will have my friend test my timing, and plugs will come when him and I do a full tune up...Thank you for the link.

Still looking for anyone with experience with the mirrors, a google search came up with good reviews, but it's hard to tell what is a real person, and what isn't sometimes.

 

Ive tried getting a set of Kool vue sports sent to me, but they wont ship to me in OZ (sucks really).

There are a nice looking set of summits? on autopartswarehouse.com

If that helps? theres also a few sets on ebay, if its been screwed externally then id say the screw holders on the inside are stuffed, replace them

 

on the tailgate, is there a trick to removing the back panel? or is it just the one torx bolt, and forcing the clips apart? I just don't like to force things apart without asking, in case there's a better way.

 

I've got a pair of Kool Vue mirrors on my truck. They seem to be fine.