I am the proud owner of a 97 Blazer that has just shy of 195k on it.

1. The is a very loud rattling underneath whenever I press on the gas. When i take my foot off the gas the rattling goes away. My husband says its the catalytic converter. Where do I find a good one for a good price.

2. My ASB light has been on for about a month now. It came on the day we had a downpour of rain that I had to drive in. My brakes seem to be working just fine, but the light won't go off. My husband thinks its just the sensor. How much do those typically cost? And where do I get one?

3. Whistling just started a couple weeks ago. When i'm driving and it goes into overdrive there's a loud whistling as long as its in overdrive.

4. A/C hasn't worked since i bought it. I've tried recharging it - but that didn't do anything. What else could the problem be and how much would the parts cost?

We don't have a lot of money to take it to some shop and have them take care of it and take all our money. We want to do the work ourselves. My husband is good with vehicles and i'm a quick study.

 

Well, as a Blazer owner who has had most of the same problems, hopefully I can help a bit. I'm sure that there's more than a few others here who can help too. The first thing I would recommend it looking in the How-To tech article section. There's a large number of very helpful writeups in there. Most of the fixes are possible to do in your driveway with normal tools if you are determined and do some research first.

1. I had the exact same sound coming from my catalytic converter. It started breaking down and pieces were rattling around. You can either buy a bolt in replacement cat, or if you have welding skills you can buy a generic cat and cut the old one out and weld in the new one. It may not cost very much to have a muffler shop weld in a new one for you, which would be by far the easiest way to go.

The Catalytic converter is a real pain to unbolt because the old bolts are usually really rusted and seized, unless it has been worked on recently. Its only 3 bolts on the front and 3 on the back, but there's not a lot of room to get it out either. If you're going to try to remove and replace it with a bolt in, I'd suggest hitting it with a penetrating oil several times a day for a few days before trying to remove it. It also helps to heat the nuts with a torch if they're seized.

2. The ABS light is quite possibly a broken sensor wire, which leads from the hub up to the top of the frame. They get worn and break after a while if they haven't been serviced recently. It is possible to fix the wire, but its a temporary fix at best. The better way is to replace your hubs, especially if they haven't been done recently. Your 97 is the year where they converted from the older style with the ABS sensor as part of the dust shield to the newer style with the ABS sensor as part of the hub. You'll need to figure out which style you need. If you have the newer ones there are several different hub options. Several people have recommended hubs from Dearborne Axle (DetroitAxle seller on eBay) which are very reasonably priced. There's a great how-to in the tech article on how to change the hubs, which also includes several other brand recommendations. Be careful of the really cheap ones because they usually wear out within a year.

3. Not sure what to suggest about your whistling noise. Hopefully someone else can chime in here.

4. Have you tried jumping the pressure trigger plug for the AC compressor so that it turns on while you're filling it? There is a writeup on the forum here somewhere on how to recharge your system that helped me a lot when I did mine. The search works pretty good if you're creative in your search words.

 

"The Catalytic converter is a real pain to unbolt because the old bolts are usually really rusted and seized, unless it has been worked on recently. Its only 3 bolts on the front and 3 on the back, but there's not a lot of room to get it out either. If you're going to try to remove and replace it with a bolt in, I'd suggest hitting it with a penetrating oil several times a day for a few days before trying to remove it. It also helps to heat the nuts with a torch if they're seized."
There is a TON of rust underneath... My husband is very worried that if we try to change it ourselves that we will run into problems because of the rust... The Blazer is our daily driver...

 

If that's the case, then get a quote from a couple of muffler shops on fixing it. That will give you a starting point at least.

 

Just my 2 cents. Pull the ABS codes before doing anything. Why look for broken wires or bad sensors if the computer will tell you whats wrong.

Do you have access to guages for the AC? It might not be low at all. (FYI - you dont need to jumper anything to charge the system.)

 

I just replaced my catalytic converter last month with a bolt on, and I agre with El_Beautor. Lots of penetrating fluid days in advance and possibly heat or a torch to cut the bolts if needed. I had one that had to be cut off. The Magnaflow Converter is great, no more rattling and the Blazer runs a lot better.

I also had problems with the ABS sensors, mine had a buildup of dirt and brake dust on them and had to be cleaned. Do not know if this could be your problem but just thought I woud share my experience.

I have recharged the AC on my Blazer and it did take two cans of R134, but if yours is not holding a charge you could have a leak somewhere. If its not low then it could be a compressor issue.

 

Make sure the rattling isn't just the catalytic converter shield. It's common for the spot welds to come loose and the shield to rattle. Happened on every GM car I've ever owned.