hey guys 99 Bravada coming atcha. as I finally for the first time inspect my vehicle myself since it's been nice enough to do it today, I want to show you guys a couple pics and have you tell me what I'm seeing and what to do about it LOL. first pick is my passenger front half shaft boot throwing grease everywhere. Yikes? second pic I don't even know what to do about. driver rear corner, what is this box held up by my rusted-out bracket and a coat hanger (scary???) that is apparently filled with fuel?

yucky and probably supposed to be in there somehow...

what the what?
last last two Pics are

yes I'm short,l eave it alone LOL

tallest guy gets backseat driver
just quasi bragging rights about the cleanliness of the interior

 

Looks like time for a new CV or a boot repair. The second pic is your vapor canister for the fuel system. I wish my interior was as clean as yours and don't feel bad if get in the wife's car after she has been driving I can't reach the pedals lol.

 

good to know I'm not the only one LOL. when I say finally look at it I literally have only had it like 2 weeks. most of this week we've had snow until the last two day melt off. For the half shaft is there any way that screw band could have just failed or needs tightened, it looks like it's all coming out of that end? for the vapor canister which I have no idea what that is, should I just try to mock-up a different bracket out of thin L Channel? I don't know what it does but the canister itself looks solid.

 

Rear spring shackles will be next to rust out. Might be good to get some rust preventative oil on the frame. They commonly rust through back there as well. I've seen a number of local Blazers on Craigslist - nice but with rusted-through frames. I had mine done last year by Krown rustproofing, which is a Canadian oil spray type rustproofing. Hopefully might make it last a few more years before the body starts to rot here in northern Indiana. Krown sells spray cans of their rustproofing spray which is supposed to be some sort of military spec rust preventative. Needs to be reapplied each year, but I bet the Canadians get rust prevention right. I have two vehicles now that I'm having done each year. The 2004 Avalanche I bought in South Carolina and now the 2001 Blazer too. They give me a can of spray stuff along with each of their applications. You can look them up on the Internet if you are interested.

If the boot isn't split open, I would just wipe off the grease and continue to run it until it goes out - then replace the half-shaft. The split boot repairs seldom last and with the labor it takes to do anything else you may as well replace the shaft.

 

thank you Les right was already done left is probably close. we've got an X Line shop here which is kind of like Rhino liner. once I get main parts fixed underneath I'm going to take it in and see what he'll bid for underbody clean up and coat.

 

If the CV boot only recently failed, you can get a replacement boot kit. I got one from NAPA and it was not that hard to do on the inner one.

If the boot has slipped off, a large hose clamp can sometimes work as a temporary fix. I had tried this but there was some interference one one side, I think on the driver's side.

 

You can jimmy up a new bracket for the evap can or get one from a wrecker. My experience on the half shafts is like the others. You can drive it until you get some clunking or grinding noise. Replacement boots are a PITA. Changing the half shaft is like a 3-4 hour job for teh home mech.

The big issue is the spring hanger in the evap can photo. That thing looks about gone and it t fails the rear end will collapse. Post more pics of that...

 

thank you guys. looks like the shackle's going to be bumped up to next on the list. like I said the right side was already done before I bought it. do the front mounts of that spring that are welded on ever fail? how do you replace those? Christine did you ever do wheel spacers on your white Blazer? what size and what brand if so? I'll have to do some window-shopping to see if I can find a more solid evap canister bracket. what does that thing do anyway? thanks for all your patience I'm extremely new to this truck and as I was detailing the motor bay I realized I don't recognize anything from my old TBI. there are so many newfangled sensors plugs and wires that I don't know anything about what they are yet. by the way do you know if the GM service manuals are still available? if so are they any better at $90 than the Haynes/Chilton manuals at 30?

 

Regarding the wheel spacers; knowing what I know now, I think I would have been a bit less enthusiastic about getting them. I installed hub centric 1.25" ones on the rear axle. This squares up the stance but there are apparently good reasons for having the rear a bit narrower than the front. Even on the ZR2s the front is wider a bit. But for going slow on mountain roads, there might be a slight advantage.

I was able to buy a set of the factory service manuals. There are three volumes. For me, they have been invaluable. The Chilton/Haynes ones I think are trying to cover too many years in each volume. When it comes to wiring shematics, there is no substitute. But for simple maintenance, the Haynes ones are a good start. I keep that one in the truck with my tools.

Funny story, in my Haynes manual, the picture for the parking brake shoes is upside-down.

 

lol I would be going nuts trying to trust the stupid book as a Bible and exclaiming that somebody put my brake on backwards LOL. as for the spacers I get the idea of the off track because it actually widens your tread path, so what about all the way around to get the wider stance and still have the offset between the front and rear? have you ever had to do your canister bracket? somebody said something about the spacers stressing on the axle suspension components? Why would that be?