Ok so I just got this ride for $350. Its a 97 Blazer ls. 4wd with the 4.3. I noticed that the transmission is really really strong. Except for when you put the pedal to the floor. It acts almost as if it went into neutral. The rmps will jump and and it doesnt go any faster. If you dont floor it but give it some gas, itll pick up like it should and you can feel the power that it has. Any ideas on what it could be?

 

well when you stuff your foot into the gas it will down shift and want to stay there and wont go really any faster but the RPM's will be really high, it can be a big delay, then it should eventually up shift then you will pick up speed. So for one i DON'T recommend flooring it all at once because you can damage your engine when it down shifts and during the delay, but instead put the pedal down about 2/3's of the way to get it to down shift then after it up shifts again you can slowly push the pedal farther. just as long as the RPM's DON'T go above 4400 because these engines get their max power at that RPM or right about there. this is the technique i use to pass someone

so give that a try and if it wont up shift again when you only have the pedal down 2/3's of the way then you might have a problem with the torque converter.

 

When I test drove my daughter's "new" '96 Jimmy, I floored it several times and it downshifted and took right off just like it should, there really wasn't any hesitation (other than a slight bit as it down shifted / up shifted, just like any other automatic does), just strong acceleration. I had a problem like what you described in a '63 Impala, that I bought in back in '76 when I was in HS, and the transmission was slipping. The same thing happened in a '68 Charger that I bought a few years later. It started off just doing it under hard acceleration and then go worse over a several month period until the tranny was shot.

 

hzl6cm is correct: slippage! However one can get more miles out of this trans by changing fluid and adding Lucas (and not flooring it!) and by following 97cherryblazer's suggestion! Sometimes however,changing fluid in an un maintained trans will cause it to ultilmitliely fail rapidly!Do some research-and choose your poison! What I would probably do is siphon out a liter of fluid thru the filler tube-add the Lucas and see what happens!
It can't hurt...Let us know! Good luck! step66

 

lol ok thats not good.. mine does that to i think. Well the delay is maybe just a 2-3 second delay before it finds a higher gear, it just seems like a long time because i dont like to let my engine rev that high. Im pretty sure a 2-3 second delay before it takes off is about normal tho, i was told thats what a shift kit is supposed to solve. but when it down shifts into a lower gear when you're doing 60+ it Kinda feels like its in neutral because you wont really be able to go any faster in that gear and it has to find a higher gear. but thats ONLY at highway speeds. i can be doing 30, floor it, and i will take off like a rocket when it downshifts (well.. a Blazer like rocket )

i Suppose i should have asked if it does it at any speed lol. So i guess does it do this at any speed?

 

Assume it is a $350 value truck and drive it that way.

I think if I had driven the 1998 we just picked up with 524k miles JUST like the past owner it would have lasted a while longer.

Keep your RPM's limited to 3000 (torque and HP sweet spot anyway) and ease of the line and it may be good for a long time.

If the motor is under 200K and in good shape just the motor and differential will part out at $750. I looked a 4.10 rearend today with a lot of rust and the brake drums frozen and the yard wanted $250.
150K mile 4.3 mainly without bolt on's like AC compressor, alt, PS pump, MAF, etc are going for $600+

 

Well, the best way to describe it is whenever I go to pass someone on the highway, and punch it, it doesnt do anything. At any speed. Whenever you give any vehicle FOT, they should always grab one gear up, sometimes 2. I was told that I have shift siliniods(i cant spell worth a crap) that maybe going bad. I dont know. This is my first Blazer. I was toned out for a grass fire yesterday and whenever I took off, I gave her the pepper and she responded with lightening the tires up So I dont know whats going on with this thing. If you dont floor it, you can feel it kick out of OD and grab 3rd and shell take off, but just not as fast.

 

Yeah if your tranny is acting up like that i wouldn't floor it and abuse it. Forget what i said about the delay at highway speed, there shouldn't be one. today i was forced to floor it (idiot changed lanes into me) and it responded with no delay.

 

If you want to keep this dying tranny alive: try what I & others suggested! Seriously! One cant expect full power transfer from a good motor thru a weak trans! Don't get on it!
But you can keep it going for a while. Carry a tow chain in the car-'cause failure is iminent!