They came originally with a thick plastic shield bolted to the bottom front of the frame. It has a 'swing-down' trap door located directly under the oil filter held closed by a half-turn screw that allows easy access for changing the filter. The shield is held to the frame with 2 bolts at the rear, and 4 at the front. You might call it a lower brush guard. Probably available at the boneyard.

 

RedSledge - when I replaced the splash shields on my '02, I completely removed the left inner fender liner as it was just easy to do. The right side I left in place, with all the fasteners/bolts/screws removed...just did not wrestle it out. Getting the new splash shields into place was easy....getting the push-in fasteners into the rear holes was a bit challenging...but not too bad.
Not a job you want to do if in a hurry or have a deadline to have the Blazer road-worthy again the same day.

Brushguard: the earlier years of 2nd Gen had an aluminum piece, the later years went to plastic. I think the ZR2 models had a carbon fiber one. Can find these at salvage yards, sometimes Craigs List....even seen them on ebay..but shipping is way too high for such a large piece. Best to get the aluminum one.

 

1. What made you decide to leave the right side in place?
2. Did you remove the battery and unfasten the 4wd actuator?
3. How difficult was it to get them back into place without scratching or damaging anything?

Thanks -

 

The wheel well flaps are cheap and easy to find but not the front engine splash guard. I may have found one but am I worried about nothing? Does it do much or are they flimsy and end up getting damaged and removed anyway? Just not crazy about having the everything down there exposed.

 

Generous Motors found it necessary to include as standard equipment, so who am I to say whether it's necessary or not? Mine's the plastic one and it's original as far as I can tell. It has some scratches, but seems pretty tough, and has held up well except for the trap door flap which tends to take on an unsightly curve over time. I've been contemplating what to use as a stiffener I can attach to it's top (hidden) side to straighten it out.

 

The splash guard/skid plate that covers the oil filter in the front of the truck is important for more than just keeping junk out of the engine bay. It also helps to shape air-flow in the engine bay to make sure your cooling system works efficiently. Without it your cooling system may have a more difficult time cooling the engine driving in high ambient temperatures. If yours is missing I'd recommend finding one from a Pick-n-Pull or somewhere else. In my area they're about $20, and it's only 6 bolts to remove them.

The front splash guard/skid plate came in 3 different forms from factory, depending on year and options package. There was a version that was heavy plastic, one that is aluminium, and and one that was a composite carbon fibre. The plastic version is just a splash guard designed to aid with engine bay cooling and keep things out of the engine bay. The aluminium and composite versions are actual skid plates that can take some abuse off-road.

 

Makes sense. I'm in the process of installing a new air/smog pump which it looks like would protected by the guard too and the fact that it's missing maybe part of the reason the first one croaked. Mines a 2000 Jimmy SLT and I have a chance to get a plastic guard with the oil door from a 99 Jimmy of unknown trim pkg. Not sure what was on there originally. Assuming there was no change but not sure. Wish I could find one for $20 but no pick and pull around here.

 

Hey, rockauto has those splash shields for around 8 dollars which comes around $16 plus shipping. Input the GM part number 15679117 in the universal section and it will show the part, for some reason it does not show up as parts for an S10/Blazer from 95-05 but going into the universal part section it pops up. It also fits 1st gen vehicles, the driver side splash shield needs 4 new eyelets but the first 3 holes line up, the passenger side fits as is.