I picked up a 96 w/ 170k on it over the weekend for a winter beater. It's in pretty good shape although nothing was fixed unless it was broke so it's got a lot of original parts on it still. It runs and drives amazing except for jumping all over the road from bad ball joints. I've already did a bunch of reading on the site and gave me a good idea what to look for but I want to know if you guys think I missed anything.

Done so far-
Ball joints, tie rods on order. (idler and pitman already done!)
Steering box adjusted (rag joint good)
Dist. rotor
new filters

What I have questions about-
Trans fluid is a bit dark. I've seen a bunch of threads where people change fluid and have problems. Should I leave it or change it? I doubt the T case and rear/front diff has been changed either.

Brakes feel weak and spongy, but look passable. Fluid is dark and will be changed. Both my summer cars have very good brakes so I might just be used to getting my face sucked off when I hit the pedal. All brake components seem pretty cheap for a Blazer, should I just go ahead and replace everything? (calipers/cylinders/shoes/drums/pads/rotors/hardware)

Is there anything else I should check out or need to do?

I'm not looking to make it last 5 years, as long as it gets me to next April I'm fine. I do drive ~70mi/day and ski every week (~100mi) so it's going to have some miles piled on in a short time.

 

I just picked up a '96 Jimmy and the brakes feel very solid on it so I would say something is wrong with yours. If you are driving it on a regular basis, I would fix it. Though just getting rid of the old fluid and replacing it with new may fix the problem by the time you are done bleeding it. You might want to consider replacing the rubber brake hoses while you are at it since those could be contributing to the problem and it would be aesy to replace them while you are changing the fluid.

 

Opinion time...
What do you drive otherwise? My Blazers brakes feel light, but that is how they have always been. I get behind the wheel of a car, lets say, the honda civic I drove the other night, and can chip teeth at each stop light! Bleeding them is always good I upgraded to DOT 5.1, even though it reads for DOT 3 fluid. It lasts longer, and because I ride my brakes down the mountain, I don't have to worry about weakness due to overheating...though, it isn't a rally racer, so yeah Haven't noticed any gain or loss in braking performance though...and my lines are still intact 30k later.

And as for the transmission fluid...leave it. Top off the fluid, and leave it be. Odds are, the previous owner(s) never touched it. Its already conditioned for the old fluid. If you don't catch it early, like how I change the fluid on the 30k mark, you can risk damaging the tranny. Blazer transmissions, though tough, are finicky...like everything else on those trucks

A 96' with 170k...just make sure the engines gaskets are intact, and the coolant is fresh...you should be fine otherwise! The manifold gasket is prone to failure around 150k, but yours probably was replaced (or you are lucky).

ooooooo...check your parking brake as well. Blazers have a history of failing brake lines (over the rear axle). They also have parking brakes that go out of adjustment. The one time you need that brake, it will be non-functioning...guaranteed!

 

^^^^^^

Thanks! I've got an SVT Focus and Miata, both with upgraded brakes. The Miata can hold it's own against a 911 on a track so maybe a 5000lb SUV with smaller brakes might take a bit longer to stop.

FWIW, I just got back from buying new brake calipers. $12 at Chinazone. The hardware was pretty rusty and decided I'd replace the bolts since I had them out when I noticed it was cheaper to buy the calipers with them included. Figure that out.

I'll also check the condition of the brake lines. This thing is pretty rusty underneath and I don't feel like crawling on the ground in the winter replacing a $5 brake line. I've got the front suspension replaced and must have knocked off about 2lbs of rust.

And as far as I know, the intake gaskets are original. Unfortunately, I'm too busy and it's getting too cold to do it in my driveway. (Got a 240z under restoration in my garage) I'm going to have to take it to a garage to have them done. Even then, I'll only have about $1600 in it and that's with two snow tires for the rear.

 

Good price on the brake calipers, do you have a web adress?

 

It's Autozone, call it Chinazone due to all the cheap Chinese parts. Brake calipers were surprisingly remanned in the US.

 

That was code for Autozone.


EDIT: Beat me to it!