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So I realized I have done enough to my Blazer to perhaps qualify it for a proper build thread.
To start with I thought I'd make a list of the individual threads that describe what I've done. Perhaps someone might find this useful.
The "blank canvas" was a 90,000 mile 1999 Blazer LT 4dr, 4WD, AT, ZW7 Premium Smooth Ride Suspension (with self-leveling shocks) with a NVG 236-NP8 4-Button transfer case and relatively low-geared GT4 3.73:1 G80 locking differential. I really was fortunate when I found this as I was not aware of the range of gearing for the axles, that some were locking, and that some had the Auto-4WD transfer case. It also has the leather interior and a full overhead console.
Over the last 10 years and 50,000 miles or so in addition to the standard replacement of worn-out parts, I have installed a few upgraded parts. Below is a list of the significant ones along with any thread I might have created for that upgrade.
Transmission rebuilt with shift-kit and extra transmission fluid cooler
Bush Winch recover system as a substitute for installing a winch. This can pull me out going forwards or backwards. (post #35)
Yakima RocketBox for carrying my recovery gear. (post #46)
Upgraded transmission cooler (post #92)
Added extra under-hood light with retractable leads (post #109)
As for wish lists, I have a few I want to do and even have (or will soon have) the parts to do.
Wish List:
External rear spare tire carrier. I have the carrier but have yet to refurbish it
Install rest of the metal undercarriage protection panels. I still need to modify the one for the transfer case and perhaps find a metal one for the gas tank
I'm also going to put flares and a tire carrier. I got these aftermarket ZR2-style flares for a 4 door. I picked them up used so I got them cheaper, I'll post pics up in my build thread (stormtrooper) once I get them done. Hopefully this weekend if the weather is nice. https://www.junglefenderflares.com/1...fender-flares/
No rust!? Don't they use salt on the roads up there?
I know South Dakota doesn't use salt, so it's possible..
In the Pacific Northwest salt has historically not been used. This is especially so on the west side of the Cascade mountains (the west side of Oregon and Washington) and in the mountains themselves . This is because the snow is often really slushy because the weather has come directly off of the north pacific ocean; i.e. full of moisture but not incredibly cold. For instance, you will hear pass reports that say that the road is covered with "packed snow and ice" for which they will throw sand and expect people to have studded tires and/or chains to get over. On Santiam Pass in OR, they use the local red volcanic pumice left over from the local volcanoes. It makes your car look red. LOL However on the east side the snow is drier and on the highways they just plow. However, in the last few years the Idaho DOT has started using salt and I hate it. They say it is cheaper. Perhaps for them but at what cost to our cars? Maybe the reason is fewer people, even here in North Idaho, are comfortable driving on snow and ice. We have had lots of people moving here to Couer d'Alene and (in the south) to Boise from CA. To quote a very old ad for a certain wine-cooler "Another reason to hate California?"
In town they might use some of that liquid stuff to prevent icing so it is not too bad. Depending on the amount that falls, it sometimes it takes a few days for the city plows to get most of the snow off the roads.
All that said, compared to the Midwest (e.g. Indiana and Michigan) our salt use is minimal although I still go through the car wash with the under carriage spray a few times during the winter when it is warm enough.
Whoa, a lot of good info there. Thank you. Volcanic pumice sounds pretty freakin' cool!
How do you like the running boards? I have some nerf bars I was thinking of putting on...but, not 100% certain yet.
I could go with or without the running boards. I thought I'd like them more than I do. They do give a nice step when I need to tie my shoe or boots. LOL Even with my small lift I don't really use them that often. But since the Blazer came with them, I've seen no real reason to take them off. They don't hang any lower then the frame so there is no real advantage with regard to clearance.
When I trial fitting 31" tires, there was more of a fitment issue with at the rear of the front wheel wells because of the front ends of the running boards. But even without the running boards, there still would have been some other clearance issues with the 31s so again, it was not really much of an advantage to take them off.
P.S. In addition to living where I live now, I've lived in western WA, western OR, northern IN, and VT so I got to compare each region's snow and ice removal techniques. The most rusted out cars were in IN. Poor things....
Replaced the original-equipment block heater this weekend. It is located in a freeze plug on the left side of the block.
Although easily seen through the driver's side wheel well, it is not easy to reach.
Here are pictures of the original. You can see where it is leaking.
View from rear and below. In the foreground is the input to the front axle. The metal hoses are the rear end of the remote oil filter hoses.
closeup
One of the challenges to get this out was to figure out how to undo the screw in the center that expands the butterfly bracket. You can see this here, even with the screw backed out, the wings of the butterfly stay expanded. This required prying with a very long screw driver. One of my concerns was that I might have the nut for these "wings" fall off into the block if I backed out the screw too much.
Notice the "butterfly" that holds the heater in place.
But before I could even get the screw driver to help pry out the old heater, I had to figure out how to undo the screw. It tuned out to accept either a flat-blade screw driver or an Allen wrench. (4 mm as it turned out.) This was very hard to reach with either. I found myself using a gunsmith tool set with interchangeable heads at the end of a 1/4" wobble joint at the end of a long extension to be able to get at it. I had to get at it from below and behind reaching in between the torsion bar and the front driveshaft. Going in from the wheel well is more direct but the angle is such that you are blind with trying to get the driver head on the nut.. Not knowing the exact size of the Allen head, I had to guess and I still have to retrieve one of the driver heads now sitting on top of the front axle case. But I was able to get it slowly undone with the help of one of the flat-blade heads.
It looks like it might be a hex-head but it isn't.
4mm Allen wrench installed in nut.
The installation was not as hard but I still wanted to be careful. I took some tongue depressors to use to gently scrape away any gunk at the machined surface for the freeze plug. I then using some dielectric grease took off the o-ring to coat it along with where it sits on the heater. As recommended by the instructions that came with the part (not a GM part), I test fit the heater without the o-ring to check the orientation needed so that the heating element would not be touching the inside of the block.
Unlike in the drawings in the GM service manual, the heating element has to be oriented so that it is at the 12 o'clock position. This was the orientation of the old one too.
With the o-ring back on the new heater, I had to insert it pretty much by feel. One of the hiccups was that the butterfly wings would rotate so that they were at the 12-6 o'clock orientation instead of the 3-9 o'clock orientation. This was pretty annoying but I got it started. Then with the help of my long extension and a long flat-blade screwdriver I was able to get it in at the desired orientation by applying firm steady pressure.
EDIT: I forgot yo mention on the original version that when installing the heater you should not rely on the screw and butterfly wings to draw on the heater. It should be seated all the way in first. Then, be careful of not over tightening the screw. The instructions say that the torque to apply is 17 to 19 IN-lbs. You can easily feel when the butterfly wings stop expanding. Even with a grip on the head on my small ratchet wrench, I think I could have easily over tightened it.
The heater I installed. The installed heater. The dielectric grease I used.
The choice of grease was based on trying to interpret what the directions for the Kat's heater and the GM service manual suggested. It needed to be water resistant and high-temperature. I then realized that the dielectric grease would be a good substitute since the GM grease called for in the manual was discontinued.
I originally had wanted to install a GM heater as the price was no different but because of the strike, I might not have gotten it for another week. However, there was an advantage to the new one; the nut that expands the butterfly wings is a hex head; much easier to work with!
That said there was one advantage to the GM heater: There were tabs on the butterfly wings that kept it from rotating. This would have saved me a bit of a hassle. However if the GM heater also had the same screw head that was only an Allen head, it likely would have been much harder to install than the Kat's one.
Tabs on butterfly that keep it from rotating. The new one did not have this. Grrr.
The old o-ring, all compressed and in nasty shape.
In the process of taking out the power cord, the plug end that goes to the heater broke apart. This was not surprising as it is near the exhaust manifold and it was 20 years old.
Unfortunately, the plug for the new cord does not come with a heat protection shield and the way the wires come into it mean that the cord could get close to the exhaust manifold. As such I was able to find on eBay a GM power cord. From what I could figure out, some of the parts numbers for the cords where the wires come in from the side are 52353631, 12371293 and 52353021.
Last edited by christine_208; 11-04-2019 at 09:32 AM.
Another great write up as always! I've been wanting to install a block heater on my Jimmy. I've always installed them with the engine out of the vehicle. Do you think that it would be easier to get to on a blazer/jimmy with a body lift? I know it helps a lot with changing spark plugs!
Another great write up as always! I've been wanting to install a block heater on my Jimmy. I've always installed them with the engine out of the vehicle. Do you think that it would be easier to get to on a blazer/jimmy with a body lift? I know it helps a lot with changing spark plugs!
With a body lift of 3" or even 2" the job could be easier because you should be able to do it from the wheel well. The one thing that might get in the way would be the steering wheel shaft.
The body lift could make it possible for you to reach in with your arm with a 1/4" socket wrench to tighten the nut on the heater element too.
09-12-2019, 11:13 PM
Christine's 99 Build: Hunting, Snow, and Towing
