Hello, I just got a used 2001 Blazer in non running condition. I am in the process of fixing it up. I will post the problems I am having and would appreciate any one who has answers or suggestion to comment: Please remember that at This Point I just received vehicle and I am only at the initial look and see phase. Thanks Lee

1) Battery was Dead, Replaced with New Battery
2) coolant system appears empty
3) engine heat gauge starts cold with engine start and goes hot after 10 minuets of engine run
( obviously because radiator is empty in addition to what is causing empty radiator)
4) Engine stalls at Idle
5) some smoke from exhaust ( have not fully characterized this yet)


Today I will fill radiator and look for leaks. I am curiouse if blown head gaskets or intake gaskets are common on the engine/vehicle and if so is one more common than the other?

 

Lower Intake Manifold gaskets are a known issue with these engines. You will find hundreds of threads on that and what intake gasket to use as a replacement. Head gasket issues are less common.

 

REmoved intake manifold and found intake manifold gasket completly dsinegrated also gummed up with old dex coolant. There is no doubt my problems were from a defective intake manifold gasket. I have one question I hope someone may have an answer for. I was able to unbolt and move the A/C compressor however the large A/C compressor bracket remains in the way. I tried loosening the 3 bolt behind the oil pump pulley below it however they will not come out all the way because the pully is there. Does any one no the magical way of moving the A/c Compressor bracket so you can put the intake manifold back in straight down instead of angleing it the way I had to to take it out. Thanks Lee

 

As it turns out, Failure of the Intake manifold Gasket on the v4.3 Vortac engine that is in by Chevy Blazer 2001 is a fairly common failure mode. The repair is pretty straight forward remove all the accessories down to the Intake manifold. Remove the manifold, clean off all the old gasket and replace. Since most of this is basic mechanic 101, I will not get into the details however there are several points I will make to be helpful.

1) the upper half of the Intake manifold is plastic housing with the "SPIDER" fuel injection lines. DO NOT open this and separate it from the Lower steel half of the intake manifold unless its leaky or failed. The fuel line spider inside is fragile and is not part of the gasket failure so if it works don't fix it. There are gaskets for the inside , don't use them if the old ones don't link. But do use the top gasket that goes between the manifold top and the throttle body.

2) on the 2001 Blazer v4.3 Vortac the air-conditioned bracket attached to the Power steering pump must be taken off ( not completely) . Unbolt A/C Pump and move to pax side of car engine compartment. if you try to just loosen the A/c Pump bracket from the Power steering Pump you MAY be able to get the intake manifold out of the Car with some struggle However you will not be able to get it back in.

Remove upper radiator shroud ( 7 bolts)
you do not have to remove the radiator fan blade
The A/C Bracket must be COMPLELETY Unbolted and moved forward.
In order to completely unbolt the A/c Bracket the POWER STEARING PULLY MUST BE REMOVED. Regardless of what anyone says this must come out. Look at the you tube videos, They will show you everything except the manifold physically coming in and out.
to remove the pulley you need a special tool. it's a round pulley puller and installer. a forked puller will not work and will destroy the flanges in the pulley, Also to reinstall the pulley you will have to thread the tool into the steering pump pulley shaft. In my case someone before me had cross threaded the Threads in the steering pump pulley shaft and to remedy this I ran a tap into the threads with wd40 to flow the debris out.
The OEM gasket is notorious for being crap. When Replacing use the FELPRO intake Manifold gasket set.
Felpro has two grades a)regular for $31.99 and b) High performance for $69.99
I highly recommend : don't even debate it just get the High-performance. This repair job is low parts cost high labor. you don't really want to have to go thru this all over because you saved 30 bucks on gaskets.
Once last Item: When you go to pull your distributor out. Mark EXACTLY where the Rotor is pointing. BE PRECISE. because EVERY time you pull the distributor out the key way on the oil pump will rotate slightly in one direction or the other randomly. if you do not mark you rotor tip orientation PRESICLY you will not be able to get the rotor to align with the oil pump AND your time mark. The when you go to start your blazer it will not run due to timing issues.
When installing your distributor every time you insert it the oil pump tang slot turns slightly. It may be you have to keep inserting and removing the distributor walking the a/c tang slot around in a circle until the Rotor index mark you made lines up PRECISLY and EXACTLY. On first removal draw a mark on the fire wall or component that is in a direct line with where the electrode tip comes off the distributor rotor. make this mark EXACT and PRESCISE as a more the a few degrees of error and your vehicle will not run.

The tool kit is #20 tool kit at Advance Auto ( circular collar Steering pump pulley remove/replace kit)
The threads on the steering pump pulley shaft or SAE 3/8-16 threads
This is a common thread size and I got a cheap tap & Die set at harbor Freight and salvage for $15
Felpro Intake Manifold Gasket Set ( High-performance) $69.99 [ http://shop.advanceautoparts.com Part Number: MS 98002 T ]
I hope this information is helpful. I was very frustrated by not finding the answers on the above issues. All the YouTube videos talked about the mechanics 101 stuff like remove the accessories and clean this etc. However none of them showed the actual removing the intake manifold or replacing it.
with this information the total time of the job should be cut by half to
8 to 12 hours.
Parts cost $100 for everything .
This is a fairly common failure with GM V4.3 Vortac engine