Thinking of buying 2000-2004 4dr blazer with the 4.3 --I am new to chevy and blazers both and am wondering how reliable you guys find them and how many miles you can expect from a well maintained 4.3--are there any common things to watch out for in purchasing a used Blazer?

 

Well, I have owned 3 blazers. A 92 2dr 4x4 with 238000 miles on it before the body went.
A 1996 2dr 4x4 that had 175000 before my dad changed the oil and didnt put the plug back in and killed the motor, and my 1997 that I still have with 178xxx miles on it. Only thing that i have really replaced was the fuel pump and AC compressor.

Ball joints seems to be a failure point, not sure if they have fixed that on newer models.

 

Balljoints are still problems on the new models. I have a 2001 and at 70,000 miles i had to replace both driver and passenger side balljoints.

 

oil cooler lines seems like a common problem also. and pretty much the entire front end should be looked at.

 

My first blazer, a 91 2 door, had bad leaks in the oil cooler lines (caused it's death) but was a great truck otherwise. My 98 4 door had most of the front end suspension replaced a few weeks ago, but is a great truck also. My old roomate currently has 236k on his 2 door Blazer (believe its a 93) w/ original engine and tranny still runnin' strong.

 

My uncle had 450,000 on his old S10 BlazerLT before it blew up, It was a great one too.

THe only thing I have had to go wrong with mine was the starter and the head gasket. Head gaskets seem to be a common problem on all the Vortec engines. My oil coolerlines leaked too before I replacedthe oil cooler andlines with an aftermarket one.

 

My oil cooler lines leak now.. But its very slow leak tho.. Hmm I wonder if I should just take it to the dealer since its under warranty.

 

I second that head gasket problem, i have a small leak as well and my cooler lines went out as well.

 

The head gasket thing is a new one... Intake manifold gaskets yes, but headgaskets???

 

I'm on my 3rd blazer. My first was a 1988 with the 2.8 v6, the biggest POS I ever had, dumped that thing off less then 2yrs after I got it. My next was a 1994 2dr sport and was the best one ever. I kept if for 5yrs and it had 100k on the clock when I traded it in, never had any problems with it. Then got my current 2000 ZR2 blazer that I've had for 4yrs now and have had things go wrong. Never had any gasket problems, just brake issues so far. I am having problems that are coming from the front end and so far no one can tell me what the problem is. I did have the ball bearings replaced last summer but i keep hearing this rumbeling noise that comes fromt he front end, it gets louder the faster you go, and you can hear poping noises at very slow speeds when hitting bumps or turning. Could this be the balljoints? if not, what can you listen/lookout for if it is and what can the repair bill run?