Been a long while since i posted. But i gotta get this off my chest. Here's a repair history that's sure to beat all others. My 98 S10 Blazer (4.3L) has 132k miles. Purchased it in 2000 with 29k on it. I will begin with most recent repairs and work backwards. Try not too laugh to hard at this.This past weekend had 3rd go round of Upper ball joints replaced, along with Idler arm and front Rotors. Just had a front end alignment to compliment it yesterday. Still has a very slight wiggle at 55mph which i can't figure out yet. 4 New Tires just purchased in the last 3 weeks or so. A month ago had the driver side front door panel tightend due to loose bolts. That same power window creaks when opening/closing but i live with it and ignore. Aprox 7 months ago lost heat and noticed engine temp gauge staying low. Figured it was the thermostat. Service shop found it was leaking from intake and recommended a place for repair. They found, not only that the intake gasket needed replacing, but also bad motor mounts, cooler lines leaking, oil pan leaking. Had all of it fixed. Got vehicle back and imediately realized a constant knocking engine noise. Shop took no responsibility claiming it was due to the leak inside engine which most likely damaged lifters, etc. Lived with a short while longer, and then opted to have a factory rebuilt 4.3L V6 installed. While in repair, found the water pump leaking and replaced also. Now going further back in time - about a year ago, had the driver door -bushings, etc. replaced due to door not closing properly. About 2 years ago now, had the under the hood insulation pad and pins replaced due to dry rot and torn. Also the 2nd go round of complete front end work for bearing hub assemblys, idler arm, struts, etc.. (Note that i keep up the regular maint. on brakes and tune-ups, etc.. I baby this vehicle despite the amount of miles driven each week to work.) When i first purchased vehicle and opted for the extended 100 mile 7 year warranty, it paid for itself with the replacement of the air conditioning compressor, alternator and the 1st go round of complete front end re-build. As of this moment, all is pretty much ok except a slight wiggle at 55 despite new tires and all. The passenger sun-viser's mirror cover has broken loose and being held with a large clip. The material is also sagging on it. The 2 outside mirrors shake at high speeds. One was replaced about 5 years ago. There's no adjustments available. Poor design. The material on the driver's seat is wearing out. One day i may tend to it. Otherwise the interior still looks fairly new. The outside, minus the road stone chips is not too bad. I could write a novel about this vehicle, and despite it being a money pit, i still love it. I've invested more money into it than it's worth by a long shot, so it would be foolish to do otherwise than keep it. Any help for the mirror issues or 55mph shake, etc, would be appreciated.

 

easy idea, Get a newer blazer and keep that one for parts, From the way it looks just about everything has been replaced..

 

dang thats alot to replace. I wouldda just traided it in after all that.

 

ouch!..im new to these blazers, but im starting to see a pattern to the repair/wear on these units..if used only a few times or on weekends,they last OK but if used as a commuter that log lots ofdaily miles- they wear outsooner-[:@] so i would recommend to get a pisspot commuter[to wear out and throw away]and keep the blazer as a weekend warrior type of vehicle..if you disagree thats fine but i myself only commute 10 minutesto work on a motorcycle then use a truck to take dog up mountain or for towing trailer, four wheelin,etc..my blazer has 140,000 km and is fine [for now] i dont like the way they make things these days and that goes for all manifacturers of vehicles/bikes/homes/appliances/computers etc..I always trade up to avoid excessive repairs...some vehicles are worth putting $$$ into but the depreciation and repair costs are non recoverable...another aspect of "constant fixing" is due to your KARMA -but that is too complex to delve in for now...