Jason,Toss a quarter under the fuel regulator spring. it'll bump it up about a pound. I did all you did,and noticed a improvement,then put a quarter in it,made it even better.

 

Today I tested the new rocker switches. Also I made a custom rocker panel housing...didn't want to cut into dash parts.

 

Took a wire wheel and the drill to the whole underside and rear end and control arms and put por-15 on all that shiz.
Now the underside is completely rust free and looking like it just rolled out of the factory.
Next up is to fix the notorious door seams at the bottom of the door rust.
Its not bad so it should be stopped after I wire wheel it, clean it and put por-15 over and and coat the inside of the door as well at the seam. scuff and paint to match.

Working on this thing compared to the first gen is night and day.

 

2000 Blazer 4 door 4.3l 4wd (small)
Today I had one of my technicians replace the radiator and upper and lower hoses (it started spewing at the upper passenger side corner) after he did the heater core a month ago. We only put water in it for now, and then I drove it and we changed the water again. Trying to switch to normal coolant, do I need a professional flush or just drain the water once or twice more and go for it? Any other tips appreciated.

 

Pro flush is a waste of money. You've already gone above and beyond what most owners do as far as using water to flush the system. That's a good practice, and something I've done for years. If the water comes out clean, you'll be fine.

My carbureted '00 Jimmy engine always ran well over 200° - whether summer or winter, that engine never missed a beat.

I disconnect the lower hose, and let it fly, checking for contaminants as it comes out. If I see alot mixed in, I'll fill with water again.

 

Well today I broke the head off a bolt on the thermostat housing on the Coly. We'll see if I can get that **** out with my 'easy outs,' but seeing as the head broke without even turning the bolt, I doubt it.

The thermostats on these inline engines are in a terrible place.

 

In my experience, "Easy outs" don't turn seized bolts. Easy outs break off if the bolt is seized.

For the seized and broken bolt, if there's enough sticking up out of the manifold, slip a nut over it and weld the nut to the stub of the broken bolt. Apply some candle wax or crayon wax while it's hot, and turn it loose with a wrench. The heat from welding usually breaks the seized threads loose.

If there's some sticking up, but not enough to weld a nut to, or you don't have a welding torch, use a MAP gas torch to get the stub of the bolt cherry red. Apply wax. While it's hot, whack it hard with a hammer a few times to flatten the top of the stub. Do this a few times, then get out the dremel tool and a little "cutoff wheel" for it. Cut a slot in the exposed broken stub of the bolt, and use an "Impact driver" tool (the kind you hit with a hammer) with a straight blade screwdriver bit.

Good luck with it.

 

I was able to get it free using my extension and hammering the stub flat, which seemed to break it loose, then I used the dremel to cut the groove and was able to turn it with some force with a flat head. Overall I got pretty lucky with this one especially with the thermostat housing being behind the Alt and AC compressor and inside the wheel well behind oil and brake lines.

Truck keeps temps a lot better now though, the old thermostat was stuck open at a trickle, not allowing the truck to warm up correctly, and not allowing the full flow passed when it was needed. It's good now though.

 

Ball Joints!!!!

Man what a difference new ones make.

My main symptom other than a clunk when turning right and going into a raised driveway or similar, was steering wheel corrections when hitting pot holes, going over bridges expansion joints, rail road tracks and running over those big cracks in black top that are left to right and go curb to curb. It is hard to describe but the front end just felt all wonky if that makes sense. I thought it might be sway bar links or shocks.

Anyway I got all four on today in about 5 hours and now the way it drives when experiencing the above is night and day.

I bought the Moog brand. All 4 cost about $100 off of Amazon.

This video tells you about 98% of what to do. I highly recommend doing it this way. I have seen a few other videos that get the job done but involve much more work. Plus this dude is funny.

 

Spent about 4 hours detailing it today.
Started by washing it then I went over every inch of paint and windows with a clay bar.
Washed it again and then waxed it, then went over all the plastic trim with trim restorer.
The paint is so smooth and clean now it feels soft.