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So I’m very new to Blazers and mechanical things in general. This one has relatively low miles, 95,000, and was owned by a Chevrolet dealership manager who had all maintenance taken care of at the dealership. What are some common things to look at/potentially upgrade that I can do myself on this ‘04?
Wow, you got a gem of a rig! If you have the service records, even better as you can check them against the advice you are going to get.
I think there is a thread on common Blazer problems but to get the ball rolling here are the ones that pop into my head:
leaky remote oil filter lines
bad lower intake manifold (LIM) gaskets. These can fail without warning dumping coolant into the interior of the engine, ruining it. Yours might be late enough to have escaped the bad gaskets they used at the time.
worn front wheel bearing hubs
coolant system sludge from mixing of the old style Dexcool with the traditional green coolants. If the maintenance was done by a dealership, this will not be a problem but you should be aware that not all mechanics and especially those Quick-Lube places will not know to not mix these.
transmissions that fail due to lack of preventative maintenance. But again, you won't have this problem unless it was used for towing and over heated.
the engine-compartment vacuum lines can dry-rot and fail over time. I have a thread below in my signature of how I figured out the sizes of the hoses when I replaced them.
The driver's door hinge pin bushing can wear out. I had to replace mine about the same mileage as yours.
The sensors for the airbags located under the front bumper can go bad and give a check airbag system light. The only thing is to find a wrecked Blazer and swap out the sensor.
My general advice is to get follow the period service schedule to keep it on the road. Don't take it for granted. I made up a spreadsheet to help remind me when I should to these.
Wow, you got a gem of a rig! If you have the service records, even better as you can check them against the advice you are going to get.
I think there is a thread on common Blazer problems but to get the ball rolling here are the ones that pop into my head:
leaky remote oil filter lines
bad lower intake manifold (LIM) gaskets. These can fail without warning dumping coolant into the interior of the engine, ruining it. Yours might be late enough to have escaped the bad gaskets they used at the time.
worn front wheel bearing hubs
coolant system sludge from mixing of the old style Dexcool with the traditional green coolants. If the maintenance was done by a dealership, this will not be a problem but you should be aware that not all mechanics and especially those Quick-Lube places will not know to not mix these.
transmissions that fail due to lack of preventative maintenance. But again, you won't have this problem unless it was used for towing and over heated.
the engine-compartment vacuum lines can dry-rot and fail over time. I have a thread below in my signature of how I figured out the sizes of the hoses when I replaced them.
The driver's door hinge pin bushing can wear out. I had to replace mine about the same mileage as yours.
The sensors for the airbags located under the front bumper can go bad and give a check airbag system light. The only thing is to find a wrecked Blazer and swap out the sensor.
My general advice is to get follow the period service schedule to keep it on the road. Don't take it for granted. I made up a spreadsheet to help remind me when I should to these.
wow, lots of info here, thanks for the reply! I’ll take a look at the service records and see what all was done, I know she was babied, but sometimes things can fail due to the the age of the vehicle.
Take a look at the upper ball joints. They are a weak design and have a tendency of wearing fast. Also the brake rotors were not very well designed and tend to get overhot and warp. That one will be noticeable if you feel excessive pulsing when you stop.
Take a look at the upper ball joints. They are a weak design and have a tendency of wearing fast. Also the brake rotors were not very well designed and tend to get overhot and warp. That one will be noticeable if you feel excessive pulsing when you stop.
Yes. Those too.
I just now recalled that the idler arm can wear out too.
Take a look at the upper ball joints. They are a weak design and have a tendency of wearing fast. Also the brake rotors were not very well designed and tend to get overhot and warp. That one will be noticeable if you feel excessive pulsing when you stop.
Things to check/beginner upgrades?
