buying a blazer for off roading need advice
 

So i found this 95 4 door chevy blazer 4x4 with 95000 miles on it for $2600 but the price can be negotiated. Its gonna be a daily driver but also an off road machine. If i were to buy it i would lift it 2 or 4 in put bigger tires on and lock diffs. Now is this blazer any good for some light off roading and mudding since im just starting out. Also how much do the parts run for the blazer are they expenisve and is there alot to choose from? And is that a good deal on that blazer for 2600 it says it only has some light scratches that doesnt bother me. But what do you guys think. Also how easy are they to work on? Could i learn on it and do the stuff by myself or would i need a pro to put the lift and all that stuff?

thank you all very much

Repair parts are relatively cheap considering. Lifts can be cheap (up to 2" Suspension or 3" Body), but over that and you are looking at $$$.

The problem you will run into is that the front suspension will only allow up to a 2" suspension lift before you will start eating ball joints and CV shafts due to the angles.

To get over 2" suspension lift and keep the IFS (independent front suspension), you are looking at over a grand for the drop brackets of a 6" suspension lift. But you could always do a SFA (solid front axle) conversion and if you are good at finding parts, it should be cheaper and stronger than a 6" IFS lift.

So then would it be a better idea to get a jeep cherokee? are the parts for it cheap and is it just overall easier to do stuff with it?

There is a lot more available for a Jeep Cherokee in terms of lift.

It all depends on what you want to do with the truck overall, both on and off road. You have to look at all of the situations you see yourself using the truck for. For me, a Cherokee was too darn small. IMO, the Grand Cherokee did not seem all that much larger to warrant the higher cost than what I paid for my 2000 Bravada at the time.

i think it would be fine if u just get like shackles and and t bar spacers it wouldnt cos t you much at all and u got a lest 4 or 5 inchs out of it and u could easly get 30'in tires you would be putting some mud holes to shame

im just asking cuz im thinking on buying my first truck. Im gonna use it as a daily driver but on the weekends i would like to go off roading, nothing to serious so that i dont do to much damage to the truck. I would like to do some mudding and just some trails, not looking into rock crawling or anything like that. So if you can give me some advice for which truck to look for that be awesome i would really appreciated it. Im willing to spend 3000 and the truck must be 4 door. For now it would be my dads but im turning 17 and will have my license in like 3 months so if its 4dr and around the year 95 or higher my insurance shouldnt be to bad.

Also we have a jeep cherokee laredo and would that be any good for off roading and are the parts for that jeep expensive?

thanks and im looking for alot of advice so that i can learn more about trucks and off roading and what not.

well the guy replied to me with the chevy blazer and its a 95 year with 95000 miles and the guy wants 2600 what would u guys say, do you think its a good deal b/c i think it is maybe negotiate to like 2300 or 2400 idk let me know what u guys think im no pro.

Without pictures and a test drive its hard to say if it's a good deal or not. Those could be 95000 grocery getter miles or 95000 miles of abuse. I love my blazer but I've put a lot of work into it and I'm still not 100% happy with it. If you can find a Toyota 4Runner(I know this will raise some eyebrows lol) in your price range take it for a drive for sure, they are very relaible and very cheap on gas(4cyl models anyways) also tough as nails. Look at Jeeps as well, if you are going to buy the Blazer though I would bring it to a mechanic and have him pre-inspect it it shouldn't cost much more then $25 and it could save you a lot in the long run.

Make sure whatever you take out you check all the fluids - look for buildup of gunk in the blazers antifreeze, it will be a rusty color - check for play in the steering wheel - if there is slop find out where its coming from, if its the rag joint that's not so bad if its the tie rods, steering box, pitman arm and such it could get a little costly - Make sure the torsion bars aren't cranked way up - looking at the lower control arm near the back you will find a thick bar that runs to a crossmember a few feet away, at the end of the bar there is a metal key similarly shaped to a teardrop on its side and a bolt underneath it to adjust the height of the suspension. If the bolt is all the way in the previous owner cranked it up to get a little lift or the torsion bars are worn so much they had to crank them up to bring the truck to stock height. Make sure the brakes are working as they should and that the brake lines are good as well. Most importantly check that the 4wd is working - take it on a gravel road and spin the rear tires in 2wd(have a friend watch), then put it in 4wd and try to do it again instead of them spinning so easily you will move forward quicker.

Just give it a very good visual check and report anything you see here and you will get a lot of help. Don't jump and buy the first thing you see and don't act too excited to the seller when you go to take a look at it and you may be able to knock him down a few dollars! Hope this helps.

actually i have found a couple of toyota 4 runners but how many miles should the car have when i buy it i found one that has 150000 and the guy wants 2300 but i think thats a lot of miles.

ill just keep looking for a jeep, or the toyota 4 runner, and is the toyota easy to work on and inexpensive to maintain?

Go Chevy
 

If you don't mind, I would like to put in my two cents...

Cherokee are a very expensive to lift. They come in a uni-body format (frame and the truck are the same) and are independent suspension. They have great engines (inline 6), so if lifting the truck is not that important to you right now, the Cherokee is a safe bet. If you can wait and save a little more money, I would strongly suggest a wrangler, 6cylinder.

4 runners for very dependable and usually come with a 4 cylinder engine, they are great on gas and will do well in a light 4x4 trips, in all honesty they just don’t have the power to hang with the big boys and forget about mudding.