Hi guys. I'm the newcomer on this site. I recently picked up a 1999 Chevy Blazer 4x4 with 190,000 miles on it. It had very loose steering, felt like a boat rocking on the freeway, thermostat goes up when not moving, bouncing gas needle, bald tires, a very embarrassing rattle from the catalytic converter that over powers the exhaust sound, but the engine and transmission were good.

Fast forward to now. I've been working on replacing and fixing problems with the truck and each repair is a night and day difference. So far, I've done the following:

Idler arm, pitman arm, inner and outer tie rods replaced
Upper and Lower balljoints replaced
Front and rear shocks replaced
Front wheel hub assemblies replaced
Tires replaced with barely used tires that have actual thread on them
Alignment (lifetime alignment with Firestone is awesome! Already done 4 alignments so it has paid itself off already.)
Spark plugs and wires replaced with AC Delco
Thermostat replaced with coolant flushed (previous owner used straight water and thus, rust or brown goo was in cooling system)
Catalytic converter replaced (was so clogged I couldn't go up a hill)

My next to do on this list is:
Fix or replace axle/differential (I have a thread opened about this issue)
Replace Cap and Rotor
Replace battery
Fix bouncing gas needle

I recently started school again, this time to get my engineering degree. I haven't progressed far enough to get into engineering concepts, but I have experience working with cars as a hobby. I know the blazer can be a better performing vehicle so my questions and goals are relating to improving the truck. My goal is to keep the truck stock-like, but also the improve everything possible with the truck.

Engine
What can we do to make this blazer better? Anything we can do to make the 4.3 better, or would a 5.3 be a better platform to work with? I'm looking for a balance of performance and fuel economy in a reliable package.

Body and Suspension
I know the truck is a wee bit on the heavy side. What kind of diet should the blazer be one, while keeping all the creature comforts? An example would be stronger and lighter control arms, better leaf springs, etc. What do you guys suggest for making the truck handle better on and off road? Tires for fuel economy with decent enough traction for off road and/or weather? I just want to have ideas on where to start with the blazer. Sorry for the long winded post.

 

So off road performance and fuel economy are not really going to be the best of friends. Especially when it comes to tires. If you are doing light offroading, street tires would work, but you would suffer. If you go to even AT tires, you'll see a drop in MPG, and you still won't see a huge difference in off road performance unless you are in muddy or very loose terrain.

If you could find lighter and stronger control arms, you could do that, but CAs aren't usually a place where people try to save weight. And honestly, most people don't try to lighten these up as they are truck frames with an suv body on it. Not too mention lighter usually means weaker unless you go to a more expensive metal/alloy.

The 4.3 is a good, low RPM torque engine, but it would be hard to make it more economic. Same goes with the 5.3, making an engine economic is not easy once the engine is designed and built. The best way would be to monitor your foot, and even that will only get you so far. If you could lighten the truck it would help for sure, but that is a tall feat as well with keeping the creature comforts.

 

2wulf, are you still out there and still driving a 1999 Blazer 4 WD? You have asked some great questions. Let us know if you are still on the list.