Attention 95-04 Blazer/Jimmy Owners

ok guys, well, i have been looking for a new truck to buy for school thats comfy and is reliable, and i took into consideration the 95-04 model years of the s10 blazers, 4 door, 4x4, with the 4.3L V6. can anyone tell me the pros and cons of this particular vehicle? problems faced, good things, etc. i need to know before i break down and buy one, my girlfriend wants something more compfy than my little mazda and i want something thats both 4x4 and off road capable. joe, i know you have that jimmy, any issues with the motor of it? miles that things need replaced at, what goes wrong and when? i need to know everything there is to know about these paticular types of vehicles... and what abouts are the costs of owning one, not book value or how much they run for, how much you would pay for one that is 4x4, has a sunroof, 4 doors, and auto transmission.

I didn't own a Blazer, but I did own a 4.3L. It was a 1993 GMC Sierra 2500. I have to say, those motors (in my experience) are crappy, at least in a full size application. Original engine spun a bearing at 120K, remanned JASPEr engine blew a head gasket at 130K. Rebuilt it, and it ran decent until I sold it last month. They are very gutless, IMO. Have to downshift two gears to get up some hills.

me and willy to this day will disagrea on the engine.. lol. from my experiance the 4.3 is great. its everything else is the problem.. the drivetrain is great for a "stock" vehicle but we al know mine isnt stock and i have more problems with it then hell.. most of them being becuase i beat the ever living snot out of it any chance i get but thats how i treat all my vehicles and if they cant handle it i dont own them for long.. lol

what size tire can you fit stock? im looking to put 31's on one without any lift. is this possible? oh yeh, and are body lifts worth it?

body lifts are cheap and do the job but in reality you dont gain any ground clearance with them.. you can get 31s on the blazer without a lift if you dont have to turn. even mine rub like hell with the lift and all.

that sucks... so a stock all terrain tire ike a bf goodrich mud terrain will fit? oran all terrain ko?

you can get as much as a 29.5 mud terain on there stock. if you crank the torsion bars you can get bigger but youll kill your balljoints and they will rub from lock to lock. but you still have to put shackles on the rear to lift it.

how much did your lift cost you?

my lift was 500 bucks. its from rouch country. i have never had a problem with it other the the front control arm move when i was wheelin. i fixed that by tack welding the ecentrics in place. alot of people had to do that though.

ok, is that a suspension lift? and how much inches was it?

yeah thats suspension. if i max it out its 4 in the front and 2 in the rear to level it out. i usually drive around with it at 2 and 2 but when i wheel i crank up the front.

it has torsion bars? probably the same set up as my ranger i would imagine

Yeah fords have torsion bars too. The TBI 4.3 the Will is talking about is a gutless wonder however the 4.3 vortec the Joe's talking about is a whole different monster!

yeah its amazing what a little update can do.. lol

I know right add a couple sensors here and there and put a different intake on it a BOOM a whole new motor is born!!

FaselZ71 wrote:

I know right add a couple sensors here and there and put a different intake on it a BOOM a whole new motor is born!!

Isn't that all Chevy has ever done?









I kid, but honestly....the TBI 4.3L sucks....I'll never intentionally buy one.

thats why i was wondering, i haent heard of any 4.3's tha were good. my buddy has an 89 blazer with the tbi, and he hates it

all the 4.3s i know are good. same as the 350 minus 2 cylinders. Maybe the vortec was a fluke

the original vortec has a couple bugs, they originally where called the vortec 4.3 but in 98 they changed the intake setup and it gave the engine a whole new life. no longer was it a dog that was horrible on gas. mine has plenty of power and i get 33 mpg average. i beat that motor pretty good and it has always taken it.. i use good oil and change it before i need to but it always looks really good for used oil.. still has a carmel tint to it and its globby or thin.. plus there is a large aftermarket lineup for parts on the blazer so its a win win

thats what i really want is th line of aftermarket parts. thats the only problem i had with my ranger is that only 1 place mde a suspension lift for my model and year, and that was superlift which as 4 grand, didnt feel like dumpin the money ino it

1993GMCSierra wrote:

I didn't own a Blazer, but I did own a 4.3L. It was a 1993 GMC Sierra 2500. I have to say, those motors (in my experience) are crappy, at least in a full size application. Original engine spun a bearing at 120K, remanned JASPEr engine blew a head gasket at 130K. Rebuilt it, and it ran decent until I sold it last month. They are very gutless, IMO. Have to downshift two gears to get up some hills.

yours must have been running like crap.. my cousin's 95 gmc fullsize would smoke the tires off with the stock 4.3

007jimmy wrote:

body lifts are cheap and do the job but in reality you dont gain any ground clearance with them.. you can get 31s on the blazer without a lift if you dont have to turn. even mine rub like hell with the lift and all.

UH.. my noma fit 33's with only a little beating to the fenders.. my 31's cleared like a dream.. and the later years sat higher than mine, beings my truck was the whimpy first year of the 2nd gen body style and sat 1-1/2" lower than the later years

79_bronco wrote:

yours must have been running like crap.. my cousin's 95 gmc fullsize would smoke the tires off with the stock 4.3

1995's were Multipoint Fuel Injection, IIRC. That had to make a difference, as from the day mine rolled off the line ,to the time I sold it, even with a replacement engine, it couldn't spin tires in even Low gear. Piece of crap.

yours was a dud than, majorly.. my little crappy 2.8 that's down a cylinder will spin the tires with a bunch of junk in the bed..

i just need something reliable and obviously theres an arguement if they are relaible or not, but judging by the number of people who said that they are in fact a reliable motor, im going to have to take their word for it. next question, completely stock suspension, with meaty tires, comfy?