An Old Chevy Blazer Is SUPER Cheap, But Is It SUPER BAD? Let's Find Out! 

I have on as a rental right now. I concur. BUT the old s10 blazer is by far the worst vehicle I have ever driven

That's because they actually look like SUVS and the new ones like some hybrid SUV, hatch, sportwagon that soccer moms designed.

Sadly they descrated the Blazer nameplate & put it on a women's only car.

@@googleaccount2637 Yep. The old K5 Blazers were wayyyyyyy better looking.

AGREED, AREED, AGREED..

You’re correct. That’s part of the reason a 350 practically bolts up in those things with few mods.

That explain to me now the "bad" Gas Mileage, at least compared to an 2nd Gen 4x4 Tahoe with the 5.3. Was really looking forward for an 2000ish Blazer but with that Gas Mileage, I consider I get a Tahoe & have a V8 😅

I need to you show me how putting time chains in 1996

Had 3 different 4.3s with around 200k. Only one transmission rebuild

I did the math and you’re correct, .71 liters per cylinder.

Never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity should be GM motto and I LIKE GM.

Yeah I was really disappointed when they revealed it.

GM Australia had a Colorado based SUV,they still may.

The new blazer was certainly a let down and should not have been given the name. But what everyone seems to forget is that the full size Blazer gained 2 doors and became the Tahoe and Yukon.

There's the Trailblazer based on the Colorado/S10 worldwide, but you aren't missing much.

Truth.

“Luxury” cars are getting cheaper. “Regular” car brands are getting stupid expensive.

Just poking and prodding in the bronco at a dealer reveals the terrible quality. I daily a 4runner a night and day difference

The tire carrier rattle needs grease or oil and that stops it as well as the pop-up window which needs the same, no truck is perfect just look at Jeeps great Rubicon bad seating position for a tiring ride offroad and bad on-road handling, and they say the new Bronco has a noses top and bad top. I say the S10 Blazers were a great mix reliable like a Toyota more so than Jeep and almost as good as a Rubicon off-road and much more car-like on road.

Buuuuurn!

Yep very low end tq

Had a 93 Sonoma with the 4.3. That thing was a beast

I love the 4.3!! My AWD Astro has 200,000 and I have only replaced 1 alternator and the fuel pump. Such a solid van

Especially if it’s the 5speed manual with some cam work🔥

How is the Gas Mileage when it comes to a 4x4 2000ish Blazer? Combined I read everything from 10 to 19 mpg but never know how they used the Blazer. It drives me crazy. Definitely not getting a V6 when for example a 2nd 4x4 Thaoe gets the same Gas Mileage.

Very weak ball joints. I lost count of how many of those I changed in S-10 Blazer crap cans.

what's the go to for ball joint brands?

Yes sir, love my 02 blazer ZR2

Just bought one, definitely could have gotten a less rusty non zr2 for the same amount, but, it was an 05 with a sunroof. 260k, drove it for two hours home, needs tires maybe some front end. Parts are cheap as hell compared to my one ton diesel.

My is a 1999 ZR2

The 4.3 totally rocks! That's a little torque monster. The 96+ has the true vortec motor.

Yup that 4.3 is probably the most reliable engine Chevys made. There's a reason why it was kept around for 20 years. Damn shame they started getting rid of it

@@dariobartolomeo5094 4.3 and the 3.8

4 doors are better

I've had 2 Blazer's and both were 4 door. Both had over 200,000 miles when I sold them. 1 had to have a water pump and the had to have a 4wd actuator in the transfer. That 4.3 was the best motor GM has ever made. In my opinion.

@@guardrail2897 Our 97 4dr (got it in 99) Blazer was well equipped, comfy, not too slow and hella capable. I remember a year when the river by my grandparents house flooded and they needed to be evacuated. We forded a solid three feet of water for 15m just to get to them. We had to go through people's front yards the whole way because the street was even lower by a foot or so. It didn't even break a sweat and didn't let a drop of water past the roo seals. Eventually we traded it in for a brand new showroom model 2002 Trailblazer LTZ , one of the most problematic vehicles I've ever owned. It was a night and day ownership experience. The only thing the blazer didn't have that the trailblazer had was an entertainment system and heated seats. Within a year the TBZ was in the shop at least a dozen times. Contrarily, the blazer ended up getting picked up by my grandpa from the dealer for what they paid us for it. He was super happy to get rid of his old 92 Cavalier Wagon and he got another trouble free 100k miles, bringing it over 300k before he sold it and it soldiered on for several more years under the care of a family friend. The only thing I don't buy in this video is the 20+ mpg with the automatic trans. No way. We massaged maybe 17mpg babying it on the eway.

If you watch Precision Transmission Richard talks about how even the factory coolers are not enough if you’re working these transmissions. I’ve watched several of his videos where he tears them down and shows the damage.

Yeah I had 3 blazers, never any transmission issues

@@OUSWKR yeah but what did the owners use it for ? Plow truck , 4 wheelin rough terrain ??

This makes me want to buy one of these even more 😂💯

I picked one up for $750 in late 2019 and it is extremely stout.

Awesome suv but dam are they thirsty

@@Norwisco 18-20mpg on hwy isn’t bad for a 4x4

I only could manage around 15 with mine did have 220k on it so mabe in her younger years mabe my 05 ram gets 20mpg on highway with a v8

@@wildbill23c I’m talking about the mid 2000’s Trailblazer. It has a straight 6.

The fuel pumps are a pretty unique one, they operate pulse modulated off the ecu but as luck would have it, a 6.0/5.3/4.8 ecu will run that fuel pump, stock radiator works with a little ingenuity, f-body exhaust manifolds or motor mounts and headers off Summit for around $750 Canadian, a 5.3/4.8 clutch from a half ton equipped with the NV3500 will fit into that trans and the bell housing bolts are all the same as well (I would be leery about putting a stock 5.3 clutch behind a 6.0 just don’t think she’d take the jam from the 6.0) you run into some clearance issues between the engine and rad, electric fans are a must, I’ve seen lots of guys use Chrysler intrepid fans in various applications for whatever reason they are pretty easy to install, boom you have yourself a V8 blazer/jimmy/s10/Sonoma Edit: maybe one day I will get around to buying a 4.8 to put in my Jimmy😅

@@manisandjr8435 It does depend on what year Blazer or S10 you go with as far as how easy it can be. I did a 4.8 swap on a 90 S10 and still spent about 2 grand back in 2008 because yes you "could" use the oem radiator, fuel pump and transmission. But where these things are north of 20 plus years old you might as well get new parts...more work now means less work later.

You can do a sbc swap for under 600$ if you get a junkyard engine. It’s damn near plug and play except you have to pin in 2 connectors for the injectors and everything else is perfect

I've owned more lol

3rd gen 4.3 where junk

Just bought a 98 S10 wrecked Wife and I swapped the front clip,changed water pump,radiator,, and spark plugs, hit the key and Wallace, that 4.3 is a runner, it’s a 5 speed with 161k. Runs GR8

@@rickreese5794 you mean voila, it’s a runner? Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Engine is solid. Plastic interior is garbage. I like you have had 3 of them. The interior is the worst.

Is he willing to sell it?

@@keyosh1152 I'm sure he would for the right price, I haven't really talked to him about it in a while. I do think he enjoys maintaining it

@@Fordguy1997 you should ask! I’m really interested in a 2 door blazer that’s actually in decent condition.

Can you bring me 1, I'm stuck at work?

That transmission will fail soon. But hopefully not

@@Blue-moon12 If it does, whatever. I can replace it or just buy something else.

even if that transmission goes out it can easily be rebuilt because of how simple it is, or you can just get a junkyard transmission for cheap, either way it would last at least 10 more years and is definitely worth doing.

@@Qwertyuiop-wg5xu good to know… the only thing I want to do with it right now is replace the rear doors. They are rusting on the bottom and i hate rust. It’s not bad I just don’t like it. Other than that it’s a good vehicle.

@@Qwertyuiop-wg5xu That car at the junkyard may be there because of the transmission😂

What year had a factory locker? I thought it was optioned...? The details out there are fuzzy. I only get one wheel peels...

@@poppajules As per my understanding, all zr2s came with the factory automatic rear locker, both the pick up truck and the blazer.

@@nomaneme It was a limited-slip rear differential, not a true locker. And they wear out over time with use and would have to be rebuilt.

I dug a little deeper…it seems there is both, a limited slip and a locker (option G80 which was around $250).

​@@nomaneme RPO G80 = "AXLE,REAR,POSITRACTION,LIMITED SLIP" I had a 2001 Blazer ZR2 and I'm not aware of an Eaton MLocker that Wikipedia claims was a factory option, at least for the US market. EDIT: Apparently this is the same thing and Eaton OEM's it for GM.

The 4.3 is solid. Just not fuel effjcient. 16mpg is the norm

The 4.3 is a great engine. It is basically a 350 with 2 cylinders lopped off

@@NWI_Steel yea it is a 350 minus cylinder 5&6

@@broncomcbane6382 7&8 😅😂

@@PrivateBeeBop no. Its 5&6. Look at the camshaft profile. It isn't missing the cylinders on the end. It is missing the cylinders in the middle. The balance shaft is to compensate for the missing counterweights on the crank from 5&6. Every part # for a 350 is applicable for the 262.

Big diff between an 03 and this 96 is no EGR valve on the block and different spider injector's and manifolds it actually fixes some of the minor problems these engines had with the fuel injector system and the emissions nonsense

BTW, I am 6'3" and don't have any issues. My daily is a 1999 4door 4wd gmc jimmy and we 5.3 LS swapped a 2000 2door zr2. I just feel like you're being unnecessarily rough to them in areas.

Hey, do you know if 5sps manual came with 4dr?

Same

I just drove one for two hours at 110 k - 120k ... 05 zr2 needs tires for sure probably balls joints and maybe other front end but it drove decent and the engine/transmission shift nice. but the rattling from that spare tire mount. holy hell, its shocking at first.

They consume a lot of parts, I had a 99' S-10 ZR-2 and they consumer a couple of couple in parts a year.

I just picked up a '01 bravada a month or so ago and love it! 136k miles, never towed anything in its life. Runs great! Love the leather interior

i got a two tome red and silver

I actually prefer the body style on ‘94’s.