Buying Advice, 2000ish Blazers

[Lippyp]

I'm thinking of replacing my current daily driver 98 Isuzu Trooper (3.1 turbo diesel) with something a bit more fun as its a big slow old beasty and frankly I'm bored with it. I'm considering a late 90's early 200's Blazer. It seems they must have been sold here in the UK for a while around that point as I've sen RHD versions for sale here although LHD isn't really a problem for me if I can find an import.

I want to know the following:

What are they like to drive on road and off? What sort of mileage should I expect from a 4.3 V6 and what other engine options were there? How big is the rear loadspace? I'm struggling to get an idea of the size of them as they're not common here so what can I compare them to? For arguments sake are they the same size as a Landrover Freelander, Discovery or Range Rover? What's the aftermarket parts supply like for accesories and how easy are they to work on as I do most of my own servicing etc. How reliable are the 4.3's? What sort of mileage should I expect assuming a decent service history beforew it needs major work? Any common arears of rot to look out for etc.

As you can see I also have a 67 C10 long fleet so I like American cars!

Any help and advice welcomed.

Its this shaped one I'm looking at

[ofnaman]

I am a gm and land rover tech, so I do know the sizes of those cars. The 4 door blazer is definately bigger than a freelander but is smaller than a discovery. It's closer in size to the discovery. They are almost the same size as a trooper, possibly a bit bigger (more rear storage than a trooper). I've had a 2 door 2wd blazer and about 10 s10 pickups all with the 4.3l v-6. I've only had one 4wd s10. They all got between 18-24 mpg. My current truck is a std cab shortbed 4.3 5 speed and it gets 23 mpg on the highway. The 4wd's have an independent front suspension which improves the ride but handicaps it's off road abilities a bit. I personally go off roading quite a bit and the independent suspension on my old 4wd did just fine for me, but I knew it's limits. If I want to attempt harder trails I just take my atv. The blazers handle a lot better than freelanders, and ride a million times better than the discoveries. The discovery is quite a bit more capable off road compared to the blazer, but the blazers are a lot more reliable. Hope this helps a little.

[Lippyp]

Thanks, that helps a lot. I'm not so bothered about size as if I want a taste of full size America then I have my C10 and I no longer need something as big as the trooper anyway. What I do want is something a bit more exciting to drive than the trooper, this is my second trooper and I've never really bonded with it like I did with the older first one I had, its not as much fun to drive either even though its a newer model and has a bigger engine (3.1L as opposed to a 2.8) theres not really any more power and its a fair bit heavier so feels dead slow. My wifes 08 Nissan X-Trail feels like a sports car in comparison but it does have about 30 more HP and a six speed gearbox and is considerably lighter.

We've had two Freelanders as the wife liked them but hell are they unreliable, the last was an 04 TD4 she had from new (company car) and it broke down regularly to the point where it needed a new engine at 75K miles as leaking injectors had bore-washed it so badly all the bores were scratched and worn.

I like the look of the blazers, parts supply isn't really an issue as I deal with various specialists for my truck over here and so can get all the bits plus the internet is a wonderful thing. They seem to be as with most American vehicles well equipped. Off road ability isn't a huge requirment as I don't do a lot but its nice to be able to deal with the snow we get sometimes and know if I want to go off down a few dirt roads I can. I do tow up to about a ton and a half now and then so thats well within its grasp. As to the front suspension the trooper has the same torsion bar independant front and I understand thats limitations so its no biggie.

These are my old and current troopers.





Keep the advice coming guys, what should I be looking for? any common problems with engines, bodies etc? How long lived are the nines? whats considered to be high mileage? What point did they change models as I think there was a newer style than these am I right? What size wheels/tyres did these things come with as I have a set of decent 235 75 15 General Grabber AT2's on the remains of the old trooper and I think 245 75 16's on the new one I would want to swap over if whatever I buy has road rubber on.

Thanks again

[ofnaman]

One main difference is engines. I am not sure what engine gm puts in blazers that are exported. If you end up getting an American blazer 4x4 it will almost certainly come with a 4.3l gasoline engine and a 4l60e automatic transmission. I could be wrong, but I dont think gm built any newer ('95-'04) 4x4 blazers with a 5 speed manual (don't quote me on that). The engine and even transmission are pretty bullet proof as long as they are taken care of and properly maintained. My old 4x4 had 220,000 miles on the stock engine and transmission and it still ran great and did not smoke at all (we also have strict emmissions laws in Reno, NV and it alway's passed with flying colors). My curent truck has 195,000 miles on the original 4.3 engine and it still runs great. The main things that fail are fuel pumps, fuel injector spider assemblies, oil cooler lines leak, and power steering lines leak. That is mainly it. Being a gm technician I have seen a lot of these trucks in the shop. The ones that are taken care of last forever, the ones that are neglected and abused fail rather quickly (just like ANY other vehicle). The body style you showed is the latest style blazer produced (however American blazers have different tail lights, I have never seen those, I kind of like them). The newest offering from gm are trailblazers but they are completely different. I prefer the older blazers over the newer trailblazers. I have driven many troopers but they all had gas engines in them. I prefer the blazer over a trooper because they are more comfortable to me (this is just my opinion). The other good thing about gm vehicles in general is that there are a ton of them out there so parts are really easy to find.

[ofnaman]

I also meant to mention that the body style you have pictured was offered from '95 -'04 in America. The front ends and interior changed slightly over the years, and they offered different fuel injection in the earlier ones (slightly different).