OK I read some other threads on here and was about to just tack onto one of theres, but instead of a thread Hijack, I figured a new thread Wood work.

We brought home our first Non Fiero daily driver Saturday. With FieroChick being 4.5 months along, getting her and out of her Fiero was starting to get odd. So buying a 4 seat vehicle with 4 doors got important. I have always liked the GM 4.3 motors. So along comes a 1996 Chevy Blazer AWD version. With 4 doors fully loaded, leather you name it. The AWD kinda worries me it being full time 4wd but runs decent, drives decent, looks pretty good. I have not owned anything aside from Fiero's for the last 15 years, so to me my 88GT is how I think the average cars should handle and is the "norm" so it took a quick realization that this thing, don't stop or corner that well at all. Everything mechanically was checked out before we bought it, new front brakes were installed and new wheel cylinders in the rear. Has 1 minor electrical issue, O2 Sensor Bank 2, Sensor 4 barley moves. Who in the hell decided you needed 4 freaking O2 sensors. So we are going to have to pick up another one.

Also thinking a good tune up is in order. Just by the looks of it, the previous owners probably ran it to Jiffy Lube's to get oil and filter and minor stuff done, but Tune Ups may not have been done often.

I figure its going to need the norms, Plugs, Wires, Rotor, Cap, maybe a fresh coil. Fuel Filter and other misc items.

Anyone with the 96 area 4.3 Votrec looked into good quality aftermarket ignition parts. I'd like to put a similar setup as the Fiero's.
MSD Cap, MSD Rotor, MSD Superconductor Wires, MSD Blaster II Coil. Probably just go with a good Steel Core Delco Plug though. This is not something I want to have to work on, on a regular basis, just want to put good quality parts in it, then let the wife drive it. Without having to worry that the parts are wearing out quickly.
If there is a different brand that works better I am all up for the info, I only use MSD because I know it and trust the quality.

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85GT Soon to be 87GT,93 Eldorado 4.9, 5spd Dual O2 Custom Chip, Custom Exhaust. MSD Everything Capt Fiero --- My Over View Cadero Pics Yellow 88GT 5spd Full Poly Suspension, Lowered 1/2" in front, Corner Carver.

I have always used DELCO plugs on GM vehicles, And Autolite on Fords.

they make a difference beleive it or not.

Now wires and the rest just go with the best you can afford.

Steve

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Technology is great when it works,
and one big pain in the ass when it doesn't.
Detroit iron rules all the rest are just toys.

I had a 96 GMC Jimmy 4x4.

I had constant issues with the ball joints. I owned it for 5 years & replaced 3 sets of ball joints. 1 pitman arm, outer tie rod ends.

The motor itself was Ok. Did loose the head gasket around 110,000 miles.
(Does the idler pulley falling off on the highway count?)

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86 GT
87 coupe restoration project.

I use the MSD Super Conductors on my truck. They are good low resistence wires that should last you a very long time. You should not have to buy a MSD rotor or cap. As long as you buy the better than the cheapest ones, you will be fine. I also would not buy a new coil unless you know for sure that your old one is bad. If you replace the wires and still have ignition problems, then consider getting the MSD Blaster Coil. I still have the stock coil in my truck and it has 135k miles on it.

You can change you truck to a 4WD. You would have to either replace your front differential or just switch the passenger side driveshaft tube with one from a 4WD. If you change the whole differential, then make sure you get one with the same gear ratio. After you change that out, then you will need to add a kit like this one:

http://www.off-roadweb.com/...i_lok_kit/index.html


edit: also, if you do switch to 4WD, it will be effectly the same as a factory unit. In other words you will only be able to engage it when you are at a complete stop. No switching on the fly like some trucks can do.

[This message has been edited by Doug85GT (edited 06-01-2009).]

Thanks for the heads up guys, it has a very slight miss at a high idle, and it being a "new to us" car, I'd like to give it a tune up. As for the suspension parts, before we bought it, it went through a government MVI, Motor Vehicle Inspection. Which checks all the suspension, chassis and brakes, every checked out except for the brakes, which we replaced. I have heard tons of horror stories about the brakes on these trucks. Thank Fully, it will be my wifes driver, probably won't even even see a gravel road let alone wheeling in the bush. Being as I won't be the one driving it, (read abusing it) I am hoping it should last better than average time lengths. I just hate working on things that I didn't break myself.

So as for mileage, the EPA estimates say it should be about the same fuel mileage as her 85 Fiero. (V6 Auto). Are there any "must do" mods to improve daily drivability, performance things. Not looking to hot rod it, just make it run better overall.

Nice tip on the AWD conversion stuff. I'll keep that in the back of my mind when the time comes. I am sure we are going to own this thing long enough that the transfer case or transmission will need to be serviced.

I forgot to mention that running 2WD mode does increase gas milage. I went from 18 MPG to 21 MPG highway on my truck when I had my propshaft out. If your wife will never need all 4 wheels then you can just remove the prop shaft and get a little bump in fuel milage. It just takes 8 bolts and the shaft drops out.

Ya the fuel was the biggest reason we were looking at 2wd models. With current gas prices at about $4.30 a gallon, we could end up at a $100 to fill the tank by the end of summer.


I wasn't even sure if I was going to post these pics but I figure ah what the heck.

We have not washed it or anything yet. So it needs a good scrubbing and maybe even a coat of wax.








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85GT Soon to be 87GT,93 Eldorado 4.9, 5spd Dual O2 Custom Chip, Custom Exhaust. MSD Everything Capt Fiero --- My Over View Cadero Pics Yellow 88GT 5spd Full Poly Suspension, Lowered 1/2" in front, Corner Carver.

[This message has been edited by Capt Fiero (edited 06-01-2009).]

Hey Capt,
Well, I am somewhat of a Blazer fanatic. I have had several over the past 20+ years from an '89 4 door up to an '03 ZR2. Seven in total, and am looking at another one now.

Problems along the way have been very very minor. My '95 needed ball joints at 115,000 miles,......... and that is it!
As with any vehicle, most people just do not maintain these as they think of them as just trucks, so they get neglected.
I have bought all of mine new, cared for them like I did my Fiero's and they will last forever.

As far as aftermarket stuff, I tried a few things and found that good ole GM parts were just as good and actually more reliable.

Mileage depends a lot on the driver, but I have been pretty much consistantly in the 18 city, 22 highway range with all of them.
As far as AWD, that is just an option with the push buttons on the dash. Automatic 4wd will kick into 4x4 if the traction is lost, but does use more fuel.
99% of the time, I drove my in the 2wd position.

OK, this is going to sound really dumb, but are you saying there is a way to simply "Turn Off" the 4wd This has no Button on the dash like the other Blazers I have been in to go between 4wd and 2wd. From what I have been told it is simply All Wheel Drive All the Time.

Good to know that if taken care of they do last. I didn't mean to sound like I was going to neglect it. I just wanted to make sure I was putting the best parts I could in it, so I didn't find myself working on it once a month. Lisa only puts 6000 or so miles on a car in an entire year. We still plan to take both Fiero's for club meetings and club events.

Oh Quick Question. This blazer has remote keyless entry, remote start and remote trunk, but there are 2 LED's on the dash. Is that a stock thing or ?? We can't get one of them to stop blinking. I took it to a friend that does alarms and he said without getting under the dash and start removing things, he isn't sure either. My guess was some sort of Valet mode, as it does not sound the horn or siren when you lock or unlock the car.

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85GT Soon to be 87GT,93 Eldorado 4.9, 5spd Dual O2 Custom Chip, Custom Exhaust. MSD Everything Capt Fiero --- My Over View Cadero Pics Yellow 88GT 5spd Full Poly Suspension, Lowered 1/2" in front, Corner Carver.

quote Originally posted by Capt Fiero: OK, this is going to sound really dumb, but are you saying there is a way to simply "Turn Off" the 4wd This has no Button on the dash like the other Blazers I have been in to go between 4wd and 2wd. From what I have been told it is simply All Wheel Drive All the Time. Good to know that if taken care of they do last. I didn't mean to sound like I was going to neglect it. I just wanted to make sure I was putting the best parts I could in it, so I didn't find myself working on it once a month. Lisa only puts 6000 or so miles on a car in an entire year. We still plan to take both Fiero's for club meetings and club events. Oh Quick Question. This blazer has remote keyless entry, remote start and remote trunk, but there are 2 LED's on the dash. Is that a stock thing or ?? We can't get one of them to stop blinking. I took it to a friend that does alarms and he said without getting under the dash and start removing things, he isn't sure either. My guess was some sort of Valet mode, as it does not sound the horn or siren when you lock or unlock the car.

Ahhh, that is the option we had here in the states on the Oldsmobile Bravada. No buttons to switch, just AWD.
The lights on the dash I have not seen on any of the ones I have owned.
I will do some checking, you got me curious about Canadian options on the Blazer.

Big decal on front of the engine bay, I just kinda took a random pics of things.

Everything is dirty as heck as we have not cleaned it yet. The person we bought it from was a personal friend that deals in cars. We passed on the usual detailing and cleaning, however so that both of us knew what we were buying/selling he kept all the records on the table for everything. He was doing us a favor as he knew we needed something bigger than a 2 seater and sold it to us for very little cash.

The gauges are all Metric being a Canadian model. However one thing I did note, that I have never seen NOT on a Canadian model is French, almost everything is written in French and English, however aside from a few stickers, everything is written in English.

I wasn't sure what would be important, so I just kinda snapped random pics.

The "Blank" panel next to the vent is where IIRC the 4wd drive button would have been on a normal model. However this just had a blank spot, I even looked behind for some wiring or sign of a switch, and its just an open hole that goes to the back of the dash.

i think you should have good luck with this one. my father has a 97 blazer he bought new and has since put 255,XXX miles on with only minor problems that i recall. he still drives it. looks as if the keyless entry is aftermarket so can't help ya there.

i don't recall if the 96's had this problem (especially yours being AWD) but my 2000 zr2 blazer AND my 98 sonoma both had the problem with the HVAC system that i guess is typical. aparantly the transfer case can force fluid into the vacuum system which will ruin your ability to swich from floor to vent to defrost and so on. there was a TSB for this i believe and is fixable. may be worth looking into if this fix has been done on your rig. feet get a little frosty in the winter when the warm air will only come out of the defrost vent.

the heater core goes bad (passenger carpet will be wet)use a better model than G M) do not use salvage yard (used)core
If driven around town the plugs build up deposits and the V6 will run like a plug wire is off..
if you accelerate fast a few times and the idle gets better it is the plugs change plugs every 2 years if only around town use ,every year
The bosch 4 electrodes load up ,,run single electrodes
you can change the plugs better from the bottom ..just remove the splash guards,,changing plugs is not a fun job

Clean battery area,, use the battery size called for,, not a smaller one,,Hmmm wonder how I know this ..

If replacing one of the 02 sensor before you do disconect a vacuum line and run engine in a lean condition for 30 seconds to 1 minute
you control the leak with your finger or an object in the vacuum line..like a small screw or bolt with a big head ..this is the ONLY way to clean and "possibly" help the sensors