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98 blazer Questions


Doug Rosewood

Question

So I bought a 98 blazer ls 4x4(4.3) as a beater to save some miles on the 2016. Its got some issues but nothing crazy major..appreciate any advice

 

1) drain plug drips after cooling down after driven..is this a common thing? I've never had a drain plug do this ever

 

2) the front lower portion of the block(under the fan) is coated in moist oil, nothing sprays out or pisses out its just coated everywhere(no visible sign of a leak)..any ideas?

 

3) lastly I have no idea what coolant is in this thing, could be dex cool could be the cheap stuff..i really don't want to flush the coolant out of this thing but I also don't want to turn the dex to fudge by mixing cheap stuff or dex into cheap stuff..is their another altnerative?

 

 

thanks

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The Tahoe was a much better built truck. The s-series trucks were cheapout central. All of mine from every generation loved to eat brakes and balljoints regularly, and all had the noisiest interiors I've ever heard ... aside from my '07 Silverado.

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I'd just dump the coolant, flush with distilled, and refill with Prestone green - that's what I do with all my new used vehicles. Eliminates alot of headaches down the road.

 

Those end links are common failure points too. The generations prior to yours had a craptastic design that used to rust through and leave the bar hanging down, under the control arms. Those were a joy to install, with the bar tension fighting you the whole way.

 

Got one busted on the plow truck now as a matter of fact.

 

20 years of New England road salt plus 3 years of plow duty, plus being parked over dirt for a while, really took it's toll on this one ...

 

IMG_7843.jpg

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On a '98, I'm willing to bet it's intake gaskets. If they've never been changed before, the OE gaskets were galactically craptastic - complete garbage. Pretty much guaranteed to leak. They were made of plastic, and broke in several places. Just awful.

 

See if you can see the ECT (engine coolant temperature) in the freeze frame data on the scan tool. If it's not 180° or higher, it's probably the intake gaskets leaking - they will leak bad when cold, and sometimes fix itself with a little heat.

 

I'd also double check ALL the vacuum lines - the rubber GM used in those years was horrendous. I remember my hands being jet black from rubber hoses that were just disintegrating just by touching them, on a '00 model 9 years ago. Was like black chalk. What a mess ...

 

To check the intake gaskets, wait until the next morning when the engine is cold, and get a squirt bottle of water - a plastic soda container with a hole pierced in the cap works well, since you can really dump the water on fast. Pour the water on the gasket surface of the intake / cylinder head. You'll hear it getting sucked in, and the idle speed will change a bit.

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Sounds alot like mine lol. I won't put a wrench on this thing unless I absolutely have to. Going to need it's 4th set of brake lines (that I know of - may be on it's 6th for all I know) pretty soon. Started leaking last winter during the last storm. Hasn't completely blown out yet, which is amazing. I try to go light on the pedal. As long as I don't drive it over the cliff pushing snow, I'm good. :lol:

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Thanks for the reply, every once in awhile I will get a mild whiff of coolant when its sat all night but not always. Like I said it idles and drives fine. I hopped in it tonight and drove to work (flipped the key and off I went with no warm up) and it ran fine. My buddy cleared the code, to see if it comes back..do you think they could of potentially been a fluke? also I've noticed it runs a little warmer then it did when I first got it, I figured with it being close to 100 degrees outside that it was normal..

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Par for the course. Mine needed all that and then some when I first got it.

 

That '00 Jimmy was the worst vehicle I have EVER owned. After 2 years of constant headaches, I parted it out. She's now become a decoration in my back yard.

 

I did use the engine, minus ALL electronics, in my '89 S10 Blazer. That one got us around for 7 years, and still was able to sell it for $1,800 after that. Put over 50k miles on that setup. Ran great with a carburetor and HEI ignition. :)

 

Jimmy_cut_up_no_doors_3.jpg

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Par for the course. Mine needed all that and then some when I first got it.

 

That '00 Jimmy was the worst vehicle I have EVER owned. After 2 years of constant headaches, I parted it out. She's now become a decoration in my back yard.

 

I did use the engine, minus ALL electronics, in my '89 S10 Blazer. That one got us around for 7 years, and still was able to sell it for $1,800 after that. Put over 50k miles on that setup. Ran great with a carburetor and HEI ignition. :)

 

Jimmy_cut_up_no_doors_3.jpg

here is the odd thing I guess, I've yet to had to add oil to it..its still reading above the operating level(guessing whoever changed the oil last put a full 5 quarts in it) the front of the block below the fan is saturated but its not really marking its territory. I keep an eye on the oil pressure and it gets as low as 20 psi at idle after being driven awhile and 40ish while actually moving...I'm just torn between putting money into it or just driving it til it fails, the steering is ok, the mechanic said they were just slightly loose not deadly..ah the joys of beaters

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Could be anything, really. Get a code reader on there and let's see what you've got.

 

Remember that whatever code it's showing doesn't mean that that particular part failed - could be any number of things that cause that code to be stored.

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