Chevy s10 blazer Help

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EdgarCervantes

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Hey guys I am 16 years old.. I have 3,000 dollars saved up from working, and I am ready to buy my first new used car lol I was looking into the chevy s10 blazers to fix up little by little and make it look pretty but I would like some advice from some of you older guys that actually have experience with cars. I would really appreciate it because I live with my mom and I havent seen my dad in a LONG time so I have to look for advice somewere else.... Thank you Very much for any input. But okay I just want to know what kinda problems these trucks have and if say i do have to replace the engine/transmission how much it cost for a new or used one? Thank You once again...


Edit: I forgot to mention that i wont spend all the money on this truck, ill buy one for say around 1.500-2,000ish and keep the rest for say any "emergencys" the truck has..
 
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bowtiefreak

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I used to have an s-10 pick up, it was my first truck. I loved it. Never really had any big problems, broke the distributer rotor a few times but it is a cheap fix. Truck ran well for me. I spent a ton of money on it over the year just making it mine (dropped it, new motor, paint, stereo, the whole list) all in all it was good to me. it was a 1987. good truck IMO
 

HotCarl

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My dad used to have an '89 S-10 Blazer, black and silver with red interior. It was a sweet rig, although I was really too young when he owned it to remember any problems it had, and the only thing I can remember is the 4wd crapped out once, but that was all. He sold her in '97 and bought the Tahoe brand new, but that S-10 was solid.
 

MrJP

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I've had 2 Blazers in my life. I bought a new 91 and had problems with the ABS. I believe this was the first year for it. But it was in the shop more than it was at my house. I sold it in less than a year. I now have an 04 with over 150K on the clock and it runs like a champ.

My suggestions, 1. unless you plan on offroading a lot, stay away from the 4wd's. If you plan on offroading, expect it to cost you to keep it working correctly. 2. get the latest generation, 98 fwd, I believe. 3. expect to do brake jobs about annually. these puppies are ******* rotors. and 4. put a decent cold air kit on it and reprogram the computer. There is a reasonable amount of power, and fuel economy to be had by just these two changes.

Asside from going through brake rotors, the only issue I've heard about are the levers on the front seats to allow recline. But there is a reasonable fix out there for this.

Personally, this is a great vehicle. Good luck finding a decent example in your price range.

Oh, and you can find new motor and tranny pricing at several sources online.
 

onlygm4me

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I've ownd 2 S10 Blazers, and 3 S10 trucks. I loved them all, but do require a little more work than the full size rigs.

A few tips........

Buy '87 or newer (older ones had tranny issues) but the '87 is one off year and parts can be tougher to find (as I learned from owning one), so maybe get a '88 or newer.

buy a 4.3V6 (the 2.8V6's are junk)

Vortecs blow head gaskets (mid '90's and newer) mine blew at 220,000 miles costs around $700

My auto tranny blew at 222,000miles, used tranny $450, to have it put in $650

had a rearend rebuilt at 190,000 for $800

the 4x4's have weak front ends (axles, u-joints, ect.)

Never had a engine go on me, the 4.3 is tough (go to 270,000 easy)

If you do plan to 4x4, these little rigs do great!

As you can see between 185,000-230,000 they can get $$$, find one that has had some of this work already done or one with low miles.

Also google "Blazer forum" and you'll have info out your ears.

Good luck! Buy one and enjoy!
 

07Burb

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What year are you looking at? If it was me, I'd look at a 94 or earlier (basically the square body styles). You'll get more for your money and they are really good quality and run forever if maintained correctly. You could get a clean one for around $1k if you looked hard enough (at least around my area you can :shrug:).
 

Drumrunner

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Back in late 1991 I bought an 87 S-10 blazer 4x4. Biggest pos on the planet. I went through 5 transmissions in 7 months. I even told the dealer that it needs an external trans cooler that is the problem. But they ignored me and kept replacing them under warranty. I got tired of driving a rental car all the time so i just traded it in. I did also own a 95 S-10 p/u and never had an ounce of trouble.
 
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