Anyone ever own a 95+ Blazer/Jimmy/Bravada?

[jurassic five 7]

Hey,

I'm looking for a truck this year, for the winter and when it rains, and also when i dont want to drive the Buick around really. I'm looking at the 1995-2005 Blazers/Jimmys/Bravadas.

Has anyone owned one of these? How was it? What problems did you have? Also would you recommend one to someone else?

I've read some reviews on them, and some good, and some bad. My friends family has 2 Blazers and Jimmy, and they love them.

Anyways, please help me out.

-Thank you, Adam

 

[chopped39]

Well they are not to bad .I would prefer 96 up. 95 models still have cpi injection. thats one injector with six poppet valves. problems waiting to happen.96 + models can scanned by autozone for free. they all will go through ball joints and various front end parts. oil cooler lines like to leak. two or four wheel drive. intake gaskets leak . felpro makes a nice gasket for these engines. check engine mounts . oil pan gasket likes to leak. make sure tune up was done with oem parts.aftermarket caps can cause all kind of problems. if it has air injection make sure it has updated inlet hose. always make sure the coolant system has been flushed.fuel pumps like going bad. kinda expensive. My good friend has a 98 Jimmy. He has had all the above done to his .his truck was a repo. thats why i never buy a repo cars. If people do not make their car payment. They sure as hell dont maintain it. I worked at chevy for about 6 years and seen my share of these trucks. But i would buy one of these before any other truck in that class.I work for a used car superstore now and i see what kinds of problems all cars and trucks have and i will stick to the blazer. the newer models with the straight six dont get the best gas mileage. but they pull pretty good. lots of torque. and there is people installing turbos on them already:biggrin: well hope this helps good luck with your purchase. remember to carfax and auto check it before you buy

 

[jurassic five 7]

Thank you, the one im currently looking at is a 99 Bravada with 99k on it. I'm going to go look at it on tuesday.

Anyways, since you work for a used car dealership, do you have access to carfax? If so, could you do one for me? :redface:

-Thank you!

Adam

 

[craggar]

I had a 95 Jimmy for a few years. I bought it used with 40K on it and put another 70K with no problems at all that I didn't cause. Had a little mishap 4X4 once. I would reccomend it to anyone. My friend has the Bravada although he hasn't put alot of miles on it he's had no problems either and likes it.

 

[cruzn57]

I've had 95 & 2000

95 jimmy, other than rear carrier bearings , was trouble free, 150k + mi, ran like a top.
have a 2000 now but only has 20k mi, ( wifes car) had to do an alt, but runs, drives great!

 

[GSX-PKV]

We had a 90 Jimmy, a 94 Blazer and a 97 Jimmy. We liked them and never had a problem with any of them.

 

[TR Custom Parts]

Currently have a 96 Blazer with 155K on it and a 98 Jimmy with 80K on it.

Have converted both over to the newer style injectors after getting some rough idle problems on both. Another problem not talked about is the door hinges. They tend to wear out pretty fast, usually just the driver's door. Not too hard to change out with the right tools though.

The 96 is starting to throw codes once in a while, something about the fuel vapor canister and the one that worries me is the code for transmission problems. Drove a long trip in 100 degree weather and it showed a code PO1870 (think that is what it was) and the tranny would shift 1st to 2nd like there was a shift kit in it. Cleared the code and it has been OK since.

The 96 is a LT and the 98 Jimmy is a LS model. Go for the LT if you can, nicer interior.

 

[turbofish38]

Bravada's are all AWD models. That might make a difference if you want the most MPG.

 

[DCVING 6]

Bravada's are all AWD models. That might make a difference if you want the most MPG.

I'm trying to sell my wife's 95 Blazer 4.3 4x4 right now, people don't believe me when I tell them it gets 18-19mpg regularly with 141,000 miles on it. And that is with the wife driving, I swear sometimes she'll out 60 foot my Buick.

 

[jurassic five 7]

Bravada's are all AWD models. That might make a difference if you want the most MPG.

Only pre-1996. They switched to what they call SmartTrack, this is when the rear tires spin, the front engages. So at all times i'll be in RWD, but if i hit sand, snow, the front wheels engage instantly, and you cant feel them engage at all. Basically a traction control.

Update: I bought the ''99'' Bravada i mentioned earlier, but realized its a 2000 when we did the paper work!

I'll have pics up once I get it to the house, im having it trailered to me so i dont have to drive 6 hour round trip again. All I must say about it, its luxury, and perfect condition!

Thank you all for your comments on the topic.

-Adam

 

[thenash79]

Wow all u 4.3l vortec guys forgeting about the carbon chunks hanging up the egr.the linear egrs are very good for failing on there own,most cases u have to just clean the carbon hanging the valve up and install the gasket with the screen 'help line' makes it,u may have to clean the screen as u get up there in milage also.They are also good for catalytic converters going bad,all it takes is a day or two running with a beat tuneup to melt her.U can usaully smack them with your fist and hear the guts rattling around.If its got 100k on the clock run down the list that everyone stated in this thread,It will probably need 9 out of the 10 things,all are real common.Did anyone ever hear about GM's TSB on intake gasket jobs causing the lowerend of the motor to go bad?They say sometimes as u torque intake down it distorts the block causing premature bearing failure.All in all if u keep up on them there good trucks,i have several customers with over 200k on them.

 

[DCVING 6]

Wow all u 4.3l vortec guys forgeting about the carbon chunks hanging up the egr.

Yes, like any car it has it's typical problems. I had the EGR screen done, oil cooler lines, cat converter, etc. Pretty basic stuff for 140k that would go wrong on any car. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another one.

 

[Sweet6]

I bought a 96 Blazer brand new. Still have it today. 115K and it is a relaible vehicle. I replaced the water pump, intake gasket, fuel pump, and AC compressor because it leaked. I also had to flush out the heater core a few times. Overall a good car. Still gets 19-23 MPG per tank.

 

[turbofish38]

Only pre-1996. They switched to what they call SmartTrack, this is when the rear tires spin, the front engages.

Its the same Borg-Warner 4472 transfer case that GM was using on the 90-94 Bravadas and the Sy-Ty more or less. Its in AWD all the time. Viscous clutch varies the transfer of power depending on the load. Its still dragging around the front axle which means added drag.

 

[TR Custom Parts]

Oh yeah, heater cores. Lots of fun to replace those. Did one in the 96, about a 5 hour job, pretty much all from the inside of the truck. Did water pumps on both and only the lower intake on the Jimmy. AC leaks down on both but just add a can of R-134 every few months.