So MAD!!! and frustrated and sad and down right angry!

Darhawk · Jul 3, 2013

Well my Blazer gave up the ghost today! :|

I need a new engine as the cam and crank shaft are ruined along with the distributor and oil pump! So I am now investigating on a replacement engine for my '99 Chevy Blazer.

In Jan I got all new tires and new brakes plus some kick a$$ shocks. In may I had the pitman and idler arms and a few other suspension parts put in. Along with a new air conditioner system. And after all the install , the truck purred like a kitten...until Monday of this week..

I took the truck in because I felt like it was running strange and my wife had complained about it ( she drives it more lately than I have, cause I get to drive the Highlander..Hehe) feeling tippy, so I took it back to my mechanic and the said the Radiator was completely dry. I was in shock and so I had to pay again another $600 for manifold and other gaskets and a thermostat and etc. I had take it in on Thursday and then picked it up on Monday and drove to Target and back home. Well then just the next day Tuesday after my wife drove for a good 45 minutes out of town and then back again, well on the way home It started to make a internal metal on metal sound. It lost oil pressure and she barely made it home. We had it towed to the mechanic and then diagnosed it was a bad. See above for details.

So now total cost on this stupid truck is totaling $4000 and that is before today. SO I just got back from the mechanic and they said the don't know if it was their fault or just wear and tear. So they are going to install a new/used engine with Free Labor.

So now we got wait to find a used engine with less than 100K so that this won't happen hopefully again. Or I can buy a rebuilt one for a few hundred more. I'm debating the issue as I type this. Either way it's going to be another $1100 or perhaps more if I go rebuilt. So that brings the total cost to an estimate of well over 5K which sucks donkey balls!!!!!!

I am now accepting donations, cause I'm broke at this point.

Not to mention that the Cobra is in shop too FINALLY get her Gears put in...and driveshaft and new fancy girdle.

Well so much for the kids college fund this year and for paying off some debt...

Someday life firkin sucks the big hole!

the5.ohh · Jul 3, 2013

Damn that sucks man. Can you swap in a motor from a different brand? I know thats a chevy, what about a GMC Jimmy's motor. Might be able to find one of those, and they should be cheaper than the Chevy motor.

DeepList · Jul 3, 2013

That sounds kinda like my luck when my sixer decided to throw a rod. I still owed like over $6k on it to the bank at the time too and had some serious negative equity. I was so pissed because I didn't really have the time, money or energy to mess with it, plus it was my DD at the time. I kept my eyes open on eBay and I found somebody in Ohio that was selling a used 3.8 from a wrecked 2001. My brother and I made the 12 hour round trip drive over there with my mom's ranger and brought the engine back. Over the course of a week (working a few hours each evening after work) my friend and I got the engine replaced. The thing is, I only paid $400 for the used motor, and I was able to recover ALL of the money I spent, and then some, by selling off all the good pieces from the old motor. In the end, I had a good motor, with about 40k LESS miles, it was 2 years newer, AND I recovered my $$$ on it. Moral of the story: sometimes shit like this happens, but there may be a silver lining. Hang in there.

CC'S95GT · Jul 3, 2013

I have a 99 chev burb with 220,000 mi. and the 350ci is still running strong.
Chevy and gmc engines are the same and you should be able to find one cheap from chev/GMC burbs, tahoe/ and trucks.
Finding one with less than 100k would be very difficult I would assume.
Maybe just find a cheap replacement engine and then unload it.

RonBurgandy · Jul 3, 2013

Trash it and get a bronco

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MustangChris · Jul 3, 2013

because racecar.

sorry darhawk

RichV · Jul 3, 2013

Bummer dude.

What did you mean by 'they don't know if it's their fault'??

What caused the catastrophic damage? Did it cook because no coolant? Or how could the shop have possibly caused it?

It sounds like they know they caused it.

Goldmember · Jul 4, 2013

I'm with Rich, that explanation does not make sense. They should pay for the motor, too.

On the other hand, it's the S10 frame, and guys drop 350's in them all the time (wink, wink)

BlkoutGT · Jul 4, 2013

If its 2wd you could probably drop a junkyard lsx in it for pretty cheap.

white95 · Jul 4, 2013

Swap in a 5.3 and call it a day..

Darhawk · Jul 4, 2013

First of it's a 4X4 and The mechanic is pretty honest and I know enough to know when I'm getting screwed. I think I might just get the used one, because in 3years I have to get something newer anyway, due to my wife's job.

@ RichV What I mean by they don't know whose fault it is, is because I haven't had anything worked on that in area that would have cause those problems. So my guess is they know they should have caught the leaky gaskets first so I wouldn't have drove around with a dry radiator( well enough left in too not kill the engine right away). I would have noticed it earlier but my gauge didn't register the overheating. So I may have caused it by driving it around town without coolant. Plus they say those teeth groove on the distributor may had just finally given out. So really I don't know what caused it, all I know is that before this whole operation of fixing things started the truck ran fine.

Yeah a V8 would be a killer Mod! lol

Just sucks and I'm trying to pay some debt off , not incur more debt.

Happy 4th Everyone!

Addermk2 · Jul 4, 2013

With the 4l60e transmission that should be in your blazer, a vortec 350 will bolt in. You will need mounts, a custom exhaust and the radiator will need to be swapped. A Corvette piece can be used. You would then swap to an electric fan.

The wiring can be handled by current performance in FL. They can also reprogram your PCM to run the 350.