4x4 S10 Blazer?

Tomorrow after work i am going to look at a 2 door 1987 4x4 S10 blazer.

ive been around 2 wheel drive S series trucks for a while, i know the body issues and rust issues. i do not much care about the body as long as it is not falling off the frame.

the seller claims the 4 wheel drive works well. are there any problem points with the 4x4 system that i need to inspect? the truck is an automatic with 178k miles. there is an abundance of snow so i should be able to "test" the 4 wheel drive.

how about what needs done to put a plow on it as far as keeping front end sag to a minimum with the plow lifted? mostly the truck would see duty plowing my own driveway but if it turns out to be better than just a yard truck i most likely will put my crown vic for sale and just drive the blazer as a winter beater since that is all the vic is.

if the front wheels dont drive it may be a vacume leak. pitman and idler arms and allways worn out. thats all i got

my mum drove a 4 door for alot of years. ended up having "lots of problems" (my mom is not a car person, she had no idea what was wrong with it.), and traded it in on a new Mazda Tribute.

4X4 models tend to eat ball joints too. Also watch the rubber mounts a the frame for the torsion bars. They break and drop the front end down. These aren't the best plow trucks, keep the plow as small as you can. Also, an '87 will be a 2.8 V6. Reliable, but under powered for plowing. Maybe you could rig some coil springs around the shocks for more lift in the front. I'm not a big fan of cranking up torsion bars.

I had that exact same model and loved it. Granted, Steve (my brother) had it before me so I got it with a blown headgasket, but we had another 4.3 in it and it ran strong. Trans started to go and I sold it for $900 back in maybe '99.

No idea on plowing, but I know we beat the E36 M3 out of that thing on Western, MD fire roads and used it to pull stuck cars every winter.

I had an '87 S10 pickup that I loved. Like artyboy said, vacuum leaks disable the 4x4. I sourced my leak to a front passenger side vacuum canister. The rubber hose going to it had dry rotted. Don't rely on the floor shifter lights to tell you that the 4x4 is working. Engine changes are a PITA. You have to lift the body off of the frame to get to the bell housing bolts. Ask me how I know.

hrdlydangerous wrote: Don't rely on the floor shifter lights to tell you that the 4x4 is working

We owned a 1994 (last of the box design) for 10 years and 115,000 miles. It had the old school 4x4 shift lever and it wasn't always in 4x4 as mentioned above.

Rust was our enemy. It had a 4.3 engine that was rated at 200hp and was a rocket.....The wife ended up with a 4x2 Trailblazer with 270hp?? that is slow and bloated.

I miss that S10.................

I don't remember if mine was an '86 or '87, but if it has the 2.8, save your money. Mine puked the motor@86k, bought and installed a new PepBoys long block and then two weeks later the automatic went. It was a hard riding, uncomfortable POS.Then I bought one with the 4.3 and changed the front seats. Much more improved, but still rode like a tank. To be honest, I liked my early Bronco II much better. I'd be afraid to plow anything more than a driveway with one.

it is a 2.8

i determined by searching a snow plowing site that i'd be boned putting my 7'6" meyer plow on the front of anything smaller than a fullsize half ton and i'd be best finding a 3/4 or 1 ton.

i would love to find a $500 73-87 chevy or gmc that runs, goes, and stops that i can slap it on, it is currently on my 76 1 ton that runs(starter needs beat every time to start it) and goes but does not stop, the body is rotting off the frame, no heat, drivers door only opens from inside, and has 2 tires that do not hold air. the rear brake line is capped off because of a blown line on rear axle(the only line i did not replace when i bought the truck 6 years ago) and the front is losing fluid, but i cannot find the leak anywhere. my driveway slopes to the street at the end so i need brakes. last year i was living with my parents and their drive slopes up toward the road so i plowed without brakes.

next year supposed to be buying the father in law's 02 silverado 2500HD 4x4 so i'd just buy the proper plow mount for that and slap on the plow. so i just need something to get me through this year.

The 2.8 Blazers are very underpowered. Good only for DD. Don't expect to do any work with it.

Those things used to be one of the most common vehicles on the road, but I can't remember the last time I saw one.

hrdlydangerous wrote: You have to lift the body off of the frame to get to the bell housing bolts. Ask me how I know.

I did that once. Now I remove the front clip in one piece and pull the engine and trans together.

About twenty years ago, I worked part-time for a local ski shop that had its main office in the mountains. On occasion to go snowboarding on the company dime, I would use the 87 4x4 mule to shuttle merchandise back to the piedmont and also provide any service that was neglected for the year.

For years, they rarely took it out of 4WD but asked me to keep it one summer problem after it wouldn't lock in front.

That vacuum leak, a sticky caliper and plug wires along with oil was all that I ever had to perform. I used it as a DD for 5 months and considering the winter treatment it was very reliable. It was constantly 'rode hard and put up wet', as they say. The ride was just okay... it was a truck. However, the 2.8 wouldn't pull a greased string from my cat's ass.

iceracer wrote: The 2.8 Blazers are very underpowered. Good only for scrap metal. Don't expect to do any work with it.

Fixed it for you

I had an '84 $X4 with the 2.8. It was mindblowingly terrible.

Something others have not pointed out yet:

The 2 door Blazers have a HIGHER insurance cost than the 4 door Blazers. I would imagine the difference MIGHT make looker for a better/newer/more powerful 4 door a good idea.

The 2.8 can eventually be upgraded/swapped easily for a 3.1 or 3.4, not very easily for a 4.3.

Capt Slow wrote:

iceracer wrote: The 2.8 Blazers are very underpowered. Good only for scrap metal. Don't expect to do any work with it.

Fixed it for you I had an '84 $X4 with the 2.8. It was mindblowingly terrible.

I'm pretty sure the '84 2.8 was carbed while the '87 2.8 was TBI. The only 2.8 S10 that's worth a damn, IMO, it's an injected 5 speed version. The auto, carbed, or even worse auto+carb versions are to be avoided.

FWIW, 4x4 S10 Blazers are a PITA to work on. If you're going to get one, the 4.3 at least has enough power to make it worth the hassle. The 4.3 is also a much better engine, IMO. Personally, I'd rather have a full size rig and skip right past the S10. Another consideration is an AWD Astro...another PITA to work on, about the same as the Blazer, but a lot more usable space and very similar powertrain otherwise.

Bryce

My brother had a '91 4.3 4x4 automatic. It was a piece of E36 M3 electrically, ergonomically and fit/finish wise (too many things wrong with it to list here), but at 300K it was still running and used as a DD. He traded it on a Trailblazer.

The 2.8's arenot only seriously lacking power but are also known to break cranks.