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Chevy Blazer GMC Jimmy Maintenance and Repair

3674 messages,  Last post on May 10, 2013 at 1:58 PM

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Messages Page 89 of 368

#876 of 3674 2000 GMC Jimmy Liturgy of problems by jr845

Dec 26, 2003 (8:20 pm)

I have a 2000 GMJ Jimmy SLE with 78K on it. The last 18 months has been an ongoing nightmare of problems and repairs. The vehicle has been dealer maintained and has had tlc to the 9th degree. Aside from warranty issues including; power windows (twice), oil lines, door hinge, FWD system, power steering pump and wipers. The last 18 months have seen the following post warranty repairs:
 
Brakes including rotors and emergency brake
FWD (3 separate occasions)
Upper & lower ball Joints
Wheel bearing
Battery
 
At the moment the "service engine light" is on constantly something that the mechanic attributes to moisture and/or ice in the secondary air injection pump. Their comment is that they will attempt to dry it out and if that doesn't work will "replace it". What really peeves about this vehicle (and GM in general) is that they seem to take an obviously poorly designed & engineered part and replace it with the same thing. It took me a while to catch on but with the upper and lower ball joints for example, the orginals wear out beacuse they have no fittings and cannot be lubricated. Take it to the dealer for replacement and they will put the same original equipment units (with no fittings back in). Take it to a third party chain and they will replace them with a better quality component complete with fittings (for less money I might add). I had problems with the drive side door hinge at 35K and the dealer told me that the problem was that they used brass in the hinge which was too soft. Now at 78K the same thing is happening again because they apparently replaced them with the same defective brass components. I have a new noise in the front end that developed over the last few days and I believe it is the bearing on the other side.
Overall this has been a very high maintenance vehicle, and in all candor I would not suggest it to anyone. My neighbor has a the same model but a 2001 with 50k and he can predict his maintenance pattern by what I have done. So far he has encountered verbatim almost every problem that have I. It seems a tragedy that GM engineers a vehicle to be "worn out" at 75K. This will be my last GM vehicle and I have had GM exclusively since my first new vehicle in 1980. My wife has had 5 new Honda's in the same period and had two post warranty issues across all five of them. And get this, even though they were out of warranty, the dealer went to bat for us with Honda and got both post warrnty items covered.
Anyway; has anyone encountered a similar problem with the secondary air injection pump?

#877 of 3674 Mom's 1999 Blazer by jtrujillo86

Dec 30, 2003 (9:11 pm)

Tonight I took my mother's 1999 Blazer to do an oil change on it. While I was driving it, I noticed the steering was EXTREMELY tight and hard to turn at times, while at others, the steering was loose and was ineffective when moved. After I changed the oil, I checked and added some power steering fluid with no apparent fix. Can anyone tell me what might be up? I remember when I was little, the idler(?) arm on my mom's 1989 Blazer went out. Is this still a problem on the newer models? The vehicle now has about 70K miles on it.
 
When I changed the oil, I noticed something pretty funky...an access door for the oil filter. I am used to the filters being directly attached to the block. Whey is the filter separate from the engine block?
 
Thanks
 
Jeremy

#878 of 3674 Hard Start then Check Engine Light - Please Help!! by morencyj

Jan 03, 2004 (5:24 pm)

Hey everyone!
I just had my front, right bearing replaced a few days ago and now this. I hope whatever is wrong doesn't cost an arm and a leg. I have a 2000 4 door 4X4 Jimmy. This morning I turned the key and it started rough. It sounded like it was missing a beat for a while, but as it warmed up, it started to sound more like itself. When I looked at the dash, the engine light was on. The truck has always started fine. I went and gased up, came back and left it shut off all day. I just went out and started it up, the engine light is still on. Also, it seem to start fine. Any ideas? Unlike a noise of some kind, with this kind of problem, a shop can pretty much tell you anything is wrong. Please point me in the right way!!!!
 
Thanks in advance everbody!
 
Jason Morency

#879 of 3674 by alcan

Jan 04, 2004 (3:43 am)

If the check engine light is on there will be stored trouble codes in the powertrain control module. AutoZone will extract them free in the hope of selling parts. Post the codes and we'll go from there.

#880 of 3674 by jtrujillo86

Jan 05, 2004 (9:13 pm)

Any thoughts in regards to post #877?
 
Thanks
 
Jeremy

#881 of 3674 #877 by canddmeyer

Jan 06, 2004 (2:28 am)

Sounds like the power steering pump is dying, but this could be a few things. Me, I'd pay the $ to have it checked out. If it feels like manual steering it 99% likely to be the pump. I've heard lots of issues, but none have been about the idler arm. The remote filter is due to the remote oil cooler. Many owners, including myself, have had these oil cooler hoses replaced due to leakage or rupture. Keep an eye on those & any oil under the vehicle as they can lead to a blown engine really quick.

#882 of 3674 RE: Canddmeyer by jtrujillo86

Jan 06, 2004 (9:45 pm)

Thanks for the info about the steering. We have been informed by our GM Goodwrech dealer that the oil cooler lines ARE in fact, leaking. I always check the oil for her, so I'm not too worried about anything happening to the engine. BTW, how much is it to replace those cooler lines? Was there ever a recall for them? When my grandma purchased her 2001 (which turned out to be a lemon that GM bought back - she ended up buying a 2002 after that) they replaced her oil cooler lines with aluminum lines, instead of rubber.
 
Anyway, thanks again for the info and more will be greatly appreciated.
 
P.S. Any estimate on the power steering pump if it needs to be replaced.
 
Jeremy

#883 of 3674 #877 Followup by canddmeyer

Jan 07, 2004 (2:02 am)

My oil cooler lines were replaced under warranty. Dealer billed part for $31.25 & 1-1/2 hrs labor> total= $138.67 to warrantor. This was for a '97 S-10 Blazer. I wouldn't let this go. If it blows out the engine will blow too in about one block if you can't figure it out & get the ignition turned off fast enuf. No recall that I'm aware of. As for the power steering pump cost I have no idea, but make sure its really the problem b4 you spend the $. It could be someone else.

#884 of 3674 Biggest Piece of Junk by watchdog3

Jan 09, 2004 (2:34 pm)

I rented a Brand New Blazer at Avis this week. When I took off the tailgate ajar light was on. Hmmmm. I stopped and shut it. It turns out that ever time I put the car in park AND use the remote key to unlock doors, the tailgate opens!!! What a pain in the _______!
 
The car drove like a piece of junk YUGO. What waste. I was thinking of buying a Suburban but noway now!!!!!!!!!!!! If they cannot get a model right after 10+ years of production, how can they get anything right!

#885 of 3674 99 Blazer Aluminum Rear Brake Calipher Stuck by bigalds

Jan 11, 2004 (8:33 pm)

Has anyone had problems with the aluminum rear brake caliper pistons getting stuck? I just bought this Blazer a month ago, and have a multitude of problems already, makes me almost want to go back to my Explorer! I never had a vehicle with Aluminum calipers before. It seems that the heat warped my right rear one, as the piston was severely stuck, finally got it out, was so tight would not go back in until I slammed it in by putting a sledge hammer to it. Needless to say, I'm turning this one in as a core for a rebuilt unit, kinda costly and none of the local jobbers has one in stock, gotta order it and wait 5 days.

Messages Page 89 of 368

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