Chevy Blazer 5 speed atrocious fuel economy

[anabolice30]

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/bymodel/1999_Chevrolet_Blazer.shtml

Since when does a five speed get worse than the automatic? I've been looking for a manual 4x4 for a while. I was mainly looking at Honda Passports, but I rode in my friends blazer today and like it a lot. Has anyone ever had one? My friend never had any problems from it, but everyone on Edmund's says stay away..

[JasonC]

Automatic or manual, they both drink the gas..

[Rede30eS]

Get a Fullsize. Youll get the same mpg's out of a tahoe if not more, with way more room.

[roguetoaster]

Don't buy a Blazer, they are really, truly awful.

[rcsoundn1]

^ not sure why you would say that, though they are not the best on gas an a full size prob does the same with gas. I have had 3 or so blazers. 1 5spd because they are far less common from what I have experienced. Oil cooler lines leak, and aside from regular maintenance I had no issues.

[JasonC]

Don't buy a Blazer, they are really, truly awful.

Between my family and I we had probably about ten different Blazers, square and round body styles. And only one was a lemon, a 97 i had like to nickel and dime me to death.

[roguetoaster]

I have no knowledge of 2wd Blazers, but I do have some first hand knowledge of 4x4 Blazers. My first roommate in college had two of them, one he bought, and one his parents gave him. While neither broke down to the point of being unusable they both suffered from a variety of small issues, leaks, electrical gremlins, fit & finish issues. Further, they were both awful to drive, both got atrocious mileage and both met an untimely end.

At the time I was driving a Ranger that could tow more, got better mileage, and never broke (not one single thing), so maybe my perspective is skewed. But from what I know of them you would be far better off with a Yukon/Tahoe which do come in manual form and are far more capable while able to return similar MPGs.

[anabolice30]

I'm just looking for a 5 speed 4x4. What appealed to me was the Blazer's smallish size, and it being pretty stylish, IMO. Any alternatives?

[roguetoaster]

I'm just looking for a 5 speed 4x4. What appealed to me was the Blazer's smallish size, and it being pretty stylish, IMO. Any alternatives?

Depends on what your objectives include. Towing, people hauling (#), cargo capacity?

I will say this, as much as a loved my Ranger if I were buying another truck today it would be a full size.

[anabolice30]

Not looking to haul anything really. Just want something i can throw shit in to go camping and put a sound system on tbh.

[roguetoaster]

So, a touring does not fit the bill how? Alternately, you can go with the fully lesbian approved transport system in Forester trim.

[mrsleeve]

^
A touring has 4wd (you know a 2 spd transfer case with low range) and ground clearance now?? How is that good for exploring logging roads and old abandon 2 tracks in Appalachia, Personally I would rather push my blazer home than be caught even riding in a forester. Scooby should stick to the imprezza, and legacy their "suv" leaves much to be desired when doing things off pavement or improved roads.

OP:
yes the 4.3l loves fuel, just like its big brother the 350. The are stone simple to work on and cheap as fuck to fix thanks to the 350 parts shareing. It will run like shit longer than most hondas run period. They will go places in stock form that you really should not be in 4x4 and off road the bucket seats are really some of the most comfortable seats I miss my s10's buckets....... Normally I am one to just say get the full size, which you can find for a similar price point and would gain a lot of extra usable capacity for a similar fuel economy I think in this case your on the right track given you dont have a family to haul around.

They get shitty mileage its a emissions power plant built and designed by GM in the late 70's with EFI added to it latter on to make it more modern what did you really expect??? I dont think 16 mixed is all that bad, but whey you are used to a little car that gets 22ish + around town or a modern 4 banger with 17 forward gear automagic getting 40+ on the highway I can see where this might seem horrifying to some

For what your wanting to do with it, I really cant think of a better rig (assuming your getting this thing for less than 3000 bucks) for what you want to do with it for the money (unless you wan to pony up the premium for a clapped out very high mileage 4runner) . Perfect for camping and back county exploring while hauling a buddy a dog or 2, a few tools and gear, if it gets kicked up or scraped up who cares ....because back country truck....

Between me and my 3 closest friends growing up and early adulthood I have lost count of how many s10's and s10 blazers we all had. At least 25 I have had at least 6 of them. I would not mind having a older 93ish again for a dd/winter beater or what I really would like is Typhoon for a DD to be different

[anabolice30]

^one I'm looking at has 199k miles and the dude is asking 1750. 5 speed 4x4, 1999. I just see people commentijg in them as if they go through ball bearings, teanmissuons, fuel pumps, water pumps, and heater cores as if they were oil changes.

[mitchlikesbikes]

as an alternative suggestion:

i have a 1996 jeep cherokee with a 5 speed and i fucking love it. i've put a fair bit of maintenance into it but parts are cheap and when taken care of it's dead ass reliable, will go anywhere i want to, kills in the snow, and is surprisingly torquey and quick. i drive it pretty rigorously and never get less than 17mpg combined. 21 was my best tank ever though.

really the only things i don't like about it are rust problems, and the fact that the cooling system was pretty shitty til i replaced about everything.

i bought it for 1200, have put maybe another 1500 into it in other random shit over a couple years (leaf springs, wheels/tires, bedlining floor, cooling system, motor mounts, seats, stereo, etc). bought it at 225k, now has almost 250k and has never left me stranded even once.

[anabolice30]

as an alternative suggestion:

i have a 1996 jeep cherokee with a 5 speed and i fucking love it. i've put a fair bit of maintenance into it but parts are cheap and when taken care of it's dead ass reliable, will go anywhere i want to, kills in the snow, and is surprisingly torquey and quick. i drive it pretty rigorously and never get less than 17mpg combined. 21 was my best tank ever though.

really the only things i don't like about it are rust problems, and the fact that the cooling system was pretty shitty til i replaced about everything.

i bought it for 1200, have put maybe another 1500 into it in other random shit over a couple years. bought it at 225k, now has almost 250k and has never left me stranded even once.

Cherokees are relatively expensive where I live, and absolutely all beat up. For 1200 I could get a rusted auto 2wd cherokee MAYBE