Life Expectantcy - 99 Blzr 4.3 motor

[TonyMazz]

I have a 99 Blazer that I have cared for from day 1 @ 7 miles, and now it has 156700 miles in it. I have kept up on oil changes, periodic flushes, tuneups, EGR, throttle body cleaning and has been a trouble free motor.

3000 mile oil changes, Castrol GTX 5W-30 AC-Delco filter (OEM)

Question: What would be a realistic life expectantcy of this motor given the above and driving conditions are 90% freeway @ 70 and 10% city driving ?

The rate of mileage is about 2500 easy miles / month and never towed anything with it...runs nice.

My hope is that I can push her over 200,000+ miles and beyond. I think it should be no problem, but wondered what other folks have for mileage....

Weird thing is....my wife says I have a personal relationship with my blazer, but I have to tell you it's been the best vehicle I ever owned...

Thanks

"T"

[500]

The only internal components that you can expect to fail are the timing chain and gears. If you are proactive and change them now then this motor will most likely run well past 200,000 miles. At the same time I would change the water pump.

An external problem is the stupid a$$ intake gaskets. Also you will probably need to do the converter, muffler, tailpipe somewhere along the way.

Of course it could rattle out a rod brg tomorrow . No way to predict.

500

[lou S.]

My 94 4.3 4 door, 4 wheel drive has 204,000 and still going strong. From what I have read these motors are generally designed to last at least 250,000 miles. Depending on how one cares or abuses them will have an obvious effect on the life and you may get way over 250,000(that's what I am hoping for with mine) or less. Continue to change your oil regularly.

[mars-28]

I have a 99 Jimmy with 106,000 miles. I kept up with oil change every 2-3000 miles, flushed the coolant systems a number of times. Just before Christmas I was having trouble with no heat and engine overheating. After the heating problem was fixed the motor developed a tick or knock to it. Apparently with the intake leaking coolant was also leaking internally and was not visible during oil changes. Basically the motor is junk. I am now having a new Jasper motor installed.

You just don't know, you maintain them tyring to make them last and then this happens. My Pontiac Sunfire has 184,000 and still runs strong. I'll drive it till it dies.

Also, all my driving is 90-95% highway.

[blazee]

My brother's 91 4.3 Blazer had 387,000 the last time he was bragging about it. He put in a short block about 6 months again, not because there was anything wrong with the old motor, just because he wanted to make sure he didn't break down. His driving is all stop and go, He delivers newspapers at night and pizzas during the day.

[BlazerLT]

You can easily take it over 200,000 - 300,000 miles if you keep it completely tuned up and maintained before any fails.

Preventative maintanence is the key to a long life.

BTW, every changed any of the fluids other than the engine oil?

[TonyMazz]

Originally Posted by BlazerLT

You can easily take it over 200,000 - 300,000 miles if you keep it completely tuned up and maintained before any fails.

Preventative maintanence is the key to a long life.

BTW, every changed any of the fluids other than the engine oil?

oh yea.....flushed radiator, replaced oem cap, differentials, tranny and filter, flushed / replaced brake fluid, and power steering fluid too...

All is well right now ....but am sure that eventually things begin to wear out ....

Even the dealer/mechanic likes this car cause the engine compartment is cleaner than some of the newer cars....

We'll see ..................

[BlazerLT]

Good to see someone taking pride in their vehicle like myself.

Not saying others don't.

[04 blazer]

Have '91 S10 that I bought new that gave me 210,000 hard working (towing 4000+ pounds, 4WD use on the beaches of North Carolina, hauling very heavy loads) miles before I had to change engines. My maintenance schedule is very similar to yours, so you may get many more miles than I did. The great thing is the 4.3 engines for these trucks are very inexpensive. I put new engine in my truck and had the transmission rebuilt and am ready for hopefully another 200,000+ hard working miles.

[bowtie_pasta]

Great post. I am at 113k on my '97 Blazer LS 4x4. It's been a good truck, but I've had my fair share of annoyances. I'm hoping to get many many more miles though. I'm another maintenance freak so it gets a lot of attention.