Chevy Blazer GMC Jimmy Maintenance and Repair

98jmypells · October 2005

I think the problem you're having is user error. If you look in your vehicle's manual, it will say to only engage 4 LO (I'm assuming this is what you meant by Auto 4x4) at a slow roll (under 3mph) or at a complete stop. (It's easier to do it when stopped). Same goes for disengaging 4 LO. Otherwise, the lights will blink like you said and will keep it engaged.

You're right about not using it on dry pavement. Driving 4 LO on dry pavement and then trying to turn will cause the vibration. It's not a problem from what I've come to understand. When I first bought my truck, I made the same mistake..."Ooohh, buttons! I think I'll push 'em!" and had the same response you're having (I didn't get a service light, though). For basic use of 4 LO, I pretty much only use it for deep mud or sand. You're also not supposed to take it over around 20 to 25 mph due to the lower gear ratio or you can mess some things up. If anyone has anything to add as to why low gear ratios cause vibration on dry ground, please feel free to add your comments...

tommc · October 2005

Keep a very close eye on the coolant level in the surge tank. Our 01 started leaking at 13K miles and the first symptom was this gurgling sound in the dash. Looked and looked and finally the engine started making noise, I then realized it was an internal leak, (and there's a long sad story about GM warranty service that I'll skip.) Has to be air in the system for ths noise to appear, and air is not good especially with the DexCool coolant in these. Watch that coolant.

jrh2 · October 2005

Have you found an answer to your problem yet? I have a 2000 with the same engine. Mine is a manual transmission. I had this happen three times in one day about two months ago. I went to the mechanic the next day and was told the fuel filter was probably clogged, and needed replacing. I had it replaced a few days later. I never had it happen after that one day, until now. A few days ago it did it again four times in one day . It hasn't done it since. So far, my mechanic is baffled. He says it could be anything from a module going bad to something going wrong in my fuel delivery system, or maybe I just need a tuneup. The fuel pump seems to be working fine, but it should, its only about two years old. Please let me know if you get an answer for this. I will do the same if I get one.

jrh2 · October 2005

My 2000 Jimmy was doing that on the right also. I took it to my mechanic, it was the ball joints. I had them replaced and it stopped. Well, only for a year and a half, now they are bad again! You would think they would last longer! Of course, I'm not sure if that is your problem, I'm not a mechanic. Hope it helps. Now that I think about it, I replaced them at about 60k miles, now I'm at 120k. Maybe they only last 60k miles! ">

bibbz · October 2005

My car wont start at all. The engine doesnt even try to turn over, I dont even get that damn clicking noise, but hey my radio works. Definitly not the battery, it is 2 months old and recharged to try to start car. Jumping doesnt help it still wont even try to turn over. It started a little roughly then after sitting for 3 hrs, it doesnt start at all. PLEASE HELP. STARTER? :confuse:

steve96 · October 2005

My '96 Blazer goes through ball joints like crazy and they have been the source of noise in turns as well. I have 150,000 kilometres on it and I'm on my third set (upper and lower). This last set has lasted a bit longer but I'm getting the feeling that they are about to go again so I'm getting about 50,000 kilometres on a set. I also did idler arm and tie rod ends earlier this year too. I wish there was a source of good, robust aftermarket parts for these vehicles (96 through 2004). You basically can't do much to them. CVs can be a source of noise when turning too but that's usually more of a loud clicking sound.

daveyboy43 · October 2005

Yes my service engine soon light was on and the repair took care of everything. Hope you got it taken care of . If your mechanically inclined you could do it as you have to remove the upper intake manifold cover and you have imediate access to the part. I also replaced the upper intake manifold gasket just to be safe,12 dollars at advance. Good luck to you.

gmsucks1 · October 2005

Hey gmgirl. I am having the same problems as are you, Fexy, and Rambo. I can't seem to get anywhere with my dealer or GM. What I want to know is, how can they say the jimmy is safe, when they have no idea what's wrong with it. :lemon: It's got to leave you feeling a little unsure "A"? I will be talking with the owner of Zimmer Wheaton tomorrow as well as GM once more. If I don't get a new Jimmy, (void of this problem) or my money back, I will be getting a lawyer. I don't think it would hurt to talk with a syndicated paper as well.

teresa5 · October 2005

good luck...mine did that, then the trnasmission went out, cost $1,600 to fixed. Mine is a 95, which had two motors that year, ours is a side mounted spark plugs. it went out due to the evg or erv valve sticking and letting gas in the crankshaft...I need a motor if you know where I can get this particular one. The cheapest I can find is through the dealer at $2300. Check your egr valve

kparker · October 2005

How long can I expect my ball joints to last if I keep filling them with grease?

gmsucks1 · October 2005

:confuse: Anyone out there having the same prob with their 05 Jimmy? :lemon:

z71usa · October 2005

Just did my 99 SLT was cake! Took about 3 hours and a six pack also.

Bought my hub at Auto Zone for $149.00

Now it doesn't sound like I have Swamp Tires on.

Don't forget to grease the new parts.Make life alot better next time to tear down.

Arch

alex18 · October 2005

i have a 98 blazer, wat do i have 2 diconnect or take out 2 disangage the electronic speed control?

fleurgirl · October 2005

Hi..Any advice re what would cause my 97 jimmy not to start?..It has gas, turns over, but won't start..poured fuel into the thingamajig and it managed to catch and run as long as I kept pumping the accelerator.. also, my tank shows empty even after I fueled up...

tidester · October 2005

You may also want to check out "No Start" Problems.

tidester, host

96jimmy · November 2005

My windshield washer motor does not squirt when turned on by the turn signal lever. After some tests, I found there is no power to the motor. The motor is good and the turn signal lever does turn on the wipers for wash. I checked the fuses on the inside and all are good. What can be checked next?

Thanks

sockpuppet1969 · November 2005

The problem is not the wiper motor or the fuses. You need to replace the wiper control module (circuit board attached to the wiper motor) - part number is GM#12463090. Just a couple of screws and about 10 minutes of your time. Should cost around $50-60 for the part.

rmorano24 · November 2005

Hi all,
i have a 2000 GMC Jimmy with 90k miles, the other day I went to shut off the truck and the key would not come out. i took it to a dealer and they quoted me $500 to replace the shift interlock switch solenoid. I do most of my own work on my car if i know how to do it. is this hard to do? and where is the shift interlock switch solenoid? also is this the problem?

thanks
Rich

96jimmy · November 2005

Are there other symptoms that might occur when this control module begins to go bad?

DB

steve96 · November 2005

In my 96 Blazer I found that the wiper arms would just suddenly jerk a bit, particularly when you first hit the key. Not a complete sweep but just a bit of movement (quarter inch?) That's not a big deal, but when the whole thing goes south you suddenly don't have wipers. I had that happen a few years ago. Wasn't the motor, just the module but you generally will get dinged for the whole thing. Glad to hear there is a cheap and easy fix because the replacement is starting to show the same sort of movement at startup. Wish I'd known earlier. Keep an eye on it.

pearlsmom · November 2005

I don't know if you have found a solution by now but I had a 98 Malibu that did the exact thing. It start off if I hit the gas it helped but over time it just idled over 3000rpms all the time even when driving. I had to ride the brakes because it would go by itself and I would not have to mash the gas at all. It would get up to 35-40mph and stay there with out my help at all. My engine light stayed on also. I know someone who works on GM cars and trucks for a living and his advice to me was to get rid of it. But we were also having other problems with it. This was just the last straw. It need to much work.

96jimmy · November 2005

After some diagnostic tests, I found a loose pink wire coming from the harness in front of the wiper motor.

DB

hatebreed · November 2005

I will try to explain this problem as best I can. This is only an intermitent problem. I can unlock my car with my keypad. Enter the car.. turn the car to the on possition, then when i try to start it kills all power. Lights go out, radio shuts off everything. If i let it sit a minute the power comes back on, after the power comes back on the clock on the radio is reset back to 1:00, but the station presets are normal. I have pulled the battery, and checked all wires to the block, alt, and all grounds. All wires look good and its not the battery, because i have changed battery since this started.

thanks for any help possible

wagar21 · November 2005

This morning I went to get into my car and the keyless entry isn't working. So when I manually unlocked the door there is absolutely no power to my car at all to include radio and lights. When I try to start the car I get nothing at all. I assume it is electrical but I have no idea what specifically it might be. Any suggestions??

ugarph1982 · November 2005

Best place to start is the battery. Make sure it's not as dead as a doornail. Keep us posted!

tibber1 · November 2005

Hi,
I'm new to the forum, so that means an unexpected problem-not like the AC compressor, shabby oil coolent lines, ball joint 'pop and replace', and 4WD shift motor that I've had before in my '97 Blazer. We're going on 8 years and 112k miles together-such a reliable engine sitting in a sea of junk parts! Now I've got the slushy sound, too. The truck gurgles on each acceleration during it's first 1/2 hour of use each day, but it seams to have nothing to do with the AC being on. To this point I have no loss of heat, either. My radiator guy listened to it today and will look at it on Monday (11-7-05). He thinks he'll be able to tell pretty quickly if a flush and fill will take care of it. If it does, I may hit my goal of 150k miles with the Blazer yet-even though those ball joints are popping again! If it means extensive work, it'll be bye-bye Blazer, hello Ford Escape! I may get the chance to see how bad Ford is! Either way, I'll post a reply late on Monday, and if the flush seems to work, I'll follow up a week or two later. Good night, and good luck!

paan · November 2005

I have a 1999 SLT and I've had the same problem since 40K. I have 104K now. I just wiggle the key and click the shift botton. I also lubricate ignition/key tumbler.

jzse94 · November 2005

not only do I have the same light on, the vehicle is running rich during idle. I changed the wires, plugs, oil and filters. It still won't pass the emissions test here in Texas. What can I do?

wolfieduncan · November 2005

i've heard some cars with keyless entry have an impass feature an anti theft if you will, car alarms come with warnings about this feature

rdy4trvl · November 2005

New front bearing did the trick.

sonscar · November 2005

My son is having similar problem with a 94 blazer. My neighbor is a G M mechanic he checked the code , said it was crank sensor and or cam sensor . Can anybody tell me were these two sensors a located.

msmarsha121 · November 2005

I have a 2001 Chevy Blazer. The check engine light keeps coming on, so I bought one of the machines that gives codes to tell what is wrong. The machine keeps throwing a generic code of 440. Can anybody tell me what could possibly be wrong?

arow · November 2005

Hey, My 1991 GMC Jimmy seems to have an electrical problem. My motor and everything works but when it comes to the interior electical it gets realy messed up. even though my truck is totally off my delco radio will come on for a few seconds if the volume button is pushed but goes off. the radio shouldn't do that because it has a whole other power button. The radio won't even work. the dome lights all act weired when the dome light switch is turned and a bunch of other service lights won't go off. The gas gauge won't work either. Do you know what is wrong? please reply.I love this truck. :shades:

Sincerly, Aaron

alcan · November 2005

P0440 = Evaporative Emission Control System Malfunction.
Start by checking the gas cap.

2slow2go · November 2005

I've checked, the battery and starter.
The problem started about a week ago, when the truck would turn over and die (spudder). Also, during this summer my gas tank started to leak, so I've been only putting $20 at a time.
Anyways, now I turn the key, everything powers up, goto start her up and nothing? not even a ticking from the starter.
I really don't want to give it the garage, cause they already said its big $$ to fix it,(I had only told the symptoms) and in the same sentence "we'll give you $500 for it"
Any ideas???
Much appreciated.

cork379 · November 2005

The switch you are talking about is covered under warranty by an existing recall. Check with your dealer to see if it's covered.

mjohnson3 · November 2005

i have a 95 blazer s10 and a few weeks ago it started to take a few seconds to start after it was sitting a while and now the other day when i went to start it it would not start at all, the engine cranks but will not turn over...thanks

msmarsha121 · November 2005

already replaced the gas cap with a new one, its still throwing P0440. Any other suggestions?

mizubara · November 2005

I'm new, also. My '02 ZR2 Blazer is having A/C and heat problems. No matter what temperture/setting I used, the A/C flowed instead of the heat. I've done a flush and fill with DexCool, (because the shop said it's best to keep using it - it just has to be changed every 30,000 miles. I even told them about the horror stories and how GM knows it's a problem. They said "No problem, just come back in a few months and we'll make sure nothing is wrong." I'm still worried about it.) I've had the dash pulled off and the heater door unjammed (a 6-hour job... if the mechanic knows how!), the heater core flushed, the A/C temporarily disconnected, and finally the heat works again.

Any suggestions on what else to check, to get the A/C and heat to switch back and forth?

cr2 · November 2005

Turns over but will not start, tried some quick start but it no start - going to change plugs wires distributor see if this helps, any other ideas?

dennis20 · November 2005

Look under the dash on the drivers side. There is a bolt above the emergency brake bracket that provides a ground path to the dash. There are one or two ground wires that are grounded to the chassis at this grounding point. The bolt can work it's way loose and cause all sorts of the problems you experience. You will likely find that the rest of the gauges (including the gas gauge) do not provide stable readings either. Simply tighten the bolt (if I remember it's a 7/16" wrench) and the problem should dissappear--it did on mine. Good luck! Dennis

danny15 · November 2005

What if I told you guys in this forum that I have a simple answer to fix your problem? Well I do. When I had this problem I had to pull over the side of the road because I thought a helicopter was over my truck. I too had found out that if I hit my 4wd button that the noise went away. The answer????? A 3 way vacuum switch on your transfer case above your encoder motor. To test:if your not sure find the vacuum line coming from vacuum diaphram under the battery and follow it until it comes to a tee. Unplug any vacuum hose in the tee and take it for a drive. there will be no howling. Now plug the tee vacuum back in and replace the vacumm switch on the tranfer case(10 minutes). There is a steel ball in the switch that corrodes in place.

danny15 · November 2005

It's your encoder motor on your transfer case. Your encoder motor bolts on the side of your transfer case onto a 'lever' that switches your vehicle into and out of 4wd. what happens over time is sand and grime build up in a pocket in the encoder motor which separates the encoder motor away from the lever. Take off the front driveshaft to access the encoder motor. Take off the encode motor and clean the dirt and grime to restore to specs.

wings7 · November 2005

Receintly my fuel gauge has starting acting up. When I get to 1/2 tank or lower the needle on the gauge bounces around between full and 1/2, it never stops moving It never goes below 1/2 tank even when near empty. Any suggestions?

rileythedog · November 2005

We had already checked into the vacuum switch and it was not the problem.

The problem was a worn ring gear.
The truck remained at the dealer for 3 months until they finally conceeded that the ring gear was defective.
It is now fixed.

After 18 months of GM dealer apathy we dealt this truck.
It is now for sale at Don McCurdy's Chev Olds in Trenton Ontario.

Nightmare is now over

banshee301 · November 2005

I have a 95 chevy blazer.... it starts ideals, then spits and sputters! :confuse: when you rev, it up it just puffs blue smoke... New plugs, wires, and fuel filter???? O YEAH! i put in a new spider to. can anybody help?

lhernandez · November 2005

This summer I replaced the rear on a 1994 GMC Jimmy
now the 4x4 does not engage. The vehicle has over 130,000 miles, so I'm looking to fix the problem w/o losing my shirt off my back. What should I be looking at? What could be the problem and the solution(s) Approx. what price range I'm looking at? :confuse: ?

Thanks

Disengaged.

98blazer1 · November 2005

I had the same intermitent problem, it turned out that the terminals on my battery were corroded and caused my battery cables to vibrate loose causing the lose in power, make sure the battery terminals are clean and the tighten the battery cables

penelopy · November 2005

i have a '93 GMC Jimmy and the spare tire that sits at the rear of the vehicle rattles and squeaks like crazy and it's driving us nuts :mad: ! i've tried to tone down the noise with pipe wrap, stick-on felt strips, you name it, but it still continues to annoy us while driving on any road, rough or smooth ... any suggestions? and please don't tell me what my husband says - "I guess we either turn up the music or wear ear plugs." :P

98blaz · November 2005

I have 98 blazer 4x4 LS. for some reason i'm loosing coolant . I took it to a shop to find any external leaks and they didn't find anything . They told me it might be internal. It does not smoke at all. One thing is weird i did the oil change and when i took off the drain plug a little coolant came out than followed by the oil? after putting in the new oil than topping off the coolant that i lost, i drove it around . after i parked it i checked the oil level and the level had shot up and the coolant was a little low. i keep putting coolant in when i notice it starts to get a little hot than it goes back back to normal temp. Very confused? If it were the heads it would smoke have lost power and idle rough but it doesn't do any of that!!! :sick: :mad:

Chevy Blazer GMC Jimmy Maintenance and Repair

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