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Need advice about future of old Blazer

Z

ZombieBlazer

1/2 ton status
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I need to move in about a month and I have had a 84 diesel Blazer sitting for about the past 10 years - though it ran well before I stopped driving it to save money. A lot of stuff on it was new other than the rear end. I have no idea what the rear ends condition is or how to check it.

If you were in my situation would you try to drive it from San Diego to Salem Oregon over some high mountains or would you let someone trailer it there knowing someone else would be driving it and you don't know how trust worthy they are (long story why I am in this situation).

I would need to spend at least $800, I think, to get new tires... 2 of the tires were replaced about 5 or 6 years ago but may have flat spots. They are 32 inch BF Goodrich all terrains.

Any advice or thoughts would be great.
 
I think I'd be real leery of throwing that thing on the road at the last minute and hoping nothing has gone bad in 10 years, that won't go wrong in that journey, no matter who was driving it.

If I had someone driving it for me, they had better be a mechanically knowledgable person who is a good driver. Not someone who has a radiator hose burst and drives faster to get to the next exit.

Just throwing out the obvious, if it's sat for 10 years, and needs $800 in goodies, are you better off trying to sell it now and buy something else later?

Anything like this IMO is a crapshoot. Could go the whole way with zero problems, or the crank could bust halfway up a mountain pass. As long as you are capable of dealing with any potential problem, and aren't on a strict timeline, I suppose it'd be worth a gamble.
 
There's a couple things I worry about..

1. I have had so much stuff stolen over the years in various different situations I am really leery to trust someone I don't know with my baby.. plus this would be uHual equipment it would be riding on

Though it would be a full trailer with all 4 wheels on it. But I may need to replace 2 of the tires anyway just to have it ride on the trailer so they don't pop and then the vehicle would be unstable tied down.

2. The other thing I worry about is incompetence on the drivers part and imagine the truck flying off into the woods or something.


As for selling it I have put so much work into it I would never get close to what I put into it or it's true value. But there are many pieces that may still need to be replaced or may have rotted while sitting. a ton of stuff was new before I quit driving it to save money though.

The injector controller was rebuilt though I don't know the condition of the injectors or the engine internals. It seemed to run very well though when I last drove it.
 
Well if you are trailering it, that's a different story. Last I checked u-haul told me they didn't have anything that would do a truck, but who knows for sure?

Probably need to hear from someone that is more experienced in towing about the tire situation.
 
dyeager535 said:
Well if you are trailering it, that's a different story. Last I checked u-haul told me they didn't have anything that would do a truck, but who knows for sure?

Probably need to hear from someone that is more experienced in towing about the tire situation.
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My mom went to see on the trailer and she said she told them it was a diesel Blazer too. She said that it could handle it.. but this would also be pulled behind a very big uHaul truck as well so it sounds like a disaster waiting to happen to me.

I don't even know how we will get it on the trailer it seems too heavy to push.



Just to clarify...

I am trying to decide between -

1. trying to get it running well enough so I can drive it

2. Having someone I don't know haul it on a trailer behind a uHaul truck.
 
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I used a uhaul trailer on mine and I had to drive it over the trailers wheel wells and the tires sat over the edge of the side bars on the trailer. It will work as I drive mine croosscountry. I didn't take it over 55 and had multiple tie downs in case one gave out. Just got to stop every couple hundred miles and check the tie downs. Mine would have fit better if I had stop size tires so if you can get a set of cheapy junkyard set of rims on stock tires it will fit much better. After ten years all the seals will be leaky or give out under pressure. If you can get it running it will be much easier to get it on the trailer. I used a hand crank comealong to get vehicles up on one before too.
 
chulisohombre, that is a GREAT idea about a hand crank come along. Forgot about that possibility.

I just worry about the driver jackknifing the whole setup or who knows what.

Do you guys think the transmission will be ruined sitting that long? What other seals do you think will be shot?
 
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I drove home a K30 I had never seen 2 hours home. I flew to AZ to help my brother drive home a 71 cutlass we are fixing up. Hell I rode home with marty from CA in the Blazer. We even wheeled in Moab. No problems and Marty could bend a pry bar in a sand pile.
 
Did you go over any steep mountains? That's my biggest concern. The heat could be an issue too.
 
No but it was hotter than 2 mothe........ It was hot. I have been over the mountains with marty though. They complained I was driving 90 with one hand on 52s while changing the Ipod in the rain at night. We didn't die.

If you are worried drive slow. Just because everyone else does 100 doesn't mean you can do 40. Things get hot when you push them.
 
That's true about going slow. Maybe I could even stop frequently to help prevent anything. I wonder if there is a sweet spot for that kind of thing? Especially for diesels. They seem to hate the heat and cold.
 
It could be ok or it could puke its guts within the first 50 miles. If it sat that long without moving everything up top above the oil lines will have been dried out and have surface rust and maybe rip the seals as soon as it gets any pressure
Behind it. Brake seals trans engine oil seals will all be suspect to having them blow out with the normal running Pressure when you try to move it if you
Can get it running. Only way To know is to try it and drive it close to home and see if anything blows. Get a few Miles on it and see If anything stops working or blows a seal. Personally I would try and drive it myself but I'd rather pull it myself Than give it to someone else to drive around that doesn't Care As much as you do about the truck and your stuff.
 
ZombieBlazer said:
That's true about going slow. Maybe I could even stop frequently to help prevent anything. I wonder if there is a sweet spot for that kind of thing? Especially for diesels. They seem to hate the heat and cold.
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I say get it running then drive it up.
there are guys here on your way up every hour just post up when you wanna make the trip and get some cell numbers for help on the road.
 
If you've got some time to get it together and run it for a bit to ferret out any problems, it'll probably be fine. Any vehicle that has been sitting for 10 years is likely to need some attention. I wouldn't expect it to be road ready right away. The good news is that any issues like bad brakes, tires, seals, cooling, etc should reveal themselves fairly readily. I had a buddy that had a habit of buying real cheap cars and then expecting them to take long-distance trips right away. That bit him more than once with tire problems, overheating, etc.
 
Drive it! Change the fluids, get new diesel, ck the tires for dry rot.

Get extra fluid so WHEN it leaks, you can fill. Antifreeze most important...a hot running 6.2 is nothing but trouble. Drain & fill everything.

Bet you'll be fine!
 
Thanks for all the info guys. I am still really torn. I feel like I may not have much of a choice here because of the logistics of the situation.

One reason it has been sitting so long is because I have lived in an apartment and it is difficult to work on it in this situation.

If I go for reviving it, it will be a logistical nightmare and a huge amount of work.. and then what if it is all for naught? Thinking long and hard about it has made me kind of come to my senses I guess.

I might just have to pray that whoever is driving it knows what the heck they are doing.

Another alternative is to not move to Oregon with my mom and LIVE in my truck while trying to get a job. Believe it or not but I am actually tempted to do it...

I have lived with my mom for about 10 years trying to find some way to make a living with aspergers syndrome and things are just getting worse with her trying to "help me". I honestly feel like being homeless in my truck with my 2 cats would give me a better chance of survival than going to Oregon with my mom and risk losing the only belongings I have...

Sorry this probably makes zero sense to anyone... just venting.
 
homeless in your truck isn't gonna be good for you, your cats or your property...or your mother.
 
Chief Brody said:
homeless in your truck isn't gonna be good for you, your cats or your property...or your mother.
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I have been reading about it and it seems more and more people are doing it.

I don't know though.. I don't know if I could hack it. Right now I am talking to other people about trying to create some community for people with asperger's syndrome where we could pool our resources and maybe get some financial support to start some kind of business or businesses.

People with Asperger's syndrome have a lot of amazing abilities but it just isn't tapped because people don't don't recognize their unique abilities.
 
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