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The free 03 Trailblazer.

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Eckville Alberta Canada
About a month ago I got a text from our construction expert Randy, he said he was cleaning his garage and found a Trailblazer in it! He said it has high klms and the trans slips but if you want it come and get it.

So we picked it up with our trailer and dragged it home. It did drive on the trailer but yeah it slipped badly,I put it in low range "I was surprized it actually had a real transfer case" and it went on easily!

So it sat on my driveway untouched until yesterday. I opened the hood and checked the oil in the engine...none showing! :eek1: Added 3 liters. Started it up to check the trans oil...none showing! :doah: Added almost 4 liters...still not anywhere near full.

I did say Randy is a construction expert....:haha:

I ran out of ATF at home but we took it for a drive anyway...we now have good solid reverse and shifts great 1,2, then it pauses and goes into 3 if you let off the throttle, no 4th so far. I need to go get more ATF.

I also after talking to my mechanic buddy Lorne checked the transfer case oil, he said better check that in case the seal between the tcase and trans it shot and that is were all the oil is going. It was low like everything else! But not over full so I was happy there!

We will see how this goes in the next few day after I get the trans topped off, maybe it will work maybe it won`t! :dunno:


 
It amazes me how people do not bother checking fluids..

Last week a woman had her Ford Freestar towed to my friends shop,after "it stalled on the highway,and would not turn over"..
She said "I think its the battery or starter"...

We hooked a jump pack to it and it still refused to crank--the starter just went "clunk" ,and acted like the engine was seized..we pulled the dipstick and yup--no oil showing!..thing was seized up tight..evidently after it started making "weird noises" she just kept driving till it seized..and claimed "no lights on the dash came on"..

My friend called a few salvage yards and one had an engine for it,and only wanted 350 bucks for it--had 105K on it--he said "really--350 bucks"?..and the guy answered "why,is that too much?--I'll sell it for 250,hows that"?...
My friend said "great,but why so cheap"?..
"Well,its just basically the block ,heads,and intake,and it has been on the shelf since 2011,but you'll have to swap all your original sensors onto it anyway--and there isn't much demand for these engines.."

He ended up buying it and put it in,and it does run great..the woman ended up paying almost 1300 bucks to get the car running again--just because no one felt like checking the oil...

I guess people assume engines never "use" oil unless they see leakage or smoke,but I think 5W-20 oil can "evaporate" during hot weather driving without showing smoke,and a lot of engines get ruined when they run too low on oil because of that..

My friend gets aggravated a lot when he does some other repair,like a serpentine belt,etc,and finds the customers oil level is way low,and often so is the transmission or coolant--he always tops them off,but some customers get angry when they see a charge for the fluids,which aren't cheap any more,a few refused to pay for them because "they didn't ASK to have that done"...despite him telling them it'll cost them MUCH more to leave things "low" on fluids..

So now if he knows he has a cheapskate customer ,he'll add used oil or coolant ,which is better than leaving something low or empty,and that also helps him dispose of his used fluids for free..:whistle:..
 
Russell said:
What are you doing with the trailblazer?
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You need a new race truck Russell!?? :haha:

Just going to use it as a spare, Then give it to Katelyn to drive for a bit till she finds a truck she likes.

If I can get the trans to shift!?
In Randy's defence I have the TB in my garage and it had a nice big puddle of ATF under it....it had been sitting in his garage for 3 years but he said there was no leaks under it. I'm sure it was low when he parked it but when I added oil its dripping fast.

I took the pan off today and other than dirty oil it looks not to bad in there. Should I just get a filter and oil and give it a try? Or what else should I look at while the pan is off?
 
I'd fill it to the mark first even though it leaks, and then take it for a drive. If it shift properly, then look at filter, gaskets etc.

I just went through a similar issue at work. I got to work thursday to find my truck was down getting rear brakes. There was one spare truck available, so naturally I ended up with it. We check trans fluid at the end of day so we get an accurate read. Everything else looked OK, so I leave and a mile up the road it misses the 3-4 shift and is slipping. I stopped, tried again and it managed to make it to 4th, but missed the 4-5 shift. I turned around and this thing was slipping and loosing gears. I managed to get back to the shop and pulled it inside. The mechanic and I check the fluid and the stick is dry. We ended up putting 6 liters into it, and it was fine again. Really hard to rear that dipstick.
 
tRustyK5 said:
I'd fill it to the mark first even though it leaks, and then take it for a drive. If it shift properly, then look at filter, gaskets etc.

I just went through a similar issue at work. I got to work thursday to find my truck was down getting rear brakes. There was one spare truck available, so naturally I ended up with it. We check trans fluid at the end of day so we get an accurate read. Everything else looked OK, so I leave and a mile up the road it misses the 3-4 shift and is slipping. I stopped, tried again and it managed to make it to 4th, but missed the 4-5 shift. I turned around and this thing was slipping and loosing gears. I managed to get back to the shop and pulled it inside. The mechanic and I check the fluid and the stick is dry. We ended up putting 6 liters into it, and it was fine again. Really hard to rear that dipstick.
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Yeah I've had that before once or twice!
I was just going to add more oil and try it but said F it and ripped the pan off.
 
Looks a little sludgy. Maybe fresh fluid and a filter will get it to live for a while longer...sure can't hurt it.
 
The transfer case takes special fluid if it's a auto track transfer case. Damn fluid was high from the dealer from what I can remember the fluid color was green.
Great find!
 
Russell said:
If you want to get rid of it, I'll pay you $10 for it. Not a bad way to make $10!
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Lol! If you bring your trailer I will give you a 83 k 10 diesel frame....I `ll keep the TrailBlazer.



stump_puller said:
The transfer case takes special fluid if it's a auto track transfer case. Damn fluid was high from the dealer from what I can remember the fluid color was green.
Great find!
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Thanks! Good to know, it does have the auto track, It is a NP 226hd

GWeakland620 said:
I like these kinds of stories.
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Me too!

jekquistk5 said:
I want a free truck.
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Over the years I have been given quite a few! Nothing ends up being free...but they are the most fun!

GWeakland620 said:
Is this the 4.2 with the 4l60?
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Yes it is.
 
If the new oil@ filter trick doesn't work ill take is and get the codes read, may have a faulty solenoid. Should have done the codes that first but my guy wasn`t home that day I had it running.
But do any of you guys know if just any 4l60e will swap in or are they specific to the Trail Blazer?
 
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