I have a 1999 Chevy Blazer LS 4WD 95K miles that had an incident in 2008 where the oil pressure dropped to zero while driving down the highway. I immediately pulled over and had the vehicle towed to a dealership. They pulled the oil pan off and let me know the lower part of the motor was “toast.” (crankshaft had turned blue due to heat from no oil.) Mysteriously it has oil pressure now and I have no idea why that is. It started last time I tried about 4 years ago.
I dearly loved this vehicle. It was first car I bought and paid for myself and I planned on repairing it one day. It’s been sitting in My garage for the last 8 years. Recently, my daily driver died and I was faced with repairing the Blazer or buying a new vehicle. Since I don’t know how well the Blazer has fared sitting in the garage all these years, I decided repair wasn’t worth it at this time for a vehicle I needed to be dependable and I just bought a new vehicle.
So here’s the thing. I kept the Blazer really clean. Washed it all the time, no damage, Regular oil changes, the works. It still smells like a new car inside. I really don’t want to see it get crushed and I’d like to see it go to a good home. It might need more work than a new motor since it’s been sitting so long, but I can’t imagine it would be more than someone mechanically inclined could handle. I’d like to sell it and get a fair price for it but I have no idea what a clean 99 Blazer with a bad motor is worth and I don’t want to get ripped off. I still see these on the road, and I’d like someone to keep my girl running. I’d get a new engine, but I don’t have the cash and I need the garage space.
Was the engine making noise when the gauge read 0 . . . ?
Have you hooked up a mechanical oil pressure gauge . . . if you want to know what the actual oil pressure is, it’s a lot more reliable than the gauge in the cluster
Was the engine noisey when you started the truck 4 years ago . . . ?
A '99 Blazer with a toasted engine?
You could try selling it as-is for a “parts car”. Don’t expect much money, you’ll be blessed if you get $750. Even in perfect shape, these aren’t exactly sought-after classics. But some young fella will probably enjoy a project car.
I think just say good bye. I’m in the same situation. Car taking up garage room for 6-7 years and getting maybe 5-10 miles of use. Tires over ten years old and some issue with glazed brakes. But in nice shape, but it will be going to the junk yard in the sky at some point soon.
Everyone else has laid the scene out very well. However, and you may not like this, but there’s a few flaws in your thinking.
One would be referring to dependable after running an engine out of oil. If the fluids care not checked regularly on the new car there could come a time when it too will be sitting with a bad engine.
Two is the ripping off part. How does one get ripped off selling your own car? The only way that can happen is if you take a personal check which bounces or a fraudulent cashiers check, etc.
I wouldn’t expect much more than what a junk yard would give you for it. Parts car value in other words. No harm trying to sell it using internet sites, newspapers, and the local auto-trader publications for more than that though. If that doesn’t work out, since it is such good condition other than the motor, suggest to ask your local high school or community college auto repair school if they’d like to have it as a donation.
Our local high school auto shop teacher is retiring and they had an article on him. His students won national awards but he said he got cars donated by Chrysler and Ford. New cars to work on with the most recent electronics. In the competitions, new cars are always worked on. Maybe if they had a body shop course or something but otherwise it’d be like donating a typewriter to a business class. Sometimes you just let go.
Academic institutions with automotive technology programs often have agreements with manufacturers that provide new vehicles, equipment, and access to technical procedures and documents well beyond what’s accessible to the general public. Being an administrator at a college with an automotive degree program, I had access to all this documentation for my Toyota products as well as Chrysler products (years ago) and eventually Honda products. I don’t miss working, but I do miss the access.
When I installed my driving lights, I tracked the parts necessary to install the lights using the OEM harness right down to the part numbers of the connectors used on the accessory harness. Unfortunately, the connectors are not available to the public. And searches of connector manufacturer websites was unproductive, even though I had the physical interface dimensions of the connectors. The connectors are strictly proprietary. Rather than butcher the harness (I won’t do that) I parted with the absorbent cost of the OEM accessory harness.
Rockauto was amazing for the various connectors that they had available for my Riviera but yeah, you know somewhere there is a whole bin of those things, you just can get one.
They’re pretty rugged, if you don’t abuse them . . . or lose oil pressure
We have several S10s and Blazers in our fleet, and those engines are pretty well-matched to the vehicles
I’m not saying the trucks themselves are very comfortable, fuel efficient or anything like that. I’m just saying the engines are not garbage. The trucks themselves do seem to break down quickly, though
s10 blazer? GM sold a million of them. Heck, maybe more. I think they rust even worse than the same yr full size tahoes and trucks. High school kids seem to really like the s-10’s. 99 s-10 blazer with 4" body lift. Sweet.
In my area there are plenty of compact Blazers available for less than $2000. Old SUVs have a lesser value than cars due to their fuel economy. A value over $500 seems optimistic for an inoperative old truck but four wheel drive vehicles may have a greater value in the north-east as one has suggested.
Fifteen years ago a co-worker had a two door ZR2 Blazer, much different than the common compact Blazer, a hobbyist may be interested in one of these but not a common LS model.
You should see MITs automotive lab. Not sure if they offer a degree in automotive engineering. I do know they get a lot of grant money from the auto industry and government grant money for auto related research.
The OP values this Blazer more than the market. I’d advise checking with local salvage yards for a sound used motor. There should be a lot of these motors available. See if the salvage yard will make the motor switch at a reasonable costs. Once a new motor is in the Blazer, then make sure the brakes and brake lines are inspected if OK, register and drive the truck.
At that point the OP could either keep it or sell it at the going market price as per KBB or Edmunds values.
If the OP unloads it as is, he should at least get the motor running so a prospective buyer can see if the transmission and other systems work. A non running vehicle with a bad motor is just not worth anything even with an excellent body and interior.
