Faults:

The transmission started smoking on a long highway trip. There was no fluid left in it and it was all burnt up. I let it cool off and topped it up and it made it all the way back home three hours and is still driving around.

It feels like it is driving on a square wooden wheel at low speeds. I believe a rim is very bent as we have terrible roads here in Saskatchewan and I launched the SUV about four feet in the air.

General Comments:

It has been a great car for what I paid. Very reliable had it been properly maintained (I have another abused one and it is amazing).

I plan on fixing it up, maybe putting a 5 speed in it and a newer Vortec engine in it. And also a lift kit would be nice. I would love to be able to put 31" tires on it and have it as my daily driver/hunting vehicle.

Faults:

Power window mechanism broken on both sides.

Headliner sagging.

Safety belts need replacement.

Car emits white smoke and gasoline smell on start up (head gasket).

General Comments:

I paid $1400 for it, so I guess I cannot really complain.

The plus is that the feeling of driving the car is great, it is both responsive and powerful, and the gas mileage is not too bad for a car of this type (I am still getting 21 MPGs if I keep things calm on the highway).

However, the interior of the car does not conform to modern safety standards (no air bags, no head rests in back). But the worst part is that the interior assembly is also surprisingly cheap. Repairing even simple things often means a destruction of permanent seals and welded bolts, while the parts used are often plastic that breaks when touched the wrong way.

At a car 20 years of age, one can of course take nothing for granted, but the degree of deterioration was still quite shocking to me.

Basically, there wasn't a single thing about it that did not turn out to be a problem.

And since yesterday, it blows smoke out of its exhaust on start up. Looks like the head gasket will kill it now.

I think this kind of car is best used as a fixer upper to trash on mud and gravel roads. For everything else, it is too unsafe and unreliable at this point.

$1400 for a piece of trash. Very disappointed and angry at myself for going for it, despite warning signs during the buying process.

My advice: Always have an independent mechanic check your car before you buy it. Never let anyone talk you out of that, no matter how "nice" they seem!

Faults:

The heater control does a weird little thing where it makes a wind blowing type of sound or something, doesnt really do anything to the vehicle or anything, but that little sound it makes drove me crazy for the first 2 weeks until I figured out what was making the noise.

The 4x4 when switched in 4x4 low if not pushed in all the way it will make a noise, but I've found this is only when I do not push it in all the way so that's my own fault.

The front brakes make a noise because they are brand new. When its in 4low and it wants to take off because of the very low gearing, like a tractor, the front brakes make a noise if you hold the pedal slightly up from being on hard enough to stop the truck. Again this is not a fault of the vehicle, but it is very annoying at times.

General Comments:

The truck has more room than it looks like it does. We fit a fullsize fridge into the back and got the tailgate closed too, plus had room to spare.

Ours is a 4 door version so its longer than a 2 door.

The gas mileage is good, with over 30,000 kms put on the truck it has not even made a sign of ever giving up on us or leaving us stranded. We know we got a good one and if they are all like this one there should be plenty of them on the roads when newer vehicles are already in the crushing yards. ours goes and goes, turn the key and it always starts, drives for days at a time across the country non-stop and never ever feels like it will let us down.

Research I have done on the 4.3 liter engine is that they typically get 400,000 kms easily... and up to 1 million if you really take care of it. Not many vehicles can say this, some are broken the day they were built, you know who you are :-)

If you want a cheap, reliable, spacious 4x4, then go get a blazer or a jimmy. the 4 door model with a 4.3 liter engine is the only way to go, the 2.8 isn't half as good of an engine.