Chevy Trailblazer Owners

[Colin - STAPUFT]

Just a heads up to anyone who has a Trailblazer or GM with the 4.2l straight 6 vortec:

The wife's 2003 Trailblazer fan clutch had a cute "tick... tick... tick..." pretty much since we got it in 07. It had 115k on it then, but once it warmed up, the tick would go away. Well.... about a month or two ago the service engine light came on and I noticed a roaring sound when driving and a loss of power. So- duh, the fan clutch finally gave out. I popped the hood and checked and along with that- the entire fan, fan clutch and pulley assembly would "wabble" by about 1/8 of an inch. Great. The water pump bearings had gone bad.

It seems that this is a VERY common problem with Trailblazers. I replaced it all with the help of my dad. Not much fun at all and not too cheap. 200 fan clutch, 60 for the water pump and 25 for the Gatorback (always go with these now)- and our time for exchange of $$ for mechanic labor. After lots of cussing and scrapes, we got the old assembly out and the new one in. I didn't really realize how loud the TB was before, but now with all the new stuff and with the quiet Gatorback belt, her TB is really really quiet now.

Just wanted to give people a heads up in case there is anyone who has this same trouble. Just know that it will only get worse if you don't fix it, and yes it made a huge improvement. It is amazing what you get used to when something goes bad over a long period of time...