Hey, I am thinking of grabbing a K5 Blazer for dirt cheap. It has the 6.2L diesel and 4x4. The tranny needs to be rebuilt, but for what he is asking, its still a good deal to me currently. I was curious to see what problems these were prone to if anything before I go check it out? I cant find many reviews on them due to the age I guess, so if yall can help any Id appreciate it. Thanks

 

I had a '81 and a '88 back in the day and my cousin had a '83 diesel that had been swapped to a 350 gas. We used to run them pretty hard so we broke plenty of stuff through the years. Best site to research is probably ColoradoK5.com.
http://coloradok5.com/forums/index.php
http://coloradok5.com/specs.shtml
http://coloradok5.com/

They are pretty cool rigs. That diesel probably won't get out of it's own way, but a little tinkering and it will get pretty good highway mileage. Check the frame where the power steering box bolts to for cracks. There are weld on kits to fix that. If the roof has been off, it probably leaks, so check for rust where the top meets the cab & body. It it has the power rear window check to make sure it works up & down. If it doesn't go down, you can't open the tailgate. If it has automatic locking hubs, ditch them and put some good manual locking hubs. Got stuck a couple times thanks to the auto-hubs not wanting to lock in. My '81 used to go through alot of rear U-joints, never figured out why. My '88 didn't break any U-joints, but the axle seals leaked and I did manage to blow up the diffs in both the '81 and '88. That '81 could pull the front tires off the ground if you got to rocking it just right in 4Lo on the street. The brakes suck ***** in them, so don't expect it to stop on a dime.

 

we used to have an 85 suburban with the same enigne . .. . . it was sold after having 275K miles on it . . . .

It'll need a heating block on it sometimes in the winter, but that was about it . . .