At the the risk of being branded a heretic....

Liberty02sport · **Posted:** Sun Mar 04, 2012 1:58 pm

I'm looking for a FSM for a 2003 chevy S-10 ZR2. Stepdaughter just got one (I tried to extoll the virtues of our KJ's...honest I did). Got the FSM's on disc for the wife's TJ and my KJ but can't seem to turn up a PDF file on this truck. My google-fu must be weak..Thanks.

99_XC600 · **Posted:** Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:01 pm

I hope she really likes the S10. It's going to test her.

I had a 1994 Extended Cab 4WD Auto 4.3. I can with out a doubt say that truck was the biggest POS I have ever owned.

I purchased it with 18,000 miles on it and I don't remember if there was ever a time something wasn't broken on it. Here is my list.

Ball joints upper and lower - replaced twice on both sides
Front Wheel Hubs
Rear torsion bar mounts
Fuel injection system - The part that sits inside the intake manifold and has all the fuel lines going to the injectors. (It was leaking large amounts of gas directly into the engine)
Engine - Lower end went due to all of the gas that was in the crankcase
Window Handles - Literally snapped off in my hand
Seat recliner handles - Same deal
Transmission - This went out the day before my wedding and was the last straw. Once we came back from the honeymoon I traded it on for a 2001 Silverado.

I will note that the truck was never beat on or abused. It never went off road and the majority of the mileage was all highway mileage.

Truck had 110,000 miles on it when I traded it in.

Liberty02sport · **Posted:** Mon Mar 05, 2012 12:15 am

Wow....That is rough. I'm hoping it goes better for her, though we did get an extended warranty just in case. I think my KJ going thru two motors kinda soured her on Jeeps, since when it broke a valve spring and grenaded the first motor we were in SC on vacation and just last Sept. it dropped the valve seat on the rebuilt replacement motor resulting in yet another new motor (all covered under warranty). Of course the warranties don't cover everything which is why I'm looking for a shop manual for the S-10.

TAHOE · **Posted:** Mon Mar 05, 2012 10:14 am

Have you checked around on the S-10 Forums for the FSM? They may be able to help you. I used to be member on S-10forum and s_series.org

You have some different things going on with your truck than 99_XC600's 94 truck. He had the first year of the new models and they did have some bugs. Now saying that, there are some inherent issues with the S10's that never got fixed. They do like Balljoints, I changed them on both my 95 & 97 blazers, GM had some issues with front end durability and never fixed, the fullsizes have the same issues too.
You have a completely different fuel injection system than the 94, but do expect fuel pump issues, that's one of those inherent problems. Teach the girl to keep a minimum of a 1/4 tank of fuel and that pump will last mucho longer.
My 97 blazer was sold with 142K on it, my nephew had it until he sold it with 172K with stock motor/tranny. It ended up blowing an intake gasket, but I thikn it was from the Dexcol that was in it for 100K before I flushed it.
They did also have issues with leaking oil cooler lines, if they start leaking get them replaced.
I lost the motor @ 110K in my 95 cause I pushed it and the line ended up blowing off while I was driving, That was my stupid fault for putting it off.

First off, do about 4 flushes on the coolant system and get that nasty orange Dexcool outta there, that stuff was wreaking havoc on intake gaskets. I flushed out 97, 4-5 times and those little brown clumps would still show up, put the standard green back in it.

If you keep the oil/tranny fluids changed regularly and keep up the regularly maintenance, this will last for many, many miles/years. I've had both S10's and a Libby and for overall fit and finish/power/ and longevitiy, I would buy another S10 in a heartbeat. I can only hope our Libby makes it as long as our S10's did. The 4.3L are almost bullet proof with proper maintenance.

99_XC600 · **Posted:** Mon Mar 05, 2012 12:19 pm

Agreed. I had a 1988 S10 4WD Extended cab and never had an issue with it.

99_XC600 · **Posted:** Mon Mar 05, 2012 12:19 pm

Agreed. I had a 1988 S10 4WD Extended cab and never had an issue with it.

Liberty02sport · **Posted:** Tue Mar 06, 2012 12:25 am

Thanks for all the help/info. guys I appreciate it. The front end issues that Tahoe was talking about is what lead me to try to find the FSM for this truck, seems to have a little more slop in the steering than what I'd like (despite just having the idler arm replaced) so I thought I might use the FSM to check it over. I'll definitely look into the coolant issue tomorow. It's got almost 86K on the clock right now. Just had the driver's door hinge pins/bushings replaced last Thurs. then the tornados and hail came thru and put a few dents in it so I was back at the bodyshop again today to get an estimate. :evil:

Liberty02sport · **Posted:** Tue Mar 06, 2012 7:50 pm

Looks like you guys were 100% right about the Dexcool. Went out to check the coolant this afternoon and some was leaking down the side of the trans. bellhousing making a small puddle under the truck. Guess I'll call the dealer tomorrow to see what they want to do about it since we haven't had it but a week... :evil:

TAHOE · **Posted:** Wed Mar 07, 2012 10:39 am

That stuff was horrible, GM knows about, but won't do anything, it loves the intake gaskets.
Worst part is that after you open up radiator a few times to check it, the fresh air causes it to start degrading and it forms nasty brown clumps that start clogging the system. In the '94 and up S10's the heater core is slightly higher at one point than the radiator so there is also the possibility of air pockets which also leaks to issues with clogging, etc. Don't be alarmed if you ocassionally hear gurgling from passenger side dash.
If they do a flush, don't be surprised to see other little leaks appear too like maybe fresse out plugs, etc since you flushed all the corrosion away that was sealing them. Been there with S10's and my Tahoe. Stuff is junk and I get rid of it and replace with good old green.
Sounds like you found out as I forgot to mention, they like idler & pitman arms too. Since you got the ZR2, it's slighlty lifted and came with larger tires which were harder on suspension since they really didn't upgrade there much either.
They are decent trucks, but do have their inherent issues.
There used to be a ZR2 forum, but I haven't visited it in years, not sure if still out there.

Liberty02sport · **Posted:** Wed Mar 07, 2012 5:03 pm

The tow truck just left about 10 min. ago so the truck is on it's way back to the stealership. I'll make sure to find out EXACTLY what they do to it and tell them not to use the dexcool due to the known issues with it. I imagine they'll want to get it right the first time since they are on the hook for the extended warranty. I think I found the ZR2 forum just haven't registered yet due to needing pics of the truck as a requirement of membership...

TAHOE · **Posted:** Thu Mar 08, 2012 9:51 am

If it's under warranty, then you will most likely be getting the Dexclog back in it, just how they have to do it.

jola · **Joined:** Sun Jan 30, 2011 6:23 pm **Posts:** 29

I had Dex-Cool in my Firebird. The car's temperature was always good. I maintained the car well and did get visible clumps but since it didn't affect the temperatures the car ran at I wonder if the clumps liquefied at operating temperature. Never had a gasket issue. I sold the car after 180,000 miles so its possible it developed issues since then.

TAHOE · **Posted:** Fri Mar 09, 2012 10:00 am

Seems like the GM SUV's were the worst, especially the S10 platform. As I mentioned earlier, the problems maybe due to the heater core being slightly higher than rest causing air pockets. Luckily my Bird had already been flushed when I got it.

tommudd · **Posted:** Fri Mar 09, 2012 10:17 am

Been through it all on my Step fathers 94 S10 Blazer
For having 150,000 on it and the way he takes care of vehicles its done well except for the known issues that I have had to remedy over the years.
Now if only I had new front fenders, right front door and a tailgate it would be rust free as well :ROTFL:

Liberty02sport · **Posted:** Tue Mar 13, 2012 12:34 am

Got it back today. No more dexcool just the regular green. Invoice says that the lower intake gasket was replaced. Service advisor said it was flushed and refilled so I shouldn't have any further problems. Thanks for all the help guys.

At the the risk of being branded a heretic....

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