'99 Bravada

Hey everyone,
I'm currently working the financing to buy a '99 Bravada. It's got all the options you can ask for (except maybe for remote start...which would be awesome in Minnesota) and 110k miles. Any major flaws/probs with this particular year I should be aware of before I sign the papers? I'm taking it to my mechaninc ASAP to have him look it over quick.

Thanks,
J-Ray

Have him check the front wheel bearings and ball joints, they wear out quickly and if they need to be replaced it will make a good bargaining point. Also check the radiator, these vehicles came with defective radiator caps from the factory, which cause the cooling system to "sludge" up. If the system needs to be flushed that should take a little more off the price. After you buy it you will need to replace the cap with a 16psi "Stant" brand from Advance Auto.

Make sure the heater works and if it is 4wd test it out well.

J-Ray,
Read through some of the posts concerning the transmission and transfer case.
I agree with BlazinSaddles concerning the cooling system & wheel bearing issues too.
Good luck with your decision,
Chris

The only work done upon trade-in was an oil change, and they replaced the shift sensor.

J-Ray

Shift sensor wasn't bad, J ray... It IS, not was, the ignition switch. Faulty switch doesn't supply constant power to mega-systems in the vehicle, including the tranny/transfer case functions...

Wouldn't that mean I'd have other problems starting and running things? I'm running an 800W amplifier and an aftermarket CD player no problems.

Not necessarily, J-ray... According to another 'poster', on the blazer/jimmy sites, which were 100% correct in my case, and a few others that I've seen that also replied, circuit '1020', common to jimmy/blazer/bravada, can lose power, due to this faulty ign. switch. This circuit controls about half a dozen functions on these vehicles - some pretty important, others not so important.
Your sound pumps could be drawing off of another circuit. I don't know how many 'circuits' there are, but I know that in my case, clearing the memory
by disconnecting the battery told me that there was nothing wrong with my tranny or transfer case. I can find the links to those posts, if you really want...

I've got a 99 bravada, almost 95K, had it since new. Only issue I had outside of brakes, shocks, battery and tune up stuff (all to be expected maintenance things) was the "transfer case shudder", which was fixed by changing the transfer case fluid - apparently some 98 and early 99 Bravada's had fluid problems that would cause a nasty shudder when turning sharp at a low speed - there was a TSB issued by GM about this.
I would assume that the Bravada you are considering would have had this addressed by now. Still not a bad idea to change the fluid.

Hope you enjoy the Bravada. I can't complain a bit about mine - it's been good to me for the past six years.

Almost forgot - I had to replace the multifunction switch (turn signals, cruise, etc). That took a dump on me and my turn signals wouldn't work. That's been my only real issue, which apparently is a fairly common occurence on the Blazer/Bravada/Jimmy/Envoy platform

My 99 Bravada makes a horrible shudddering when tightly turned in either direction both forward and backwards. It's almost a skidding/slipping of the front wheels. What can a shade tree mechanic do to stop this from happening short of taking it to the dealer and getting ripped off? is there an additive, special type of fluid for the transfer case or axles?, could this be a CV joint problem as well or as an Olds salesman said until they changed from the transverse to the inline engine this problem was just the way it was designed with awd?

alanhoman -

You'll want to change/flush the transfer case fluid. Mine had the same issue. You'll need to drain the transfer case, refill with new autotrak fulid, take a nice drive around town (at least 25 miles or so), drain the fluid again, refill, and you'll be good to go. There was a GM tech bulliten released about this some time ago - it deals with improper/contaminated friction modifiers in the transfer case fluid. I did mine, and it's been fine since.