[billscamaros]

I'm in pretty much the same situation regarding my daily driver, a '99 Z28 six speed. It runs well, gets 26 mpg consistently, and is comfortable for me to drive on my 120 mile round trip commute. I've got 229K miles on this car. I just had a new clutch installed, I've installed new rear trailing arms and panhard bar and I'm looking at a new power steering pump. Body wise, it's in pretty good shape .... most folks wouldn't guess the mileage on this car. Oh ... and this car has been paid off for years. When I replace this car, I'll most likely look at a 6 speed C6 Corvette.

I think that I can get another year out of this car, if not more. The old adage is that you know that you need a newer car when you're spending a car payment a month getting the old car fixed. And I'm not at that point yet. So I'd say hang onto the Trailblazer. Take that new car payment money that you aren't paying right now and toss it into a saving account in anticipation of the eventual purchase. Or at least use it to pay off any outstanding consumer debt.

Unless there is something odd about Trailblazers, you don't need any special tools to replace your shocks. I could see taking the ball joint replacement to a shop somewhere. What has to be done to the hubs?

Fix it and drive it. All in my opinion, of course!!