I'm looking at buying a 1986 blazer 4x4 with a 6.2l diesel. to start off when i initially looked at it, it was -20c and it had been for a few days. It was not pluged in, but it fired up after about 6 tries. To my surprise I did not get ingulfed by a mountain of smoke. It ran smooth and clean.
After it warmed up I took it for a spin, accelerating into traffic was shocking it pulled hard and fast, faster than my Ramcharger with a 318.
My questions to you is this, not having owned a GM I am wondering what things I should be looking for as to being comon problems with these vehicles. For instance I've seen brackets to reinforce power steering box because of cracking.
Also what type of 4sp auto is used with which transfercase. Type of diffs?

Any advise is greatly appreciated.

In 1986 they had 10 bolts front and back for the axles. And the most common thing to look out for is rust in the rockerpanels etc. The great thing about K5's is the interchangability of the parts :cool: Good luck and visit www.coloradok5.com for any more questions if ya'd like :D

Check for cracks around the steering box on the frame for that's something they are famous for (like you mentioned). If there are cracks it's not the end of the world you can get a weld on brace from Offroad Design (http://www.offroaddesign.com)... I also suggest taking a magnet with you. Then sticking it in random spots on the truck to check for bondo spots that have been painted over. Check the body mounts for rust. If you live in a place where they salt the roads you will probably need to really check for rust. Having a floor rot out on you really simply sucks. I have an 86 and the auto tranny is a TH700R4, manual SM465 and the t-case is a NP208 both cases... The axles are 28 spline 8.5" 10 bolts front and rear.... :)