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1984 k5 blazer wanders Badly.

6

6.2/1983

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I just got a 84 k5 blazer yesterday and it seems to have a lot of wonder in it when driving.
It is a stock k5 no lifts.
What should i check or what could i do to make the wondering stop?
its pretty bad no matter what speeds.
 
jack up the front and grab a wheel to see if there is play in anything, check the frame where the steering box is attached, its probably cracked
 
Could be lots of things, but first I’d check to make sure the center pin in the spring isn’t sheared letting the axle move on the spring. Easy to check by looking for shiney metal where the spring perch is rubbing on the spring.
Also check for cracks in the frame at the steering box, very common issue with square bodies. Make sure the steering box is tight against the frame. Good idea to have a helper saw the steering wheel back and forth while you look at all the steering joints to make sure they’re tight. Do this with only the driver side wheel off the ground.
Jack each wheel off the ground and look for play. Grab the wheel at 3 and 9 o’clock and shake it. Shouldn’t be any noticeable play (if there is then new bearings/races are needed). Put a prybar under the tire (with a piece of plywood between to protect the tire) and press on it while looking at the ball joints. Again, if slop is noticed then new ball joints are needed.
Another thing that isn’t so easy to check is the axle shaft u-joints. If one or both are seized then you’ll get weird steering issues even in 2WD. You’ll need to tear the entire wheel assembly off to check for it though. Once you pull the axleshaft out of the housing it should easily flop around.
 
Check for proper toe-in, of the front wheels.
I find that 1/8" toe-in measured at the tire, works well for my Blazers.
Of course, there are better ways to do it.
Professionals and stuff.
 
Make sure all 4 tires are the same diameter and dont have any excessive wear on one side..dont go by the size marked on the tires,different brands marked the same size may not always match up close enough to prevent weird handling,sizes can vary--measure them with a tape measure around the circumfrence ..

Mixing bias ply and radials can make a truck wander and pull ,and swap ends on a slippery surface,using P" rated 4 plys and "LT" rated tires with differing numbers of belts of plies can cause issues as well--ideally all 4 tires should be the same brand,tread,and number of plies..
Though I currently have tires on my 3/4 ton 4x4 that differ in both size and ply front to rear,it doesn't seem to affect it all that much..
I found the 1/2 tons anf K5's much more sensitive to tire differences ,probably because they dont weigh as much..

All the other things listed above can cause wandering --also look over the shackles on the back of the front springs,and the rear most one in the back..any slop or misalignment there can throw the axles out of alignment ,cause it to "crab walk",wander,etc..

If the front springs are sagged a lot the caster can be less than desired ,caster is what makes the wheels tend to stay straight ahead and not be deflected by bumps,etc..too little makes it squirmy..


The seized axle u-joints usually show up as a sudden pull to one side after you get it rolling about 15-20 mph..my truck did that and would nearly pull itself into the ditch till I yanked the axle and replaced the u-joints..it wasn't really seized,but one cap had zero needle bearings left and the cross nearly ate thru the cap and would have ruined the yoke had I not fixed it right away..

A crude test to see if the frame might be tweaked is to drive through a puddle and then go straight a short distance and see if the front and rear tires seem to be tracking properly..the front axle is wider than the rear on most GM 4x4's,so the front tires should stick out equally compared to the rear tires tracks if the frame is straight..
 
One other spot to check that hasn't been mentioned is those front spring eye bushings. On a push/pull drag link if the axle (just like loose u-bolts on that side) can move front to rear any it will steer the truck.
 
Wow thank you guys for the wealth of information!
Looks like I’m going hunting.

Hopefully it’s something stupidly was off that list.

Also got it home and parked it over night and there was a huge amount of transmission fluid leak on the ground. sigh looks like I bought another project seems like I do that a lot.
 
Heh this is not just a little leak it’s a puddle and happend over night.
I don’t mind little leaks and expect some but like I said this a puddle.
 
Where is it leaking at, front,rear. If rear new seal might be in order. Also check to see if it coming from the end of yoke.
 
I'd look over the cooler lines first..they often pop due to rust,or sometimes someone used rubber fuel line hose to splice or connect them,which cant withstand the high temps of the hot ATF...
I use compression fittings if I have to connect two lengths of the tubing together..
 
Wandering is usually the tires.
Even a tight setup all around will stoll allow wandering with bad tires.
Swap the front tires off one of your good trucks and see if it helps
 
Sorry I did not mean to make this into two splitting post.
The tires are brand new he put them on before selling it.

The leak is coming from somewhere in the front from what I could tell looks like above the driveline.
I hope it’s just a hose that would be great.
 
so when you say wonder... can you explain a bit more?
so when your driving down a nice even/flat road.. can you rock the steering wheel left/right and truck still goes straight? mine was doing that. it was the fact that I put 2wd gears in my 4wd gear box and I didn't have it adjusted right. I just replaced it with a reman 2wd gear box (as I have ord xover steer) and now that problem is gone. no more dukes of hazard steering wheel driving.
now my truck wanders when I hit a crack or something, truck darts that way.. but cmon bias ply tires that are a true 14" wide... like to catch grooves...
 
6.2/1983 said:
Sorry I did not mean to make this into two splitting post.
The tires are brand new he put them on before selling it.

The leak is coming from somewhere in the front from what I could tell looks like above the driveline.
I hope it’s just a hose that would be great.
Click to expand...
If tires are new then the alignment is next to check.
I would still check everything mentioned above but to eliminate the wandering check one thing at a time and eliminate possible causes.
 
Perhaps the tires aren't properly balanced because the PO just threw them on to make the sale...
 
GoGoGirl said:
Perhaps the tires aren't properly balanced because the PO just threw them on to make the sale...
Click to expand...
Balance doesn't do that.
Uneven wear, different size tires side to side, bad alignment or worn steering components will.
 
The frame doesn’t looked cracked anywhere thank god.

I took some pics of the suspension. It has an odd bar under there one one side only...
Tell me whatcha guys think it is obviously not a factory part.
 
I don't know if you can say for certain there are no frame cracks without removing the steering gear.

But having somebody else turn the wheels in the driveway while you look underneath can be very enlightening and only takes a minute.
 
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