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1989 K5 Blazer
- Thread starter The_Tomato
- Start date
First post, new build! I've had this blazer since late 2014 but it was my daily and I was a broke senior in high school. I managed to make it work well for me until about January 2019 when it started having some issues that I didn't know how to handle at the time. Here's a little background:
I've cut my teeth on this truck, learning almost all of my practical skills by working on it. It had a heart transplant (replaced an old, smoky high mileage motor with a stock replacement crate from GM Goodwrench) that I did with a buddy, and shortly after that the trans was rebuilt. That was spring 2016. Since then, I lived with all of the quirks and weirdness that comes from driving a 30 year old truck. There was no carpet, the A/C didn't work, it was loud, the vent windows whistled from bad seals, the roof leaks, and some electrical gremlins were thrown in for good measure. Senior year of college, the rear axle started to go. I could tell from the sound it was making, and the fact that it was getting HOT from relatively short drives. It got trailered home, parked in the garage, and sat for a few months. Over the summer, I saved up some cash, got a 12-bolt rebuilt with 3.73s (it had previously been 3.08's) and swapped that in for the tired old 10bolt. That meant no more 4x4 till I could afford a front axle upgrade, Then, a weird screech started coming from somewhere and there was a crazy drivetrain vibration. August 2019, I bought my current daily, a '13 Ford Explorer, and the blazer was parked in the garage. My money went to my downpayment and subsequent car payments. January 2020 I started a full-time job, but my money went to savings and a few other much needed purchases. On top of that, I had burned out a little bit on cars by trying to fix up a 96 Firebird that just didn't want to live. It had taken my time, energy, and money and given nothing back. And so the Blazer sat until this month.
Last year, I was ineligible to claim stimulus funds having been claimed as a dependent in 2019 as a college student. This year, I filed as independent for 2020 and got all of that money along with my refund. I decided now is the time to give my parents their garage bay back, and I've started dropping some money on the truck. I dropped my front 10-bolt off with my axle guy this past weekend for a full go-through. 3.73 ring and pinion upgrade, a yukon posi intall, a full bearing and seal kit, spicer u-joints, and a new wheel bearing kit.
In addition to that, here's what I've ordered so far:
- Rough Country 2" Lift Kit with rear springs (no blocks) from Off Road Warehouse
- Moog tie rod ends and drag link components
Part numbers: DS893, ES2234R, ES2027L, ES2026R, and adjusting sleeve ES362S x2
- ORD sway bar bushing kit
- New front/rear brake pads
- Jegs 15x8 Baja wheels (tires were just mounted and they look goooood)
I just received the LMC front air dam with notches to allow tow hooks to be mounted, which I'm going to use until I can afford a winch and bumper for the truck. I also have the LMC heavy-duty headlight harness already and am awaiting the upgraded headlights from LMC which are unfortunately backordered right now. In the meantime, I mounted two inexpensive LED light pods and their wiring harness from Amazon on the bumper to be offroad/foul weather/fog lights, which is allowed in VA as long as the lights are aimed below the plane of the headlights. They look pretty good, too!
Currently the truck is up on jackstands while I wait for the lift kit to come in, but I'll update everyone with how it looks when she's got her new shoes on.
I've cut my teeth on this truck, learning almost all of my practical skills by working on it. It had a heart transplant (replaced an old, smoky high mileage motor with a stock replacement crate from GM Goodwrench) that I did with a buddy, and shortly after that the trans was rebuilt. That was spring 2016. Since then, I lived with all of the quirks and weirdness that comes from driving a 30 year old truck. There was no carpet, the A/C didn't work, it was loud, the vent windows whistled from bad seals, the roof leaks, and some electrical gremlins were thrown in for good measure. Senior year of college, the rear axle started to go. I could tell from the sound it was making, and the fact that it was getting HOT from relatively short drives. It got trailered home, parked in the garage, and sat for a few months. Over the summer, I saved up some cash, got a 12-bolt rebuilt with 3.73s (it had previously been 3.08's) and swapped that in for the tired old 10bolt. That meant no more 4x4 till I could afford a front axle upgrade, Then, a weird screech started coming from somewhere and there was a crazy drivetrain vibration. August 2019, I bought my current daily, a '13 Ford Explorer, and the blazer was parked in the garage. My money went to my downpayment and subsequent car payments. January 2020 I started a full-time job, but my money went to savings and a few other much needed purchases. On top of that, I had burned out a little bit on cars by trying to fix up a 96 Firebird that just didn't want to live. It had taken my time, energy, and money and given nothing back. And so the Blazer sat until this month.
Last year, I was ineligible to claim stimulus funds having been claimed as a dependent in 2019 as a college student. This year, I filed as independent for 2020 and got all of that money along with my refund. I decided now is the time to give my parents their garage bay back, and I've started dropping some money on the truck. I dropped my front 10-bolt off with my axle guy this past weekend for a full go-through. 3.73 ring and pinion upgrade, a yukon posi intall, a full bearing and seal kit, spicer u-joints, and a new wheel bearing kit.
In addition to that, here's what I've ordered so far:
- Rough Country 2" Lift Kit with rear springs (no blocks) from Off Road Warehouse
- Moog tie rod ends and drag link components
Part numbers: DS893, ES2234R, ES2027L, ES2026R, and adjusting sleeve ES362S x2
- ORD sway bar bushing kit
- New front/rear brake pads
- Jegs 15x8 Baja wheels (tires were just mounted and they look goooood)
I just received the LMC front air dam with notches to allow tow hooks to be mounted, which I'm going to use until I can afford a winch and bumper for the truck. I also have the LMC heavy-duty headlight harness already and am awaiting the upgraded headlights from LMC which are unfortunately backordered right now. In the meantime, I mounted two inexpensive LED light pods and their wiring harness from Amazon on the bumper to be offroad/foul weather/fog lights, which is allowed in VA as long as the lights are aimed below the plane of the headlights. They look pretty good, too!
Currently the truck is up on jackstands while I wait for the lift kit to come in, but I'll update everyone with how it looks when she's got her new shoes on.
Good intro, sounds like your on a good path. Make sure you get both driveshafts gone through after you install your lift kit and get it back on the ground. That could be your screeching noise and vibration. Check out Tom Woods website. It gives you diagrams how to measure for correct shaft lengths and stuff.
Thanks for the insight! I forgot to mention in the post that the screeching issue is a very definitively bad driver side wheel bearing. The vibration could still be an unbalanced driveshaft, but it only happens at higher speeds, which leads me to think it might've been the crazy amount of slop in the tie rods. I'll still be using that tool you mentioned though.
I reached out to ORW to check on the shipping status of my order yesterday and it turns out the kit I ordered is backordered as well... oh well, so much for hoping to have the lift on before the axle gets done in the next week or two. It'll supposedly ship the Thursday before Easter now, but I'm nervous it'll take longer than that.
Before I put the truck up on stands, the trans had been slipping a bit. I noticed my fluid was low and started adding. Unfortunately, due to the bad wheel bearing, I wasn't willing to do much test driving to see if fluid had fixed the issue, so once the wheels are back on the ground we'll see if the slippage was solely due to low fluid. If so, that'll save me ~$1000 on a trans rebuild that I don't want to go through with (I want something other than a 700r4 in here, long term.) If it's minor, I was thinking of putting a band-aid on it with something in a bottle that'll get me another 5-10k weekend miles out of it. I'm a little jealous of my buddy who just walked away from a junkyard with an entire NV4500 for $350 said and done, but an sm465 might be a more affordable option for me in the future.
Before I put the truck up on stands, the trans had been slipping a bit. I noticed my fluid was low and started adding. Unfortunately, due to the bad wheel bearing, I wasn't willing to do much test driving to see if fluid had fixed the issue, so once the wheels are back on the ground we'll see if the slippage was solely due to low fluid. If so, that'll save me ~$1000 on a trans rebuild that I don't want to go through with (I want something other than a 700r4 in here, long term.) If it's minor, I was thinking of putting a band-aid on it with something in a bottle that'll get me another 5-10k weekend miles out of it. I'm a little jealous of my buddy who just walked away from a junkyard with an entire NV4500 for $350 said and done, but an sm465 might be a more affordable option for me in the future.
Some other things I'd like to do, in no particular order:
Dual battery setup, running an isolated deep cycle to power a winch, fridge, and onboard air compressor
Winch/winch bumper. I don't know what the general consensus about Harbor Freight winches is in this forum, but they're cheap and under warrantee and for a 24-year-old like myself, that's very appealing.
Order a soft top
Removable door setup from the guide somewhere on this forum
Build a big block or 6.2/6.5
More offroad lighting
Rock sliders (maybe)
Fix A/C (maybe)
Starter solenoid bypass via firewall-mounted solenoid
High torque mini-starter
Clean the undercarriage and paint/coat
- for this one I'm thinking of getting the $89 electric pressure washer from HF. It comes with a low-pressure nozzle w/ soap reservoir that looks like it would be perfect for degreasing
Repair minor dings/dents/rust spots and get a better looking coat of paint on
Sound system upgrades
Clearly I have plenty of objectives I want to complete. More will come up over time I'm sure, but this is a nice reference list to check my progress over time. Feedback always appreciated.
Dual battery setup, running an isolated deep cycle to power a winch, fridge, and onboard air compressor
Winch/winch bumper. I don't know what the general consensus about Harbor Freight winches is in this forum, but they're cheap and under warrantee and for a 24-year-old like myself, that's very appealing.
Order a soft top
Removable door setup from the guide somewhere on this forum
Build a big block or 6.2/6.5
More offroad lighting
Rock sliders (maybe)
Fix A/C (maybe)
Starter solenoid bypass via firewall-mounted solenoid
High torque mini-starter
Clean the undercarriage and paint/coat
- for this one I'm thinking of getting the $89 electric pressure washer from HF. It comes with a low-pressure nozzle w/ soap reservoir that looks like it would be perfect for degreasing
Repair minor dings/dents/rust spots and get a better looking coat of paint on
Sound system upgrades
Clearly I have plenty of objectives I want to complete. More will come up over time I'm sure, but this is a nice reference list to check my progress over time. Feedback always appreciated.
All good plans. The 6.2/6.5 is a little funny, but read up more you'll learn.
Most of your plans can be done well, even on the cheap. Dual battery setups are easy to do vs a $300 kit from painless or other known high ends brands.
One suggestion to add to the mix. Buy a welder. You can build your own bumpers and sliders. Learning another skill is just as important as making the upgrades.
I know the DDs aren't the most incredible motors, I just like them. Don't ask me why lol.All good plans. The 6.2/6.5 is a little funny, but read up more you'll learn.
Most of your plans can be done well, even on the cheap. Dual battery setups are easy to do vs a $300 kit from painless or other known high ends brands.
One suggestion to add to the mix. Buy a welder. You can build your own bumpers and sliders. Learning another skill is just as important as making the upgrades.
And I plan to just use some heavy guage wiring and a solenoid to set up my battery setup. Super simple, at least conceptually. I've learned the hard way, though, not to assume that something simple is going to be easy
Honestly couldn't agree more though, a cheap gasless welder has been on my list for a bit now. It'll happen in the next 2 months or so. I've had some experience with stick and mig, so it'll just come down to spending time with it and equipment quality. Then I'll be able to do whatever I want muahahahahaha
Well, 5 months later and not a ton of progress has been made. I cancelled my order from RC for the lift due to horrible lead time and next to no updates. Sticking with stock height for now, which is probably for the best as I'd want to put the time and money into making sure my steering geometry is solid after lifting. Rebuilt axle is back on, no complaints there. Still having an issue with the rear drums rubbing. Went to get mine trued and surfaced and turns out they were below spec, so I ordered some from Rock Auto, along with new shoes and hardware. Going to do a full rear brake job and see if that fixes the issue. If not, you can bet I'll be turning to the forums for an assist.
I still have big plans for this truck, but I currently have 2 other projects that don't drive at all that have been stealing my time and money. One's a 78 vette I picked up back in April and the other is a 69 F-250 2wd that I ALSO picked up back in April. Picked them both up for great prices and both run, but both need some brake work and various other bits and pieces.
Changed my mind a bit about the DD swap- I still like the idea, but I'm leaning more towards an LM7 out of a Silverado, maybe backed up by a 4l80E. Not too worried about that though as I've had no real issues with the power put out by the stock 350, and this one has maybe 30k miles on it since I dropped it in back in '16. I don't want to fuss with getting a PROM chip flashed for a tbi build or anything like that. If I'm going to deal with electronics, the tunability and power output of the LS line pairs well with the amount of knowledge out there for swaps.
I still have big plans for this truck, but I currently have 2 other projects that don't drive at all that have been stealing my time and money. One's a 78 vette I picked up back in April and the other is a 69 F-250 2wd that I ALSO picked up back in April. Picked them both up for great prices and both run, but both need some brake work and various other bits and pieces.
Changed my mind a bit about the DD swap- I still like the idea, but I'm leaning more towards an LM7 out of a Silverado, maybe backed up by a 4l80E. Not too worried about that though as I've had no real issues with the power put out by the stock 350, and this one has maybe 30k miles on it since I dropped it in back in '16. I don't want to fuss with getting a PROM chip flashed for a tbi build or anything like that. If I'm going to deal with electronics, the tunability and power output of the LS line pairs well with the amount of knowledge out there for swaps.
Where you located in VA? Assuming this isnt your primary vehicle, you should get antique tags. Removes need for annual inspection and registration.
It's not my primary, but I intend to sub it in for my daily often enough for that to not be realistic. I could get away with it but I'd rather not.
Oh, i'm in tidewater btw. Good ole 757.
Nice. All good, just something to consider. There are so many other things that cops are focused on (at least around here), you wont get pulled over for driving all over with antique tags. Ive got them on a truck I drive pretty regularly and have never had any issues.
Rebuilt the passenger rear brakes last night and something is still funky. The drum will NOT slide on without a fight, and I have to fight it back off if i even get it on an inch. The adjuster is fully collapsed. I just don't understand. Am I looking at a bent stud? Maybe a bent axle flange? I'm going away to Colorado for a hike as of tomorrow and I need to pack tonight, so I won't be able to grab pics. But any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
Well, good news and bad news. I had the rear brakes all apart and the truck up on stands to troubleshoot the issue I've been having with a rubbing sound, and I think I narrowed it down. The driver side seems to be turning true. Here's a clip I got of it in drive, just the flange:
View attachment 20210907_193856.mp4
After that, it was time to take a look at the passenger side. Sure enough, the flange seemed to be wobbling even though the axle shaft itself wasn't. View attachment 20210907_194517.mp4
And here it is with the drum on. Found the source of the sound.
View attachment 20210907_193550.mp4
So I ordered a new shaft, bearing, seal, and housing gasket. Hopefully this goes smoothly and she's back on the road ASAP!
View attachment 20210907_193856.mp4
After that, it was time to take a look at the passenger side. Sure enough, the flange seemed to be wobbling even though the axle shaft itself wasn't. View attachment 20210907_194517.mp4
And here it is with the drum on. Found the source of the sound.
View attachment 20210907_193550.mp4
So I ordered a new shaft, bearing, seal, and housing gasket. Hopefully this goes smoothly and she's back on the road ASAP!
Also, I did confirm that the reason I was having trouble getting the drum on and off the passenger side was due to bent studs. Knocked them out and put in new ones, issue gone.
If you're noticing a trend of bent things on the passenger side, it's because the guy I bought the axle from was loading it with a forklift and chains and managed to drop it. I assumed it was fine at the time, and haven't been able to troubleshoot it yet because this truck has been parked for the better part of 2 years. Oh well, at least I'm getting it done now.
If you're noticing a trend of bent things on the passenger side, it's because the guy I bought the axle from was loading it with a forklift and chains and managed to drop it. I assumed it was fine at the time, and haven't been able to troubleshoot it yet because this truck has been parked for the better part of 2 years. Oh well, at least I'm getting it done now.
Forgive me, but I'm waxing poetic on this one.
Tonight I was contemplating what the heck I wanted to do with my blazer. I'm sure yall understand. ENDLESS possibilities. So I'm sitting here pondering just which way I want to take the truck in the future, and I realize that I finally found a name for my truck. 7 years and countless hours of wrenching later, I settled on Dreamboat, or Dreamy for short. For years, this truck has captured my imagination. Blazers can be made to do just about anything, and do it well. This thing, for better or for worse, has bourne my dreams of future adventures for the better part of a decade. I've loved it, I've hated it, and I even almost sold it, but it's still there, just waiting for me to fix it up and drive down to the beach for some sand driving, or take it up to the mountains to explore national forest access roads.
Saturday my new axle shaft and related parts arrive, and hopefully I can get her back on the road and ready for an adventure. Stay tuned!
Tonight I was contemplating what the heck I wanted to do with my blazer. I'm sure yall understand. ENDLESS possibilities. So I'm sitting here pondering just which way I want to take the truck in the future, and I realize that I finally found a name for my truck. 7 years and countless hours of wrenching later, I settled on Dreamboat, or Dreamy for short. For years, this truck has captured my imagination. Blazers can be made to do just about anything, and do it well. This thing, for better or for worse, has bourne my dreams of future adventures for the better part of a decade. I've loved it, I've hated it, and I even almost sold it, but it's still there, just waiting for me to fix it up and drive down to the beach for some sand driving, or take it up to the mountains to explore national forest access roads.
Saturday my new axle shaft and related parts arrive, and hopefully I can get her back on the road and ready for an adventure. Stay tuned!
New axleshaft arrived so I popped the diff cover to find...
One the preload springs of my posi unit is broken. Idk what caused it but the replacement arrived yesterday. Hoping to get the old one out tonight.
The c clip on the passenger axleshaft fought me a little but i eventually got it out
Will be installing that tonight as well. Ideally I can get this thing all back together and take this over for inspection this week. Once that's done, I'll drive it for a few days while my daily gets a new O2 sensor and gets a state inspection.
One the preload springs of my posi unit is broken. Idk what caused it but the replacement arrived yesterday. Hoping to get the old one out tonight.
The c clip on the passenger axleshaft fought me a little but i eventually got it out
Will be installing that tonight as well. Ideally I can get this thing all back together and take this over for inspection this week. Once that's done, I'll drive it for a few days while my daily gets a new O2 sensor and gets a state inspection.
Also, side note- turned 25 today! I can officially get cheaper car insurance and go rent a car (if there are any rentals to be found)
Good work on the Blazer so far. Keep it up!
And happy birthday!
And happy birthday!
