Old posi springpack is out, but does anyone have a recommendation on the best way to install a new one?
CK5
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1989 K5 Blazer
- Thread starter The_Tomato
- Start date
So I got the new springpack in using zip ties and vice grips. New axle is in, everything is all buttoned up aaaaaaaand sound is still there..... I'm really thinking it might just be the backing plate. which is almost more of a PITA than the axle purely because replacement then entails having to disassemble the brakes and then bleed them. Reason I'm leaning away from it being the bearing? If I have the wheels/drums off and put it in drive, no noise. Put the passenger side drum on? Sound is there. This is a new drum. SOMETHING is making contact and I think that's what is it.
May have some percussive maintenance in my future.
May have some percussive maintenance in my future.
Chevy350Ben
Part time mall crawler
By "backing plate" are you talking about the metal dust cover? That can be easily tweaked with a crescent wrench or pliers.
Or are you talking about the plate that's welded to the axle tube? if that's the case, that would be a first for me. I'm certainly not a professional mechanic, but I've honestly never come across one of those bent.
Just food for thought here, but with the amount of frustration and money you have spent already, have you considered a disc brake swap? Several manufacturers out there make a kit. Or swap the whole axle for a newer unit with disc brakes already. I got my 14 bolt FF from an '04 for $100. Just giving options.
Great looking truck by the way.
Or are you talking about the plate that's welded to the axle tube? if that's the case, that would be a first for me. I'm certainly not a professional mechanic, but I've honestly never come across one of those bent.
Just food for thought here, but with the amount of frustration and money you have spent already, have you considered a disc brake swap? Several manufacturers out there make a kit. Or swap the whole axle for a newer unit with disc brakes already. I got my 14 bolt FF from an '04 for $100. Just giving options.
Great looking truck by the way.
I mean the dust plate behind the drum, not anything on the housing/tubes themselves. I'll do a one ton and disc swap eventually, but this axle was rebuilt back in 2018 and has less than 100 miles on it since then. Gonna see if I can troubleshoot the issue one more time before I move on. I do appreciate the suggestion though.
Ok the noise is there with the wheel and drum on. Right? Take the wheel and drum off and the noise goes away.
The backing plate could be bent but you should be able to see that. Plus if it's not straight the shoes won't be lined up in the drum. Yes they can get bent but the drum surrounds it so it would be really hard to do with the wheel and drum on. Now if the axle got dropped to the ground off of a jackstand with no drum on it sure. But again you should be able to see it.
If you have the wheel and drum off have you watched the axle flange as you ran it? If the flange is bent it's going to force the drum to wobble and rub on the backing plate.
A bent axle flange on a 10 bolt is more common than bending the axle end or backing plate.
The backing plate could be bent but you should be able to see that. Plus if it's not straight the shoes won't be lined up in the drum. Yes they can get bent but the drum surrounds it so it would be really hard to do with the wheel and drum on. Now if the axle got dropped to the ground off of a jackstand with no drum on it sure. But again you should be able to see it.
If you have the wheel and drum off have you watched the axle flange as you ran it? If the flange is bent it's going to force the drum to wobble and rub on the backing plate.
A bent axle flange on a 10 bolt is more common than bending the axle end or backing plate.
That was my thought process too, and so I replaced the axle shaft, but the noise is still there. Funny enough, I actually noticed that the brakes aren't sitting totally perfect just last night, so you saying that really confirms it. The whole assembly was dropped once in transport, so that's probably what it is.
Been out and about around my town in the K5 recently. I really can't figure out what that sound is, so I'm just gonna roll with it until it tells me what it is. I just bought another truck last week (94 k2500 w/ 6.5 turbo diesel) and can always tow with it if I need to get the Blazer home. The brakes are functioning like normal as well.
Here's what I really need to address: The steering on the Blazer is nightmarishly loose. The steering box is a reman, but I adjusted it and it almost feels like it's still loose but is also binding. Makes me think the play is coming from somewhere else. What are common problem areas? I searched and read the steering shaft bearing and the rag joint could be rebuilt to eliminate some play, but I really don't want to have to throw parts and money at this. Any advice is really appreciated.
Here's what I really need to address: The steering on the Blazer is nightmarishly loose. The steering box is a reman, but I adjusted it and it almost feels like it's still loose but is also binding. Makes me think the play is coming from somewhere else. What are common problem areas? I searched and read the steering shaft bearing and the rag joint could be rebuilt to eliminate some play, but I really don't want to have to throw parts and money at this. Any advice is really appreciated.
Check for frame cracks, they are a factory option.
Swapping the rag joint shaft for a Jeep XJ shaft with u-joints made a tremendous difference in steering feel on my Blazer.
Swapping the rag joint shaft for a Jeep XJ shaft with u-joints made a tremendous difference in steering feel on my Blazer.
I'll definitely check for cracks. If the frame is cracked, what's the repair? Just welding, or some sort of brace?
ORD has a brace kit and reinforcement plates. The brace kit bolts in and the plates weld in. Drill a hole at each of the crack and weld that up first and then do the plates.
Bingo. Xj shaft works to eliminate slop of the rag joint.
Quick and easy diag would be to have an assistant steer the wheels right to left while you watch critical areas where slop can happen. First off the frame where the steering box mounts. A cracked frame would cause the frame to move where the box mounts.
After looking there, watch down the line, pitman arm to drag link, drag link to steering arm, ball joints on both sides and the tie rod ends on each side.
Any one of those joints can be worn out and sloppy. Add it to other sloppy items and you end up with a lot of slop that wanders all over.
I'll see if I can get someone to help with that. I just reinstalled my 10 bolt front eariler this year and used all brand new Moog hardware. Shouldn't be tre or dle but I'll check them anyways. This has been plaguing me for years.
Last night I was organizing the nightmare that is my garage and was looking at the old grille off the truck. I put a new one on from LMC a year or two ago, and to be honest I'm not impressed. The quality is 100x lower. Is there a way to restore the "metal" veneer on these '89 dual headlight grilles? The plastic is in perfect shape and I'm sure I could make the black part look new and stick a new emblem on it.
Make sure the box isn't loose on the frame either.
Well, long time no check in! It's been an interesting 4 months. I gave my 2 weeks shortly after Christmas, and I left my job in January. The Blazer has been my daily since then. It has it's fair share of quirks as any 33 year old truck would, but she's been fairly reliable. My time and effort has been going into my '94 K2500 lately and holy hell has that been a mountain to climb. I'll post an update there shortly.
In January, I took a ~1500 mile roadtrip from my hometown of Williamsburg. I went up to Lynchburg, saw some friends and did some light off-roading there near Liberty University. Got to flex the old girl out on her 33's and stock suspension.
I then left for Harrisonburg right before the big snowstorm. She did great in the snow and looked even better. Would love to have selectable lockers but front and rear posi's did just fine, had no issues.
(Back when gas was ONLY ~$3.29 a gallon /s)
After that, I went up to Leesburg and stayed with a friend before continuing on to Manassas the next day. Once there, my buddy and I decided skiing in Snowshoe, West Virginia was a good idea, so I asked my dad if he'd be willing to meet me halfway between Williamsburg and Manassas with my skis and gear, to which he graciously agreed. Bought him a good lunch as thanks. Once that was handled, I got back to my buddy's apartment, we loaded up, and took off around 5pm.
It's impressive what you can fit into a large, hollow box shaped truck lol. I'll tell you what though, the drive between Northern VA and Snowshoe is a stunner. I do have some footage from the return trip, which I'll put later in the post, but on the way out it was dark the whole time. We arrived to our "campsite" around 11:50pm where we reorganized our cargo. Skis and other non-sensitive items were placed outside the truck and the rest was moved up front so we could camp in the back.
I'm 6'5", so this was fairly cramped as you can imagine, but when you're young and broke and want to ski, you don't pay for a hotel. You make it happen. Never thought I'd be forced to cuddle up to a friend though hahaha.
The reason "campsite" is in quotes is because we picked a spot in a small vacation community in front of a family friend's property who wasn't there at the time. They had no problem doing this but because the cabin was undergoing repairs, we weren't able to use it. This community requires 4x4 for winter access, and the Blazer took it like a champ.
The old girl looked good as always. Excuse the poorly aimed LED pods, that's since been corrected.
After skiing most of the day, we left for Manassas to drop my friend off. WV is as wild and wonderful as they say it is.
View attachment Sequence #1.mp4
Made it back late. Wish I could say the salt made the truck thirstier, but I think that's just the nature of a tbi 350.
Drove the <2hrs home from Manassas that night. Total tally was 6 days and 1500 miles. What a trip.
In January, I took a ~1500 mile roadtrip from my hometown of Williamsburg. I went up to Lynchburg, saw some friends and did some light off-roading there near Liberty University. Got to flex the old girl out on her 33's and stock suspension.
I then left for Harrisonburg right before the big snowstorm. She did great in the snow and looked even better. Would love to have selectable lockers but front and rear posi's did just fine, had no issues.
(Back when gas was ONLY ~$3.29 a gallon /s)
After that, I went up to Leesburg and stayed with a friend before continuing on to Manassas the next day. Once there, my buddy and I decided skiing in Snowshoe, West Virginia was a good idea, so I asked my dad if he'd be willing to meet me halfway between Williamsburg and Manassas with my skis and gear, to which he graciously agreed. Bought him a good lunch as thanks. Once that was handled, I got back to my buddy's apartment, we loaded up, and took off around 5pm.
It's impressive what you can fit into a large, hollow box shaped truck lol. I'll tell you what though, the drive between Northern VA and Snowshoe is a stunner. I do have some footage from the return trip, which I'll put later in the post, but on the way out it was dark the whole time. We arrived to our "campsite" around 11:50pm where we reorganized our cargo. Skis and other non-sensitive items were placed outside the truck and the rest was moved up front so we could camp in the back.
I'm 6'5", so this was fairly cramped as you can imagine, but when you're young and broke and want to ski, you don't pay for a hotel. You make it happen. Never thought I'd be forced to cuddle up to a friend though hahaha.
The reason "campsite" is in quotes is because we picked a spot in a small vacation community in front of a family friend's property who wasn't there at the time. They had no problem doing this but because the cabin was undergoing repairs, we weren't able to use it. This community requires 4x4 for winter access, and the Blazer took it like a champ.
The old girl looked good as always. Excuse the poorly aimed LED pods, that's since been corrected.
After skiing most of the day, we left for Manassas to drop my friend off. WV is as wild and wonderful as they say it is.
View attachment Sequence #1.mp4
Made it back late. Wish I could say the salt made the truck thirstier, but I think that's just the nature of a tbi 350.
Drove the <2hrs home from Manassas that night. Total tally was 6 days and 1500 miles. What a trip.
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