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1989 K5 - Gradual Learning

First 4x4 - learning basic maintenance / upkeep and maybe some small mods.
Overview Gallery Discussion
Here are a few photos and videos from our Mosquito Pass / Birdseye Gulch run. The full album is here if anyone is interested in seeing some more.

When doing water crossings, I had a pretty heavy foot on the gas pedal because I wanted to make sure I could get through the muddy bottom. Rob told me that you're not supposed to go fast and that it is frowned upon. I am guessing that is because it tears up the trail. In the future I'll go slower.

PXL_20210710_221409009.jpg
View attachment PXL_20210710_214746889.mp4
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ZooMad75 said:
I know it needs to go down. That's the reason for the blocks. It's sketchy but one block on the tie rod, Jack on top and another on the frame or crossmember to bear against.

Still, getting a fresh tie rod is the real fix.
Click to expand...

@ZooMad75 are you thinking something like this?

Gonna try and "draw it" top to bottom:

--------------------------------
SURFACE TO PUSH AGAINST
--------------------------------
BLOCK OF WOOD
--------------------------------
BOTTLE JACK
--------------------------------
BLOCK OF WOOD
--------------------------------
TIE ROD
--------------------------------

Then I can just pump the bottle jack to force the bottom block of wood downward... which will straighten the tie rod. I'd be blown away if there was enough room for all of this, but maybe I can rig it.
 
Yes if you can make all that fit it will work. You should use a second body stand to the left of the bend on the bottom, to support the long tie rod end. Don't want to bow the whole thing.
I would remove and stick in a press, while I waited for new parts.
 
shima said:
@ZooMad75 are you thinking something like this?

Gonna try and "draw it" top to bottom:

--------------------------------
SURFACE TO PUSH AGAINST
--------------------------------
BLOCK OF WOOD
--------------------------------
BOTTLE JACK
--------------------------------
BLOCK OF WOOD
--------------------------------
TIE ROD
--------------------------------

Then I can just pump the bottle jack to force the bottom block of wood downward... which will straighten the tie rod. I'd be blown away if there was enough room for all of this, but maybe I can rig it.
Click to expand...
Pretty much what I was thinking. Provided you can line up to the frame squarely to push against it.

Nice wheeling pics too. Glad to see it on the trails. Mosquito pass is fun to do.

Your water crossing wasn't excessively fast. You weren't throwing waves off of each fender. Some would say going slower would stir up less sediment but you are driving across a creek, stirring up sediment is going to happen no matter how slow you go. What you did was fine by me.
 
Drew if your done with the scanner, let me know. I will be able to shuttle it back to Zoo
 
When are you heading down south? I just wanted to check my IAC counts one more time since doing the reset procedure. May not get to it until next week because I'm in Bailey this weekend for a bachelor party. If you're heading south earlier than that, I can hide the scan tool somewhere and you can grab it on your way through town if you want.
 
Wes Harden said:
Yes if you can make all that fit it will work. You should use a second body stand to the left of the bend on the bottom, to support the long tie rod end. Don't want to bow the whole thing.
I would remove and stick in a press, while I waited for new parts.
Click to expand...
That is how I did mine a couple of times, 20 ton press
 
A couple of updates for you all... and per usual a couple of questions.

Tie Rod:
I used the bottle jack + blocks of wood technique to try and straighten the tie rod. I had to bow it downward quite a bit to make it "end up" straight. It was sketchy as hell but sort of fun. I used the Harbor Freight bottle jack that @Truckman4life posted earlier in the thread. It's not 100% straight... but much better than before.

Here are a couple of pictures:

PXL_20210826_191528794.jpg

PXL_20210826_191509190.jpg

Questions:
1. Anybody order the ORD tie rod ends? Are they better quality than factory? The tie rod ends on my truck are in "okay" shape.
2. Have you guys had success with junkyard tie rods? There is a '91 Blazer (not sure if K5) and an '86 K10 at my local yard.
3. Could I theoretically get an alignment with the bent tie rod just to make sure my wheels are straight?

Exhaust:
The Blazer is running pretty well now and I'm thinking that it is about time I upgrade my exhaust system. Right now I have the factory Y-pipe going into the old-school pancake-style cat. I remember back in the day that @sweetk30 told me that those pancake-style cats are horrendously restrictive and that I should get rid of it. Mine is almost certainly clogged up anyhow.

Questions:
1. It seems like everybody recommends going to an exhaust shop for this as opposed to doing DIY. Since I don't know how to weld, the only DIY option that I know of is to buy a manifold-back exhaust system without cats and then cut it to add cats in. I would have to use exhaust tape or clamps to keep the cats in place. Do you guys recommend that I just go to an exhaust shop and pay for them to do it, or is taking that DIY approach reasonable?

Thanks for any input, I appreciate you all as always.
 
Glad you got it mostly straight. You can align it yourself with the bent bar. It's just setting toe. There's ways to do it with tires off and also can get close enough with tires on. Here's a couple quick vids I found but did not watch.
Exhaust is best to have a shop do it if you don't/can't weld and haven't done it before. It can get expensive and also ask around to find a good place in your area. I always use word of mouth recommended exhaust shops. You could probably easily have them put in a cat like one of the universal small Magnaflow ones or something better than what you have if you gotta have one.
 
That first video... very nice!!
 
shima said:
A couple of updates for you all... and per usual a couple of questions.

Tie Rod:
I used the bottle jack + blocks of wood technique to try and straighten the tie rod. I had to bow it downward quite a bit to make it "end up" straight. It was sketchy as hell but sort of fun. I used the Harbor Freight bottle jack that @Truckman4life posted earlier in the thread. It's not 100% straight... but much better than before.

Here are a couple of pictures:

View attachment 387734

View attachment 387735

Questions:
1. Anybody order the ORD tie rod ends? Are they better quality than factory? The tie rod ends on my truck are in "okay" shape.
2. Have you guys had success with junkyard tie rods? There is a '91 Blazer (not sure if K5) and an '86 K10 at my local yard.
3. Could I theoretically get an alignment with the bent tie rod just to make sure my wheels are straight?

Exhaust:
The Blazer is running pretty well now and I'm thinking that it is about time I upgrade my exhaust system. Right now I have the factory Y-pipe going into the old-school pancake-style cat. I remember back in the day that @sweetk30 told me that those pancake-style cats are horrendously restrictive and that I should get rid of it. Mine is almost certainly clogged up anyhow.

Questions:
1. It seems like everybody recommends going to an exhaust shop for this as opposed to doing DIY. Since I don't know how to weld, the only DIY option that I know of is to buy a manifold-back exhaust system without cats and then cut it to add cats in. I would have to use exhaust tape or clamps to keep the cats in place. Do you guys recommend that I just go to an exhaust shop and pay for them to do it, or is taking that DIY approach reasonable?

Thanks for any input, I appreciate you all as always.
Click to expand...
#3. Yes I bent my stock tie rod a few times, and at my third trip to the alignment shop the guys just laughed at me and set my toe for free. That being said I did drive around with the bent tie rod for about 10 years before I upgraded it.
For my new axle I bought these to check my toe. I probably could have made one for cheaper but I was being lazy.
www.tmrcustoms.com

DIY Toe Alignment Tool – TMR Customs

TMR Customs stocks the tools to get your off-road project finished! Check out the DIY Toe Alignment tool and save the cost of an alignment after a rough off-road use!
www.tmrcustoms.com www.tmrcustoms.com
 
As already said, you can get an alignment with a bent tie rod. It might be handy to figure out the DIY method so you can take care of it in the future. That being said, I have our local shop do it and last time he caught a worn out tie rod end that I hadn't noticed. So it was good in that case for having a second set of eyes on it. But it's also hard to find a shop you can trust for that kind of thing as well.

If you were willing to drive up to Evans, I could help you DIY an exhaust. You would need the cat and maybe some 3" exhaust pipe if the length of the new cat is shorter. I may have some 3", but I'm not certain.
 
mrk5 said:
As already said, you can get an alignment with a bent tie rod. It might be handy to figure out the DIY method so you can take care of it in the future. That being said, I have our local shop do it and last time he caught a worn out tie rod end that I hadn't noticed. So it was good in that case for having a second set of eyes on it. But it's also hard to find a shop you can trust for that kind of thing as well.

If you were willing to drive up to Evans, I could help you DIY an exhaust. You would need the cat and maybe some 3" exhaust pipe if the length of the new cat is shorter. I may have some 3", but I'm not certain.
Click to expand...

When coming into this, I was thinking that replacing the factory Y-pipe would be best for power. I was thinking I wanted to go to true dual. But after reading through some old CK5 threads it looks like people do a 2.5" or 3" single. Either way I would love to take you up on that offer.
 
If me ditch the stock Y-PIPE . go magna flow Y-PIPE builder unit . Have stubs from your old pipe cut and build down from there to the Y builder part . Then a good flow honeycomb cat replacment and a muffler of your choice .

Engine masters just did a exhaust flow episode . Them stock Y-PIPES 90* in the side KILL POWER . this one . prob find it someplace free to watch . https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12220890/
 
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Yeah, if you get a nice merge/y-pipe, running single exhaust isn't such a HP killer.
 
You can adjust the toe. Easy.

Have a reputable custom exhaust shop do yours. Some one that will have you walk under the truck and show them what you want and discuss it.
If in fact your cat is creating back pressure, this can harm components. Over heat exhaust manifolds, starter motors, even combustion temps. So you want to address this sooner than later.
My current exhaust needs redoing. I have a single 3", with a Walker replacement 2.25" Y. The Y has been reworked at 3" connection. 3 things I need to fix. 1 my front drive shaft won't clear the crossover, TH350 to 700r4 swap changed the angle. 2 I want to remove the the exhaust valve spacer from the right. 3 the shackle flip and the tail pipe want to occupy the same spot.
My plan is to remove spacer, make a right side head pipe to go all the way past the t case, then cross over to the left, and Y into the 3". I'd like to do the head pipes out of 2.5 but don't know how well they fit at the manifold.
I am tempted to go to a performance header, esp since I have been towing. Headers are nice for performance no question there, but they have a few cons. Much harder to keep sealed, need special bolts, known to melt a spark plug wire on occasion, can heat up starters, in our trucks they might have clearance issue at the front spring shackle. Biggest item to consider is your emissions testing. If you need smog legal headers, your state excepts them yada yada yada.....
If all of that is okay with you get some good headers. Good headers are spendy, if you go cheap the above cons will show up more frequently. 5/16" flange, V band collectors. I like annealed copper header gaskets. and you want a good quality header bolt, these are 3/8" or 7/16" hex head 3/8"16 threaded bolt. You will be using an open end wrench to put some of the header bolts in.
Duals or singles is personal perf. Duals wit long tube headers will definitely be more efficient than same headers and single 3" But you'll need 2 cats and 2 mufflers. 1 o2 sensor will work for your truck. Just needs to positioned in the flow and where it will stay warm.
Glad to hear she's running strong and got your confidence back. Keep us informed
 
He's got to deal with the emissions testing in Denver. So whatever he does is going to have to be emissions compliant. On the cheap side the could mean just cutting out the pancake cat and welding in a newer style that is better in every way. Since DIY isn't in the cards unless you get help, shop around with a couple of the exhaust shops in town and see what they would charge for a complete system, single or dual.

I've gone through a lot of BS to make true duals fit. Does a stock TBI 350 need true duals, not likely. It will sound better, but it's not going to make a major difference in power or fuel economy. Plus going duals doubles everything, cats, hangers, mufflers, and twice the pipe. A good 2.5" y-pipe to a high flow cat and a good muffler will be better than stock in flow and sound quality.
 
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