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1989 K5 - Gradual Learning

First 4x4 - learning basic maintenance / upkeep and maybe some small mods.
Overview Gallery Discussion
Thanks guys. The only word-of-mouth recommendation I've received in the Denver area is for Exhaust Pros of Commerce City. I called them yesterday to get a ballpark quote and the guy really only told me how much the cat and muffler would cost. I was trying to communicate that I was interested in a custom exhaust but I guess it didn't translate well. He quoted me around $500 for a single 3" high flow muffler and around $700 for the optimal cat. I don't know if that ballpark would include new pipe and labor or not. Perhaps the cost of new pipe is negligible compared to the big ticket items.

I am really torn here. I could probably get a ton of mileage out of simply replacing my cat. I could drive up to @mrk5 with a new cat in hand and we could cut out the old and weld in the new. Boom done for the cost of a cat and however many beers Scott wants! But I know that replacing the factory Y-pipe would grant more power and a new muffler would be nice too because I am pretty sure mine has a hole in it. :D
 
I used Lakewood Muffler (now located in Golden) about 2 years ago.
They gave me an estimate over the phone and I dropped it off in the morning and picked it up later the same day. Total price was actually a bit less then the estimate. Around $675.00 if I remember correctly.
True duals, no cat, from manifold to tips.
If you decide to go with duals with dual cats/mufflers you should add heat shields above the 2nd cat/muffler.
 
The only exhaust shop I would recommend is in Loveland, so it's a bit of a drive; Collins Muffler (in Loveland, not the one in Greeley).

I can be hard to get shops to do custom exhaust on emissions regulated vehicles. Given you have to mess with emissions, I'd stick with the single exhaust. Some places are starting to get fussy about modified exhaust and I'm sure it's only going to get worse.
 
I would hope those prices include installation and the all the parts to install. Thats crazy 700 for a cat, thats 2x the Kommiefornia price and we have a special catalytic converter TAX and registration.
 
I like a nice single 3" exhaust. Easy to fit and less parts and they sound good. I put a single 4" magnaflow system on a 6.2L Ford gasser that sounded good.
 
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a friend of mine gave me one of those "why didn't i think of that?!" moments a while back.

he bent his tie rod.
he took out his bottle jack and 2 pieces of 2x4.
he removed the tie rod
he jacked up one wheel on the truck
he put the tie rod under the tire, and stuck one piece of 2x4 under it on either side of the bend.
he let the jack down and the weight of the truck straightened the tie rod.

tie rod went back on- jack and 2x4s got thrown into the back of the truck.
on his way again
 
tips and tricks thread, and or what do you carry thread need this post. I used the outriggers on our crane/boom trucks to straighten lot of stuff
 
scouthead said:
a friend of mine gave me one of those "why didn't i think of that?!" moments a while back.

he bent his tie rod.
he took out his bottle jack and 2 pieces of 2x4.
he removed the tie rod
he jacked up one wheel on the truck
he put the tie rod under the tire, and stuck one piece of 2x4 under it on either side of the bend.
he let the jack down and the weight of the truck straightened the tie rod.

tie rod went back on- jack and 2x4s got thrown into the back of the truck.
on his way again
Click to expand...
I did that in Hollister 10 years ago. A couple of times :doah:
 
Do you still have a broken exhaust manifold?

I just read this entire thread. Earleir you kept mentioning you were worried that you caused problems by putting the spark plugs wires on backwards. Died you mean having the plug end hooked on the cap? That can not hurt anything if so. The plug wire is not a diode, it does not care which end is on the plug or the cap, so long as it connects.

Also, are your plug wires still zip tied together? If so, cut those zip ties off. That can cause spark to jump across wires. Either buy some actual plug wire separators, or wrap zip ties around the zip ties, to separate the wires.

Martin
 
82355 said:
Do you still have a broken exhaust manifold?

I just read this entire thread. Earleir you kept mentioning you were worried that you caused problems by putting the spark plugs wires on backwards. Died you mean having the plug end hooked on the cap? That can not hurt anything if so. The plug wire is not a diode, it does not care which end is on the plug or the cap, so long as it connects.

Also, are your plug wires still zip tied together? If so, cut those zip ties off. That can cause spark to jump across wires. Either buy some actual plug wire separators, or wrap zip ties around the zip ties, to separate the wires.

Martin
Click to expand...

I ended up using this exhaust putty to patch the big hole and crack that were in the passenger side manifold. I still have a small leak where the manifolds meet the cylinder heads, but I haven't addressed it yet because it is small. Bubbles were coming up when I sprayed that area with soapy water, but they were slow to rise.

Thanks so much (seriously) for answering that spark plug wire question. Yes, I was worried that I was attaching the plug end of the wire to the distributor cap. For the life of me I could not find whether they were "directional", so thank you for finally putting that one to bed for me.

Yep, my plug wires are still zip-tied. I didn't know that the spark could jump like that... I'll probably just pick up some real spark plug wire separators. They can't be too pricey... especially now that I can order from Rock Auto again.

The current state of the Blazer: it's in pretty solid shape. I've just been driving it for the most part. A while ago I had a pop in my steering that I could not figure out. It was intermittent. I ended up jacking up the front end and having a buddy watch for "popping" while I turned the wheel. Couldn't reproduce the issue. I took a peek into my power steering reservoir and it was a little low, so I topped that off. The popping has since gone away so I guess I was just a little low on fluid.

The only lingering symptom that the Blazer has right now is that it will fire off and die immediately when I start it up cold. In order to get around this problem I have to rest my foot on the gas pedal so that the engine can get a little more air. Once the engine starts running I can take my foot off the gas pedal and it will idle fine. It seems to run a little rough until it warms up (normally a few blocks or so in the neighborhood). I am guessing that the issue is related to my IAC, so I was going to ask @ZooMad75 if I could borrow his Tech 1 scan tool once he gets situated in Denver. That thing may help show the problem because I've reset the IAC a few times now already. It feels like a really minor issue so overall the Blazer has been treating me great. I've put a lot of miles on it in the last few months.
 
Now that everything feels pretty stable with the K5, I think I am ready to get rid of the lift blocks in the rear. It would be a fun project and I think I'm ready to tackle it. Hopefully it would soften up the ride a little bit too... but I haven't done much reading on it yet.
 
You replacing the leaf springs as well or just removing the blocks? Removing the blocks is really simple. Loosen the u-bolts, Jack up the frame enough to take pressure off, remove u-bolts, remove block, place u-bolts back on loosely, lower frame until springs are settled on the axle, tighten u-bolts. I recommend new u-bolts as yours might not have enough thread without the block and I’ve had bad experiences reusing u-bolts and them stretching and coming loose.
 
centexk5 said:
You replacing the leaf springs as well or just removing the blocks? Removing the blocks is really simple. Loosen the u-bolts, Jack up the frame enough to take pressure off, remove u-bolts, remove block, place u-bolts back on loosely, lower frame until springs are settled on the axle, tighten u-bolts. I recommend new u-bolts as yours might not have enough thread without the block and I’ve had bad experiences reusing u-bolts and them stretching and coming loose.
Click to expand...

I was hoping to reuse my old springs just to minimize the cost (and see if removing the blocks helps ride quality at all). I figured to maintain the 4" lift in the rear I'd put on the ORD shackle flip kit. I recall reading that you have to drop the gas tank, but I think I'm ready for that with some good reading and preparation. At least I hope I am!
 
Blocks do not adversely affect ride quality. Unless you are getting axle wrap, I wouldn't worry about it.

Did you ever get the shocks figured out? On the front, you should run a single longer shock, and use the upper auxiliary shock mount. When you do that though, you still put the bottom of the shock in between the bottom bracket. Where the shorter shock goes if you run duals. Then you can get away with a shorter bolt on the bottom.

Martin
 
If you wanted to drive up to Evans some weekend I could help with the flip.

When I took the blocks out and put the flip in, I felt like the ride was better.
 
yes my ride improved with a flip and block removal. I did use new stock 1 ton 56" thou, 2 small leaves pulled on each side.
 
82355 said:
Blocks do not adversely affect ride quality. Unless you are getting axle wrap, I wouldn't worry about it.

Did you ever get the shocks figured out? On the front, you should run a single longer shock, and use the upper auxiliary shock mount. When you do that though, you still put the bottom of the shock in between the bottom bracket. Where the shorter shock goes if you run duals. Then you can get away with a shorter bolt on the bottom.

Martin
Click to expand...

I think I finally have the shocks dialed in. It would be good to just double-check the configuration and compare it with what you've written though. Regarding the blocks, I'm honestly not sure if I am getting any axle wrap when wheeling. I do pretty tame stuff overall out here in the front range. Still I think it would be a fun project to grow my skills.

mrk5 said:
If you wanted to drive up to Evans some weekend I could help with the flip.

When I took the blocks out and put the flip in, I felt like the ride was better.
Click to expand...

Wes Harden said:
yes my ride improved with a flip and block removal. I did use new stock 1 ton 56" thou, 2 small leaves pulled on each side.
Click to expand...

@mrk5 that sounds wonderful. I could definitely use the help. Do you have access to an air chisel?

@Wes Harden yeah, my fingers are crossed that the ride improves a little bit. If it doesn't improve much then I suppose I can always look into replacing the rear springs after the shackle flip is installed.
 
My tech 1 is buried in a storage pod to be delivered to Denver today. Gonna be a little bit before it’s seen again.
 
shima said:
I think I finally have the shocks dialed in. It would be good to just double-check the configuration and compare it with what you've written though. Regarding the blocks, I'm honestly not sure if I am getting any axle wrap when wheeling. I do pretty tame stuff overall out here in the front range. Still I think it would be a fun project to grow my skills.





@mrk5 that sounds wonderful. I could definitely use the help. Do you have access to an air chisel?

@Wes Harden yeah, my fingers are crossed that the ride improves a little bit. If it doesn't improve much then I suppose I can always look into replacing the rear springs after the shackle flip is installed.
Click to expand...
Yes, but the method I use relies more on the angle grinder. The air hammer just knocks out what's left.
 
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