CK5
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1989 K5 - Gradual Learning

First 4x4 - learning basic maintenance / upkeep and maybe some small mods.
Might not see much benefit on a stock engine going with the MF, but it probably flows better
 
This is what I would get.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mpe-94009/

I would go this way and just get you a little extra pipe to join it all together. My dad installed these all the time and he had no issues with them.
If you can find you an exhaust shop and get them to build you a better y pipe or buy a y pipe if they exist. These are super restrictive on the stock form.
 
Thanks guys, I seriously appreciate everybody responding...

I checked out RockAuto and Summit for cats. I put in my make and model, but I doubt that really matters for something like cats (aside from exhaust tube diameter).

Anyhow, Summit returned six options. Here they are sorted by price:
https://www.summitracing.com/search/year/1989/make/chevrolet/model/blazer/department/exhaust/section/catalytic-converters?N=4294950041+4294951398+4294949469+4294948820+4294900422&SortBy=DisplayPrice&SortOrder=Ascending

This is the one from Summit that I would probably pick because it's from MagnaFlow which was mentioned here and it's a direct fit:
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mpe-93476/overview/year/1989/make/chevrolet/model/blazer

RockAuto can't ship to my house in Denver (at least last I checked), but they have four options for me:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog...6,exhaust+&+emission,catalytic+converter,5808

This is the one from RockAuto that I would probably pick, but I can't tell whether it's honeycomb style. It probably is:
https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=129297&cc=1061536&jsn=457

I suppose I want to ask what the real difference might be between the MagnaFlow from Summit and the Walker from RockAuto. If I won't get any benefit from spending the extra $80, then of course I'll pick the Walker. It's hard to tell being a newbie and not seeing specs on their flow rate. I bet both would be better than the cat I have on there now.
I believe all are honeycomb except eastern.
They have the spiral which they claim has better flow
 
I drove the truck to my buddy's house to go snowboarding on Sunday. When we got back from the hill and I fired it up to go home, I smelled something burning from inside the cab. I popped the hood and didn't see anything obvious, but it was dark at that time. Today I decided to drive it again thinking the smell could have been a one-off. Nope, smelled it again. Shut her off and took my other ride.

Where would you all look first? I can't describe it any better than a burning smell, but it is strong. I was guessing I'd check out the starter first.
 
Burning leaves is the closest I can answer.
 
So maybe electrical

See anything hanging out too close to the starter?
 
Did you ever see any smoke?

Probably dead rat in the heater box
 
Did you ever see any smoke?

Probably dead rat in the heater box

I didn't see any smoke at all! Aimee confirmed it smelled. If we shut off the heater inside the cab then the smell went away. Definitely something inside "the vents". I am guessing leaves or something got in there.
 
Could be the blower motor resistor. I'd look there if the smell went away if you shut it off.
 
I had an odd smell that I thought smelled like hot pine tar. I had thought I had a branch stuck somewhere rubbing on the driveshaft. It would only come on after a lot of driving. A few months later a buddy was walking by my truck and commented that it smelled like the evap canister was going bad. He had a similar thing happen and it had taken him a while to diagnose. I just disconnected the canister and haven't smelled it since.
 
It has been a while since I have checked in!

The Blazer is doing great. I love it. I was neglecting it for a while because I bought a motorcycle, but I've been back at it this week a little bit.

On deck are just a few basic maintenance items: fuel filter replacement (I've never done it), shock replacement, wheel bearing / hub work. I also need to swap some fluids pretty soon.

EDIT: I did the zerks a couple nights ago. I think I am literally unable to do that job without making a huge mess.
 
Pretty successful garage day today. Got my fuel filter replaced, made a mess doing that. Anybody know an easy way to get rid of old gasoline in Denver? lol

I also tried replacing my old shocks with the ones that @Justin V gave me a long time ago. Holy crap, my old shocks were indeed blown. They don't rebound at all once compressed. He called it forever ago, but I haven't gotten around to replacing the shocks until now. Thanks again for them, Justin!

One snag I did hit is that the new shocks have a metal shim inside the eyelets. My old shocks don't have this metal shim, and the new shock eyelets won't fit over my mounting hardware. I hope that I can just remove these metal shims from the new shocks so that I can get them onto my truck. I've attached some pics here, with the old on the left and the new on the right. Let me know if anybody has any thoughts or tips!



 
Pretty successful garage day today. Got my fuel filter replaced, made a mess doing that. Anybody know an easy way to get rid of old gasoline in Denver? lol

I also tried replacing my old shocks with the ones that @Justin V gave me a long time ago. Holy crap, my old shocks were indeed blown. They don't rebound at all once compressed. He called it forever ago, but I haven't gotten around to replacing the shocks until now. Thanks again for them, Justin!

One snag I did hit is that the new shocks have a metal shim inside the eyelets. My old shocks don't have this metal shim, and the new shock eyelets won't fit over my mounting hardware. I hope that I can just remove these metal shims from the new shocks so that I can get them onto my truck. I've attached some pics here, with the old on the left and the new on the right. Let me know if anybody has any thoughts or tips!



Yeah you can remove the sleeve
 
Probably a dumb question, but is there an easy / accepted way to do it? I was trying to hammer them out - they weren't budging!
It's in rubber beating on is not the easiest since it will bounce back.
A press is the easiest but you don't have that you can get a cheap manual one from harbor freight or Amazon
BALL JOINT U-JOINT C-FRAME HD Press Service Kit 3-IN-1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0033XYBC4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_eN7rDbDY7KSZM
It's very useful and I carry one on the trail for ujoints but at home I have the 20 ton press
 
Got back out there tonight and did some work. Not sure whether the replacement shocks will work for my truck or not, hoping to ask for some input from you all.

Here is a pic. New stuff on the left, old stuff on the right.
View media item 36732
I also took some measurements... these are the full length end-to-end not eye-to-eye.

Old Shocks
  • Rear
    • 27 and 9/16"
  • Front
    • Outer
      • 23 and 3/4"
    • Inner
      • 29 and 1/8"
New Shocks
  • Short Pair
    • 24 and 1/2"
  • Long Pair
    • 31 and 1/4"
So, I guess my question is can I use these new shocks on my Blazer or not? I figure that the new shocks have to be as long or longer than the old stuff. So if that's true then the new short pair shocks can only really replace my front outers. Then I would use the longer 31" shocks in the rear. Does that sound right to you all?

Also, this is not related to shocks but my damn drive shaft is still leaking:
View media item 36733
That drive shaft leak has gotta be the transfer case seal, correct? Maybe I can take it out and try to reseat it.

EDIT: I seem to remember Justin sayin longer shocks up front and shorter shocks out back. So as long as the short pair is long enough to mount up in the rear then I should be able to compress the longer 2" pair up front.
 
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