np. It was still mounted to the truck when I figured it out, so no throwing it over a fence in frustration.
I thought I saw a picture of you doing a burnout on it......after hitting it mercilessly with a 10 lb sledge.
CK5
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I thought I saw a picture of you doing a burnout on it......after hitting it mercilessly with a 10 lb sledge.
So, I got the caliper bracket worked out. I was able to bend the old one back into shape.
When the bolt broke, it bent the bracket in a way that made the opening for the caliper about 1/2" too wide. It took me awhile to come up with a plan to pull it back together, but with some heat and a chain I was able to get it right.
Twisting the chain with the screwdriver worked like a charm to pull the 2 sides together. The final fit turned out pretty good.
I was able to get the first 2 heat cycles done on the gears and everything seems good so far. Since then I've only been able to put about 50 miles on it. It definitely has more get up and go and is not geared to low at all. I'm glad @blazinzuk talked me into going as low as I did.
I need to send my PCM into @Team208Motorsports to get matched to the new gear ratio since my speedo thinks I had this thing up over 100mph.
I may also have him mess with shift points as well. It seems like it wants to upshift a little too quickly, but that may be a function of the speed being incorrect too.
I'm still having the issue where it pulls hard to the right on braking though. I was really hoping that replacing all the spring bushings would solve that issue, but no dice. Really wish I could figure this out as it's the last issue I have with feeling comfortable driving this thing. I know the pull is coming, so I can compensate, but it's always in the back of my mind in an emergency braking situation, and, I can never let any one else drive it.
When the bolt broke, it bent the bracket in a way that made the opening for the caliper about 1/2" too wide. It took me awhile to come up with a plan to pull it back together, but with some heat and a chain I was able to get it right.
Twisting the chain with the screwdriver worked like a charm to pull the 2 sides together. The final fit turned out pretty good.
I was able to get the first 2 heat cycles done on the gears and everything seems good so far. Since then I've only been able to put about 50 miles on it. It definitely has more get up and go and is not geared to low at all. I'm glad @blazinzuk talked me into going as low as I did.
I need to send my PCM into @Team208Motorsports to get matched to the new gear ratio since my speedo thinks I had this thing up over 100mph.
I may also have him mess with shift points as well. It seems like it wants to upshift a little too quickly, but that may be a function of the speed being incorrect too.I'm still having the issue where it pulls hard to the right on braking though. I was really hoping that replacing all the spring bushings would solve that issue, but no dice. Really wish I could figure this out as it's the last issue I have with feeling comfortable driving this thing. I know the pull is coming, so I can compensate, but it's always in the back of my mind in an emergency braking situation, and, I can never let any one else drive it.
Obviously I'm guessing you have new pads and calipers already. Brake hoses can make a vehicle pull and are often overlooked.
It's possible I guess. I've changed everything else. Maybe I'll try swapping the brake hoses side to side and see if it changes anything.
Do you have crossover or factory steering? Sometimes if the nose dives enough it can cause the steering to pull. Obviously steering geometry plays a role in that.
I have gotten a new caliper that was stuck too. That's frustrating.
I have gotten a new caliper that was stuck too. That's frustrating.
I have crossover. I've considered nose dive, but if that was the case I should be able to let go of the wheel and have it brake straight and just turn the wheel, right?
That's correct. Let go of the wheel and the wheel will turn but the truck will continue straight ( if that's what the problem is).
I'm like @Truckman4life, I think you're gonna find it's a brake line. Or even possibly a brake caliper.
Figuring out problems like this is the reason church parking lots were made
I think I may have fixed the pulling issue without realizing it. When I was bleeding the brakes I found the drivers side wheel cylinder wasn't working. When trying to bleed it, no fluid would come out even with the bleeder valve completely removed.
Anyway, I did my first couple of heat cycles before replacing it and for some reason it never occurred to me that having a non-functional wheel cylinder would make the truck pull the opposite direction.
I've never had one fail like that without leaking before, so it's probably been failing for a long time and causing my issue. The pulling was happening "most of the time" but not always, so maybe occasionally it freed up some. 
Anyway, it's a nice day out today and I was out driving it and noticed that it wasn't pulling. I ended up going to a big parking lot and doing several passes of getting up as fast as I could and then hard braking and it was braking straight as an arrow every time. Hopefully that means it's fixed.
BTW @72gmck5 pulled out right in front of me today. 3200w and 7800s. One of these days we're going to have to actually meet. lol
Anyway, I did my first couple of heat cycles before replacing it and for some reason it never occurred to me that having a non-functional wheel cylinder would make the truck pull the opposite direction.
I've never had one fail like that without leaking before, so it's probably been failing for a long time and causing my issue. The pulling was happening "most of the time" but not always, so maybe occasionally it freed up some. Anyway, it's a nice day out today and I was out driving it and noticed that it wasn't pulling. I ended up going to a big parking lot and doing several passes of getting up as fast as I could and then hard braking and it was braking straight as an arrow every time. Hopefully that means it's fixed.
BTW @72gmck5 pulled out right in front of me today. 3200w and 7800s. One of these days we're going to have to actually meet. lol
It was nice to actually meet you today, it really is a small world.
The weather here has been fantastic for driving topless, but my gf made me put a shirt on anyway, so I just took the soft top off the blazer so I could enjoy the weather.
I've only managed to put about 150 miles on the new gears, but so far, so good as far as I can tell. We were a little bit worried about the rear because getting a good pattern was such a pain, but all good so far.
I am getting an occasional noise I think from the front though. It's a hard noise to describe, but it almost sounds like something is binding up in the front. It puts a shudder through the whole truck and the noise sounds like dragging the rear bumper off of a rock. No bang, or popping at the end, it just stops after less than a second or 2. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it seems to be at low speed in a parking lot, just after coming off the road. I'm wondering if the front locker is binding up some.
I haven't put it into 4wd other than with the hubs unlocked for the first couple of heat cycles. I didn't change anything else in the front so I don't know what else it could be.
I've only managed to put about 150 miles on the new gears, but so far, so good as far as I can tell. We were a little bit worried about the rear because getting a good pattern was such a pain, but all good so far.
I am getting an occasional noise I think from the front though. It's a hard noise to describe, but it almost sounds like something is binding up in the front. It puts a shudder through the whole truck and the noise sounds like dragging the rear bumper off of a rock. No bang, or popping at the end, it just stops after less than a second or 2. It doesn't happen often, but when it does, it seems to be at low speed in a parking lot, just after coming off the road. I'm wondering if the front locker is binding up some.
I haven't put it into 4wd other than with the hubs unlocked for the first couple of heat cycles. I didn't change anything else in the front so I don't know what else it could be.
But the front locker won't do anything with the hubs unlocked. Yea, it will turn with the t-case in 4wd, but no pressure on anything out to the wheels .
Maybe check the u-bolts????
Do you think that one of the front brakes is doing something funky when it gets warmed up???
Maybe check the u-bolts????
Do you think that one of the front brakes is doing something funky when it gets warmed up???
Do you think that maybe a rear brake is a hair tight??
Doesn't it still have drums?
If so I am just guessing that you had to readjust after the gear install.
Doesn't it still have drums?
If so I am just guessing that you had to readjust after the gear install.
Yeah, I was just going out on a limb with the locker thing. Without any pressure on it, hard to see how it could be making the noise. It doesn't sound like a u-bolt issue to me, and it doesn't suddenly start pulling so I don't think the front brakes have any issues.
hmmm, you may be onto something there. After adjusting the brakes I did think that maybe the drivers side was a little tight. I'll check it.
Thanks for the suggestions!
I put about 60 miles on the blazer today and I'm liking the new gears. 20 miles of that was into a serious headwind and having the deeper gears made a HUGE difference.
Also, on the noise I'm hearing, I think it is the front drivers side hub. After I stopped I put my hand on all 4 wheels to check the temp. When I did that last week the drivers side rear was hot, so probably dragging, but it was fine today. Probably wore the pad down enough to be fine now.
That said, the drivers side front was too hot to keep my hand on. Must have screwed up putting it back together. I'll pull that apart when I get a chance and try again.
Also, on the noise I'm hearing, I think it is the front drivers side hub. After I stopped I put my hand on all 4 wheels to check the temp. When I did that last week the drivers side rear was hot, so probably dragging, but it was fine today. Probably wore the pad down enough to be fine now.
That said, the drivers side front was too hot to keep my hand on. Must have screwed up putting it back together.
I'll pull that apart when I get a chance and try again.
Wasn't the steering pulling on braking? You may have a caliper dragging. That's always been the cause of my hot hubs.
It's not pulling on braking anymore. I think that was due to a bad wheel cylinder out back.
Welp, looks like I'm in the market for diff covers again. It's been a couple of months, so I called to check on my back ordered covers and they told me they were delayed ANOTHER 2 to 3 months.Diff covers:
dammit
Screw that. I cancelled the order.
Since I've been busy worrying about building a house this summer and travelling a lot, I haven't done much with the blazer. However, BB is coming soon, so I spent some time changing the oil in both diffs and fixing my front pinion seal leak.
After getting everything buttoned up I took it for a nice long drive. Front diff is leak free, but the back was leaking. At first I thought that the rear pinion had started leaking (%&@&##!), but after looking it over a bit more, I think it was just the fill plug. I tightened it down a bit more and wiped everything clean. Hopefully that was all.
Other than that everything seems to be in working order. I just need to reinstall my cb and I think I'm ready for BB.
After getting everything buttoned up I took it for a nice long drive. Front diff is leak free, but the back was leaking. At first I thought that the rear pinion had started leaking (%&@&##!), but after looking it over a bit more, I think it was just the fill plug. I tightened it down a bit more and wiped everything clean. Hopefully that was all.
Other than that everything seems to be in working order. I just need to reinstall my cb and I think I'm ready for BB.
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