72 K5 - Project 'fixing POs ghetto fab' MAYBE IN WAY OVER MY HEAD? [PICS]

[loren]

Hey all! My name is Loren (I'm a guy) and here's my story.

First gen k5 blazer is my dream truck. I've wanted one for years (note the join date), but never seriously thought about getting one until a great deal popped up on craigslist. My other rig is an 03 Suburban with a body lift on 35s and a snorkel. It's a great vehicle, but honestly it's just too big and the IFS + open diffs just don't cut it on the trail. I've considered doing a SAS but don't have the space (apartment, tiny parking space won't even fit the burb, no garage).

Anyway, back to the blazer. So I've been looking nearly every day for the past year on craigslist and ebay, but apparently these rigs are pretty rare. I've seen a few first gens, but they are almost always dropped to the ground, ridiculously overpriced, or non-running. My first criteria is that I had to be able to drive it home

So last week I found a great deal and jumped on it. The PO had plans for to build a show truck, but was strapped for cash and had to let it go. I paid what he bought it for 9 months earlier. After he bought it he dropped in the 1 ton axles, crossover steering with hydro assist, and lockers. So essentially, I got all of that for free.

My goal is to have a reliable daily driver and very capable weekend wheeler. Hopefully I'll be able to get rid of the Suburban!

Here are the specs:

The good:

- clean/straight body, very little rust (rockers need replacing)
- 383 stroker seems to run strong (don't know much about engines so I'm not 100% sure)
- SM465/NP205
- Dana 70 in the rear, 488 gears and detroit locker
- Dana 60 in the front, 488 gears and eaton elocker
- new brakes, strong stopping power (disc in front, drum in rear)
- crossover steering w/ 2wd box
- hydro assist

The bad:

- lift kit makes this thing ride like a brick (and 6" blocks in the rear!)
- spring perches in rear (d70) were not relocated, so the leaf packs are angled
- power steering is leaking a bit
- crossover steering is ghetto fabbed
- front spring plates / u bolts probably need replacing
- no shocks (but it's too stiff to even matter)
- no interior, only seats
- no top (don't really care.. rains 5 times a year in LA)
- gauges don't work (minor, probably just not wired up)
- no door handles / window levers inside
- missing pass window and driver vent window


The steering and suspension are the major pain points here, so the first modifications I'll do will involve repairing those. The PO seemed like a really honest dude, and to his credit, I'm pretty sure he didn't even know there was anything wrong with the truck. His buddy did the suspension work, and he personally didn't seem to know much about the work or the truck at all. I didn't know much either (never having owned a SFA truck or anything this old), so I wasn't exactly sure what to look for, but I was able to talk to PO down a bit and it was too good a deal to pass up based on the parts alone.

Despite all the issues, I was able to drive it home (180 miles) without any problems! Without further ado, here she is!

and next to the suburban:

 

[Z71paramedic]

Nice man! Good looking rig. I'm sure the guys here will all chime in and help you get it sorted out and in good DD shape. Sounds like you have a good start with just a few things to iron out.

 

[loren]

Nice man! Good looking rig. I'm sure the guys here will all chime in and help you get it sorted out and in good DD shape. Sounds like you have a good start with just a few things to iron out.

Thanks man. I'm hoping to get this thing on the road as soon as possible in good working order. Steering has got me worrying right now... more details here.

 

[Z71paramedic]

Yeah, I caught that earlier. You'll get it squared away soon I'm sure. Give the guys at ORD a call, they'll take care of you I'm running their crossover/highsteer and it's fantastic. Turns so tight it's crazy! Check out Kert at DIY4x as well for stuff like spring plates, shackle flips etc. SUPER stout stuff and great prices to boot.

You'll find plenty of stuff recommended on here that'll have you wanting to spend some money...

 

[Greg72]

Congrats and welcome!

It's an unwritten rule that new 1st Gen owners should spend at least 3 months driving and enjoying the new truck BEFORE any sort of extended projects are allowed...

Hopefully you've been reading and studying up for the last couple of years while you've been a member here. That will put you way ahead in terms of diagnosing and fixing the "unique" issues that these trucks have.

How's the rust looking in the footwells and cab support areas? What size wheel/tire combo did it come with? What is the ultimate plan for the truck.... From your previous comments, it sounds like you are more of a "preservationist" so I'm guessing some sort of respectful restoration to a dual purpose street/trail truck?

As mentioned, you're in good hands around here.... Plenty of 1st Gen guys can help you out when you start getting confused about repairs, etc.

-G

 

[loren]

Congrats and welcome!

It's an unwritten rule that new 1st Gen owners should spend at least 3 months driving and enjoying the new truck BEFORE any sort of extended projects are allowed...

Hopefully you've been reading and studying up for the last couple of years while you've been a member here. That will put you way ahead in terms of diagnosing and fixing the "unique" issues that these trucks have.

How's the rust looking in the footwells and cab support areas? What size wheel/tire combo did it come with? What is the ultimate plan for the truck.... From your previous comments, it sounds like you are more of a "preservationist" so I'm guessing some sort of respectful restoration to a dual purpose street/trail truck?

As mentioned, you're in good hands around here.... Plenty of 1st Gen guys can help you out when you start getting confused about repairs, etc.

-G

Thanks! Glad to be here

I really don't want/need to do any major upgrades right now as this rig is leaps and bounds ahead of my other rig in terms of offroad capabilities, but fixing ghetto fab is a different story. It's not horrible since I was able to drive it home and around town without any problems, however, some minor repairs would certainly give me peace of mind.

Looks like some rust has been cut out in the footwell area and steel plate welded in. It's a bit shoddy but certainly better than rusted through floorpans. The rockers definitely need to go, but it's not at the top of my list.

Tires are 37s - military takeoffs I believe, which means the wheels are 16.5in. Pretty good combo IMO. Not toooo crazy for the street, but still pretty capable on the trail. After driving around in this thing and not being able to see cars next to me, I don't think I'd go any bigger.

I guess you could call me a 'preservationist', but only for this truck! Absolutely love the body style, wouldn't want to tear it up. Not going for a stock or restored look - honestly, it's almost perfect how it is. I don't even mind the fact that the interior is gutted. Just want a rig that I can drive around and have fun, go camping, take the dogs to the beach, hit the trails, drive to work, and not have to worry about keeping it pristine.

In the future I hope to have a 2nd gen k5 (70s) that would be the beater

 

[loren]

And the adventure has begun! Had quite the day today, kicking it off with a solid 2 hrs of sleep. Woke up early (for me) for an appt scheduled with the DMV for the title transfer and registration, but before that I had to get this mofo insured!! Yes, I drove it all the way home without insurance. Thought there was a grace period but later I found out that doesn't exist. Anyway, took care of insurance this morning, then off to the DMV (in my gas saver, not the blazer), then came home and installed some new tail light lenses.

Before:

(yeah there was nothing on the passenger side...)

Comparison:

AFTER!

Pretty satisfied for $20! Nice and clean!

 

[loren]

So back to the awesome day I had.

LA has this great thing called street sweeping where they close off streets for 2 hrs every week. My street is Wed from 10am-12pm. If your car is left on the street during street sweeping, WABAM! $60 parking ticket!

So it's 9:45am, tail lights are installed, and I hop in the blazer to move it to another street. No start. Pretty normal, hasn't run in a few days. Usually takes a couple tries to get her fired up after sitting....

Crank crank crank. 20 minutes later and still no start, still parked on the street. Fuel issue suspected. I start freaking out, expecting the parking enforcer to come any minute. Out of desperation, I ask my neighbor (who I have basically never talked to) if he could help me push the beast into somebody's parking space in our apartment parking area. Not my parking space, but the closest one to where I had been parked on the street. We push and maneuver and finally get the blazer off the street.

Phew! Avoided a parking ticket... but now another problem. I'm in somebody else's parking space, not sure when they're coming back, and very possible they'd tow the blazer. So I call into the office and tell them I'll be working from home today couldn't leave it there and risk it getting towed. Had to get it started so I could move it.

Left a note on the blazer (out of desperation, again) and hopped on teh Google to figure out what's going on - searching for common issues with these things and whatnot. I suspected a fuel problem. Battery seemed strong (almost brand new), was cranking fine, just not firing up.

Started diagnosing the fuel system with some kind of orderly chaos (remember, only 2 hrs of sleep). Pulled out the fuel filter to check for clogs. Not much debris there... but BONE DRY!! That means the pump wasn't sending fuel through the filter to the carb, so I could safely rule out carb and fuel filter.

Had a theory the pump went out, but wanted to rule out everything else so I kept looking. Rubber sections of fuel lines checked out - no cracks or kinks. Couldn't think of much else. Had to be the fuel pump, or a clog/buildup inside the tank. Did some more reading, learned there was no way to change the fuel pump without dropping the tank. Began to plan out how in the world I would do this... find containers to put gas in, siphon gas, find a suitable jack, find a friend... oh man. and I was still parked in some random person's parking space without their permission.

Kept on reading and periodically checking out the blazer. What's this thing that runs to the fuel filter? OH WAIT - GOOGLING TELLS ME MECHANICAL FUEL PUMP! Oh yeah, only $20, and easy as heck to change! No dropping the tank or any of that bs

To be sure the fuel pump had gone bad, I took off the outlet hose and dropped it in a jar. Gas should come out when I crank it, right? Cranked and cranked - no gas came through the pump. Jar was dry. 99% sure the fuel pump was the issue. Very excited! Only other thing could be a clog in the line between the tank and pump, but that's a bit difficult to diagnose without some compressed air.

Around this time, the neighbor who 'owned' the parking space I was parked in came back. Thought for sure she'd tell me to move (never talked to her before, ever), but it was the exact opposite! I explained the situation and told her I'd push the truck back to the street as soon as my girlfriend got home (too heavy for 1 person to push), but she just parked behind me and said I could keep the blazer there until I got it running - even if it took a few days. What?!? Was totally not expecting that. LOVE PEOPLE SOMETIMES!!!!

Few hrs later, girlfriend got home, did another quick test on the fuel pump to make sure that was the issue (it's convenient to have a buddy when diagnosing these things!) - basically I disconnected the outlet and inlet to isolate the pump, ghetto checked for pressure, felt nothing. Pump dead.

Off to Oreilly's, picked up a pump, ripped out the old one, cleaned up the mounting surface, realized I needed some new fittings, back to Oreilly's (so glad it's only 3 blocks away!!!), got the fittings, and soon after - DONE!

Went to fire her up and... nothing. Tried again. Nothing. My heart sank. So much for being optimistic. By this time it was basically dark and probably wouldn't have another chance to work on her til the weekend. So bummed.

As a final sanity check before calling it quits, I took off the fuel line on the pump inlet and - woah! Fuel spilled all over the place, meaning the pump was actually working!? I must have quit cranking just a second too soon, just before the fuel made it to the engine.

I tightened the fuel line back up and told the girlfriend to give it a go, just for kicks (she didn't know see my fuel discovery ). FIRED RIGHT UP!!! Oh yeah! Told her she had the magic touch and that was that ;-)

We cleaned up our mess (fuel everywhere, nice and dangerous), threw the dogs in the truck, and went for a ride around town for the first time ever. So much fun! Just the the girlfriend, the dogs, and the truck. All in all, a very successful day.

 

[Greg72]

I thought this was going to be a "someone siphoned my fuel" story....

Non-locking gas cap, and on street parking in L.A. made it seem like the most obvious answer. Good job getting it diagnosed and fixed yourself.

-G

 

[imiceman44]

And the adventure has begun! Had quite the day today, kicking it off with a solid 2 hrs of sleep. Woke up early (for me) for an appt scheduled with the DMV for the title transfer and registration, but before that I had to get this mofo insured!! Yes, I drove it all the way home without insurance. Thought there was a grace period but later I found out that doesn't exist.!

Well I don't know how your insurance company is but with my Allstate I am covered for 30 days from date of purchase automaticaly in case I get in an accident when bringing it home or something.
For DMV purposes, I still need to send the info to the company and have them electronicaly inform DMV of th ecoverage but to bring it home, I am always covered. Plus I usually leave it a few days before I register it so I get the chance to see if there are any issues and if it will be reliable enough to run or else I register it Non OP. SO in those few days I am still covered.

 

[loren]

I thought this was going to be a "someone siphoned my fuel" story....

Non-locking gas cap, and on street parking in L.A. made it seem like the most obvious answer. Good job getting it diagnosed and fixed yourself.

-G

forgot to include that the first thing i did was pour a couple gallons in the tank to rule that out before digging deeper. i was really hoping that was it!!

Well I don't know how your insurance company is but with my Allstate I am covered for 30 days from date of purchase automaticaly in case I get in an accident when bringing it home or something.

Solid! I have Allstate as well, had no idea they did this. Will keep in mind for future reference, thanks!

 

[1970worthog]

So back to the awesome day I had.

LA has this great thing called street sweeping where they close off streets for 2 hrs every week. My street is Wed from 10am-12pm. If your car is left on the street during street sweeping, WABAM! $60 parking ticket!

So it's 9:45am, tail lights are installed, and I hop in the blazer to move it to another street. No start. Pretty normal, hasn't run in a few days. Usually takes a couple tries to get her fired up after sitting....

Crank crank crank. 20 minutes later and still no start, still parked on the street. Fuel issue suspected. I start freaking out, expecting the parking enforcer to come any minute. Out of desperation, I ask my neighbor (who I have basically never talked to) if he could help me push the beast into somebody's parking space in our apartment parking area. Not my parking space, but the closest one to where I had been parked on the street. We push and maneuver and finally get the blazer off the street.

Phew! Avoided a parking ticket... but now another problem. I'm in somebody else's parking space, not sure when they're coming back, and very possible they'd tow the blazer. So I call into the office and tell them I'll be working from home today couldn't leave it there and risk it getting towed. Had to get it started so I could move it.

Left a note on the blazer (out of desperation, again) and hopped on teh Google to figure out what's going on - searching for common issues with these things and whatnot. I suspected a fuel problem. Battery seemed strong (almost brand new), was cranking fine, just not firing up.

Started diagnosing the fuel system with some kind of orderly chaos (remember, only 2 hrs of sleep). Pulled out the fuel filter to check for clogs. Not much debris there... but BONE DRY!! That means the pump wasn't sending fuel through the filter to the carb, so I could safely rule out carb and fuel filter.

Had a theory the pump went out, but wanted to rule out everything else so I kept looking. Rubber sections of fuel lines checked out - no cracks or kinks. Couldn't think of much else. Had to be the fuel pump, or a clog/buildup inside the tank. Did some more reading, learned there was no way to change the fuel pump without dropping the tank. Began to plan out how in the world I would do this... find containers to put gas in, siphon gas, find a suitable jack, find a friend... oh man. and I was still parked in some random person's parking space without their permission.

Kept on reading and periodically checking out the blazer. What's this thing that runs to the fuel filter? OH WAIT - GOOGLING TELLS ME MECHANICAL FUEL PUMP! Oh yeah, only $20, and easy as heck to change! No dropping the tank or any of that bs

To be sure the fuel pump had gone bad, I took off the outlet hose and dropped it in a jar. Gas should come out when I crank it, right? Cranked and cranked - no gas came through the pump. Jar was dry. 99% sure the fuel pump was the issue. Very excited! Only other thing could be a clog in the line between the tank and pump, but that's a bit difficult to diagnose without some compressed air.

Around this time, the neighbor who 'owned' the parking space I was parked in came back. Thought for sure she'd tell me to move (never talked to her before, ever), but it was the exact opposite! I explained the situation and told her I'd push the truck back to the street as soon as my girlfriend got home (too heavy for 1 person to push), but she just parked behind me and said I could keep the blazer there until I got it running - even if it took a few days. What?!? Was totally not expecting that. LOVE PEOPLE SOMETIMES!!!!

Few hrs later, girlfriend got home, did another quick test on the fuel pump to make sure that was the issue (it's convenient to have a buddy when diagnosing these things!) - basically I disconnected the outlet and inlet to isolate the pump, ghetto checked for pressure, felt nothing. Pump dead.

Off to Oreilly's, picked up a pump, ripped out the old one, cleaned up the mounting surface, realized I needed some new fittings, back to Oreilly's (so glad it's only 3 blocks away!!!), got the fittings, and soon after - DONE!

Went to fire her up and... nothing. Tried again. Nothing. My heart sank. So much for being optimistic. By this time it was basically dark and probably wouldn't have another chance to work on her til the weekend. So bummed.

As a final sanity check before calling it quits, I took off the fuel line on the pump inlet and - woah! Fuel spilled all over the place, meaning the pump was actually working!? I must have quit cranking just a second too soon, just before the fuel made it to the engine.

I tightened the fuel line back up and told the girlfriend to give it a go, just for kicks (she didn't know see my fuel discovery ). FIRED RIGHT UP!!! Oh yeah! Told her she had the magic touch and that was that ;-)

We cleaned up our mess (fuel everywhere, nice and dangerous), threw the dogs in the truck, and went for a ride around town for the first time ever. So much fun! Just the the girlfriend, the dogs, and the truck. All in all, a very successful day.

All this was bringing flashbacks to my mind of when I lived in an apartment with my truck.
Good to hear you got it going, and the first drive(legal drive that is
)is always a great feeling

Keep up the good work
Gotta love a first gen

 

[loren]

All this was bringing flashbacks to my mind of when I lived in an apartment with my truck.
Good to hear you got it going, and the first drive(legal drive that is
)is always a great feeling

Keep up the good work
Gotta love a first gen

Thanks worthog!! Sure is quite a challenge living in an apartment w/ the truck. Won't even come close to fitting in my parking space (which prevents any major upgrades for now), and to top it off, we're restoring a VW bus as well. Somehow we managed to to squeeze the bus into some unused space behind the apartment building. Not sure how we've gotten this far!

 

[loren]

Okay, you guys win. Ready to sell this piece of sh*t.

Driving to work last week I heard some driveline noise develop whenever I let off the gas, kind of like a whirring or heavy grinding depending on how fast I was going. Luckily I only live 3.5 miles from the office, so I just kept going, drove it home afterwards and parked it. Did some nightly reading and came up with two potential culprits: low fluid in transfer case (I noticed a leak) and loose pinion nut (apparently somewhat common).

Finally got a chance to climb under there today. TC fluid was reallllly low. Then checked rear pinion nut (D70 axle). SO LOOSE! I easily took it off with my hand, no resistance whatsoever I was hoping I could just tighten it up, but decided to check for play in the pinion first. Has a bit of lateral and axial play. Great. Grrrrrreat. I just want to rebuild the whole f*cking truck right now.

Edit: or is some play expected when the pinion nut is off? I'm hoping that's it.

 

[TheBeast_88K5]

LocTite really helps for sh*t like that.....

Sounds like some Differential-type fun in yer near future.

 

[loren]

LocTite really helps for sh*t like that.....

Sounds like some Differential-type fun in yer near future.

Unfortunately I don't exactly have the facilities to rebuild the diff/axle at the moment. Not even sure if I'd be able to install a new axle, which sucks because I'd love to. One day I'll have a garage. or a driveway. hell, I'd settle for a yard

I'm thinking about tightening up the nut and checking for play in the pinion before making any brash decisions...

Edit: Well I'm probably getting ahead of myself again, but an axle rebuild isn't looking that bad/costly anymore... New knowledge: (some) Dana 70s do not have crush sleeves, which apparently makes things a heck of a lot easier ...? http://www.competitiondiesel.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71251

 

[bp71k5]

Try tightening up the nut and see how it goes.

 

[loren]

Try tightening up the nut and see how it goes.

yep, gonna give that a shot before digging deeper. the play i noticed was actually when the yoke was out. i popped the yoke back in to check it out (without the nut) and there was a lot less play, but still some. maybe that's expected? i just figured the pinion bearings would be tight enough such that there would be no play, even without the yoke. dunno, never been inside an axle/diff before

anyway, just bought a 1 5/16" socket that seemed way overpriced ($18) thanks sears! good thing i just got a raise

 

[K85 Octane]

keep truckin! Tighten it up and drive it, don't give in yet. muwahahahaha

I'd still like to take a look at this thing. Just a little difficult with schedules. What time are you free weekend? If at all...

 

[loren]

Good news! Threw the yoke back on with the nut, tightened it up a bit, and NO PLAY! WOOHOOO!! Turns out I'm stupid

Bad news is the nut is barely snug because the socket is too big to catch the nut (thick walls), which I expected but it's the only one I could find.. So I guess I'll have to find another socket. I also have to replace the pinion seal, which I'm suspecting is the result of a clogged vent tube. This thing was in wheeled in sand, which is everywhere, so clogged vent tubes = highly likely.