CK5
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86 K5 - Suggestions on replacement parts?

Jus start replacing all the typical wear parts in the front end as u can afford...calipers I imagine r pretty cheap...my d60 calipers were like$49 each...change all ur driveshaft ujoints if u haven't already, that should help with ur violence of engagement...motor mounts, trans mounts, any & all bushings/mounts should b replaced...Replace ur rag joint at the bottom of ur steering shaft or better yet, search on here for sumone selling the ck shafts...
 
Yea, my blazer will see more highway than off road. I'd like to have a good all terrain tire though. A friend of mine had his car stuck in an open grassy lot and I tried pulling him out today, in 4wd, and all I did was spin. Granted it was super wet, but still...

I haven't replaced all the mounts yet, I plan to do so. Ive just been keeping my eye out for another tranny just in case. Im not 100% sure if mine is sick, but I think it could be better.

And I know that ad was extremely hard to read, that's why I called him. I'd almost buy it if I could use more parts off of it, but I think it'd be a hassle. I've never rebuilt a motor either, so if I had that 305, I could tear it apart... But I have no time for anything right now.
 
that tranny is not stock and if he put it in he had to modify some things like driveshaft and drill new holes for the crossmember.if the tranny is good,you could get a few hundred for it.the rest of the truck is rough obviously as the whole rear is pretty much toast.front and cab isnt too bad from what i can see..you could buy it and part it out,but as you say you dont have much time for modifications.and you can get a decent junkyard 700 for a couple hundred.most will give you a 30 day guarantee.at least the one i use does.the turbo 350 will need mods and will not get you any better highway mileage.it would be like runnin your 700 in drive and not have lockup on top of it.if you had time it could be a good platform for a trail build just to beat it up on the trails if the engine runs alright.
 
Just out of curiosity, why'd you go with that stuff over regular replacement stuff from NAPA, etc?
 
This might be a stupid question, but what does a shackle flip really do? I know it lifts somehow, but I'd kinda like to see some before and after pictures with no tires... Might make more sense.
 
Look at your rear springs' rear shackle hangars. The shackle goes UP from the hangar to the spring. A flip just changes this so that the shackle goes DOWN from the hangar to the spring. Aftermarket kits have different hangars but the home brew setups just cut a hole in the bottom of the hangar and drop the shackle down through.

Thinking about lifting it?
 
Not right now at least... It just seems like that is something that everyone says near the beginning when they talk about modifying their blazer. Just wondering if it was a good idea, how much lift it gives, etc...

I probably won't lift it because I just bought those new "factory length" shocks
 
You can fit 33's stock...now if you have the gears to turn 'em we don't know yet.

I feel no need to lift until I'm at least at 35's...and that day may NEVER come.


The standard flip is 4". That's what the DIY4x, ORD, and the home brew net you. ORD makes a 2.5" flip that just has a shorter hangar. I think Kert will build whatever is safe. There used to be one called an Echobit flip where it was a bracket that bolted to the factory hangar and just provided a new place for the shackle to hang from below. Resulted in 5-6" I belive.
Only real issue is your axle moves forward about 1-1.5" and the pinion angle changes since the spring is now angled downhill toward the rear. Zero rates and shims can fix these issues.
 
Alright, thats cool. I definitely don't want 4" of lift... I just need to figure out the gears I guess. Do you just pop open the covers and start counting?
 
That's the sure fire way.

Does your truck still have the RPO sticker in the glove box? Bunch of 3 digit alphanumeric codes on it. We can figure out which gears it had from the factory that way as well. Yours looks like enough of a daily driver and old man's truck...sorry...the boards...that I doubt anyone ever regeared or swapped axles.
 
Oh definitely, I agree that it looks old man-ish... I don't think its ever been touched or modified... in any way... I'll take the boards off eventually, probably when I start working on the floor. They'd be in the way right now if I took them off.
 
I ditched mine as fast as I could. The crap behind them...ugh!

Lemme know when you have the truck back and we can look at the RPO codes and such.
 
Sounds good. Might be a few months but Im definitely bringing it over eventually. I might take some pictures of the labels next time I go home.
 
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