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87 blazer pics and questions

I

idislikeunc

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Raleigh, NC
Flexed out the blazer today to test shock length and check for tire rub. 4" tuff country front with ord disconnect, front 33's rub on the firewall side of the fenders, time to cut the corners!

Rear shackle flip in the back worked great, no rub and I think I got the shock lengths right on the first guess.

Now for the questions.

First, I have some play when I shake the wheels, suspect bearings are bad. Also, hub bodies are loose (not the 6 outer hex bolts but the inner body itself). I'm gonna take apart the front end tomorrow to see if spindle nuts are loose or if some snap rings are missing. Anything else I should look for? How do I know if the bearings are bad?

Second, I picked up a new vibration/grinding noise on the highway today. It only happens between 50-60 mph when I let off the gas. If I slow down or put my foot back on the gas, it goes away. Sounds like it's coming from the transmission or possibly the rear diff, but I don't have a clue where to start.

Thanks for any help, or for just looking at my pictures. They aren't the best shots, but I'm waiting for my buddy to email me the rest.

Paul

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If the ginding is from the diff, most likely the pinion bearing is to blame, to check that with the truck on flat ground, put ebrake on and put in neutral to release any tension on the driveshaft and try to wigle the pinion yoke up and down or twisting it back and forth.
If up and own movement exists, it's a shot bearing, if there is movement from twisting it then your gears are worn or out of adjustment.
Most likely though the tranny is where the grinding noise is coming from which I believe is a sign your tranny is on it's way out, usually it starts doing that noise under load then under lesser load like what you are experiencing.
Hopefully it's something much simpler like driveshaft rubbing on something when the tranny twists because of won mounts, or the exhaust rubbing on something from the vibration upon deceleration. :D
 
You will know if the bearings are bad because they will have pits and wear spots, or looked burned. If the grease is burned up real bad or full of water and rust it is not a good sign.

Your rear pinion will drop a little when you let off the gas and move up a bit when you push on the gas due to engine torque and axle wrap, that is inherent with leaf springs especially when the spring is over the axle. The more power or softer the springs the worse it will happen. I would think your problem is in the rear diff or maybe trans output when the axle wraps. Your pinion might be aimed a little too low?
 
vibs came after the lift (really more of a grinding noise). I've checked and rechecked all of the suspension, brakes and steering and feel reasonably sure they are not the cause. Checked all of rear axle including pinion, gears, axles, and bearings. All seemed good. Replaced front bearings, new hubs had been installed without a conversion kit. This has tighened up the hubs, no more play in the front end. Drained the xfer case and used light/screw driver to check tightness in the chain, seemed good. Torque converter looks brand new and tranny fluid is clean and unburned.

Sunday I will work on the pinion angle, which is my last idea before taking it into a transmission shop to make it some one elses problem. Wish me luck that pinion angle is my issue.

Thanks for the tips and ideas, even if they didn't solve the problem, I've replaced some warn parts, fixed some other issues, and inspeced alot.

Paul
 
idislikeunc said:
vibs came after the lift (really more of a grinding noise). I've checked and rechecked all of the suspension, brakes and steering and feel reasonably sure they are not the cause. Checked all of rear axle including pinion, gears, axles, and bearings. All seemed good. Replaced front bearings, new hubs had been installed without a conversion kit. This has tighened up the hubs, no more play in the front end. Drained the xfer case and used light/screw driver to check tightness in the chain, seemed good. Torque converter looks brand new and tranny fluid is clean and unburned.

Sunday I will work on the pinion angle, which is my last idea before taking it into a transmission shop to make it some one elses problem. Wish me luck that pinion angle is my issue.

Thanks for the tips and ideas, even if they didn't solve the problem, I've replaced some warn parts, fixed some other issues, and inspeced alot.

Paul
Click to expand...

Are you saying you have front locking hub with a non converted 203? I doubt it since you have an 87 which means 208,
if that is the case there is your noise, the front axle is actually running and the hubs are rubbing.
I had that problem and then I kept them locked all the ime and the noise went away.
Then I converted the tcase to use the hubs.

If you have the 208, what conversion are you talking about? from auto hubs to manual hubs?
 
I was refering to the different washers/nuts that you can get from warn to convert factory auto hubs to warn locking hubs. I don't know if not using this kit is ok, but adding this kit to my truck certainly made the manual locking hubs tight and not loose. Before I could move the entire hub assembly when it was locked or unlocked in the axle. (manual hubs were installed by the PO) The truck does have the 208.
 
Have you checked the driveshaft? I didn't have a vib or grinding noise until I put my lift in. Some people don't have a problem when they put the lift in. My shaft needs 1.5" more. Even with the lowered t-case.
 
I had this problem. It was solved when I swapped to an NP205. I was wondering if cheap u-joints might be the cuplrit. I think I noticed this problem start after I put in an autozone u-joint.

Oh well. No more problems here. :)

Adam
 
Thanks for the help guys. Having a CV shaft made for the rear as we speak. With the shackle flip, pinion is pointing dead at tcase. It was a 12 degree difference in ujoint angles, so I figured a tcase drop and 6 degree shims still wouldn't correct the angle. Plus why lower the lowest part of the truck?

I'll post some new pics of the diy4x flip and new drive shaft next weekend.

Paul
 
CV driveshaft solved all my problems. Didn't need any extra length or shims, just bolted it in and my vibrations went away. Thanks for your input.

Paul
 
Yup CV solves it all . I had more than a vibe , I had whole dash , console , seats shaking apart when I got anywhere over 10 mph :thumb:
 
Roommate took my digicam to cali, but I'll post some pics next week. I ordered a "double cardan conversion" shaft from Tom Woods (4xshaft.com). It was $454.00 shipped (nice price for a chevy fan) and ready to install out of the box. For $100 less you can mail them your shaft and have them add a cv joint to it. 87 blazer with 4" shackle flip and np208 was 32.25" in length, uses 3R u-joint at pinion and 1350 series ujoints in the cv joint.

Paul
 
When i did my doubler and still had a 2 joint rear driveline. it sounded like the 205 was coming apart on deceleration.
put a Tom Woods 1350 c.v. in it and now it's smooth as silk.
 
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