Decision Time! My humble build! "Flexed" it, 5/21/09!

[udy2554]

Here's my new stuff to put the pass. side of the axle back together. "New" stub shaft to replace cracked one, new calipers, (gave up trying to remove bleeders from old ones).

Oh, here's my "garage/shop". Side porch shared with two garbage cans, a 20gal. horiz. air compressor, cupboards and counter tops from gramma and grampa's house.(God Bless them, deceased two years now, both made 91 yrs.) Can't forget the gravel "floor" to work on, but it's mine.

 

[desertrat67]

Wonder if it was a man defect or stress fracture?

560hp with an idiot driver. All horses were used thoroughly to their limit![/quote]

Sounds liek we have an answer. Glad to hear you are recovering. Hope the doc gets you something. It must be a major PITA working like that. Especially since you aactually work, not just sit a desk.

 

[udy2554]

I just got an appointment for PT fri afternoon. We shall see how that goes. As far as working goes, I love my job, I actually like going to work. l used to own a bus. in a small town, I know everyone and they all know me. I gave up a 4.0 in acct. 20 yrs. ago, and a 4.0 in engineering at 24. Can't stand being in a closed area all day. Now I know I could have tripled my salary, but as I said, I love my job, I have a great wife and step-daughter even though I'm poor white trash.

 

[desertrat67]

As long as you are happy, that is all that matters.

 

[GsxrMike]

X2! And let me know if you figure out how to make money off of your hobbies or get people to send you money in the mail. BTW I am a HVAC tech too! All light commercial stuff though. Couldn't deal with the short basements, crawl spaces, and hot ass attics!

 

[blazd88]

Ive had back probs of the same nature, hope all smooths out soon. Itll all be better and back together soon enough that you will forget it ever happened. Atleast you have something to look forward to. Keep up the good work.

 

[udy2554]

Thankx for all your thoughts, guys. It's nice to hear of people surviving this kind of thing. I appreciate all of you. Now, out to the garage,(porch) to put together my axle u-joint before my wife makes me bring it back. Gotta get the axle in on the pass. side. Put the brakes together and get the extended lines in. Thanks again, you all!

 

[udy2554]

Axles, rotors, bearings are all in. Tomorrow is caliper and brake line day! Rear extension and brake lines too. Right now the truck is on all fours and no jack stands. It's been about a month since it's been on its own tires. Still got lots to do. Plates will be turned in this week to save insurance money. About enough for the cross-over. Little by little, I hope to drive it next summer. It's all about the cash flow!

Does anyone know if the steering box from a 2-wheel drive blazer of the same year ('89) will work with the cross-over? Or is there a recommended simple, low-cost alternative?

I will be reading the threads from a search on it, gotta learn more!

 

[GsxrMike]

Yeah that steering box should work. Or just take the shaft out and swap it!

 

[udy2554]

Holy Sh!t, more stuff to learn how to do. Winter's comming, I see slowed progress ahead. Haven't been in the woods since Sat. night either. Gotta go sit a stand, the rut is starting up. Sure would like to take a buck lefty, but that would be greedy. Still got a lot of firewood the split too.

I just read your build thread, pretty impressive. A bit more extreme than I can afford, not to mention the excelled abilities you appear to have. I sure do need to learn to weld. I understand the mechanics of it, but have never tried it. Just another expense on the list.

 

[obijuan]

there were no 2wd blazers in 89, just go ask for an 87 2wd truck box. ive also herd with the sector shaft swap you get complimentary leaks lol

 

[udy2554]

Good news/Bad news

Good news: My wife is buying me rear caliper brakets from DIY4X, Yahoo, some more updates for my truck. Shackle flip (2") for the rear to eliminate the blocks, cross-over, and steering brace from ORD. Gears are also in the plan. Any recommendations? 38" tires, BTO stage 3 700r4. Truck will be a daily driver to play with. 4.88,5.38? Would like to get around 12-14mpg on the highway at @75mph+/- 5mph.

Bad news: Still no feeling in fingers on left hand and no strength in left arm. Nourologist says disc is pushing on nerve and creating damage. It's been almost 2 mos., recommending surgery. Out of work 6-8 weeks, light duty out to 12 weeks. How do I pay bills on disability (max of $405/wk) that will just cover mortgage and gas/elec. bills. Co-pays are tapping me as it is. Lots of stuff to figure out now. The good news here is the recovery is supposed to be close to 100%. Anything will be better than what I have now.

Well, looking at the snow fallng, better get to the tree stand. This is the last weekend of shotgun/rifle season, then a week and a few days to muzzle load. Need one more deer in the freezer, two would be better.

 

[udy2554]

Update: Back to work! (and play!)

So...a quick update. Jan. 9th, went and had a disc removed and replaced. The disc was better than 50% impacting my spinal cord. That explains the muscle atrophy and numbness in the fingers. Allowed to go back to work, limited duty, on Mar. 2nd. Nothing more than 25.lbs, lifting, pulling, pushing. No repetitive or jarring movements. About two more months of that, then hopefully I can get back to real work

To the truck. Decided to sell the BTO stage 3 700r4. Or trade for some of the necessities. (Crossover steering, steering brace, discs for the rear, etc.) Last Sunday, my buddy brought me my old 454, 465/205, and a bunch of other stuff. I am going to go with the manual. It will save me alot of money. I already have the proper length drive shafts, and the gearing will not hurt things. The 4.10's should work OK for now with the 3 speed, where they would probably kill the 700. The saved money will go towards the crossover and other things I need.

Todays project is to drill the spot welds on the tranny hump and get that removed. I will also get to dropping the steering column in anticipation of the clutch and brake pedal assembly. Hopefully I will get to meet a fellow CK5er (Sweetk30) in the next couple of weeks for the pedals!

Got the seats and console out last week, then it snowed again, and stopped all progress. It's sunny and warm today, so back to it.

I will bore y'all a little later with some pics of progress.

 

[udy2554]

Hump cover is out!

So...I got the carpet out. Underlayment was wet. I don't know how it got that way just sitting for the last 7 months, but I will have to figure it out later! I have new carpet for the front. I've had it for about 7 yeaars now. Bought it when I was building my last Blazer!

I had to drill out all the spot welds on the tranny hump. Went from 1/16 to 1/8 to 1/4 to 3/8. It actually went pretty smoothly. No major dents or bends either. I used a "wonder bar" to pry up the hump. Most of the glue or goo or whatever it is they used to hold the hump down with was pretty pliable! I thought is was going to be a nightmare!

I also removed the steering shaft and took out the AC duct in preparation for the clutch and brake pedal assembly. It looks like a lot of wiring to jockey around. I was going to drop the column and pull the brake pedal bracket off now, but then I figured I should probably wait till I get the "new" assembly so I wouldn't forget how everything goes back together.

For now, that's it. Tomorrow, if the weather stays good, I may attempt pulling the transfer case and prepare for the removal of the tranny! I gotta keep an eye on my 25lb. restrictions. Don't want to reinjure my neck.

Here's some before and after pics. I will keep the old carpet as a template for the new one!

 

[jones]

why is it that when i click on your picture links or anybodys for that matter some page comes up that says im violating rules?

It's because we're a lower class of gear heads that don't get to see the picsall I have to say is

 

[udy2554]

Flywheel?

Does anyone have any recommendations as to what flywheel I would need. I know I need to count teeth, but what about weights and such? Should I go factory, or is there anything to aftermarket ones? The truck is mostly a daily driver, but I do put it in the mud quite a bit. I'm not really set up for crawling, but I would like to give it a try. I guess it's more trail friendly though. Motor is stock with headers and open element with K&N filter, and has 160,000mi. on it.

Please help, thanks!!

 

[udy2554]

T-case is out.

Well, for about the fifth time in a two year span, I got the transfer case out. This time, I had to be careful due to the spinal (neck) surgery a little over 2 months ago. My limit for lifting, pulling, pushing is 25 lbs. I probably over did it a little, but I used a tranny adapter for my floor jack. It was kind of awkward with the shape of the case, but it's out. Now I have 2 241 cases, 2 sets of driveshafts, one of which is lengthened for a 6 inch lift, and 2 cross members.

Here's today's progress.

 

[sweetk30]

what motor do you run for what flywheel. i have a few in stock also.

 

[udy2554]

what motor do you run for what flywheel. i have a few in stock also.

Stock 350, TBI with headers. As to which flywheel, I guess that's what I'm asking. The tranny is a 465. I don't know which one, any suggestions?

 

[sweetk30]

you need a flywheel for 1 peice rear main motor. and only 1 i have is still in the truck . havent pulled and swaped to 400/205 yet.