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Expedition overland blazer. Please help

Jcash_k5 said:
What do you suggest then?
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If your not running big tires....

10b or 44 front, 30 spline alloy shafts, quality ball joints and u joints, and some sort of locker, I actually love my powertrax no slip, I accidentally drove it all last week with the front hubs locked in (I forgot to unlock them lol) , and i live in the city, and never even realized it.

I am against spider gears after having some blow up.

14 bolt rear. I did a 14 semi float with a detroit and i absolutely love it. Cant even notice it on the road. But if i were to do it again id do a full floater (i just wanted to keep 6 lug wheels) as they can be built for alot less money and are stronger.


Or do a 60 front, but for an expedition rig, i know i would want everything gone through and new... So then you have a big up front cost, and the cost to go through it, you already have the ten bolt...
 
37's is getting to where a stock 10b front requires more careful driving and maintenance.

The general consensus here is to wait around and find a set of 1 tons as one of the first parts of your build. Then you never waste money putting gears or alloy shafts or crossover steering on lighter axles, just to move away from them eventually.

But if you will just run 35's and you're sure you'll never get the urge to run 38's or some heavy swampers later, I would definitely run 3/4-tons, probably the semi-float rear. For reliability you need to get rid of the 10 bolt rear, but without bigger tires the D60 front is not really needed and money that could be spent on other stuff.
 
IMO, keep it as close to stock as possible. Generally speaking, the fewer mods you make (engine, suspension, drivetrain), the more reliable it'll be. Plus, if you keep everything stock, you can always get the parts you need at the local parts store without having to keep a binder listing all the various components you've changed on the truck.

My '89 is the perfect overlander, except I wish my seat was more comfortable. It is all stock, with the only exceptions being:
1. 4.10 gears so I can run my 33s without OD going in and out at highway speeds (I got 16+mpg when I drove to Big Bend and back last October).
2. upgraded the R4 pancake A/C compressor to a newer Sandrin unit (R134 and more efficient), which means my serp belt size is now the equivalent of a '94 Chevy 1/2 ton.

Dual batteries, communications, and self recovery are about all you need. I threw in an ARB fridge/freezer I got on CL for $200, and installed a Helton heat exchanger with a ShurFlo RV pump hard mounted to my bumper. I didn't go nuts, and there's no need for you to, either.
 
You can have a ton of fun on 33's and 10 bolts. Don't be afraid they will spontaneously combust. Just don't drive like Deuling on them.

If you decide to go 3/4 ton, I would also swap to 8 lug. This way if you ever decide to upgrade axles in the future, your tires and wheels will swap over.

At stock height, I was always worried about dragging my rockers over obstacles. A few inches of lift and sliders will go along way towards piece of mind.
 
Richcz28 said:
You can have a ton of fun on 33's and 10 bolts. Don't be afraid they will spontaneously combust. Just don't drive like Deuling on them.

If you decide to go 3/4 ton, I would also swap to 8 lug. This way if you ever decide to upgrade axles in the future, your tires and wheels will swap over.

At stock height, I was always worried about dragging my rockers over obstacles. A few inches of lift and sliders will go along way towards piece of mind.
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What this guy says. :whistle: Check out his build, it's a great example of a do everything kinda vehicle :waytogo:
 
Subscribed.

I'm slowly moving this direction also. One piece at a time...but somehow it always seems to cost me many dimes! :haha::haha:
 
Should you decide to go with a full-floating rear axle, a newer 14bff will come with removable brake drums. Which, IMO, eliminates the need for re-engineering the brake system to accept rear disc brakes. The trail is the last place you wanna be disassembling the older 14bff hubs just to deal with a simple brake issue. But there's also not a huge gain, AFAIK, in switching to discs.

I found, while collecting parts, that my '97 C30 Express Van axle was the cheapest Chevy truck axle available at my local yard (1/2 the price of a 10-bolt). They will require moving spring/shock perches, but nothing too difficult. Cheap. Simple. Can be run without building up or modifying (although a Detroit may be a good idea).

Just my $0.02.

Can't wait to see how the dreaming turns out! :D

If you're aiming for October, though, you should be careful not to bite off too many ambitious projects at the same time. Nothing worse than having 15 different projects 1/2 done when expo time comes... :doah:
 
The very first thing you should do is put the TBI back on it.

The carb swap was a downgrade.

Oh, and H1's are DOT Legal, contrary to what was posted in this thread.

That being said, skip them. They are HEAVY.

You need to do a lot more reading before ordering any parts (like a carburetor....)

Martin
 
82355 said:
The very first thing you should do is put the TBI back on it.

The carb swap was a downgrade.

Oh, and H1's are DOT Legal, contrary to what was posted in this thread.

That being said, skip them. They are HEAVY.

You need to do a lot more reading before ordering any parts (like a carburetor....)

Martin
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Thanks. Any suggestions on a tbi system. Multi is very expensive. And I know it was a stupid thing to do... Now
 
I think a factory system is hands down the way to go on TBI for this type of application. What do you do if your Atomic or whatever breaks 500 miles from home?

I'll defend the carb a little from the perspective of reliability and field repairability. You can carry a whole spare carb with you, and even just dump fuel into the bowl in an emergency. And I'd rather replace a mechanical pump in the field than drop the tank. The TBI comes into play when the off-roading gets a little more serious. If I were going far afield on my own (with TBI) I'd want a spare computer and sensors. Also probably some sort of in-line pump that can be plugged into the system in an emergency.
 
bumpers build your own just how you want them. look at promark winches they are awesome plus the customer service is outstanding basically it's a warn knock off. all the parts are interchangeable. if you call talk to ranee she is 2nd to none in there customer service.
as far as the h1's i'm running them and love them i have had them about 2 years now hwy no problems even to 85 mph. mud they do very well.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/37-12-50R16...s_Car_Truck_Tires&vxp=mtr&hash=item27e5eca853

if you do go h1 check out allen at burg tires he's in fayetteville Nc which shouldn't be to far from you in Ga.

also these guys are in GA in dawsonville .
http://www.militaryoffroadtires.net/default.asp
don't know anything about them but they are a little closer to ya.
 
If you go with h1s. Which, as said before, they are heavy. Get them re centered from someone like trail worthy fab.

Don't but the mililtary old stock ones and use wheelspacers.

This wheel choice also only makes sense if you are doing an axle swap involving an 8 lug setup.
 
The main reason that a carb was put on my k5 is because we put a cam in it that has the right sound and performance, with the tbi the blazer would idle ok for about 5 seconds and rev up for 3 seconds the computer was trying to compensate for the engine. I still have all the stock componentsto go back to tbi, if I do go back I would like to atleast try and upgrade the 24yr old fuel system. If I do go back, wouldn't I have the same problems?
 
Is tuned and programmed the same thing? The techs I talked to said the computer would need to be re programmed for the new cam and that might fix it or pop a carb on her and let it ride, which wasn't that easy, I still had to put a fuel regulator and some other junk and had to get mds ignition system
 
It would have been much cheaper and less work to have it "programmed"
 
Deuling said:
It would have been much cheaper and less work to have it "programmed"
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Any other obvious words of wisdom. I'm not looking back at what's done trying to move forward. Any advice on what can bedone. I would like to hear it.
 
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