First K5 owner!!

[pitbulls'n'blazers]

Hi guys I'm Jason and I have my first K5,and thought I could get some help from some other K5 owners. My big question is what is the best first upgrade I could make to my 1987 K5 Chevy Blazer. I'm lookin' to go four wheelin' with it so I would like to make it as tough as nails!!

Thank !!!
Jason

 

[resurrected_jimmy]

I bend nails...... Go for the reliability of an anvil

 

[roadnotca]

Hi guys I'm Jason and I have my first K5,and thought I could get some help from some other K5 owners. My big question is what is the best first upgrade I could make to my 1987 K5 Chevy Blazer. I'm lookin' to go four wheelin' with it so I would like to make it as tough as nails!!

Thank !!!
Jason

You'll cover a lot of ground much quicker if you tell us what you have, if its usual, 350/700R4/NP208?

 

[Greg72]

Hi guys I'm Jason and I have my first K5,and thought I could get some help from some other K5 owners. My big question is what is the best first upgrade I could make to my 1987 K5 Chevy Blazer. I'm lookin' to go four wheelin' with it so I would like to make it as tough as nails!!

Thank !!!
Jason

......and so it begins!

Read this post again in about 3 years, and you'll laugh at how naive and innocent you once were.

 

[pitbulls'n'blazers]

Whell,all of you are right,and it was a pretty stupid question. I thought ,hell why not ask for some ideas? I do have some ideas for it,and just if any one would like to know it's a 350 Tbi, and it's got GM 10 bolts front and rear W/3.73's and 31/10.50x15's. Thanks again,but a simple post like,how about some new 33 TSL's or axle swap or crate engine or a 6" lift,that would have been nice,but no big deal I'll just go have some fun buying a new set of 33" LTB's I'm starting small (small budget).Oh and not sure of the transfercase,it might be NP208 but not sure ??

Thanks guys for any info and I'll talk to ya later.

 

[WhiteBurb]

I think the very first thing you need to do is service the heck out of it. Change every fluid and filter on the thing. Lube the zerks, look for damage and missing parts. Make sure all the seatbelts work right.
Personally, I prioritize my mods as follows:
1st - safety and security (seatbelts, locks, good battery)
2nd - performance and economy (exhaust, suspension, shocks, gears)
3rd - comfort and convenience (stereo, floormats, etc.)

Then on with the mods. Bigger tires are good, but you may need new gears to turn them right. A locker to improve traction. Lift to clear your new tires. Lights if you wheel at night. So on and so forth.....

 

[pitbulls'n'blazers]

I think the very first thing you need to do is service the heck out of it. Change every fluid and filter on the thing. Lube the zerks, look for damage and missing parts. Make sure all the seatbelts work right.
Personally, I prioritize my mods as follows:
1st - safety and security (seatbelts, locks, good battery)
2nd - performance and economy (exhaust, suspension, shocks, gears)
3rd - comfort and convenience (stereo, floormats, etc.)

Then on with the mods. Bigger tires are good, but you may need new gears to turn them right. A locker to improve traction. Lift to clear your new tires. Lights if you wheel at night. So on and so forth.....

That's kinda post I was lookin' for!!!
Thank you,sounds great,that's very close to what needs to be done!!

 

[roadnotca]

I think the very first thing you need to do is service the heck out of it. Change every fluid and filter on the thing. Lube the zerks, look for damage and missing parts. Make sure all the seatbelts work right.
Personally, I prioritize my mods as follows:
1st - safety and security (seatbelts, locks, good battery)
2nd - performance and economy (exhaust, suspension, shocks, gears)
3rd - comfort and convenience (stereo, floormats, etc.)

Then on with the mods. Bigger tires are good, but you may need new gears to turn them right. A locker to improve traction. Lift to clear your new tires. Lights if you wheel at night. So on and so forth.....

Same kind of stuff you do with any new significant other.

 

[Leper]

Don't buy tires yet!!!! Look around in here for a while. The basic setup on a K5 will consist of a 4" to 5" lift.(springs in front, shackle flip in the rear, mabey a zero rate to level the rear out) and 35" tires.
From there, you can go crazy. I wish I had started with 40" tires and saved myself some money on the 33"s and then the 35"s. Do a search for "how much lift" and read some of those posts. They will point you in the right direction.
My setup of choice..... 1 ton military axles (dana 60 and 14 bolt FF) 4.56 geared, detroit locker in both, 39.5" Pitbull Rockers, 5" lift, extended brake lines, extended shocks, fender trimming, crossover steering, high steer, SYE, EFI, CK5 membership.
I understand the start-out-slow thinking. If you don't understand some of what I just said, don't worry, you will soon enough.

Welcome to the site.

 

[steve_kibbe]

I think the very first thing you need to do is service the heck out of it. Change every fluid and filter on the thing. Lube the zerks, look for damage and missing parts. Make sure all the seatbelts work right.
Personally, I prioritize my mods as follows:
1st - safety and security (seatbelts, locks, good battery)
2nd - performance and economy (exhaust, suspension, shocks, gears)
3rd - comfort and convenience (stereo, floormats, etc.)

Then on with the mods. Bigger tires are good, but you may need new gears to turn them right. A locker to improve traction. Lift to clear your new tires. Lights if you wheel at night. So on and so forth.....

This is where I'd start aswell.

Is it going to be your daily driver?

What kind of wheeling do you plan on doing? ie mud, rocks, sand......

Have fun with it, and take your time


Steve

 

[OffRoad]

if you're looking to make the truck tougher, i'd say get a steering box brace.

have fun.

 

[djsblaze]

if you're looking to make the truck tougher, i'd say get a steering box brace.

have fun.

Seriously, the steering box brace is a great starting point (along w/seatbelts, fluids, etc.) Dont assume you will stay at 33s. Few do. Save your money for what you eventually WANT to have, and do it right the first time (even if you have to wait). My thought would be a 4 inch lift and 35s. With 3.73 gears, you can survive with 35s. You'll note alot of smartassery around this site, but its all in good fun. Im still fairly new around here, but have learned ALOT from this site. For a point of reference, here is how my K5s have gone: 91K5- 2 inch body lift and 33s. 78K5- 4 inch suspension and 35s. 89K5- Dana 60s front and rear, 38 inch tires, ARB lockers front and rear....there is a pattern here, you will want to go bigger eventually, so save up til you can afford the size you want. And remember the knowitalls on this site did not know it all until they were here or wrenching for awhile...good luck with you build up...

 

[pitbulls'n'blazers]

Thanks guys for every thing,I'm glad I found some help for my project K5.I will take what yall said and Git'R'Done!!

Thanks again!
Jason

 

[JohnDeere]

You can get a 4 inch lift from Rough Contry for about 300 bucks for springs in front and blocks in back, its 400 for springs in back. For tires you can get an off brand of the bf goodrich mud terains that last about 65,000 miles and have more traction, there called Wild Country Mud Kings for a 35/15/12.5 its about $76 dolloars a tire and you can get a gearing set with both axle gearing and master instalation kit for about 400. I have 30/15/10.5 on my jeep with over 40,000 miles on them and there about 8 years old and they still look new im hard on them to i spin the tires alot and do some good offroadin in them they are actualy handle better than a bf goodrich on road jsut a bit louder, i havent had any problems with them

 

[roadnotca]

For tires you can get an off brand of the bf goodrich mud terains that last about 65,000 miles and have more traction, there called Wild Country Mud Kings for a 35/15/12.5 its about $76 dolloars a tire I have 30/15/10.5 on my jeep with over 40,000 miles on them and there about 8 years old and they still look new im hard on them to i spin the tires alot and do some good offroadin in them they are actualy handle better than a bf goodrich on road jsut a bit louder, i havent had any problems with them

Good info on the tires, they must use a harder compound. H just crank-up the stereo and save some money.