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Hi all, New to K5 and 4x4's

roadhawg

roadhawg

1/2 ton status
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Oregon
Hi all, New to K5 and 4x4\'s

ive been looking for a blazer for about a year now and finally found a good deal on one in great shape. Problem is i dont know where to start lifting. Looking for around 35 inch tires so what would be a good lift for that? And what are the pros and cons of body and suspension lifts? Will i need to change drivelines for a 4" suspension lift?
Thanks in advance....
P.S...... i have already lost the running boards...
blazer.JPG
 
Re: Hi all, New to K5 and 4x4\'s

nice blazer /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif and welcome to ck5 /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif with a 4in lift you MIGHT have to lengthen the drivelines every truck is different so you might have to you might not /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif
 
Re: Hi all, New to K5 and 4x4\'s

you might not get alot of feedback becuase this same post has been made 380248053 time try serching...
BUT some people with a 4in are ok with the driveline but my front drive shaft came up a LITTLE short so im getting a 1in spacer from superlift. Your body look nice so I dont know if you wanna trim the fenders with 4in 35's are gonna rub uncut 6in you should be ok.. but you will have to legenth your drive shafts. as for body lifts I REALLY dont like them unless your doing a 1in for longer shocks I guess the advantage to them is lowercenter of gravity, wont effect the drivelines, and there cheap. for suspension stuff look at BSD Skyjacker and Tuff Country also you might wanna consider a shackle flip of some kind for the rear for those look at ORD and and echobit and one last thing before you do all this figure out if you want to stay ½ ton 35's seem to be the breaking point some stay 1/2 some go 3/4 or even 1ton but if your gonna go with a 8lug rear end figure that out NOW before you lift and buy some 6lug wheels(unless your gonna get cheap wheels) of course eveyone will have there own oppions on what Ive told you but your just gonna have to look at differnt things and do alot of reading on CK5 /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

NOW my questions what year is it(my guess 88 or 89) what motor tranny tcase and im guessing you have 10bolts front and rear also do you know your gear ratio?
 
Re: Hi all, New to K5 and 4x4\'s

Welcome to CK5 /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif Go 6" lift, or you'll be trimming those pretty fenders. I recomend calling ORD (970) 945-7777 and having then put together a complete suspension lift for you. Personally I'd use a 4" shackle flip + 3" lift springs in the rear. That's what I have for my K5. Go ahead and have new driveshafts made. I had both front and rear shafts made with all new parts. You are aware that you'll need to either regear your axles, or swap in a set of axles with the propper gears for those 35" tires. 3/4 Ton axles is a poppular swap becouse you can get the axles for about $250.00 to $500.00 normally. Oh yeah, ditch those running boards befor they couse your rockers to rust out.
 
Re: Hi all, New to K5 and 4x4\'s

[ QUOTE ]
as for body lifts I REALLY dont like them unless your doing a 1in for longer shocks I guess the advantage to them is lowercenter of gravity

[/ QUOTE ]

Uhhh,they raise your center of gravity and what the hell does a body lift have to do with longer shocks /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
Re: Hi all, New to K5 and 4x4\'s

Hey welcome to the site.. Well 6" is the way to go for non scraping fender clearance. I had 36's on my 79 with 6" of lift it looked good and trailed nicely. kind wondering why im at 42's now. oh well. you goto my site and see what 6" looks like at the bottom of the page. I have detailed everything I have done on my blazer and have alot of other cool stuff on there. Again welcome and let me know if I can help with anything
 
Re: Hi all, New to K5 and 4x4\'s

Looks like ya got a good start there /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

Iv ran a 4" suspension with a 3" bodylift and a 6"with a 2"bodylift with 35s on my 81K5.The 4"lift was the cheapest and most trouble free.I didnt have to buy new shafts or brakelines,I only had to lower the tranny crossmember a little.

With the 6" lift I needed to lengthen the rear shaft,mess with the pinion angle in the rear,make a 1" spacer for the front shaft,and get longer front brakelines.It was a little more $$ and hassle but I should have just done the 6" the first time.

I wouldnt run a bodylift,lots of work involved and the truck will feel more solid without it.

And one last thing as to drivetrain mods(DISCLAIMER /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif this is not aimed at any one person here),anyone that tells you that ya gotta have 3/4 or 1 ton axles and a 205 tcase to wheel is an idiot.Dont think you MUST HAVE that stuff to get out and have fun.You will be surprised at how much fun you can have and how far you can get with just a lift and tires on the K5 ya got there.Just sayin this because Ive seen people get told that stuff and not wheel because of it.And being new to the 4x4 world it can be easy to get sucked up into a huge list of expensive mods that you personaly may not need without ever realy wheeling to find out.

Ok,Im done for now /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: Hi all, New to K5 and 4x4\'s

Hey welcome to the forum. Where at in Oklahoma are you located. There are several of us here in central OK, man shoot me a PM and we can chat. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif Okay I had to come back and give some input.

1. you can run 35's and no trimming depending on your vehicle and what brand lift you use.

2. If trimming is required it is very minimal.

3. one thing you need to keep in mind, yes you can run 35's on 1/2 ton axles depending how hard you wheel. The big thing is what gears you are running. 35's and high gears such as 3.08's you will not be able to run your tranny in O/D and you run a very high chance of burning up your tranny. that big of a tire and high gears play hell on your tranny.

4. if you are running high gears and are thinking about regearing you axles.. STOP!. for what you are going to pay in gears and installation you can buy a set of 3/4 ton axles and just swap axles for a hell of a lot less money.

5. I am running a 4" procomp lift that actually cam out to be closer to 5 or 5 1/2 " and I could fit 35's with no problem under mine, I have trimmed my fenders a very small amount, I have no driveline problems, all I had to do is drop mt t-case an inch and was ready to go.
Just my thoughts.


Krennen /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Re: Hi all, New to K5 and 4x4\'s

Thanks all for the tons of Info here, You guys have some awesome trucks! I finally figured out to do a search for certain things and found tons of info. Sorry for posting the same questions you guys hear daily i am sure.
As for my Blazer, it is a 1985 1/2 ton with 10 bolts front and rear and a np208 transfer case. I am really clueless to what all that means... It has 3.08 gear ratio and a 700 R4 tranny with a 305 sludge power plant. I am thinking about 4.11 gears or in that range? This will be my first attempt at a 4x4 as i normally build street rods. i recently pulled the 350 out of my 1973 Chevy Vega and plan on putting it in my blazer, it is at least 350 hp so i need to know of problems with week axles and such. I am not planning on doing too much serious wheelin with it just your occasional lake full of mud and doing some boat towing. i am not really against stepping down to 33" tires and a 4 inch suspension lift, i do want it driveable on the highway towing a boat. I thank you all for your valuable input.
Bluenight i have bookmarked your awesome site and your blazer is a beast!
/forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Re: Hi all, New to K5 and 4x4\'s

with a 700r4 and 35in tires if your going to re gear go with 4:56's or 4:88's you will be much happier with them /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Re: Hi all, New to K5 and 4x4\'s

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
as for body lifts I REALLY dont like them unless your doing a 1in for longer shocks I guess the advantage to them is lowercenter of gravity

[/ QUOTE ]

Uhhh,they raise your center of gravity and what the hell does a body lift have to do with longer shocks /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

hmm you can run a longer shock with a body lift without cutting your floor or fenderwells by adding ford shock towers..a body lift keeps MORE of the center of gravity down because you dont move the frame, engine and tranny up with the body..
 
Re: Hi all, New to K5 and 4x4\'s

I am just north of Stillwater, not far at all from guthrie, i travel through there all the time for work. i would PM you but it says Only supporting CK5 Members are allowed to send Private Messages? I just recently paid for my subscription so i dont know if that has anything to do with it. you can reach me on icq @ 1418689 or msn [email protected]

Thanks!
 
Re: Hi all, New to K5 and 4x4\'s

I strongly second that you should not pour thr money into regearing axels!

I would just buy the 3/4 ton axels, the 14 bolt will take the abuse as for the front "35's should be" on it.

Most/some 3/4 ton axels are already geared to 4.11 or 4.56 gears, saving you $$ and justifying the axel swap.

Also the biggest advantage to this is you will really get to understand your truck and how it works, and many people on here would be glad to lend a hand I am sure.

start wrenching, /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Re: Hi all, New to K5 and 4x4\'s

they dont rasie the center of gravity as MUCH because your not lifting any thing like your body, So your motor trans tcase and everything are still down low, as for shocks you can get longer shocks with out cutting your body if you add a body lift... I know here most people cut there tubs out and get REAL long shocks but espically non K5ers do this some times
 
Re: Hi all, New to K5 and 4x4\'s

Hello and welcome to CK5! /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif The people on here are great and they're happy to help! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Nice looking rig there...have fun w/ the future mods! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: Hi all, New to K5 and 4x4\'s

Welcome to the fun. The running boards make a good shelf for your garage, that's where mine are.
 
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