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I need an opinion

swettysblazer

swettysblazer

Swetty The Yeti
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Right now, my truck is sitting idle at home because I am away at college. Currently, it has a 4 inch Rough Country lift and 35x12.50 BFG Mud Terrains. I've got some cash saved up, and was trying to think of an upgrade for it. It's a 91 K5 that's basically stock. So, any ideas on what the next purchase should be? I respect all of your opinions after being on the site for a long time, so I figured I would ask.
 
iv built a few, heres where i would start
1.buy a 14bff 8 lug.try and get at least a gov lock in it or weld it up yourself. dont pay more than $200 for it

2. get a matching 8 lug 3/4 ton front end try to get it with 4.10 gears, lower is better. should not cost you more than $200

3. do either the 56" or 64" spring swap in the rear using either the DIY4x or ORD shackle flip. its cheap and easy. it will run you around $250-$300 total

4. do the 56" spring set up up front. it super easy and will cost you about $15 for some shackles from DIY4x. you dont need the B52 set-up to do it but its cool.

start there. PM me if you have any questions
 
good suggestions. I would say a different suspension but there are other things you need to address. The first and foremost is a set of sliders. End of story, doesn't matter how you make them but if you are going to wheel the truck hard you will hit your rockers.

Then address the axle situation. an upgrade to 3/4 ton stuff would be first, then a locker or welded diff if that suits you for the rear.

Then wheel it hard and figure out exactly how far you want to go with it. Alot are perfectly happy with that, but there are the select few (most on this board) who insist on constant up grades, I doubt we would be considered the "smart" ones :D
 
The thing with my truck though is it's my daily driver, and I am going to be taking it to school with me next semester (January). So I need to keep it reliable and whatnot, which is why I was staying away from lockers and such for now. As for the wheeling part of it, I'm a weekend wheeler whenever i get out, but 90% of the time the truck is on pavement.
 
As mentioned above a set of sliders will safe your rocker panels. maybe some good recovery points and basic recovery gear. Then save the rest of your $$ and just wheel it as is. :D
 
For your truck, and what you use it for, with a college budget This is what i suggest.

Keep the 4in lift and 35's. looks great on these trucks, and will provide you all the lift and capability you NEED for the offroading you say you do. Also, 35's are the biggest "cheap" tire size there is. once you go bigger than that, tires get very expensive, very fast. i got a set of well worn 38in radial tsl's for 100 just to move the truck around while i work on it, and am not looking forward to the 1200-1300 ill need to spend for a new set once the truck is ready to be driven on the road.

keep your six lug front axle, find a 14 bolt 3/4 ton rear axle with 6 lug axles. keep your wheels and tires, and get the much stronger rear axle, newer style SF rear axles also came with disk brakes, which is a great upgrade, just be sure to get the brake lines, and ebrake cables for it. For what you do, a gov-locker (gov-bomb) will work just fine. although if you happen to find an open carrier and put a detroit in it, youll be better off. lockers are prefectly fine on the street, its welded spider gears you want to stay away from.

The main thing i would invest in would be transmission. I havent looked at your profile to see the specs on your rig so forgive me here. 700R4, you will be surprised what a good stage 2 shift kit will do. same for a th350. overdrive will be a godsend, for a 1/2 ton rig with 35's id be interested in putting a NV3500 in it and going manual for more control, and better gear spacing. if you wanna stick auto, ditch the th350 for a built 700r4. just get a big trans cooler. A proper trans will give you better off the line acceleration which also means better city mpg, while also giving you overdrive, which will help you get better highway mileage.

If you dont already have it, a TBI conversion would be sweet, or TPI, i would take fuel injection on an offroad rig any day of the week over a carb, but thats a hotly contested issue among the offroad enthusiasts.

If youve got the money to burn (i didnt in college) a set of sliders, a front bumper and rear bumper with a tire carrier, jerry can holder, and high lift jack mount would be sweet.

Im personally a fan of fender extentions. the big ones. but thats a personal call.
 
73redblaze said:
pics of said fenders please
Click to expand...

sadley i dont have em, theres a few guys on here that have em though. Bushwhacker fender extentions. i think they are called cut outs. might look silly without wide enough tires to fill em though :) ill be running DRW axles with H1's so hopefuly ill fill the cut outs up enough that it will look cool..... and not poser style.

tahoe.JPG
 
Right now, I have a 700R4 which was rebuilt last December, and since then I've put about 7,000 miles on it. Also, I have a 350 with TBI, but it's got almost 200,000 on it, but it still runs pretty well for how many miles are on it. There's nothing mechanically wrong with the truck, and the body is still in pretty good shape for it's age. When I can, I'll post a picture of it
 
yeah man, if youve got a 700R4, i can tell you from experience, a good build on that will make all the difference in the world.

B&M stage two shift kit.

Corvette 1st-2nd servo.

and talk to a torque converter company or a proper stall speed and size for your application. and ask for a kevlar lockup clutch.

You can also have the transmission built with 4L65E parts, such as the five pinion planitary gears vs the 700R4 4 pinion planitary gears. hardend sun shell casings, hardened input and output shafts, so on and so forth.

Having the 700R4 in my IROC built this way gave me far and away the biggest seat of the pants change in the vehicle performance.

700R4 transmissions arent known for holding up well to wheelin abuse in our fullsize rigs, but im confident they can be built to take it. (i just want to go manual is all). Daily driving shouldnt kill it, but wheeling will give it a run for its money. So if you havent yet, a high quality trans cooler is a very worth while investment, pretty much manditory really.

for a 200k mile 350... youre probably due for a freshening up. Id run a compression check, if youve got a solid 150psi across the board, id get a quick port and polish on the heads, some headers and exhaust system, maybe a cam and some rocker arms. do the valve guides.

headers and trans kit, FWIW these are easily the two biggest seat of the pants upgrades ive done to my vehicles.
 
So yeah, in a short version these are the mods id suggest.

1. 6 lug Semi-float 14 bolt rear axle (with disk brakes if you can get it).

Why? - cheap cheap cheap, with huge benifits to you. saves cost of new wheels and tires, major upgrade in safety (with disk brakes), easy, should be a direct bolt in swap, with a conversion U-joint.

2. Engine freshen up

Why? with 200,000 miles, youre probably on borrowed time, not putting down the power you should have, and not getting the fuel economy you should be getting. Instead of just doing a tune up, doing some serious work while you are there, just makes sense. if you gotta take it apart, why not put it back together better.

now, of course i dont know your mechanical ability, but this would also be a fine time, if you need to rebuild the engine, to upgrade to a 383. :D

3. Transmission performance build

I know you just did it less than (almost to) a year ago, but if it wasnt done right, wheeling on that tranny with oversized tires will kill it pretty quick. so having it redone right is worth the investment.
 
For Pete's sake. The guys truck is a DD and sometime weekend warrior that spends most of its time on the pavement.. Its only on 35s.
Why in the world does he need 3/4 or 1 ton stuff?????
Waste of money/time/gas IMHO.
He has 30 spline 10 bolts. They are plenty strong for his needs.

With 200K on the clock i would be putting money into my truck replacing worn parts and have a fund set away for break downs or possible engine rebuild, rather than HD axles.
A good trans cooler is a must have!!! if you want your new tranny to last.
Headers and exhaust is always a nice upgrade that gives you good bang for the buck.
When was the last time ALL the fluids were changed from front to rear? Drive train components were inspected?
Major tune up?
Sometimes the best upgrade you can do is maintenance if you need your truck to be reliable for all around DD use.
All the 1 ton axles in the world wont do you a bit of good if your truck is broke down and you have no money to fix it.
 
Thunder - its all a matter of opinion on the axles. I agree leaving the front axle the way it is is fine. BUT he said he wanted to upgrade, and a six lug SF 14 bolt is dirt cheap, direct bolt in, and wayyyyyyyy stronger than his 10 bolt.

I wheel 10 bolts with 33's currently, and its one of the reasons i dont push myself as hard as id like to, fear of breaking an axle and being stranded holds me back. If i werent going H1 beadlocks and K30 axles, a SF 14 bolt is the way i personally would have gone. helluva lot cheaper for sure. I sure dont think he needs 1 ton, or 8 lug gear though.

100% on the same page with paragraph 2 though.
 
K5dreamer said:
, and a six lug SF 14 bolt is dirt cheap,.
Click to expand...


going to have to disagree here... Where are these dirt cheap SF14s? As much as I love them, the 6lug 14 bolts are kind of a rare bird. They typically bring twice the sum that a good FF14 will. Might be cheaper in the long run if all you buy is the axle...

I have only found one in a wrecking yard over the years. I have always been able to make a few calls and find one local, but you are not going to like the price. I have a couple people in the business that would GIVE me a FF if I asked. Hard to find a SF 6 under 500 bucks.
 
I'm guessing 3.42's for gearing. I would look at doing a 3/4 ton swap with 4.10's . They are cheaper than most shop done gear swaps and you will get extra beef on rear end. also lower gears will help your trans live a little longer.



just my 2 cents
 
agree w/jms...i did the 1 ton swap on my 90 because i had the money & wanted to build it ONE time...i wheeled my 86 on 35's & 1/2 tons lightly n snapped 2 u-joints n 2wd...swapped my 1 tons over to my 86 & am puttin a new motor & several upgrades into it now...i dont plan to run bigger than 36's so mine is OVERKILL but i dont have to worry about breakage...that should be a major concern, not havin money when it breaks...ive waited since last june to wheel my my one ton equipped ride & its finally coming around...the yhing ive missed most is just being able to go riding in it...jus my .02
 
Thunder said:
With 200K on the clock i would be putting money into my truck replacing worn parts and have a fund set away for break downs or possible engine rebuild, rather than HD axles.
A good trans cooler is a must have!!! if you want your new tranny to last.
Headers and exhaust is always a nice upgrade that gives you good bang for the buck.
When was the last time ALL the fluids were changed from front to rear? Drive train components were inspected?
Major tune up?
Sometimes the best upgrade you can do is maintenance if you need your truck to be reliable for all around DD use.
All the 1 ton axles in the world wont do you a bit of good if your truck is broke down and you have no money to fix it.
Click to expand...



The last time I did a major tune up was about a year and a half ago. Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, etc. As for the drivetrain components, my dad and I went over them when we put the lift in (2 months ago), so that's pretty good for the moment.
 
I would swap to 3/4 ton axles. You'll get deeper gears (assuming you have 3.42's) and strength, and it is cheap. I have no respect at all for 10 bolts, 12 bolts, or 14 bolt semi floaters.

Martin
 
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