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It's normal for my 86 Blazer to be slow right lol

wilpetty

wilpetty

1/2 ton status
Joined
Oct 14, 2012
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Location
Arlington, Tx
I put in a rebuilt 350...Thought it would have more pep than it does. I floor it and it will put you back a little but on the highway I am slammed on the gas to speed up. I was kind of worried until I saw that the 86 350 had 165 or 185 HP. Im not worried about power as long it is normal for it to be slow
 
Lower gears in Diffies will help a bunch. If your stock most likely 3.08's = no get up and go with 700r4 and taller tires. 3.73's or even better 4'10's. What size tires ya running?
 
The 80's were plauged with "economy" gears that made a tiny improvement in MPG, that came with a big hit on performance (some even got 2.73 - oh the humanity!). Going from 3.08s to 4.10s feels like a big block swap.

Also, a couple of common issues that can give you a lot of missing power back for free/cheap:
-The throttle/carb linkages can get stuck or messed up. Cycle it by and and make sure the secondaries open (the throttle blades under the carb, not the top air horn flappers). The choke has to pull off correctly and release the lock-out on the secondaries. When you get your secondaries working for the first time it is a fun difference.

-The mechanical timing advance comes with a lame curve (were they expecting you to run 75 octane gas?) and often stops working altogether. The distributor is exposed to engine oil fumes and this tends to coat the mechanism over time. Pull the cap and make sure the weights move easily with the rotor and "snap back" right away. You can get a curve kit at any local parts store for a few bucks. Go down a step or two in springs and feel the midrange torque wake up. Of course make sure the base timing is right, too.

Maybe you've dealt with this stuff already, but it's common to just re-use the dizzy and carb with an engine rebuild and this simple stuff can get missed.
 
I remember as a kid a guy down the street bought a new fully loaded '86 K5. The thing was beautiful but an absolute turd. Carb'd and emissions choked 305 w/ 3.08 gears. Really funny thinking back when his son bought a used '87 or so S-10 Blazer with a TBI 2.8L V-6 (a turd in it's own right) and talking about how "peppy" it was compared to his K5. If you didn't grow up driving mid-80's era cars you really don't appreciate the power that new vehicles have.
 
Well guys I'm thinkin I have 2.73's because its a turd hahaha. Great info that I am going to checkout. Yeah I reused my carb which is a 4 barrel but it may be from the factory IDK. Gives me more stuff to look forward to. How much are gears? I know for my mustang they were going to run me like 400-500 installed
 
That's a decent price, but don't forget, you have two sets to replace now. It's cheaper to get some used axles with better gears, and easier in my opinion.
 
xenomarine said:
That's a decent price, but don't forget, you have two sets to replace now. It's cheaper to get some used axles with better gears, and easier in my opinion.
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Definitely. I got a set of 3/4 tons with 4.10 gears from a wheeler who was upgrading for $150 that were missing front driveshafts. Even with new seals, bearings, brake parts, u-joints and the time to freshen them up, still came out way ahead over a gear swap, even if I were to buy the parts and do it myself.
 
Well I am out of my league when it comes to new axles so I will do my research and try not to get ripped off
 
Shop labor for an axle swap may be less than labor for a gear change. You will have over $500 just in parts for the gear swap. If you can find a CK5 member near you they may be able to help with an axle swap.
 
It will be down the line before I do this so I will have plenty of time. I have a checklist I already made lastnight of to do's for next week
 
Yea my 85 c30 with a worn out 454 and 4.11 gears has better acceleration than my 95 1500 4x4 with I think 3.73 gears. But my c30 will only do 55, but it gets there in a hurry lol.

I need a 5 speed
 
What size tires would be ideal for use with 4.10s? I was thinking of installing 35s or 36s. Thanks for the help!
 
wondering what my 87 has in it. 350 for sure, gears? i dunno, ill have to google it. its not fast thats for sure, but sure as hell faster than my s10 04 blazer with the 4.3 vortec :woot:
 
If I do upgrade, will 4.10's still let me cruise at 70 with a safe rpm that won't hurt the motor? The truck has 33x12.5 mud terrains on there btw. I will be doing a lot of highway driving for the truck to pull the boat or the hour and a half drive to the deer lease, so this is a concern for me.
 
wilpetty said:
If I do upgrade, will 4.10's still let me cruise at 70 with a safe rpm that won't hurt the motor? The truck has 33x12.5 mud terrains on there btw. I will be doing a lot of highway driving for the truck to pull the boat or the hour and a half drive to the deer lease, so this is a concern for me.
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Try this; http://www.grimmjeeper.com/gears.html
 
Mine has 33s and 4.10s with overdrive. It cruises at 1900 or so. Won't hurt the motor at all and even in drive it isn't that much like 2500. Rpms really don't kill motors it just wears them out faster. Yes 8k is too much but 3500 or so won't hurt it. I wish I would have went 4.56s
 
Just for reference, I should only put it in O/D when I plan on going highway right? IDK the difference really
 
I put mine in OD when I leave the driveway. The only time I take it out is if I am pulling or something and it is in and out, in and out.
 
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