New to the forum had a K5 about 12 years ago sold it and have missed it every since. I had a 85 K5 with 6 inch suspension and 2 inch body with 39's fully restored. I was in high school it was my pride in joy. Due to unfortunate circumstances I had to sell it. Well the time has come again to build another one to share with my boys and show them the wonders off wheeling and spending father son time together. The problem that I have is I am currently stationed in Japan and have 18 months left. So the build will be completed by my father and grandfather. They are both avid gear heads so I am not worried how the work will turn out, but I want to do this one right. I am open to all suggestions. My current plan is to do a 6 inch lift, 1 ton axles with 4.56 or 4.88's, 37's, new springs all the way around, and rebuild the whole drivetrain. It has been 12 years since I have touched a blazer so I am a little rusty. Any recommendations to improve the build and make it the best as possible please let me know. I have 18 months so I have time to do it right. My goal is to turn the key once I get home from Japan. Thanks for any recommendations.
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.
Need Help!!! Stationed overseas and Need advice on future build!!!
- Thread starter vanman691
- Start date
Depending on how you really want to use your truck (more aggresive offroad or just mountain driving), I would go with a 4" lift and then cut the fenders to fit the 37's. 6" springs really dont flex very well. Sure they will give you enough lift to not have to trim too much fender, but that will put your center of gravity a lot higher. Overall I think 4 inches is a better balenced lift, and as long as you take your time and look at pictures of other guys doing it, you can cut the fenders and make them look good still, not hacked up.
That being said, I would probably do 4" shackle flip in the rear from either Offroad Designs or DIY4x, and then just 4" lift springs in the front. Shackle flip has better ride quality and better flex. You could go 52" springs in the front for pretty cheap but if you plan to drive it on the road at all, probably just stick with 4" lift springs. Also, ORD makes custom springs for the front that flex really well but still drive down the road like a lift spring, they are pretty pricey though, so that would depend on your budget.
Then, going with 37's you might want to think about upgrading the axles. Once again, depending on how agressive you want to get, either pick up some 1 tons (dana 60 and 14 bolt full floater), or just get some 3/4 ton axles (8 lug 10 bolt or dana 44 front, and 14bff or 14 bolt semi float rear). The 3/4 ton's can be found for pretty cheap and I think are a great option and starting point. If you decide to go 1 tons, the d60 will be where the money comes in.
This was probably more than you wanted, so my bad
. Feel free to ask more questions as they come up 
That being said, I would probably do 4" shackle flip in the rear from either Offroad Designs or DIY4x, and then just 4" lift springs in the front. Shackle flip has better ride quality and better flex. You could go 52" springs in the front for pretty cheap but if you plan to drive it on the road at all, probably just stick with 4" lift springs. Also, ORD makes custom springs for the front that flex really well but still drive down the road like a lift spring, they are pretty pricey though, so that would depend on your budget.
Then, going with 37's you might want to think about upgrading the axles. Once again, depending on how agressive you want to get, either pick up some 1 tons (dana 60 and 14 bolt full floater), or just get some 3/4 ton axles (8 lug 10 bolt or dana 44 front, and 14bff or 14 bolt semi float rear). The 3/4 ton's can be found for pretty cheap and I think are a great option and starting point. If you decide to go 1 tons, the d60 will be where the money comes in.
This was probably more than you wanted, so my bad
. Feel free to ask more questions as they come up 
Ord springs go down the road 100 times better than any other lift spring.
My rear tuff country springs are still a very nice ride, not much difference from stock.
Don't cheap out on springs.
My rear tuff country springs are still a very nice ride, not much difference from stock.
Don't cheap out on springs.
This times a billion the spring is one thing that affects every other aspect of the truck. Not something that gets replaces often I would call ord and discuss your options with them.
I second the "stick to 4 inch springs" statement. They are just light years better than a 6" spring setup. Even better if you go ORD front /shackle flip rear.
If you really want the 6" setup, I would go 4" lift + zero rates + 1" ORD body lift. Boom - 6" with the softer 4" springs.
If you really want the 6" setup, I would go 4" lift + zero rates + 1" ORD body lift. Boom - 6" with the softer 4" springs.
Agreed. Good idea if you are set on 6". Plus, get's rid of the crappy original body mounts.
I really appreciate the feedback. It's amazing what forums have done to the machine world. When I had my old blazer it was reading 4wd mags to get ideas lol. Well from what I seen it seems the 4 inch lift is the money maker with most people. My rig will be a combo of both on road and off I would like to make it as functional as possible on both surfaces lol. The 1 ton upgrade is almost certain. The last blazer had 10 bolts with 3.08's and would barely hit 70 on the interstate. I destroyed the transfer case due to the pitch on the shafts so that's why I am asking all these questions. I don't want to hit that problem again. I am planning on doing the cv shaft in the rear and lengthen the front. Do you guys still recommend that with just a 4 inch I tried to find a couple of build threads with start to finish 1 ton swap, lift, driveshafts fixed, and fender trim but it's been hit or miss. What is this zero rate I keep hearing about? Thanks again for the good responses.
Well the build thread was right in front of my eyes lol. Kay86k5 I like your setup pictures of the shackle flip help a lot. I will definitely be browsing your thread. Your blaze is what I am aiming for it even has the car seat for the extra inspiration. Thanks again from Japan.
GTG thanks. That is one thing I have been paying attention to is the sag in the rear. My old blazer sagged in the rear I want to avoid that if possible.
Good point. I am in the process of reschooling myself on all of this. One other thing I am trying to avoid is the death wobble. I read a few things hear and there about correcting that. Making sure the caster is correct and basically rebuilding the front end and replacing all parts to new. I used to get it real bad with a set of gumbos I had 39's, but my 36x 14.50 mickeys no problem. I had the gumbos rebalanced twice and I still got the DW bad any recommendations on that. Thanks again for the feedback very helpful.
Haha, thanks. Yeah, my oldest son (who is 2) always wants to go for a ride in the Blazer. My youngest son (who is 1...yeah I said 1, they are 14 months apart
) is following right behind too.Very true, the problem that happens there though is that if you go with a longer shackle, it will most likely make your shackle angle horrible (stright up and down). If you look in my thread, you can see when I went with a 6" shackle with normal flip and stock 52's in the rear, and my shackle was straight up and down. It limited travel and the ride sucked. That's why I went with 56's in the rear. That's why most people go with an EZ inch (or Zero rate) to not mess with their shackle angle, but still gain the extra inch.
The biggest thing to do to get rid of DW is going hydro assist. I know there are a lot of guys who have had good luck with a nicer steering stabalizer, and you can get the new spring and bushing kit for a d60 from ORD, but really, hydro assist will be the ends all. My brother (the blue blazer in all my wheeling pics) pretty much had a brand new d60 with new spring and bushing kit, new stabalizer and everything, and he still got DW. We just finished a couple weeks ago the same hydro assist set up as mine (for about $300) and DW is gone, and it steers like a dream now on his 37" MTR's!! If you have any questions about anything, let me know. Would love to help
Last edited:
