A1971Blazer
1/2 ton status
The '71 and '72 K5 I had that leaf spring "stop" bracket too...I still have one in my parts heap somewhere I think...
I read somewhere it was supposed to help keep the axle from moving back enough to cause a kickback in the steering...maybe an old Chiltons book I have?..I never understood why they didn't put one on both sides?...
I left mine on one truck,maybe thats why it never stopped in a straight line?..--the other truck I took it off because it only had one bolt that was loose holding it on...
Your engine might have a rats nest or a pile of nut shells in a cylinder,if it sat that long...we started up some engines at the junkyard that sat a long time and some sounded like a bearing was pounding BAD--tearing the heads off revealed a rats nest,nut shells or chunks of carbon that broke off that were getting smashed against the piston & head...some ran fine after removing the offending material!..
I kinda wondered about that because it did sound kinda like a piece of carbon in the cylinder, not really a hard "rod" knock but not a slower, valve-related knock either.
There was a bunch of hickory nut shells around the air filter too. But, I pulled the valve cover off the passenger side and at least one push rod end was mushroomed on the end. The rocker was flopping so I tightened it down some but the knock persisted.
Also poured some ATF thru the carb while it was running, sometimes that will help dislodge and expel carbon chunks.
I also found a bunch of empty oil bottles too when I was cleaning the inside ......not a good sign. There's some, but not a lot of oil around the rear main seal.
I don't know, I ain't gonna tear into the motor right now anyway. I'm gonna start with the body I think. Get it braced up and off the frame. The motor will be a lot easier to work on, or replace then!
--the other truck I took it off because it only had one bolt that was loose holding it on...
