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Rocco's 77 K5 Blazer - Frame Off 6.2/6L80 Build

Overview Gallery Discussion
Goddamn, I just spent an hour removing the ball joints from the knuckles. It only took 5 minutes once I figured out I was trying to press them out THE WRONG WAY! :confused1: Such a dumbass, and I wasn't even drinking tonight. Good thing I didn't put them in the press and snap the knuckles in half!

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Next up, clean and paint the axle housing and start reassembly and gear setup.
 
Really good work! I’m trying to decide if I wanna pull the cab off of mine and clean it up and paint it, and seeing your pictures has convinced me that this is the way to go :waytogo:
 
K30guy said:
Really good work! I’m trying to decide if I wanna pull the cab off of mine and clean it up and paint it, and seeing your pictures has convinced me that this is the way to go :waytogo:
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Awesome! It's been fun so far, and I'm sure I would have regretted not pulling the cab after getting so close. I still have some anxiety about having the truck torn down to pieces, but it'll get there!
 
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RoccoK5 said:
Awesome! It's been fun so far, and I'm sure I would have regretted not pulling the cab after getting so close. I still have some anxiety about having this thing torn down to pieces, but it'll get there!
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I have just recently started back with my Dana 60 build, and it has motivated me tremendously with the whole project. Good Luck!

spartan install b.jpg

knucks on 2.jpg
 
Cleaned up and painted the 10 bolt housing today. Also installed a new set of spider gears and carrier bearings.

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Hoping to get the gears setup tomorrow. I don't have a good way to measure pinion depth, so I was planning on setting everything up with the old shims to see where things end up and go from there. Any tips on removing the pinion bearing without ruining it if I need to swap out shims? Can I use the old crush sleeve when checking the pattern and backlash and then crush the new one when I've got the measurements where I want them?

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If you have the old bearing and it's in good shape, you can sand out the inside with a small sanding drum or a die grinder bit. Make it slip over the pinion. That is what set-up bearings do.

As far as the crush sleeve, I leave it out until I get everything figured out, then install it and the seal for final assembly.
 
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My .02 cents, and that’s all it is worth...

I’m running a measured 37” tire in a 6000 pound truck. Powered by ZZ6 EFI (good flat torque curve) but smaller displacement than you have
465/203/205 and 4.10s

In a perfect world I’d love “some” more axle gear, but 1 or 2 overdrives for the highway

I’d run 4.56 with that OD
 
Bent77 said:
My .02 cents, and that’s all it is worth...

I’m running a measured 37” tire in a 6000 pound truck. Powered by ZZ6 EFI (good flat torque curve) but smaller displacement than you have
465/203/205 and 4.10s

In a perfect world I’d love “some” more axle gear, but 1 or 2 overdrives for the highway

I’d run 4.56 with that OD
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That's exactly what I said in his other thread.
Yeah he can make the 4.88 or 5.13 work, but the 4.56 will do fine with the 4.03:1 1st gear
 
Looking at this from the wrong side of the trans... gotta get the the highway speed right, rocco said that this will do more street time than crawling... crawl ratio and 1st gear are whatever they are. Worry about the highway side...
 
Justin V said:
Looking at this from the wrong side of the trans... gotta get the the highway speed right, rocco said that this will do more street time than crawling... crawl ratio and 1st gear are whatever they are. Worry about the highway side...
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That's my point, he should be cruising at comfortable rpms and getting good mileage and very little noise
 
Justin V said:
Looking at this from the wrong side of the trans... gotta get the the highway speed right, rocco said that this will do more street time than crawling... crawl ratio and 1st gear are whatever they are. Worry about the highway side...
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This is exactly what I'm shooting for!

imiceman44 said:
That's my point, he should be cruising at comfortable rpms and getting good mileage and very little noise
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...and so is this! I wish I knew for sure that 4.56 would give me the highway manners I am looking for. On paper it seems to makes sense, but TBH I'd rather err on the side of too much gear than not enough, so I ended up going with 5.13s. I hope I don't regret it in the long run, but 2340rpm at 75mph sounds OK to me. I think. :)

Thank to all who contributed thoughts on this and helping me pull the trigger.

Soooo.....I started getting the front 10 bolt setup this evening. Look at this giant pinion gear!

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I turn 2200-2400 on the highway going 75-85 you will be fine. This is with a 6.0 and 4l60e, it turns the same rpm as my stock 05 Tahoe which is why I went with 4.56 and 35's

If you have seen my driving style you will not be disappointed and that low 1st gear is fun. :rotfl:
 
Tonight I finally got some time to start setting up the gears in the 10 bolt. For initial setup I used the old pinion shim and played with the carrier shims until I had backlash within spec (0.006-0.010"). Here's what that the contact pattern looks like so far:

Pinion Shim: 0.035"
Backlash: 0.006"

Drive:
2020-02-23%2019.51.00.jpg


Coast:
2020-02-23%2019.50.37.jpg


Am I right in thinking that the pinion may be too close to the ring gear and that I should decrease the pinion shim thickness slightly? Maybe open up the backlash a bit too? How does this look to you gear setup pros? :)
 
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You are closer than I am at this point lol...

Trying to get my 14 bolt back together and I am proving to myself why there are professionals that do this...

Sorry I can't be of more help...
 
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