The yeti build thread.

[W7NB]

Well, since everyone seems to have a build thread to chronical the metamorphasis of their chariot (Pix oh their ride for the low brow crowd) I thought I would get one started too.

First off, I bought my Blazer in September 06 for the princely sum of $1250 at auction. It was a former parks police rig with 230K miles, a welded in radio console and no back seat. It also had no back glass or window gear in the back tailgate and had 4 rotten tires. It also had saggy but and a few other problems to address, but since it came from Spokane it had ZERO rust. I mean none at all.

So after reshoding with a set of 33/12.5/15s and some decent rims I got the 4X4 bug again and off I go.

By the way, my daugter and her boyfriend named the blazer Yeti - big whit northern animal with a bad attitude. Wife just wanted to call it "Big white thing" but got voted down.

First major project was installed because I was tired of having to go around jeeps

First off, the stock beginning;

Bumper off;

Here's the Warn Classic bumper I scored for $100 that only needed steel wool and buffing to look like this;

And the finished product. Note the ride height here, as I had added 2 inch blocks in back to get rid of the sag;



So after getting to this point I went and did some serious wheeling. Score rests at Yeti 5, and the 3 Jeeps, Bronco, and Olds Bravada zero. And yes, someone thought you could wheel a Bravada

Discovered the 33's did too much rubbing and flex was kinda cruddy, which leads to the next project.

 

[W7NB]

I also gernaded the Detroit Locker in the rear end comming out of a gravel pit a little too hard. I think the case was already cracked and getting air and hitting with them spinning finished the job. Plus, the 3.08 gears HAD to go. So the next project turned into upgraded 10 bolts with lockers on both ends. Now that may seem stupid to some folks, but remember I'm planning to stick with 33's so I can tow my boat with this. Reason for the new axles was I got the pair with 3.55's for $100. Can't even buy a gear install kit for that.

So, I rebuilt both axles. As in all new bearings, seals, all new brake parts, u-joints, plus Lock Rights on both ends. So this weekend I started installing the axles and a 4" Rough Country lift kit with new springs on all 4.

So here's a comparison of the old springs and the new;
Rears

And fronts...


So now it's off with the old - you can also see the front axle waiting to go on;


The old springs and 2 inch blocks;


And Rick with air tools!


Too be continued...

 

[k5onswampers]

Looks good and awsome deal on the bumper. Can't wait to see some picks with the new lift.

 

[W7NB]

So, on with the lift and swap.

Here is the rear done. Upgraded axle with locker, brakes bled and driveshft on. Worked well enough to turn around to get access to the front end!

Here's my alternative to WD-40 for frozen U-Bolts

And the front goes free!


So here she sits all lonely minus the front end. Rough Country sent the bushing kit for 73-87 instead of 90, but they were super cool and are paying for the express shipping on the right ones plus the extended break lines I ordered.

And no, the 2X12 up front is NOT holding up the truck! I just use it to eliminate the side to side motion on the jackstands!


And here is the mess while I wait. In the mean time I'm replacing the sway bar bushings and the front drive u-joints, so the time is not waste


Pics of the new axle going in Thursday!

If anybody want's the urathane bushings for a 73-87 front spring set you can have them for the cost of shipping.

 

[chevy wrangler]

nice rig its gonna be sweet

 

[Blue90]

Very nice. cant wait to see the finished product.

 

[BigEasy]

If anybody want's the urathane bushings for a 73-87 front spring set you can have them for the cost of shipping.

My friend could use these. Let me know how you want payment or I could pick them up from you in about 2 weeks.

This is the 4th Rough Country order I've heard of between my friends & myself, with 3 of the orders being screwed up. You'd think those guys could read a purchase order and drop the right parts into the box before shipping.

 

[W7NB]

Note to everybody. The bushings are gone. Glad to see them go to good use!

They didn't seem surprised at the goof, but were cool about fixing it. I guess the number of 88-91's is a minority so they sent the 73-87 stuff by habbit. The rest of the parts look pretty decent - I'lll just have to wait till I get it finished to see how it sits and how the ride is.

 

[W7NB]

The project continues!

So, The new bushings and break lines showed up Wednesday, but I really did not have time to work on the truck till last night. I had already set up an appointment to get the front end aligned this afternoon, so it was scramble time to get Yeti drivable.

So, started last night with nothing but this;

And got almost finished before I discovered the 90 front break calipers I had would not fit the 86 backing plates I was using. Course thet was AFTER the local car parts place closed. Ok, no problem, I'll mount the driveshafts and do a crude alignment job so I don't chew up the new rubber on the way to the alignment shop.

Crud. The exaust crossover is too high for the front driveshaft to fit. It won't drop down far enough to bolt on to the front axle at full droop even with the sway bar on. So now I have TWO things to do before the alignment!

So this morning I was up bright and early to be on the doorstep of our parts store. Grab the calipers, bolt em on and bleed them. Get to this point


And discover my right caliper is leaking. OK, Back to the parts store for a replacement. Here's the new setup from the front before the final tire mount.

When I got home I mounted the other caliper and bled again. Pedal still a tad mushy, but I'll deal with that later as I need to get to the exaust shop. On the way I notice a fairly obvious shudder from 25-35 mph that starts to calm down at higher speeds but is still there. Does anybody think this driveshaft is too short now?

So guy at local exahust shop wants to do duals later - perhaps I will when the wallet recovers. In the mean time we come up with this for a temporary fix;

It will probably get wacked at some point but that will be my motivation to do duals. OK, so off to the alignment shop.

 

[W7NB]

Hurrah! Finished... For now!

So, here is the before and after:





Wow! What a difference! Makes the 33's look small. Hmm... 35's in the future? I still have some minor issues to work out, but overall I'm happy. Yes, I have butt sag but that was with all my gear in back. I think I may go ahead and throw my zero rates back under the rear end next time we have good weather. Oh, and the wife HAS to have a step to get in now

I was a little worried when I wen to pull it out of the garage, as it cleasred by about 1 1/2 inches. My buddy was laughing as I slid out.

I'll post a list of what has been done to date, from who, where, and how much when I have time this evening.

 

[k5onswampers]

I just had the same problem with my drive shaft and i had it extended 1 3/4" and it still has the vibe it is better but still pretty bad so now I have to do the SYE so you might want to look into a SYE if you drive it alot.

 

[W7NB]

I may have to do the SYE on this, although I put the wedge in to cut down on the driveline angle. I plan to take the truck over to the driveline shop next week and have them look at what it will take to straighten it out. If they come up with somthing cool I will post it.

 

[gmc4cw]

the spacers you used for the t-case drop are no good. they will eventually tear through the frame. either replace them with one solid peice or remove them when you get a new rear shaft. removing them will make the angles on the front shaft better.

the blazer looks good. you got a heck of a deal on the bumper.

instead of a block in the rear try a 2.5" shackle flip and remove the overload spring. it doesn't do anything on a spring with that much arch.

 

[BigEasy]

Looks good! I'm in the same situation with my exhaust crossover, only about 1/4" clearance. What exhaust shop did you go to and were you happy with their work?

 

[TexasBlazerBoy]

Rig looks great. Get some 35'....you know you want tooooooooooo

 

[W7NB]

Rig looks great. Get some 35'....you know you want tooooooooooo

Thanks! I just bought the 33's in November, otherwise...

The spacers you used for the t-case drop are no good. they will eventually tear through the frame. either replace them with one solid peice or remove them when you get a new rear shaft. removing them will make the angles on the front shaft better.

Yeah, Those are actually the factory spacers, I just flipped them the other way. If I decide to leave the case lowered I'm planning to get some bar stock and do it properly. Interesting thing is the front shaft seems to be fine, but I have a little wobble in the rear.

 

[W7NB]

The exhaust shop I really like is not open on weekends, so I just went to one I know is open. They struggled a little to fit it up, but did good work.

 

[W7NB]

Guess what I'm doing today.

So after getting the lift done I decided to take care of some driveability issues I have been having - mainly a little bog on mild acceleration and ping on hard throttle takeoffs.

After double checking the compression on the motor (all still 135-140 range) and vacume check (Thanks for the reminder rfguitar) which was a solid 28-30 at idle I started going through the obvious. I replaced the O2 sensor, PCV valve, EGR valve. Set timing, gapped and installed new AC plugs and installed new wires. Replaced cap, rotor and wires. Installed new fuel filter.

Driving afterwards showed a fair amount of improvement - both the hesitation and ping were lessened considerably, but are still there. After reading the shop manual and several of the threads here and in the TBI section I decided the throttle body was next.

Watching the injectors at idle showed some drips that would run down the
sides of the bowls, and at 1500 RPM the patterns were note concentric - would be oblong or half round at times and still the occasional drip. AH HA methinks - either fuel pressure or dirty injectors.

So some study on the issue leads me to consider rebuilding the throttle body and get a set of reman injectors. However, while cruising around ebay I found this.



And since I was going this far I figured I'd add the spacer so here's what I end up with.



So for a total cost of $212 with shipping I have a reman TBI with the spacer. I'm planning to install this after I feed the wife, so I'll post up how it turns out.

 

[W7NB]

UYB's tailgate lives on!

When I bought the Yeti (for a whole $1200) it came with a tailgate that was minus any glass, window motor or any other guts. Looked like the state guys had stripped it and used the parts on another rig.

When I got it home I found a tailgate on Craigslist whith glass and all for $50. Not bad, except it was beat to crap and had some sort of awfull butcher job of a repair - painted unsanded bondo with brush marks is SO special!

Oh, and on top of it looking like crap, I did not have a key to match it so I had to crawl in and use the cab window switch every time I wanted in!


So when UYB had his manual tailgate for sale I had to run grab it last weekend. I had time to install it today so here it is complete!




Tomorrow, zero rates and driveline vibration fix!

 

[hunterguy86]

That is a sharp looking truck man. Keep up the good work.