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WTF makes my radiator insist on falling out when my core support is trash??

L

laketex

3/4 ton status
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Feb 17, 2000
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North Texas
Ok, maybe it's just withdrawls from the dodge, but I'm starting to rethink this whole K5 as a daily driver thing. I mean, there's no pickup bed to haul my chit, it's way more squirrely on the road, and there's always little things going wrong at the most inopportune times. Who has a K5 as a DD, why do you like or dislike it, and how do you cope with not having a pickup???

Btw, this truck is pretty well set up, and with my already budgeted 35" mtrs, detroit, and new rear springs, it would be better, but i'm wondering if i should spend the cash or buy something more normal. Yeah the old doubts bug strikes again.
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

you have a blazer so you can realize that you really are cool...heh, if you pull the rear seat and roll bar you can haul stuff WITHOUT it getting wet...and the only reason little things are going wrong is because its probably older than whatever you were driving before and is going to need some work as it ages...oh and "because chicks dig it"
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

the only time i wanted a truck instead of a k5 is when i had to haul my bike (trailer gone, and no hitch). I took off the top off, folded up the rear seat and through it in. i got half way there and it started to rain /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif, but at least it was fun
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

mine is a dd on 40s /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif, it does suck sometimes but untill i can find and rebuild a 1st gen its going to have to do, i have a 02 2500 though for the occasions i need a pick up bed /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

Yep, see you have a backup plan. All I have is the K5. The wife has a prism, but she works in the city so the car is gone all day. When the K5's down, i'm pretty much faucked.

As for picking up chicks, I'd say that's a pretty much non issue...Keeping the one I already have however is very important!
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

you COULD go get a K10 and put all your stuff on it... Is your sway bar hooked up? How is your steering hooked up? Steering stablizer? shocks? I would think all that would help it drive more "normal"
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

wanna' buy an 87 2wd as a DD, or even an old 83 bonneville /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

Mine is a DD and our "family car". You just can't beat being able to have 4 passengers. I don't think you have kids yet, but we went camping a couple of weeks ago and it stormed so bad. We flipped the rear seat forward in hubby's Jimmy and all 3 kids slept in the back. Plus how nice it feels on a summer night to put the soft top down and take the long way to and from work /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif or pile everyone in and take a cruise. Get a utility trailer to haul your "chit". My truck has had plenty of issues but now it's quite dependable! And I don't owe anything on it! And because I spent very little to buy it, I'm not afraid to scratch it in the woods.
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

$hit happens! I've had a blazer for a DD for the last 6years and have had one in the family since I was less than 6 months old. I would not know what to do without a couple /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif's in the driveway. I started college with a dodge pickup, which was cool but it was a log wagon and a PITA to park, two passenger vehicle. Traded it in for my first K5 (families 3rd). Loved it. Even though its mainly me, anytime I wanted/needed to I could pickup people and some gear and everyone be pretty comfortable (in college it bacame the taxi of choice).
When the folks bought their 97 Yukon (2dr so it was blazer like vehicle #4), dad traded me my good condition carbed 83 K5 for his 87 TBI K5 that ran perfect (and still does) but needed serious body work but it was EFI. You've seen my DD and with the work in it I can't wheel it (I need something to get around! And it does that well too!), so I bought /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif #5 for a project truck!
Lets recap
/forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif78 2wd 305 blazer (it will always be my favortie because I grew up in that truck!)
/forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif83 4wd blazer (my first personally own and licenced blazer)
/forums/images/graemlins/k5.gifthe folks 97 yukon
/forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif87 4wd blazer (from the time I was 9, till in 98 it became mine it has always been the daily driver! 180K miles to prove it)
/forums/images/graemlins/k5.gifI liked it so much I bought another one for play!
Can't beat it, 25 and have/had 5 blazers, what would life be like without the /forums/images/graemlins/k5.gif............... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
(in that time span we've sold a camaro, an s-10, the dodge pickup, we still have the 93 pickup and a feiro GT, but the (edit- SOME of the) good things never change!) /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

Damn, it is scary because you and I think very much alike!!!! I have been pondering selling off everything and building Emmett into a DD/part-time wheeler. Pretty much set it up decently(which it pretty much already is) and throw some 33's or 35's on it and use that everyday and as my only vehicle. YEs I do have a 94 Probe GT and a 89 p/u, not to mention the 86 K5, but I am looking to thin the herd drastically...

I am mainly worried about the dependability of the the Jimmy... If I went this route I could avoid a car payment and be very happy! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

swell...I just got a call from ABF freight lines and it seems that the cc order i put into 4wpw finally went through. I dont know if I'm excited or not. On one hand, I got the 35" MTR's and detroit I've been wanting, but on the other I thought that order was held up and I still had time to decide on what to do with the damn K5. ARGH...guess I'll be building it, crossing my fingers, and hoping for the best. I just dont think i can even cram my mountain bikes into this dang thing. ARGH. Did I mention ARGH???? /forums/images/graemlins/eek.gif
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

You can just give me them 35's and Detroit if you don't want them /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

You have a soft top if I recall.... can't you fold it down, flip the back seat or take it out, and put 2 bikes back there? I'm almost certain they'd fit.
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

I think the key to having a modded (word?) K5 as a daily is to define your exact needs and wants and then use your own creativity and imagination to help achieve that.

Mountain bikes don't fit (easily anyways) build or buy a rack for the receiever hitch.

Build some quick disconnects and slides for the rear seat 'a la' mini van. Something where removal is much easier for when you need all the room in the bed.

It should actually handle pretty good on 35" MT/R's, but if it's not quite where it should be it might be time to look into why.

Lastly, the more purposes a vehicle has the the more trade off's there will be. So to a certain extent you're gonna have to put up with minor short comings and accept them as poart of the deal.

I'd love the luxury of a single purpose vehicle for everything I do too...not gonna happen so I'll make do with a couple of versatile vehicles instead. The most useless vehicle I own is the DD right now. It does one thing well, gets me to work without bleeding me dry for fuel. Aside from that it's useless. Can't fit anything more than some hand tools in the trunk, it's ugly in a bad way and it has no redeeming off road performance to speak of.

Until recently I had been driving my Jimmy daily. Even on 39.5 TSL's I still considered it to be a good daily driver...but I'm very used to everything about the truck. Getting in it is like putting on an old comfy pair of shoes.

Stop second guessing yourself...you have a plan so stick with it and make it work.

Rene
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

You DO have a pickup, it's just a really really shortbed model. Take the backseat out, and use what's back there. I ran mine like that for 4 years. I've hauled treelimbs, burn barrels, a motorcycle, 2 riding lawnmowers, tillers, etc. in the back of mine at different times. I'll try and get some new pics of mine up in a few days to give you an idea of how you can make it a USEFUL toy/junk hauler.

As for it breaking down at the most inoportune time, BELIEVE ME I know that. The trick is to just stay up on the maint. and turn the radio off. If you here something acting funny, find it and fix it before it get's bad. The MTR's will help, as will the detroit. It will help settle it down some. Mine's a DD with no heater, no AC, softop, no swaybars and 36" swampers AND I'M A SALESMAN for computer software. Not your average salesman ride, but I love it. There are days when I want to get something else to drive, and someday I will, but until then, I keep pluggin along with my Blazer.

Keep driving it and for GAWDS sake, keep a vehicle long enough to fall in love with it. Your about as wishy washy on your trucks as J-Lo is with her boyfriends /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

[ QUOTE ]

Keep driving it and for GAWDS sake, keep a vehicle long enough to fall in love with it. Your about as wishy washy on your trucks as J-Lo is with her boyfriends /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

/forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

Wheres Dan to biotch slap your punk @$$ for even thinking about selling it. @#%&* Why I 'auta - riff raff calaback rack a lattle... /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

Talk about the king bitch slap *hanging head humbly*


Well I unloaded 5 mtr's and a detroit out of the freight truck and gotta say i like them. Maybe they'll tame it down a little with the detroit. Welded on 14.5" wide sucks.
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

I realized pretty quickly that it's pretty hard to keep a trail-ready K5 as a daily driver. The biggest problem I always faced was worrying about breaking it on the trail and not being able to get to work on Monday. Also, whenever I wanted to do some modifications I absolutely had to have it back together and driveable quickly, so if anything went wrong I was pretty screwed.

One option for hauling stuff around would be to buy or build a small single axle trailer. Even though my dad has a pickup, he uses the small trailer all of the time to haul stuff because it's a lot easier to load heavy items on (tilt bed), but small enough you can stand it on end in the garage to get it out of the way.
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

I use my 83 K5 as a quasi-DD, shared with a 98 Wrangler. I don't really have any issue with it, although, as you say, it is slightly squirrely with the big tires. The main drawback is that it's no good for road trips. The thing just doesn't like going much over 55 due to noise, high RPM's, and bad gas mileage. Of course, that's the same for a Jeep. You have to make these trade-offs. If you want a luxury car, a K5 is not it, especially when it's jacked up with big tires (and headers, no carpet, no overdrive, low gears, etc. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif).

I think my Silverado was pretty cushy until I turned it into a truck. With the rear seat ripped out and Line-X in place of carpet, the K5 is a pretty capably truck. No worse than a pickup with a topper anyway.

Maybe you're just getting old! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: Remind me why do I have a blazer again?

OK... lemme change this story drastically from this point forward. What Bryan is whining about is the fact that his CURRENT SETUP has sh!tty Mickeys on it, a welded rear end, and a core support that is all cracked up which refuses to secure his radiator for him.

The welded rear diff adds SO MUCH instability to the truck its not even funny. Any truck that only has 18psi in the tires is going to feel wobbly too. And the ONLY way this truck has ever wronged Bryan, is by the damn radiator falling out of the stock hold downs.

I for one, am VERY CERTAIN that once he gets the nice new MT/Rson, the detroit installed and the friggin radiator perminantly in place... his truck will treat him well.

Neil-

You aren't kidding. I think Bryan does need the "king bitch slap" later on... he's loosing his mind. Although... he is really coming into some serious changes after selling the 02 Dodge. Obviously we are dealing with an entirly different class of vehicle here... but I think he will really like it once we can convince the radiator to STOP FALLING OUT! /forums/images/graemlins/angryfire.gif /forums/images/graemlins/angryfire.gif /forums/images/graemlins/angryfire.gif

This thread should have been titled:

/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif WTF makes my radiator insist on falling out when my core support is trash??? /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Stick with it bud... we'll get it going. /forums/images/graemlins/usaflag.gif

-Dan
 
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