1984 K5 Blazer
#141
Launching!
Inland Truck Parts and Service did a good job installing gears in my brothers truck, and they fixed a driveshaft problem I had, due to a crappy job building a new driveshaft from another shop.
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Bgbldodge (05-01-2020)
#142
TECH Fanatic
Thread Starter
Am I missing something here or am I going to be forced to go with a crossover system? I'm gonna have to cut half of the threads off the ends to make them fit and then cut the link between the two in half at least.
Arm is centered. I counted turns and even measured the swing. Axle is an inch forward. Had that built into the new leaf springs. I've only ever had about one and a quarter turns to the left and almost two turns right. The PO said it's been that way. The ORD brace bolts up to the box without much fuss so it should be in the right spot.
I worked with Jesse from ORD on it and after checking a few things I said screw it and bought a crossover kit. With everything I've found done wrong on this truck I wouldn't put it past the PO to have swapped in some box that wasn't the right one for the truck especially since the steering arm that was on here wasn't factory and used a smaller tie rod end than a regular drag link. Truck needed a new box anyways and I needed an excuse to yank the box off and weld in the ORD plate. Crappy part is I still need to measure and bolt in the front shock mounts and shocks but I don't think the truck is at the proper ride height and I need to drive it and bounce it around to get the springs to settle some. This truck better drive and ride like my 2014 does after all of this.
Arm is centered. I counted turns and even measured the swing. Axle is an inch forward. Had that built into the new leaf springs. I've only ever had about one and a quarter turns to the left and almost two turns right. The PO said it's been that way. The ORD brace bolts up to the box without much fuss so it should be in the right spot.
I worked with Jesse from ORD on it and after checking a few things I said screw it and bought a crossover kit. With everything I've found done wrong on this truck I wouldn't put it past the PO to have swapped in some box that wasn't the right one for the truck especially since the steering arm that was on here wasn't factory and used a smaller tie rod end than a regular drag link. Truck needed a new box anyways and I needed an excuse to yank the box off and weld in the ORD plate. Crappy part is I still need to measure and bolt in the front shock mounts and shocks but I don't think the truck is at the proper ride height and I need to drive it and bounce it around to get the springs to settle some. This truck better drive and ride like my 2014 does after all of this.
#144
TECH Veteran
iTrader: (5)
Crossover is the ****. You will be really
happy with that. My Toyota doesn't ride like anything from 2014, but it steers phenomenally!
how much did you pay for this thing? I'm doing knuckles and brakes on my Toyota right now and I feel your frustration to some degree but damn man, like 5 pages and $8k spent and nothing but more problems for you!
happy with that. My Toyota doesn't ride like anything from 2014, but it steers phenomenally!
how much did you pay for this thing? I'm doing knuckles and brakes on my Toyota right now and I feel your frustration to some degree but damn man, like 5 pages and $8k spent and nothing but more problems for you!
#145
TECH Fanatic
Thread Starter
Bought it for $3600 or maybe it was $3800. Less than 4k. I knew going in the troubles I could run across buying someone else's project truck. The rust is one thing and I'm not surprised by that. I had no idea how bad it was mechanically. Kinda crazy considering I drove it a 100 miles round trip and went rock crawling with it and it never gave me an issue. One of those ignorance is bliss kind of situations. Oh well. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't enjoying this. I really enjoy taking old beat up stuff and fixing it up and making it run better than ever. With everything I'm doing to it I'll definitely sleep better and be more confident in it both on the trails and the street.
Not counting the wheels and tires, I've got about $4000 into it with 90% of that being the suspension upgrades. Add the wheels and tires and that's another $2500.
Not counting the wheels and tires, I've got about $4000 into it with 90% of that being the suspension upgrades. Add the wheels and tires and that's another $2500.
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arthursc2 (05-04-2020)
#148
TECH Fanatic
Thread Starter
Little bit of good news. New calipers went on without an issue although I still need to bleed them and ORD is letting me return the drop pitman arm and drag link I bought which will help offset almost half the cost of the crossover steering.
I called O'Reilly's for a reman'd 2wd box and there isn't one in the nation. Seems these are starting to get scarce. So I sucked it up and added on the PSC box that is already ported for hydro assist to my ORD order.
I called O'Reilly's for a reman'd 2wd box and there isn't one in the nation. Seems these are starting to get scarce. So I sucked it up and added on the PSC box that is already ported for hydro assist to my ORD order.
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tjmath (05-04-2020)
#149
TECH Fanatic
Thread Starter
Been under the weather with a head cold (no not corona) so no progress. The new steering box is arriving tomorrow and the crossover arrives Monday so hopefully by mid next week I'm driving this stupid truck.
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dantheman1540 (05-08-2020),
tjmath (05-08-2020)
#150
TECH Fanatic
Thread Starter
Ok. Now I'm getting mad. Yanked the old steering box off with no issues. Got the crack in the frame welded up and ground down flat. Went to fit the ORD weld on plate on and of course it didn't fit so I had to massage all of that into place. Go to start welding it on and I can't figure out why the damn thing keeps popping and overall acting like crap. Then it just quit. Nothing. No more wire feed, no more welding, nothing. The dang thing died. So now I'm 3 welds into the reinforcement plate and have to either diagnose and fix this thing or buy a new welder. It's a Century 125 110v mig. It was used for a long time before I got it and I've gone through a bunch of wire with it. Probably time to step up to a 220 unit so I can do some heavier work.
What was supposed to be a simple suspension swap has now cost me a complete steering system AND a welder. Stupid truck.
What was supposed to be a simple suspension swap has now cost me a complete steering system AND a welder. Stupid truck.