Blazer Forum - Chevy Blazer Forums - Christine's mild 2" suspension lift

So I came across my notes from the lift I have done (Sept. 2016) that is arguably a relatively mild/conservative one. I thought I'd post it here in case anyone else might find it useful:

Parts swapped/installed and modifications done:

Upper control arms: stock replaced with Rough Country upper control arms from their 2.5" lift.
- Reason: wanted better angle for upper ball joints.
- These required no modification of the shock absorber mount as is necessary with the Superlift upper control arms.
- Ball joints used in RC control arms: MOOG K6540
- These are the same BJs used on Chevrolet Silverado 1500s, 1999-2006.
Lower Ball joints: MOOG K5335
- not really part of a suspension lift but they needed to be replaced.
Front Shocks: Superlift Superide Shock Absorbers 85070 with boots,
- These are about 2" longer than stock which will put them at about the center of their travel with the lift.
Raised torsion bar about 1.5" at adjustment bolts
Rear Shackles for 2" lift (RTZTech)
Shock mount extenders (for rear shocks) 2" long
- The ZW7 suspension has special softer springs that go with the special self-leveling shocks for which there are no versions with longer lengths
  "Premium Smooth Ride: indicated by the RPO code ZW7. This suspension uses a conventional suspension in the front, but the rear uses a self-contained, self-leveling Nivomat shock in the rear. ZW7 equipped trucks come with a softer spring in the rear since the Nivomat self-leveling system does some of the work of holding the truck up. Replacing a ZW7 Nivomat unit with a standard shock requires also replacing the spring, otherwise the truck will sag in the rear and have a much harsher ride and potentially dangerous handling." (https://www.shockwarehouse.com/news/...on-decoder.cfm)
Tires: Kumho 30X9.50R15LT C ROAD VENTURE AT51
- I had 31x10.5R15s test installed but they rubbed the truck frame when the steering wheel was hard over.
- Also 31's require a bit of trimming of the fenders.

Other suspension work done or might do:

Replaced idler arm about 12 months after lift work done with Moog part but will wait and watch. If necessary I will install the 1-ton idler arm upgrade.
Install a steering arm stabilizer? (Installed 9-2018, Rough Country brand)

Hiccups:

I did have the inner seal of the right side front axle of my inner CV boot separate.
- To put it back on, after packing it with more grease, I had to lower the suspension and then secure it with a hose-clamp. After it was secure I then raised the suspension height again.
- So far, after a couple months, so good. I'll be watching it and listening for any problems. (update 9-2018, still looking good)
- As far as I can tell it is the original shaft. Perhaps a new boot would not have separated.
The idler arm might or might have gone bad (it had vertical motion) due to the lift but I don't know. I'll be watching it. (see above)
In Oct. of 2018, I replaced the left hand side front axle output seal due to leaking of front axle oil from it. This could have been simply due to regular wear but it could also be related to the larger angles on the CV joints. At the same time I noticed that the inner lip of the inner CV boot on the left front axle was close to coming off. Because of clearance issues, a regular hose clamp could not secure the boot in place like I was able to to on the other side. Perhaps a shop could have installed a new band that would keep the boot in place but because of a time crunch, I installed a new axle instead. Also the new CV boots were more flexible than the OE ones. The stiffness of the OE ones, especially at this age, makes them more susceptible to slipping off.
Oct. 2018: The left upper ball joint had gone bad due to it being sealed and all of the grease in it becoming contaminated. It allowed for vertical travel. The upper ball joint on the drivers side was still fine. Both were replaced with Moog greaseable ball joints.

Things I would have done differently:

Replace the inner CV boots with the newer style neoprene boots. This would have prevented the OEM boots from slipping off. It is not very hard to replace these (at least the inner ones) and they are easy to get to with the front end all apart.
Record before and after measurements and take before and after pictures.

Useful link that I used for inspiration: https://www.s10forum.com/threads/how...n-lift.439391/

These modifications were all bolt on and intended to give me a bit more peace-of-mind when off-pavement. I'm not very aggressive with my off-roading so for me I think this is a good fit.