So my wife's '98 LS had 60K when we met in 2005. It's now pushing 125K and she desperately wanted to trade it in on a rescue green Jeep wrangler. I don't blame her as the 4WD isn't working, it creaks, rattles, and groans around every turn. Ride is comparable to large sail boat as all the shocks are shot. If she had to manuver quickly to avoid a deer or dumb driver, she'd be S.O.L. I like the blazer, and the fact that it gets 24mpg doesn't hurt either. We talked about trading it in, but no one will give us more than $2000 in trade. Fine, we'll keep her and fix her up, save another car payment...(the chevy's paid for), and invest some money in the ol' truck.

To start with we're covering reliability, and safety issues.The truckas of today has new: radiator, ac condensor, alternator,battery,2 front fenders, hood, front bumper, grill, and headlights. These are the result of a 60mph impactwith a juvenille white-tail. Last week I did 1 front wheel bearing, water pump, and serpentine belt.2 months ago 4 new Goodyear wrangler 235-75-r1's...(50 bux each at wallyworld), coolant hoses, and heater core. At this point, very reliable.On to the fun stuff.

Ordered the power performanceheavy duty front rebuild kit. After pricing the moog components, it didn't seem like much more for the entire kit. Also ordered energy suspensionswaybar bushing kit, and control arm bushing kit. 4 new shocks will top off this phase. As we're planning on a slight 2-3" lift eventually, I wanted thebest components for the front end. The open differential will also have to be"corrected" What good is 4WD if you only have 2 wheels spinning?



http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/inde...ageID=31784440

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/inde...ageID=31784444

 

Pics aren't wanting to post...will try something different. Couldn't get the photo's to post, but I was able to get a link to 'em anyway... lets you see what we're starting with anyhoo.
The 4WD will be fixed at the same time the front end is rebuilt. Wife doesn't like the lack of ground clearance...(country girl at heart!!), and she likes to be able to plow through snow drifts, or drive down mud roads at a whim. I think that a 3" suspension lift will be enough to make her happy..... (prolly the only time a woman would be happy with 3"[:@]). Of course there is still the color issue. She really likes the rescue green on the wranglers. So I guess we'll be getting a quote for spray as well. I hope at that point she'll be happy. I have a feeling the paint is going to cost.....

 

Oh oh, better get Maaco....j/k
Prep it yourself then take it to shop to get it sprayed!!! Local shops around here charge about $200-$300 to paint w/minimal prep work. I'm sure you could find a good deal at a shop near you.

 

Earl Shive says "I'll paint any car for $49.99[:@]" The guys doin the front end also have a paint and body shop. Couple of locals that have been wrenchin' on trucks and building race cars for years. IF i'm lucky, I think I can get the 2" lift done at the same time. Depends on how much time it takes for the other work. We're going to stick to a 2" shackles on the rear and 1" on the T-bars for now. I can sand and do some of the prep work to keep the cost down...but I think that the rescue green metallic paint is going to be pricey....

 

Well, it took alot more time and money than I had originally planned on. I ended up replacing the two front wheel bearing hub assemblies first. Then we went to the shop. First day got the A-arms knocked out, and took apart the entire front end. The boys got the Procomp9000 2" lift shocks in the back. Those shocks are monsters! Saturday, they came in and worked on the front end. Had a hell of a time with the upper A-arm bushings, and we ended up just putting oem in the upper as the metal burned up every time they tried to burn the rubber off. The rest of the front end, and sway bar are all Energy Suspension. Next came the PowerPerformance front end kit. They got the kit on Saturday and Sunday, along with the SynergyOffroad 1.5" lift shackles on the back. New Procomp9000 and yellow boots on the front. I'm telling you, the front end looks bad-a$$. Went ahead and got two new CV shafts for the front...these are guarenteed for life, and a good investment with the T-bar crank. Monday saw the T-Bar crank, and alignment. Took the shop about 3hours to align and level the front. The drivers side was a bear for some reason. The passenger side was only about 1.5 degree's out, so it wasn't bad at all. Next the four wheel drive. Was the activator switch...the one with the little ball bearing looking plug. The plug was bad. $20 part. So as of right now, that's the end of this stage. The blazer rides TIGHT!!! Almost rough, but not quite. Cornering is about a million times better as you can merge right in anywhere with NO body roll. Hopefully it will rain this weekend and we can take 'er for a spin in the mud.
Next stage will be a true locking rearend. We'll prolly leave it at that until its time for tires, and go to 30X9.5X15. Right now tires are only 3 mos old, so it will be a while. WIll post pics as soon as I take 'em, and you can judge the difference a 1.5 lift makes! Total $s Parts: $1300. Labor $900. Rides like we want, so I guess it's worth it....Wifey really likes it.
The shop guys said "remind us to charge the next guy $1400 for doing this"!!!

 

Well, glad you got everything straightened around. Sounds like a lot of $$$ for the parts, but at least it is now safe and comfortable!

 

Here's how she sits this morning. Yeah...I hadn't planned on replacing the cv shafts, but thought, "what the hell"...were doing everything else, right?

 

It's been about 3 weeks since we did the suspension upgrade. The front tires were cupping horribly. The front end was sooo tight that there was no give at all. The tires were taking all the turns on the outside, and felt like it was "sliding" everytime I turned tight or had to back up. Of course you could see that the fronts weren't completely vertical when I got it back, I just assumed that it was as close as they could get. I took the blazer in to a different shop and had it realigned, and the T-bars loosened just a bit. Amazing how much of a difference just a little crank can make. The tire shop that did the original alignment did a crap job. They spent 3 hours on it, and I still chewed at least 15K miles of my new tires in 3 weeks. This last shop did a much better job, even though they aren't as well known as the "Big Name" tire shop that did the original alignment.
I told them what I wanted, and it was a quick and simple operation. "Take a little of the torsion bars and straighten the wheels out properly."
They charged me $52 for the alignment, and it drives 200% smoother. They also informed me that the front end was "way out" when brought in. Now, (in all fairness) I have been down some trails in the last few weeks, but nothing very hard core. Didn't even need 4WD on these...maybe a mile or two all total. Nothing so harsh that would beat the front end out as bad as it was. I think the alignment guy at the first shop just got frustrated working on it and gave up. Which is why I'm going to ask for a refund, to help cover cost on the second alignment. Lesson learned. The T-bar crank CAN be murder on the front tires and front end if not performed correctly. It it doesn't feel like it's riding correctly, it probably isn't.
Good news is that even with the loosening, the front end still looks good. No rake, and it rides alot closer to stock smooth than it was. And the tires are still only about $50 at Wallyworld, so I'll probably just get another pair.

 

Nice to hear that everything is working out for you. I rebuilt my front end this past summer using the same brand parts you did. Still need to swap out the steering stabilizer and put the front sway bar back on (bent one of the brackets way back when and need to straighten it out first).