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General ChatChat about all things Blazer (and related vehicles). Off-topic stuff should be in the lounge, and all mechanical problems should be posted in the proper forum.
road tripping to South Dakota from Michigan. Iowa has a weird E15 (ethanol) 88 octane fuel.. my guess is since it's between 87 regular and 92 plus, my guess is I can use it, unlike E85? any insights or will I blow something up?
DonL, why the one inch longer shackles for the rear axles? Are you putting in a 1" lift block on the rear?
Question--- when you replace the rear leaf springs with stock size new rear springs, what extra items are you 1./ Definitely should change regardless 2./ Maybe should change if the item shows excessive stress , wear, and tear and 3./ Usually don't need replacing unless damaged in a wreck. I am thinking of the bushing, bolts, shackles as you showed in your photo's, and so on. I am assuming this SUV lived in a salt free environment like Arizona or NM. No winter spreading of salt on the roads.
Many leaf spring catalogs have taken up the Amazon mantra of 'Many buyers also purchased these additional items at the end of the order.'.
DonL, why the one inch longer shackles for the rear axles? Are you putting in a 1" lift block on the rear?
Question--- when you replace the rear leaf springs with stock size new rear springs, what extra items are you 1./ Definitely should change regardless 2./ Maybe should change if the item shows excessive stress , wear, and tear and 3./ Usually don't need replacing unless damaged in a wreck. I am thinking of the bushing, bolts, shackles as you showed in your photo's, and so on. I am assuming this SUV lived in a salt free environment like Arizona or NM. No winter spreading of salt on the roads.
Many leaf spring catalogs have taken up the Amazon mantra of 'Many buyers also purchased these additional items at the end of the order.'.
They are just the ubolt attaching the bottom bracket to the axle/leafs. Calling it a shackle might confuse people.
As for why, when you add leafs to the pack,you don't get as much room. As I already have an add a leaf, and planning on adding a stock leaf in to help with towing and loading it up(I tend to over do, and this will help keep it level), I figure the inch longer will give me more then enough room to play with, and I can always cut shorter...
As for the parts to replace, I would do the bushings, those little round pieces that goes in between the leafs(dont know what they are called), and stock rea leaf brackets tend to hide the wear,give it a nice few taps with a hammer to see if it shows rust through, if they are solid, then good to go, if not. I would see about 2"shackles(will help keep it level when loaded and towing, hot rod stance while empty).
I replaced my rear shocks and upgraded the extensions for them. Because I have a ZW7 suspension that uses self-leveling shocks and matching lower-rate leaf springs, I have to add extenders to the shocks. The write-up is at the link:
DonL, I have never replaced leaf springs, but have read enough to know they were not shackles but 'U' bolts. My AC is temporarily out and in SC it is HOT and I shouldn't even be posting. I will read only and no posting until I get my AC up and running. Thanks for the info on your project. Jim in SC
Just went through a similar issue on mine, though my rotors didnt get trashed out thankfully and i've fixed it since. though my front brakes are also trashed out which i still need to fix lol. The Slide pins i had to beat out with a 24in prybar and a BFH.
I reclaimed the 03 Blazer from my kid(s). Its nasty, it needs first to be detrashed, cleaned and disinfected.. Started the mental list of things to repair. This was the first time I have driven it since I had the engine rebuilt (great experience).. Runs so good its scary!. The fuel gauge no longer works (shows empty), the AC needs to be tuned up (bad seals) the interior needs a LOT of work, the brakes on the rear seem to be making some "hey I'm really worn) noises. The tailgate needs to be gone over and the parts for it found again.. Its black on black so everything just looks terrible-er. I have done a lot of work on this thing over the years.. now I am going to do it for me.
Feel much better wheeling already with the oil pan protected
