Hello all,

Great forum you have going on here. I'm helping a friend with her 99 S10 Blazer, and have a couple of questions.First some background...

Tires are worn out, they're on the replacement list. Shocks are shot. Rear leafs are sagging, the right one pretty bad. What she wants ideally is to lift it just a little for looks, go with a slightly more agressive tire, slightly bigger if feasible. We'rethinking 31" BFG All Terrains, I had good experience with them in the past and she likes the looks.

SO - I know that if we're going to put 31's on, it's got to leave the ground a little to clear them. Not hot on a body lift at all. My experience with IFSpersuades me that I can crank the TB and get just enough to clear them and not rub, while stiffening upthe ride justenough to take the stock slop out.So, how far is enough? Sounds like maybe 4 turns should do it. Next, how much additional wear doesthis amount of adjustment cause? I've read that ball joints,CV'scan be stressed- are we talking about a little extra wear from the added preload, or are we talking breakage potential? She'll likely only take this thing off roadvery occasionally on light trails, no rockcrawling going on here.

Next - When I replace the rear leaf springs, canwe buy new springs that will accomplisha 1.5-2"lift, or am I stuck with shackles onOEMsprings? Any recommendations on brand vs. ride & wear characteristics?

Lastly, where do I buy the longer travel shocks I'll need?Any recommendations on brand vs. wear, ride, etc? I and others I've known have had good experience with Rancho's in general. Again, we're shooting for a slightly stiffer ride, but still comfortable for it's 95% daily driving duty.

Thanks for reading!

KB in CO

 

Pro Comp makes replacement leaf packs that give a 2 inch lift. Summit Racing carried them in the past. I'm not sure about now. I almost bought them instead of just the add-a-leaf. With those and a t-bar crank I clear some 31" tires on stock rims. I rubbed with a Michilin tire, I forget which model, and I clear just barely with Trail Buster APRs, made by Star.

 

I searched and can't find anything anywhere regarding those lift/replacement leaf springs. ProComp's website is one big confusing peice of crap. Anybody know if/where they can be found? Any comments on wear with the TB crank?

Thanks!

 

There is plenty of information here about wear with TB cranks. Go over 1.5" and you should expect some accelerated wear on the balljoints and CV shafts.

As far as leafs go, if all you are looking to do is a TB crank up front, you should just replace the springs with stock replacements and get lift shackles. That way your ride does not suffer as much.

 

OK - so we're down to OEM leaf springs plus shackles. My question now is, where can you buy oem lef springs? I've only found one place and I've done a lot of searching - never had such a hard time finding such a simple and common part.

Can anybody point me in the right direction? Thanks

 

I think these will fit, but I'm not sure...

 

Thanks for that link. I found one other, about the same price.

What is the difference in the LS and ZR2 package? Would it be feasible to just buy the parts to convert it to a ZR2 suspension? I'm thinkin if it's just taller springs and shocks... I don't know tho - did the ZR2 do something other than cranking the TB for the front? If the rear would be the same, seems like an easy straightforward upgrade.

Also, looks like we'll also be replacing ball joints... two of the four are busted and have already been replaced at least once. The other two have sufficient miles on them that it seems like a good idea to do since we're going to cause more wear with this setup. Any tips or writeups on ball joint replacement?

Thanks!!

KB in CO

 

The ZR2 has a completely different frame, so no, it is not possible to convert a regular blazer to a ZR2. Well, that is unless you had a 2dr regular blazer and swapped over the frame and even then, there are other changes to the body of a ZR2 blazer that you would need to duplicate... So while it is feasible, it just does not make sense.

As far as ball joints go, I am not sure if there is a true write-up, but there are plenty of threads. Having air tools to use definitely makes it a lot easier! Use good parts and keep them lubed and you should not have to do it again for quite a while.