As I have bought my lift kit last year and been crazy busy and winter came in. I passed on installing it till about now Anyways. I tend to take my time and Doing it right over slap it in and hope for the best.

Tips : Get a few bottles of WD40 or whatever you use. and pre soak your bolts and nuts a week before coming out now and then to re hit them

Your rear shackles might not come out even with oiling them Be prepared to ether torch heat them out Or have a shop do it .. So the rear should be your first go You can still drive it with just the rear raised. It is the hardest bolts to remove out of the whole job

If you plan on removing the Torsion keys you will need ether a Torsion key removal tool (Looks like a C clamp) which is the best way to go I got mine for $21 Canadian on Ebay.ca Or a 1/2 inch drive extendtion and use it on a pump jack …(which is dangerous and might not work) With the remove tool it took me 15 mins for both However you will also need a 1 inch socket (find a stubby one) to use on the tool head

Biggest time saver and I think the only real way to do it is Having a compressor and Air tools ….If your at this stage of working on your truck you should own a compressor Does not have to be top of the line or even new But don't run out and get a nail gun compressor that runs 1hp ..Shop around online and instore I did and picked up a 20gal 4.5hp compressor for under $200 Canadian

my mistake is/was not buying a floor jack and using the crappy jack from the truck and 2 stands I seen one at the store for $30+ and its been in my head ever since

Also bought a air tool kit cheap Impact gun, air wrench, Air hammer and die grinder with oil grinder bits Impact chisels, sockets + more

You will need many wrenches

If your truck is looking rusty underneath now would be a good time to get some wire wheels, Grinder wheels (40 and 80 grit) And some rust paint

Loctite Grease gun and proper grease hacksaw with a blade for metal (incase you need to cut a bolt like I did on the front sway bar end links) or other

Check to see if you need new rubbers Like sway bar mounts, end links, front and back I recommend 33mm sway bar rubber mounts if your Blazer is a 2dr 4x4 96' - 05' base model I bought the other size (only 2 sizes) 28mm and put beside the old rubber the hole that fits over the sway bar is smaller Which I will reinstall the old ones because they are still pretty good from being 12 years old

I also bought tie rods idler arm and a all new lower control arm with fittings installed

Like I said shop around online and if your American it should be cheaper and easier to find parts without Tariffs shipping and conversion rates lol ..Trust me a $40 part turns into $120 shipping before taxes and bull****

In the end you will save money from someone else doing it even if you have to buy the tools ...You have a finshed truck and tools ! not just a finshed truck and empty pockets lol Hope it helps

 

Thanks for sharing your experience. Hopefully it will help anyone working on this type of modification.

 

Funny, I'm actually looking at getting the Rough Country 2.5'' soon.

Thank you for this write up, moosehauler. I will definitely be referring back to this thread.

 

No problem If you have any questions at the start or mid way etc just ask As i look back I wish i had a garage and not a parking lot And a buddy to have a 3rd hand Instead of a floor jack
And if the Manual says " 6 Hours" I bet he done a few of them before hand. in a shop with a full set of snap on tools and 3 other people

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Very good info. I'm sure many will save lots of time and have fewer bloody knuckles thanks to your thread. I did my lift using the RC upper control arms but did not lower the IFS. However, all of your advice rings very true!

I almost laughed at your comment about the rear shackles. Getting those bolts out was a pain!! I used the CRC Freeze Off on them. It worked pretty well without the mess of PB Blaster. I had to work them back and forth for 20 minutes each and I live where there is no road-salt.

I have a compressor I used maybe once a year but for this job it was indispensable as I broke my breaker bar on the left front hub nut. Without the compressor I don't know if I could have gotten that nut off. The rest I did with hand tools.

In addition to a floor jack, I find the couple hydraulic bottle jacks I've accumulated over the years to be very useful too. And don't forget a set of quality jack-stands and wheel-blocks! Safety First and Always!

And as you also commented, this is the time to do any other front end work. I found a bad front hub and bad lower ball joints when I did mine.

With the new geometry and likely larger tires, even if it is not bad, I would recommend replacing the idler arm with either the Moog or Proforged ones as the new setup will put extra strain on the parts. I also later added a RC steering stabilizer.

If you really want to upgrade the idler arm, you might consider the 1-ton idler arm upgrade: https://www.outfitterdesign.com/1-to...m-bracket.html

 

Yeah i went with Moog parts..Cost a little more But will outlast most other parts Some times by years
I had soaked my parts in WD-40 It might of helped 10% then without But the rear leaf springs and front control arms Needed heat a few times Hot cold hot cold to break the rust I ended up adding grade 10 bolts in anyways with some grease and anti- cease
Truck is still stilling in the parking lot waiting for me to fix 1 coil spring that fits around the 4x4 cord (need to needle nose it tighter) and 2 vacuum lines that are crumbling apart ..Incase anyone is wondering The two vac lines near the driverside fire wall are 5/32" in size as i could barely read it off the hose
Then on to a parsitic draw from my battery ...

 

If you need all of the vacuum hoses, check out my vacuum hose thread in my .sig file (below). People have said that what worked for my Blazer works for theirs too.

BTW to what coil spring are you referring, I'm drawing a blank on that.

 

Do you have before/after pictures?