Make gap guards out of sheet metal, drill holes like in the chasis and rivet them on?

 

u wouldn't want to make them permanent - spark plug replacement is a SHATLOAD easier thru the wheel well's at least on the drivers side (from what i've read - haven't done this yet myself altho its a VERY SOON TO BE DONE adventure to be had :/ ) maybe make an edge guard out of sheet metal for the rubber but whatever route u go make sure its removable if/when u need to take it out.

 

UberFail is right

going through the wheel well to change the spark plugs is why i no longer have gap guards... pull the middle out of them (in anger) to get at the plugs. the plugs are a PITA but not as bad as some make them out to be. i believe it's #3 that requires you have a socket/ratchet/extentions/wobble/and knuckle to get at, and that only works if they are made out of silly putty so you can bend them to reach

if you do not plan on changing plugs all that often (read as never again) you could rivet on some sheet metal. make sure you paint it up right so you dont have a 2 sided rust plate covering the gaps

i would opt for something easier to remove. If you want metal, bolt/screw it on so you can move it as needed. other things are made easier by being able to get in the wheel well area. remember that it is near the engine/headers so you will have a good deal of heat there, and the UCA and other front end components live there so things jostle about a bit... leave so space for flex if using metal. just a though

 

May have just scored a deal on tires. He doesn't have them listed, but he has them in the garage. A set of Goodyear Wrangler Territory's, never mounted. He bought them for his K5 but he now wants a set of 35's. They are 204.99 at Canadian Tire. He also said that he owns a shop and he can mount and balance them 600 bones taxes in. Hopefully he is not far away because they will rub on the way home.

 

If they're going on your stock wheels, just take an 18mm wrench along and if they rub too badly, crank your tbars (counting the # of turns) up enough just to get home. It's harder to do with weight on the truck but it is possible (or do it while he has the truck on a lift mounting the new tires). If the wheels are further out, you may have more of an issue like I did with hitting the back outer edge of the fender

Once you're home, decide whether to uncrank the bars and do the body lift (my recommendation) or leave the bars up or install keys.

I have no lift right now on the back and there's no rubbing during normal street driving so you shouldn't need to do anything to lift the back to make it home.

 

Taking an 18mm wrench is a good idea. As long as I can get home without to much trouble all will be fine.

 

you could also bring a sawzall with you...

 

With the t-bar crank, if you mark your turns and do it right would you still need a wheel alignment after cranking them?

My truck needed a wheel alignment before I cranked my-bars a half inch, now I might bring it up a bit more but don't want to pay for another wheel alignment.

I'm thinking if I mark them, and do it correctly I can crank them up and the Blazer will still be align.

Would that be correct? or incorrect?

 

Adjusting the t-bars will change the camber. A small adjustment may allow the camber to still be within specs, but you would have to have it checked by a front end shop to be sure.

*EDIT* You can make a simple camber gauge to check it yourself. You have to have a level floor for this. Be sure to get before measurements for comparison. Google is your friend for info on a homemade camber gauge.

 

Yeah you'll need to get it aligned. The upper control arm is shorter than the lower one, and the mounting points for them on the frame aren't centered above each other. As they move down to compensate for the wheel moving down, the shorter upper arm pulls the top of the steering knuckle in a little.



The torsion bar is the green bar and it really doesn't twist as far as I drew the arrow. It was just a preset PS shape