Ok, I'm new to the forum and Im also new to owning a blazer. So far I love my blazer, but I want to put bigger tires on it and a lift.... I don't want to go all out just yet, as my husband will kill me, he don't like the lifted look, but I do..... My first question is what lift kit is best for a small lift on a 99 s10 blazer automatic LS 4x4 4 door? Also, Im not a mechanic, but if its something simple I would like to do some of the work myself, but how hard is it to put the lift kit on? I don't now a lot about this, but which kit is cheapest or best for the money invested? I don't have a lot of money to put into this, but I would like to start small and add more as I can... Any help is appreciated....

 

I just started on my 97 today.

I got a 1" rear shackle, thought I was buying 2", but that was my fault. 1" is noticeable, but I think I do want to go to 2". Two large bolts on each side, relatively easy if they're not too rusted.

That actually worked out well, to add 1" to the front there are two bolts to turn - search for "t-bar crank" - there are some issues with parts wearing out faster! But a differential spacer should correct it, just started looking into that today.

I'm exploring the option of moving the upper ball joint, and adding a spacer - what I see incorrectly called a "ball joint flip". Thats instead of getting the more expensive kits with new control arms.

There is a very long thread around here about a 2.5" kit from "Rough Country" which has the differential spacer. I have been considering a 2" kit from Superlift.

If it's just about the look of much bigger tires, you might want a body lift. I think thats 8 large rubber bushings and bolts, but you have to lift the whole body, not just one wheel at a time.

I personally wanted the suspension lift for ground clearance, but didn't want to go so high that it would really suffer on the freeway.

 

And since I have the tires I want, I simply jacked the car up 2" and 3" to get a look at it. For now I get to test drive 1".

 

Yea, I dont want to go too high (if there is such a thing).... right off anyway,but I want the lift to be noticable.... 2 or 3 inches would be fine for now.... Dont really need mor than that... Eventually I might go for a 5 to 6 maybe even as big as 8 but I want to wrk my way up to that..... I would like bigger tires than the stock ones on it, so I know I will need a little lift to get those. all terrains or mud tires either one, but which do you prefer.... I wont be off road too much, but it would be nice to be able to if I want to..... I live in a hilly area in KY and in the winter the road get rough, snow, ice, mud, road cave ins due to the weather, and all kinds of unexpected rough road conditions...... I like the look and sound of mud tires, but the price on them bothers my wallet.... does anyone know of a place with better prices on the lift kits and tires or just any good sites in general...

 

If you arent going off road a lot i would do a 2" body lift, 2" shackle lift and a 1.5" t-bar crank. and that lift will run you about 250$ and it will clear 31" tires with no problem. if you only go 1.5 inches on the t-bar crank it wont have too huge of an impact on your front end parts. thats what im working on doing right now. its fairly easy to do that in a driveway with hand tools and LOTS of PB blaster lol

 

What is PB blaster? Like said, Im not a mechanic, at all, so some of these terms do not make sense to me.... My father in law and cousin are both mechaics so I could potentially have some help from mechanics... I just dont want to get in over my head....

 

Bigger wheels and tires, suspension lift, and body lift all add height. Sounds like there are some serious negatives to large suspension lift, so you may want a combo of smaller increases.

I really liked having the tires first, cause a couple car jacks will show you what it looks like. It was easy to decide after that! Measure before and after, that difference can be split between suspension and body lifts.

I like my General Tire, Grabber AT 2, was significantly cheaper than comparable tires, and I have no complaints after 5 years. Supposed to work great in snow and mud, but I haven't been able to really test them.

 

Rust penetration and lube. Like wd40.