Originally Posted by Sisk

Why would you waste your money on a 2" SL? They're overpriced and not worth it for only 2" of lift. You can get a $40-50 set of 2" shackles, put them on in a hour or so, crank your tbars for free and voila, you can fit 31's. I just don't get why you would want to spend extra money on something like a 2" SL...

Originally Posted by a_tack

The reasoning in a 2 inch lift kit is all about alignment issues. Just a torsion bar crank makes an S-series truck very very difficult to get within proper alignment specs, and usually they don't want to stay in very long after they are aligned. Trust me on this, I just finished a stretch in a Sears auto center selling, doing tires, and helping with alignments. The 2 inch suspension lift kit includes new upper control arms that have a different angle and are a bit different in size. These small differences make a world of difference once you put the truck on an alignment rack. It makes the vehicle much easier to get well within factory spec. So yes, you could spend $70 on shackles and just crank the t-bars up but you will wear tires twice as fast and you will still need shocks. Four rancho shocks for a blazer are over $250 plus installation. So in that sense a 2" suspension lift makes perfect sense as you will keep tires longer and it will be a cheaper option in the long run.

Originally Posted by dougg01

Questions about the lock-rite -

I don't have the instruction sheets with me and I did the install on my old S-10 more than a dozen years ago. I put it in, at that time, for autocrossing.

Anyway, the lock-rite replaces the spider gear assy in the stock differential. It employs dog-tooth clutch gears with springs to lock and unlock the mechanism. Everything is coated in this anti-friction, anti-wear stuff and the last time I looked at stuff there still weren't any marks. I used full syn fluid.

The most annoying part of it is in moderate to hi-speed cornering w/o throttle you get chatter as the dog teeth are skipping across each other on the inside set. On ice and other slick (I do mean slick....not just wet) surfaces there often isn't enough resistence on the inside wheel to overcome the spring pressure and thus the diff remains locked in a turn, spinning the inside tire. It acts a lot like a tight detroit locker in that sense. Off road guys have used them a lot and like them for that very trait and just deal with its road manners, which for the most part aren't bad at all. Mine had over 125,000 miles on it and lots of laps at the autocross. It will have an easier life in the Jimmy. We've got a spare diff girdle for the 7.5 I'll probably throw on there too just for good measure.

That 'splain it well enough...?

Oh...and my old S-10 ext-cab 2wd sitting in the barn....it's coming back home. Plans are to repair broke stuff from my brother-in-law's term of ownership, lift, and throw some ATs on the front and MTs on the rear for a decent farm truck. Its got headers, intake, bunch of turbo-city 4.3 stuff, afpr, flowmaster, MSD, trans-go kit, etc. Doesn't make a bunch of HP, but the torque would chirp 3rd gear. Lots of grunt.