I have a 1989 S10 Blazer 2 door 4 wheel drive. I cannot seem to find a lift kit anywhere online for more than 2 and 1/2 in I would like to do at least a 4 inch lift kit with maybe a 2 inch body lift. Any suggestions or advice will be greatly appreciated first time I have ever done anything like this

 

So you want to jack up an already top heavy short wheelbase vehicle 6 inches higher than stock. What could go wrong there? I mean besides being hard to get in and out of, ride like a dump truck, handle like sh*t, sway in the wind, wander on the highway, etc.
Ever look at serious off road or rock climbing trucks. They aren't all that high because anyone seriously off roading knows about keeping the CG as low as possible.

Stock they are dangerous. A quote from https://www.rolloverlawyer.com about stock height Blazers:

I heard all that crap before Hold my beer and watch this!

 

To properly do a 6" or higher lift, you should really swap a solid axle into the front. Then, you also have the option of wider axles to offset the higher center of gravity. But solid axle swaps are definitely NOT for first timers.

 

Do not the first generation Blazers already have an extra inch of clearance over the 2nd generation? When I had a 2dr '92, I felt it was a good height but for my '99 I added probably 1.5 to 2 inches of suspension lift.

For perspective I go off-pavement a lot, e.g. logging roads (some not so well maintained) and skid roads, but I don't do the "4x4'ing" thing.

 

I have to disagree there oldeerslayer... There is a reason to lift trucks, and it's not to speed around corners. Treat the lifted truck like a lifted truck, not like a racecar and it should be non issue. 6 inches of lift on a s-series blazer and the thing is still lower than your average full size truck(albeit, not as wide of a stance) not to mention that with 2 out of 6 inches being body lift, the majority of the weight of the vehicle remains relatively low.

Now, back to the stance. Using 2wd s10 wheels(especially in combination with wider tires) along with the new shocks you would get with a lift kit will widen your stance enough to more or less make up for any stability lost from the 4 inches of suspension lift.

I would also presume he's not expecting a lifted truck to ride like a Cadillac , but considering it would be retaining the factory style suspension, and not switching to heavy duty leaf springs in the front- i think riding "like a dump truck" is quite an exaggeration.

I'm not disputing that these are prone to rollover, but he certainly wouldn't be the first one to lift one of these 6 inches or more and live to tell the tale..

Wandering on the highway wouldn't be an issue at all with 4 inches of lift. It wouldn't be an issue with 10 inches of lift if set up properly.

Low center of gravity is one thing, but ground clearance is also very important.




Back to the point of the original post:

From what I've found 2.5" lift is the only suspension lift still made for them, which is just a torsion key kit with resized upper control arms to correct suspension geometry, and longer shackles... trailmaster made a 5 inch for them, but I can't find it on their website, so I'm guessing they discontinued it. It may be worth a try to call them and ask about it.

 

Just get some offset rims to widen the stance. Also these trucks shouldnt be lowered, just not moral LOL

 

Ground clearance can only be achieved with larger wheels and tires as a suspension lift doesn't raise the axles any higher. The suspension can be raised 2 feet and the center of the differential will still hit rocks the same as stock. If you are serious about ground clearance cut out the fenders and run bigger tires. But that might not be "COOL".

 

That would work great until you get highcentered on a small rock and puncture your fuel tank, or dig a tow hook in and can't get up a steep slope because you have jack for approach angle. Ground clearance isn't all about differential height- although that's important also.

Differential clearance, yes you need larger tires to achieve. But anyone who tries to straddle the high point as opposed to rolling the tire over it is still a little wet behind the ears when it comes to wheeling... and to get your tire up there, you're going to need more suspension flex than stock suspension will allow.

Sure, some people might lift their trucks to be "cool" but that's not what it's about to me, so I don't give info to people about lifting a vehicle based upon the assumption that they are lifting their truck just to look "cool"


Hey, hey, I resent that too lol