When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Very nice!!! I've been using the search function only since monday, and feel this is the proper place to put my first post. Keep us all updated on how she does.
Got sick of the bouncing, floating front end feel, in my 03 Blazer 4x4. So I took some measurements and adapted a new set of EMPI 00-9570-8 adjustable coil-over shocks that were made to fit the Rear of a "Baja Bug" Volkswagen Beetle. I had to tighten the mounting sleeves at both ends of the shocks into a vice and then drill out the sleeves to the 1/2" bolt size that are on the blazer (upper and lower). The EMPI coil-overs come with a sleeve that's 1/16th too small. Also had to use a bench grinder to shorten the length of the lower sleeves, and then shimmed the upper sleeves with galvanized 1/2 inch washers. After I installed them, I backed out of the garage to allow the ride height to settle and noticed that the front end was too high. I didn't wanna raise it any higher than I already had it to keep from damaging the CV joints and or blowing out a CV boot. So I had to back off the torsion bar keys a full turn and a half to get the height to where it was at before the install. The way I see it, these coil-overs are just helping out my torsion bars with carrying the weight. The torsion bars still do most of that job. As a result of this mod, my Blazer now rides exactly the way I'd hoped for. It rides very stable, without the floaty ride that came with the stock set up, and eliminated the need to install larger bump-stops to eliminate the blazers springy ride when the torsion was raised off the stock bump-stops.
I didn't change the spring setting on the new shocks from where they came out of the box, on the softest setting. There was no need to put more spring tension than the lowest setting.
If you're thinking about doing this to your Blazer, then I highly recommend that you DO NOT try to drill out the sleeves without a vice clamped on the sleeves while drilling, otherwise you'll spin the sleeve in the shock and destroy the rubber bushing that the sleeve is bonded inside of.
Good luck! Hope you guys like the ride improvement as much as I do.
Original replacement type shock that I took out of the Blazer, on the left side of this pic.
The sleeves on the coil-overs came with a 7/16th's inside diameter. I drilled them out to accept
the original 1/2 inch shock bolts, with a DEWALT 1/2-in Titanium Metal Twist Drill Bit Model # DW1332
Hey I'm thinking about doing this to my blazer how'd it hold up over the years? Any issues?
The coil-over shocks are holding up great, I'm still running the same set and they're still one of the best things I've done to improve the ride and handling of my Blazer.
The coil-over shocks are holding up great, I'm still running the same set and they're still one of the best things I've done to improve the ride and handling of my Blazer.
Looks good I think I'm going to do the same thing.
How does this feel when you're off road? I drive... aggressively when I'm out playing and I bottom out a lot in the front. I don't really want to lift it too much more so I was looking for a way to stiffen it up a bit in the front. I'm also worried about it being too stiff and vibrating my spine out on some of the gravel roads. My rear add a leaf made the rear of the vehicle super stiff.
Just did this along with changing out my pitman arm, idler arm and tie rods. This info was very helpful for the shocks and so far so good they look and feel great.
So I did this MOD a little while back and liked the way it felt on the street. When I went offroading on some trails they didn't seems to hold up very well. The center shaft inside the coil-spring completely snapped off and lost in the dirt. I reccomend this mod for street driving but not meant for trailing.
So I did this MOD a little while back and liked the way it felt on the street. When I went offroading on some trails they didn't seems to hold up very well. The center shaft inside the coil-spring completely snapped off and lost in the dirt. I reccomend this mod for street driving but not meant for trailing.
I know this is from the dead a little bit, but thanks for an update. Did you try any other versions of a Coilover shock?
03-13-2017, 06:16 PM
How did it hold up?
