04 blazer project

How far north did you have to travel to find safe ice?

Good thing you replaced all those bum ball joints recently.

Little past bay city.

yea, ice racing's extended periods of long RPMs took a toll on the blazer too,
had a accessory belt tensioner bearing go out and the rear u joint, which only had a touch over 30k miles on it.
it was on its last leg though, most of the needles were just dust when i took it out, not buying the "never need to grease ever" sealed duralast gold u joints anymore....

Some nice wallpaper shots there! I tried a winter rally-X in my truck once - it was very, very slow 

all about the driver 

I should have said "I" was very slow instead of "it" was very slow!

went offroading, starting to do way more technical stuff, lots of fun!





i tried my hand at rock climbing, failed miserably. the short wheelbase doesnt help there.

parking brake slowly stopped working, and the rear brakes started screeching.
took the wheel off today, shoes are worn and rear inboard pads are GONE. (6700 miles since i replaced them with brand new centric posi-quiets)
found GM Technical Service Bulletin # 00-05-23-005B, which says to use 15765007 to shield the rear caliper because apparently road debris causes premature rear inboard pad wear.
I wonder if I need to look into shielding.... i can't be swapping pads every oil change interval...

https://www.facebook.com/greencactus3/videos/10106279944333033/

When was the last time the rear calipers were replaced/rebuilt?

On the long bed the rear disc brakes are so under-utilized I've had the calipers freeze up and do similar.

I have yet to have the parking brake last long on my Blazers. Just not enough leverage with the drum in hat.

When was the last time the rear calipers were replaced/rebuilt?

On the long bed the rear disc brakes are so under-utilized I've had the calipers freeze up and do similar.

I have yet to have the parking brake last long on my Blazers. Just not enough leverage with the drum in hat.

I adjusted the parking brakes 5500 miles ago, and rust has eaten up the backing plates so there is definitely sand/mud intrusion on those. the progressively deep parking brake pedal throughout the offroading trip makes me think it just wore out.
the parking brake was working great the morning of the trip.
I adjusted them, and they are working great again.
oh and the shoes and all parking brake hardware is new as of 6680 miles ago, same time as the front and rear pads.

sliders and pistons are still smooth currently, and the calipers are both new 2 years ago, 23k miles.
I put duralast pads on at that time, and replaced them with the centric posi-quiets after 16500 miles because they didn't have the bite I wanted, even though they had pleeeenty of life left.

I ordered some ebc greens so we'll see how i like those + how long they last

Went out to bundy hill this weekend, been there with dirt bikes before, never on 4 wheels.
wow there's such a variety of terrain.

Trail maps didn't help too much, so ended up doing some sketchier stuff than I originally intended, but no big damage, just tore off the lower valance and dented a rear bumper corner (I really need to make a higher clearance hitch/tube bumper)










https://www.facebook.com/zoomswimmer/videos/10100494795143651/

https://www.facebook.com/zoomswimmer/videos/10100494795552831/

https://www.facebook.com/zoomswimmer/videos/10100494797094741/

I forgot to put it into low range on this downhill oops
https://www.facebook.com/zoomswimmer/videos/10100494797858211/

I honestly wouldn't be too surprised if normal driving did any of that in that time frame. More so on a truck with little weight back there, but it's the same design.  I'm glad the adjustment worked out though.

I also think Parking Brakes hate me. I don't have any vehicles that have lasted Parking Brakes. Right now only the Isuzu has a great functioning one haha

Yea, parking brakes are difficult to keep maintained for some reason. the Blazer is the only one in my household that has a (currently) functioning parking brake

Picked up some more parts yesterday.
a third hatch glass in hopes of having intact defrost lines (nope, 1 broken, but better than 3 broken on the last one)

came with a nice vintage '09 ORV sticker that is really stuck on there. time for a razor blade i think


sliders and stock non bent blazer zr2 leafs.
hopefully I can get the bolts out, guy parting this truck obviously could not.
If not, anyone know if the rubber leaf eye bushings are available? I'd prefer to stay rubber instead of other materials for this truck.
My hope is to use the 2nd leaf on my current leaf pack with this new pack to maintain a little more height with load, and hopefully not affect articulation too much.
Anyone know if I should shorten the leaf so I don't have 2 leafs of the same length on there? is that a stress on the main leaf issue that you don't see that ever?

Those sliders look beefy.

If we get the chance before I leave we should check how good the glass from my Blazer is for the defroster. I don't actually use the defrost grid. I only have it for the factory tint and I'd be willing to trade straight up if it is fully functional.

15963452 is the part number I ordered for the front of my ZQ8 leaves. I never installed them and am currently saving them for my Blazer Z87 leaves. I'm really missing my access to the official parts catalog because the information around the web is conflicting. My usual online go to listed 3.01" LG, 2" THK (76.5MM TL X 50.67MM THK) for the dimensions.

I'm finding 14027938 for the shackle, but I'm guessing that may be the frame side of it all.

Al might look them up if you drop him a nice email, but I know he's been busy at work lately.

Heat will be your friend if you want any chance of getting those out. Rubber isn't the biggest fan of fire though.

Yea, I'm trying to lower my center of mass with them
supposedly .25" wall on the square stuff, and .12" wall on the round stuff.
absolutely unnecessary, but they were the price of material if not cheaper so i couldn't pass them up

Cool, I have 3 glasses for you to choose from, the 2nd one had a scratch but both the first and newest ones have no scratches as far as i've noticed. No big deal though, I wouldn't have bothered again but it was a bundle deal so I decided I'd get it. No picture but I got a full door too to use as sheet metal to patch my rust spots in front of the rear fender arches.

Thanks for the part #, but from what I've read online, the ZR2s got bigger eyes in the leafs, (makes sense, gets more "twist" room) so that may not work.
Yea that looks like the frame inserted bushing on the rear side.

No worries, I have sources at GM still if i need to, I'm hoping i can get the bolts out without destroying the bushings. I won't be getting to this until the vette is complete and daily driver ready so no big hurry.

on a side note, I have been looking for a replacement rear driveshaft for the blazer, do you know if I can get an automatic zr2 blazer's driveshaft?

I might have a ZR2 shaft in the barn too... Get measurements and I'll see how mine matches.

I don't know if the auto and the manual are the same or not. I'd guess yes, though.

What do you suspect is wrong with the actual driveshaft? No matter which one I choose from my stockpile for the Blazer I'll have to get it shortened.

I might have a ZR2 shaft in the barn too... Get measurements and I'll see how mine matches.

I don't know if the auto and the manual are the same or not. I'd guess yes, though.

What do you suspect is wrong with the actual driveshaft? No matter which one I choose from my stockpile for the Blazer I'll have to get it shortened.

You wouldn't want mine. has a small chunk missing from the rearward end on one side where the circlip for the retainer seats in. luckily the chunk is small enough that I just set the circlip "open end" there and havent had an issue, but I would feel better if I replaced it. It's been like that since I bought the truck, not sure if someone had a bad day replacing the ujoints before or if they bashed it on a rock.

I still have my aluminum shaft from the longbed if you wanted to use that

So it's the U Joint carrier that is broken? Bummer. We can certainly work out a trade if it's the right size as I have a selection of Aluminum shafts and all will work for my project.

here's an old pic. I didn't realize it was broken at the time

made it out to bundy again today, in the april snow!
things get super slick and difficult, especially offcamber things in the snow.
also came across some white mud which had the consistency and look of cake frosting. super weird and my durtracs couldnt clear them off at all.









Also on the way home got the dreaded whine from this.
http://www.s10forum.com/forum/f220/4x4-front-differential-operation-explained-and-grinding-from-front-end-506164/

I guess i'll be getting a bravada shaft soon

Any thoughts on keeping the selectable front axle and adding a locker to the front end?

I remember frustration at my offroad blazers when scaling hills and shifting weight off the front end, one tire would usually break free and thats as far as i would get. Some kind of locking diff for the front was always on my wishlist.

I suppose if you found a selectable locker then the bravada shaft would be fine.

I've thought about it, but neither option short of welding the diff seems to be an option.
Have you come across aftermarket lockers for the front diff?

I typically like to err towards reliability over ultimate performance. I do have issues with unloading a front wheel limiting me, especially compared to the triple torsen+center+rear locking FJ cruiser I usually go with, but overall my skill level isn't high enough that I care too much yet. there are still plenty of other challenges and right now the rear hitch dragging on everything is by far the lowest hanging fruit that needs attention.

replaced the already bad @ 17k mile timken front wheel bearing, found more damage.
didn't expect this... although i see why it could fail ith the offroading.
Dorman 31064 Help Control Arm Bumper 20k miles


and mocked up the sliders i got and started taking the rust and powdercoat that trapped moisture apparently all off


needs some work to fit though

Love this blazer, nice change of pace. Looking forward to seeing more wheeling pics.