Truck build help please!!!

by **SmokeyMcBlazer** » Tue May 13, 2014 10:24 am

So... some may know already that I got in on Marks group buy on the 3in body lift. I also ordered the 3in suspension lift and the wheel adapters from Mark. Not really sure how it happened, I wasn't really ready to lift the truck yet, maybe too many meds this morning but what the hell right lol. I figured I would have many questions for the enlightened before actually installing anything so I'll just use this one thread instead of hijacking my way around the forum. I will obviously be researching in depth but likely all questions can be easily answered by you guys right off the top of your heads. Oh, and one more thing, I'm not a mechanic so all this work will be done at a shop so when I say "I will install" you could read "my mechanic will install". I do and will appreciate any help and knowledge that you guys can share. Just know that any question that I ask, I will be researching so no need for you to do any extra googlizing. I can do that myself but if you happen to know the answer to any of the questions of the top of your head, by all means please type it out. You may save my dumb ass from an hour or two of looking by typing a short reply.

At the same time as the lift install I'm gonna put on the SMAXX end links (http://www.suspensionmaxx.com/167-chevy ... -2002-2003 and http://www.suspensionmaxx.com/175-chevy ... -2002-2009) 'cuz the ones on there are gonna give it up soon. I also wanna do the a-arm bushings and have read on here about maybe polyurethane bushings that are the preferred replacement? Gonna search around but anyone with a part number and company name for these? I've also read about some just replacing the a-arms completely to save the hassle of burning out the old ones, is this a better option (remember my mechanic charges by the hour lol)? If so, are you guys just ordering a-arms off ebay? Also, am I correct to assume that with the 3inch suspension lift, its almost necessary to flip and rotate the a-arms to save on ball joint issues and alignment issues? (http://www.forums.offroadtb.com/viewtop ... =32&t=4767)

I'm also looking at the Massive traction satisfaction package (http://www.massivespeedsystem.com/_mass ... 61256.aspx) which I don't really have any questions about but if you have experiences with it, please let me know.

The springs and shocks were changed by my dad not too long before he gifted it to me and the wheel bearings are also fairly new so I'm hoping to not have to change out any of that till I've worn them out a little. So thats pretty much my plan for lifting and suspension work. Have I missed anything that is normally done to these rigs when lifting close to the limits?

Thanks in advance for any and all help you guys can give me. And if you just wanna tell me to use the search button thanks for that too, I will be! lol.

MY Youtube Channel · by **TBYODA** » Tue May 13, 2014 10:52 am

Hey Rob were you live. You should set your location cause there could be bunch of members near you and I am sure they give you hand with the lift. So you could save some $$ beer is cheaper. :lol:

We all like lift parties and helping out.

by **SmokeyMcBlazer** » Tue May 13, 2014 11:00 am

TBYODA wrote:Hey Rob were you live. You should set your location cause there could be bunch of members near you and I am sure they give you hand with the lift. So you could save some $$ beer is cheaper. We all like lift parties and helping out.

Done. I live in Toronto, Ontario but I spend a lot of time in Haliburton County, Ontario. If anyone close to either location is experienced, I make wine and brew my own beer as a hobby and I promise to get you shitfaced if you wanna help lol!

on another note.... are these the control arm bushings y'all are buying? http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Prothane-Front-C ... mtr&_uhb=1

by **The Roadie** » Tue May 13, 2014 11:47 am

Definitely buy complete control arms if you're paying by the hour. Ain't nobody got time (unless you have your own press) to be doing bushings.

Just don't buy the $42 sets of suspension parts on Ebay unless you enjoy breaking your cheap Chinese crap parts. Get name brands from Rockauto.

by **navigator** » Tue May 13, 2014 1:35 pm

I expect when you install the 3" suspension lift you will need to get extended shocks in the rear else they will top out and clunk every time you go over a bump.

by **SmokeyMcBlazer** » Tue May 13, 2014 4:05 pm

Thanks guys. I wouldn't dream of buying the cheap stuff for suspension. Last thing I need is to be flying down the highway and have some cheap control arm shear off and careen me and whatever I'm towing into everyone else on the highway lol.

Thanks for the tip about the rear shocks too, I didn't realize the stockers would have to go. I had some skyjackers on the old 4runner and see some people running them on their TB's. Is that a direct bolt on? I almost remember reading somewhere about having to mod the brackets or stack washers to make it work?? Can I run Tahoe or maybe Avalanche stock shocks with the lifts and stock rear springs?

by **ErikSS** » Tue May 13, 2014 4:08 pm

Skyjacker N8030 shocks bolt up. The bottom bracket is wider than the shock though. Most guys do use washers to center it. Its easy.

MY Youtube Channel · by **TBYODA** » Tue May 13, 2014 4:24 pm

Like Erik said it is easy. A lot of us run the Z71 rear spring with the lifts vs any "stock" spring that are consent rate spring. The Z71 are progressive rate spring meaning as you add more weight the stiffer they get. You can run the Tahoe or maybe Avalanche stock shocks but I believe the skyjackers N8030 are better shock over them. Are you going with stiffer front spring and or swapping out the stock strut? See below.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=20

by **SmokeyMcBlazer** » Tue May 13, 2014 7:08 pm

I hadn't planned on changing the front springs or struts until necessary. I figure going from stock height on stock wheels to 6in over with 32s will be enough gained height in one go. I'm already playing with my ability to get into our underground garage lol. As for the Z71 springs, maybe a little down the road. I do tow a lot and the progressive spring would probably come in pretty handy when doing so.

Is there anything else that will have to be changed in order for the lifts to work for me? Maybe something else along the lines of the incompatible rear stock shocks. I wanna make sure I have all my fish in the right barrel before shooting lol. Thanks again peeps

by **The Roadie** » Wed May 14, 2014 7:51 am

SmokeyMcBlazer wrote:... 6in over with 32s ...

The math doesn't quite work out that way. With a 3" suspension lift, 3" body lift, and tires that are 3" over stock diameter (giving only 1.5" additional ground clearance for the RADIUS increase), your butt height is 7.5" higher than stock. But the ground clearance under the frame only went up 4.5", and that's what matters for trail performance.

The only functional benefit of a body lift is to allow you to fit larger tires with less fender cutting.

by **SmokeyMcBlazer** » Thu May 15, 2014 9:35 am

Thanks for the info Roadie.

At this point I'm more worried about fitting it in the parking garage at home then ground clearance lol. At the risk of being labeled a Mall Crawler but in all openness, I'm not really building the truck to be a hardcore offroader. Its gonna be a tow rig for my boat and atv. With that being said though, it will see trails and offroad action. Alot of the atv off loading areas and good secrete boat launches around me are down some fairly sketchy goat paths! Also through my duties on the board of my atv association, I've developed a pretty good rapport with the local 4x4 jeepers club (we do joint trail maintenance and repair) and will probably head out on a few of their tamer rides throughout the summer. So even though the lift is not for looks, its not really for offroading either. More like an insurance policy against being stuck with a boat trailer behind me or smashing my rad to pieces on a day that should be pure leisure.

Hopefully that doesn't get me labeled as a permanent Mall Crawler, I consider myself a pretty hardcore offroader. I just do it on my 1000 XMR and not in my truck so much anymore. (I do promise to post up some shots of me flexing over a curb for you though lol!!)

by **SmokeyMcBlazer** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 9:18 pm

So, I've been checking out various transmission coolers and being as I know jack about themn I figured I'd ask you guys.

What's the ORTB go to tranny cooler? Do I just get the biggest one (most rows)?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated!

by **mattrustable** » Sun Jun 01, 2014 10:33 pm

If your going with bigger tires and especially towing stuff around, make sure you have AT LEAST a 3.73 gear ratio in your diffs. Also has been recommended to have a trans cooler installed. I've just learned this myself so any vets here please correct me if I'm wrong. Not sure if you've seen this already but here is the chart for gear ratios on bigger tire sizes http://www.offroadtb.com/articles/tech- ... alculator/ but if your pulling stuff I would assume to add more heat/over-load

by **navigator** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 9:16 am

most guys do ok with a cooler, 3.42s and 32s.
33s+ you need at least 3.73 gears.
I expect there are a lot of guys running 3.42s, 32s without a cooler but it isn't advised.
A lot depends on your terrain and use.
The chart linked above gives the key configs for when you may start to see your tranny overheat.

There are a couple of write ups for cooler installs, read through those, they give out part numbers etc.

YouTube Videos · by **Trail X** » Mon Jun 02, 2014 8:03 pm

There's no one go-to cooler. Shop around. They all pretty much work the same. Some have a cold oil bypass, but the effectiveness is arguable.

How heavy is your boat? That will tell you a lot about which gears will be ok. I have towed stuff with my 3.42s on 32s, and it sucked, but in D3 and driving 65 it didn't overheat. D3 is kinda a temporary solution to sucky gearing.

by **SmokeyMcBlazer** » Wed Jun 04, 2014 9:07 pm

Not really sure the weight of the boat but I never pull it at highway speeds anyway. Just around between some local lakes. This is the boat.

by **DirtyBacon04** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 2:23 pm

Towing 101: Know the weight of what you're towing.

MY Youtube Channel · by **TBYODA** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 6:11 pm

DirtyBacon04 wrote:Towing 101: Know the weight of what you're towing.

Why, does that matter?!

by **SmokeyMcBlazer** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 6:26 pm

Though it may be true that I don't know the weight of my boat, I do know that the trailblazer has a 1400lb higher maximum towing capacity then my old 4runner and my old 4runner hardly noticed it back there.

So, back to the cooler. What I take from James' post is shop around and get the cheapest one I can find?

by **mattrustable** » Thu Jun 05, 2014 7:18 pm

SmokeyMcBlazer wrote:Though it may be true that I don't know the weight of my boat, I do know that the trailblazer has a 1400lb higher maximum towing capacity then my old 4runner and my old 4runner hardly noticed it back there.

So, back to the cooler. What I take from James' post is shop around and get the cheapest one I can find?

Idk if you have an Oreilly's around or Auto Zone but I'm about to go pick one up for $50.00 which will come with everything I need to install and is cheaper than than what I found on the internet. Plus not having to wait is a big plus. It's a Hayden by the way.

Offroad Trailblazers and Envoys