Build advise for my new trailblazer

[Brendon]

I am a newbie to the off road world and just picked up a really nice 06 Trailblazer LT 4WD with around 60k miles on it. I will be shipping the trailblazer to Costa Rica, where I live, in a few months. It will be used as a daily commuter between my farm and town about 45 minutes away. I do not plan to do any hardcore wheelin but the road to my farm is definitely a 4x4 dirt road and is super hard on my vehicles. The mechanics here in CR are not super reliable and trailblazer parts will also be a bit harder to come by. I am wanting to get it outfitted with the new build before I ship it from the US. My main goals are to gain more clearance and to "beef up" any suspension and steering system components to deal with the daily beating from my roads.
Here are my initial thoughts and questions. Any and all advise will be greatly appreciated. I have spent many many hours on the forums, but with my lack of mechanical knowledge there are some things that I just don't understand.

-Markmc 2.5" lift/leveling kit
-Bilstein HD struts up front
-Monroe strut mount kit
-Skyjacker 8030 shocks in the rear
-Markmc 1.5" wheel spacers
-265/70/17 BFG A/T K02 tires all around on stock 17" wheels (may upgrade wheels if finances allow)
-K & N air filter (Not sure if this is necessary but have liked them in the past)

Some questions:

1) Does this seem like a good setup?

2) I have read about the rear axle being off center after installing a lift. Do I need to worry about this and will it create any extra wear on the vehicle. It is a good idea to use an adjustable panhard bar to re center, and if so any suggestions on brand?

3) My vehicles here in CR are constantly needing steering system maintenance, ex- ball joints, etc. Are there any other recommendations for steering system/suspension upgrades to make the system stronger? Ball joints, tie rods, sway bar links, upper/lower control arms?? I don't want to do any unnecessary work but do want to do any preventative maintenance possible.

Thanks so much for any input and excited to be joining the ORTB community.

[Rickalicka18]

Panhard bar to help center your rear axle and flip uca's to get more life out of them. That's all I know of. Could visit massive and get the whole kit they offer. What I'm doing http://www.massivespeedsystem.com/_mass ... 25933.aspx

[navigator]

a lot of guys run them lifted without the adjustable panhard bar.
I expect with my Z71 springs in the rear and the rough country spacer I am running close to the amount of lift in the rear you will be running, around 2". I personally haven't seen a need to get one yet myself.
For guys running Z71s + a taller lift block or those running the skyjacker CR25 springs in the rear it might be more of a need.

[DirtyBacon04]

you wont need anything adjustable for the rear (control arms or panhard) Flip/switch UCAs for sure, buy a spare set of tie rods as a spare. Some people upgrade to the HD tie rods, but personally I like having the weaker ones as a mechanical fuse. a lot easier to replace tie rods than a steering rack.

K&N would be an unnecessary luxury. Plus, many report that it allows more airflow, therefore more dirt. Standard paper filters are perfect for dusty roads.

[bartonmd]

We're working on something for the stock panhard bar, right now...

[Brendon]

you wont need anything adjustable for the rear (control arms or panhard) Flip/switch UCAs for sure, buy a spare set of tie rods as a spare. Some people upgrade to the HD tie rods, but personally I like having the weaker ones as a mechanical fuse. a lot easier to replace tie rods than a steering rack.

K&N would be an unnecessary luxury. Plus, many report that it allows more airflow, therefore more dirt. Standard paper filters are perfect for dusty roads.

Thanks for the tips. Are you talking about front and rear UCA's or just rear...any brand recommendation if I replace?. Will take your advise and not get the K & N, I definitely live on a dusty road.

[Brendon]

We're working on something for the stock panhard bar, right now...

Looks cool Mike. I'm assuming this is used to center the axle? When will you have these available? Thanks

[Brendon]

you wont need anything adjustable for the rear (control arms or panhard) Flip/switch UCAs for sure, buy a spare set of tie rods as a spare. Some people upgrade to the HD tie rods, but personally I like having the weaker ones as a mechanical fuse. a lot easier to replace tie rods than a steering rack.

K&N would be an unnecessary luxury. Plus, many report that it allows more airflow, therefore more dirt. Standard paper filters are perfect for dusty roads.

Sorry if this is a stupid question...I'm new to all this. For spare tie rods should I get the outer and inner? Is it worth changing them out and keeping my old ones as the spare? Thanks

[Brendon]

you wont need anything adjustable for the rear (control arms or panhard) Flip/switch UCAs for sure, buy a spare set of tie rods as a spare. Some people upgrade to the HD tie rods, but personally I like having the weaker ones as a mechanical fuse. a lot easier to replace tie rods than a steering rack.

K&N would be an unnecessary luxury. Plus, many report that it allows more airflow, therefore more dirt. Standard paper filters are perfect for dusty roads.

It seems like a lot of guys on the forum are using the massive adjustable panhard bar to center the axle after lift. Is there a reason you don't think it is necessary and are there negatives to this system. Thanks

[bartonmd]

We're working on something for the stock panhard bar, right now...

Looks cool Mike. I'm assuming this is used to center the axle? When will you have these available? Thanks

It's to lower the vehicle-side panhard bar mount, which puts you more toward the center of the arc again. So yes, it sort of centers it, and is actually a better solution than changing the length of the panhard bar because it's at an angle.

As for availability, it's actually Erik's deal that I just had punched and bent at my real job. This is the prototype. As soon as it's installed and he's got a good comfort level about it, he'll order more and sell them.

Mike

[Brendon]

We're working on something for the stock panhard bar, right now...

Looks cool Mike. I'm assuming this is used to center the axle? When will you have these available? Thanks

It's to lower the vehicle-side panhard bar mount, which puts you more toward the center of the arc again. So yes, it sort of centers it, and is actually a better solution than changing the length of the panhard bar because it's at an angle.

As for availability, it's actually Erik's deal that I just had punched and bent at my real job. This is the prototype. As soon as it's installed and he's got a good comfort level about it, he'll order more and sell them.

Mike

Sounds great, thanks for the info. I'll be watching for them!

[Norcrosski]

I built my own drop bracket based on the S10 zr2 lift bracket been on mine for 12 thousand so far holding fine

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[HawkeyeC25]

you wont need anything adjustable for the rear (control arms or panhard) Flip/switch UCAs for sure, buy a spare set of tie rods as a spare. Some people upgrade to the HD tie rods, but personally I like having the weaker ones as a mechanical fuse. a lot easier to replace tie rods than a steering rack.

K&N would be an unnecessary luxury. Plus, many report that it allows more airflow, therefore more dirt. Standard paper filters are perfect for dusty roads.

Sorry if this is a stupid question...I'm new to all this. For spare tie rods should I get the outer and inner? Is it worth changing them out and keeping my old ones as the spare? Thanks

If it's higher mileage, I would do both inner and outer. Not too hard to do the inners. I just did both inners and outers on my truck - didn't take too long. As for keeping them for spares, if you break one, it's a bad day either way... as for changing them on the trail, you'll need some pretty big wrenches and a pickle fork to pull the joint out of the knuckle. Still, it's up to you.

[KingBird]

you wont need anything adjustable for the rear (control arms or panhard) Flip/switch UCAs for sure, buy a spare set of tie rods as a spare. Some people upgrade to the HD tie rods, but personally I like having the weaker ones as a mechanical fuse. a lot easier to replace tie rods than a steering rack.

K&N would be an unnecessary luxury. Plus, many report that it allows more airflow, therefore more dirt. Standard paper filters are perfect for dusty roads.

Sorry if this is a stupid question...I'm new to all this. For spare tie rods should I get the outer and inner? Is it worth changing them out and keeping my old ones as the spare? Thanks

If it's higher mileage, I would do both inner and outer. Not too hard to do the inners. I just did both inners and outers on my truck - didn't take too long. As for keeping them for spares, if you break one, it's a bad day either way... as for changing them on the trail, you'll need some pretty big wrenches and a pickle fork to pull the joint out of the knuckle. Still, it's up to you.

I use a BFH.

[HawkeyeC25]

As for availability, it's actually Erik's deal that I just had punched and bent at my real job. This is the prototype. As soon as it's installed and he's got a good comfort level about it, he'll order more and sell them.

Mike

Sounds great, thanks for the info. I'll be watching for them!

Same here - sign me up for one once they are ready!!

[Brendon]

Thanks for all the great advise guys!! Any other comments are gladly welcomed...this is so fun!

[KingBird]

Just wait until you get it out on the trails. With a little skill behind the wheel, these things are really hard to get stuck. I've surprised quite a few people in our blizzard-like conditions this weekend by going where no one else would/could and by pulling out trucks twice as big. I haven't even gotten my winch yet...

[markmc]

We're working on something for the stock panhard bar, right now...

That bracket is sweet !!

[HawkeyeC25]

We're working on something for the stock panhard bar, right now...

That bracket is sweet !!

Mike are you holding out on me??? Will you have any of these available when I see ya this weekend??

[Cable810]

I got 1 lying in the garage. Its an older version with only 1 hole for the panhead bar