JMHinAZ's Build, 2004 Trailblazer LS 4WD

[JMHinAZ]

2004 Trailblazer LS, 4.2l I6, Auto, G80

Current state


Suspension Modifications
Front:
Bilstein HD front struts (F4-BE5-A333-HD)
GM "88" front springs (15125888) << no longer produced by GM
Flipped and reversed UCA
Chevy 2500HD inner and outer tie rod conversion
Rear:
Fox/BDS 2.0 shocks (98224619)
Z71 springs (25978750)
Removed RSB
Massive upper, lower control arms and panhard bar

Markmc 3" F/R suspension lift
Markmc 1.5" wheel spacers
Treadwright guard dogs 285/75/16 (33") on
MBrocker 16x8

Exterior Modifications
3" body lift
MDB radiator and oil pan armor
Black Platidip center strip on front grill

Engine modifications
Removed rear resonator

Interior Modifications
Removable rear headrest and seat bottoms
Sound deadening front and rear doors


Recovery equipment
Tow straps and shackles.

Electrical modifications
Stock for now.

[JMHinAZ]

A few photo updates to illustrate my solution for the rear brake line and E brake line after the lift.
Some gentle but firm manipulation of the hard lines and a 3/4" piece of acrylic as a spacer
leaves enough slack in the line when either side is at full droop.


Used some rope to help get the holes all lined up for the upper and lower control arms. Didn't have a helper at the time so came up with a solution.

[JMHinAZ]

REBUILD THE DISCONNECT

It's been covered more than a few times on this site so the short of it is convert to the AWD sleeve as opposed to rebuild it.
A few notes of worth. I had not engaged AWD while rolling only at a stop and only a few times in the rain. I never had any indication the there was a problem with it, noise or vibrations, nothing. For those that look at the details of photos you will notice on the first photo of the thread that the front tires are caked in mud as if they were just along for the ride. They also are not in the groves that are in place already. In the bottom right corner of the pic you will see a small pool of water. You can see were this is going... Yep, I thought that I was in 4WD and that the mud wasn't that soupy. I can do this... OR get stuck and have to get pulled out and donate to the local tow truck co. But first spend a couple of hours cussing and and trying to get myself out. A few lessons, Always let somebody know what your routes and plans are, in this case I did and was only a mile from home base. Going on that camping/offroad trip, spend some time to make sure your truck is fully operational to begin with.
Old disconnect, notice the missing guide pin.


Cleaned up, missing pin on the fork in upper left. Old and new washer, notice groove worn into old one.


New sleeve in and ready to be put together and installed.


I haven't noticed any drive-ability or mileage issues as a result form this mod since I swapped it out a few months ago.

[JMHinAZ]

[color=#0000FF]UPPER STRUT BUSHING FAILURE.[/color

After a few months of having the lift on I noticed that the upper bushings were starting to fail, specifically on the passenger side. I kept in tune with some other threads regarding the same issues and opted to go with the polyurethane bushings. I did cut the thickens down to better match the thickness that came with Marks kit. You will see that the upper spacer has no damage. At the time I changed out the bushings I had only take the truck on some dirt fire roads or trails that a stock truck could handle. I also want to note that I think the kit is a solid setup with the exception of the bushings. I haven't seen anything to say why some have had no problems with them while others have. So far the new bushings have held together just fine although I have only beat on them one time, that being a 12 mile washboard fire road at about 25-20mph and didn't air down the tires. Found out the hard way that the front HD shock will foam the inside fluid and totally collapse therefore leaving you with the spring as the only remaining suspension. It did come back to full capacity about 24hrs latter.
With OEM.


Hmm??




New bushing