Hawkeye's 2005 Trailblazer EXT LT V8

[HawkeyeC25]

Been a while since I updated. Here's how it sets today with new 33" tires and few more add ons!


2005 Chevrolet Trailblazer EXT LT V8

DRIVETRAIN SPECS:
5.3L V8 (Bored .020 over), 4WD, 4.56 Gears, Detroit Locker

TIRES:
LT285/70R17 Mastercraft Courser MXT Load E Mud Tires
MB Wheels TKO - 17X8.5 6-5.5" 25mm offset
Matching Full Size Spare Tire/Wheel
MarkMC's 1.5” 6-5.5" Wheel Adapters

SUSPENSION:
~4.5" of Suspension Lift

FRONT
Radflo Coil-overs
MarkMC Top Spacers
Upper Control Arms (Flip/Reversed)

REAR
MarkMC's 2.5” Rear Kit
Moog Tahoe Z71 Rear Coils
Bilstein HD Rear Shocks
Rear Sway Bar Delete
ErikSS's Panhard Bar Drop Braket
Spohn Adjustable Panhard Bar

ENGINE MODIFICATIONS:
BLOCK
LH6 Gen IV 5.3L V8 Bored 0.020" Over
Line Honed Mains
Crank Grind and Polish
Block Resurfacing
Speed-Pro Hypereutectic Flat Top Pistons
Eagle Specialty Products Forged 4340 Steel Connecting Rods
Full Rotating Assembly Balance
Texas Speed Stage 2 Truck Cam - 212/218, .550"/.550", 114 LSA
Texas Speed Chromoly Pushrods
LS7 Lifters (AFM/DOD Delete)
LS2 Lifter Trays
LS7 Valley Cover (LOMA Delete)
LS2 Timing Set and Damper
Tick Performance Blueprinted & Ported Oil Pump

HEADS
3-Angle Valve Job with New Valves
Head Resurfacing
LS6 Behive Valve Springs

EXHAUST
Magnaflow Turbo Muffler
Magnaflow High Flow Cat's
Resonator Delete

DRIVETRAIN MODIFICATIONS:
Built-up 4L60-E Transmission
B&M 70268 SuperCooler Trans Cooler
4.56 Gears by Motive Gear
Eaton Detroit Locker in the Rear
AWD Sleeve in Front Disconnect
4.2L Higher Stall Torque Converter

EXTERIOR MODIFICATIONS:
MDB Fabrication Front Bumper and Brush Guard Kit
MDB Fabrication Radiator Skid Plate
MDB Fabrication Oil Pan Skid Plate
KAWELL 42W 4.6" 60 Degree Round LED Lights
TMH 20" Dual Row Combo High Power 126w LED Light Bar
Aftermarket Black Front Grille and Bar
Aftermarket Aluminum Bow Tie (painted red)
Blue Ox Front Base Plate
Removed chrome lettering
Painted rear bowtie black
Black V8 Emblems
Roof Rack
FireStik Adjustable Stainless Steel Door Jamb Antenna Mount
Firestik Stainless Steel Heavy Duty CB Radio Antenna Mount Spring
Firestik 3' 650W Tunable Tip CB Antenna

INTERIOR MODIFICATIONS:
Trailblazer SS Gauge Cluster
JVC DD Stereo - Bluetooth, SiriusXM, works with factory steering wheel controls and Bose Audio
Uniden CB Radio

ELECTRICAL MODIFICATIONS:
All LED Exterior Lighting
Quad Headlight Mod
DRL Capacitor Mod
Optima Yellow Top D34/78 Dual Post Battery
400W Power Inverter
Front and Rear Quick Disconnect Winch Wiring

RECOVERY EQUIPMENT:
Badland 12000 Lb. Off-Road Vehicle Electric Winch With Automatic Load-Holding Brake
Hitch Receiver Mount Winch Plate
20000 Lb. Snatch Block

FUTURE MODIFICATIONS:

[HawkeyeC25]

Here are a few more pics of how it is today. Progress pics are below!

[HawkeyeC25]

Progress Pics




Front grille bar damage and some bumper damage - they're gone






5.3L V8 Only needed a new tensioner.

[HawkeyeC25]

Started pulling the frond end apart. Pulled the caliper brackets and rotors.


Previous owner said there was some front end clunk so he put a new upper ball joint on (inside of tire was BALD!). Looks like he ripped the boot putting it in.


Had no idea this plastic fender liner was covering a steel fender liner.



Pulled the front bumper cover and bumper off.





Found a driver side front axle seal leak. Add it to the list


Decided to pull it all out - easier to work on.


Ball Joints, Tie Rods, Sway Bar Links and Bushings... soon to be all new Moog parts.


Calipers probably need to go too (confirmed later)

[HawkeyeC25]

Yup - seal was bad.


Got the MarkMC 3" lift kit! Asked why it was only 2.5", he quickly replied with the fact that due to the a-arm, a lift is exponential and it would result in 3" of lift after 2.5" of spring preload. Duh...


Got the lower ball joints out but would have been nice to have the notched press cups to properly use the "wings" on the a-arm.


You can also see I got the boots slid down off the inner tie-rod ends. These didn't seem bad, but I figure worst case they have 150,000 miles like everything else. If I'm in there, I'm doing everything.


Pulled the Half Shaft out of the hub.


Screwed up the wheel speed sensor on this side, and bearing grease looked pretty dry. Decided on new Timken bearings for both sides.


Looks like a naked front end!!



New Upper Control Arm (and flipped).


Knock Harbor Freight all you want, but this guy makes it WAAYYY easier to slide ball joints in and out


Initial fitting of the Blue Ox front base plate. Need to figure out the best way to integrate this with the future steel bumper and skid plates.


New Timken Front Hubs.


Started re-install. Upper and Lower balljoints in, new struts (with spacers), steering knuckle back in place, new hubs, and you can also see new moog swaybar links and sway bar bushing.


New Rotors (later found out the old calipers were hanging up - needed new ones)

[HawkeyeC25]

Fully assembled Tahoe z71 springs and 2.5" spacers on top. (This is one day of driving to work and back on Michigan salted roads.)



I really need that panhard bar drop bracket!! Judging by this pic, there might be a bit too much rear lift (if there is such a thing). But I'm lacking a spare tire or tools in the back of the truck. Hoping weight and time will settle the new springs a bit.


This much rear lift puts the upper arm pretty close to the sway bar link... I'll have to watch to see how much it interferes.


Front driver side inner boot sprung a leak after driving around at the newer lifted angle. Put a new hose clamp in place of the stock one. So far so good!


Shiny new calipers, brackets, and hoses!


With wheel adapters and 25mm offset wheels, I had PLENTY of space to clear the upper ball joint. (over an inch).


The moog sway bar links kind of push out further at the mounts than the stock ones... we'll see how they hold up.


Passenger side, new tie rods, no leaking yet from the stock clamp at the inner CV boot.


Passenger side, new calipers, hoses, tie rods.


Another picture of the rear passenger side sway bar link being close to the upper arm.



Rear Passenger Z71 springs, Bilstein HD shocks, washers for spacers on the axle mount. (That resonator is the next to go!)



Rear Driver Z71 springs, Bilstein HD shocks, washers for spacers on the axle mount.


Another pick of the panhard bar without the Michigan salt.



Some exterior pics after a bath.





Custom Bumper needs to happen next!








Stock offset (tires tucked under fenders):



With wheel adapters and 25mm offset wheels:

[HawkeyeC25]

New Year's Eve I ordered up the good from MDB Fabrication (Thanks Mike!) Instead of shipping it (expensive), I decided to run down with the family for the weekend and pick it up!

Here's the order:
Standard Bumper Kit
Full Brush Guard
5" Frenched Light Kit Holes/Tubes
2" Receiver
Steel Radiator Skid Kit
Steel Oil Pan Skid Kit

The neighbor is going to help me weld this up next week! More pics to come!

[HawkeyeC25]

Needed some exhaust work... muffler had several leaks and the Cat's were shot. I was getting a P0420 and confirmed both needed replacing after taking data with Torque App.


Data from TorqueApp... Bank1 rear O2 sensor was all over the map (nothing left), and Bank2 rear O2 was reading very high.


Two new Magnaflow High Flow Cat's (No more codes and sensors reading normal again!)



Data looks good on the O2 sensors now!!


New Magnaflow Turbo Muffler. LOVE the sound!! Now when I start it up, it actually feel like I have a V8


Straight pipe resonator delete.

[HawkeyeC25]

Started on the custom bumper kit from MDB Fabrication. I have to credit my neighbor/friend Jud for doing all the welding (and then some)!

Per Mike's directions, here's how the fabrication went on day 1...

Grind down the nubs off of the frame rail.



Mounted up the upper/lower mount sections.





Tacked in the under-headlight pieces.



Then the wings tacked in.



Time to start welding it all up.




Fab'ed up the wing trim pieces.




Next were the frenched lights, hitch receiver, and clevis mounts.


Needs a lot more time under the grinder then we will start on the brush guard next.
Mounted it to the truck to make sure everything still lined up. I couldn't be happier!!!

[HawkeyeC25]

We stated work on the brush guard and radiator skid plate!
Still needs the rear support bars, but getting there!








Made the bars just clear the headlights.


Had to cut some slots in the bumper for the Base Plate, and also had to cut off the front of the radiator skid.
The power steering cooler will remain protected.





The plan is to cut down and re-drill the extensions for the safety cables on the base plate - no longer needed since they don't stick through a stock bumper.

[HawkeyeC25]

Finished fabrication!
Light mounts for the 5" lights and center bar light.


Integrated a 6 pin harness for the tail light wiring when being towed.


I cut down the extensions on the base plate so nothing sticks out beyond the bumper now. Almost can't see the base plate at all when standing in front of it.



Radiator skid pieces welded together.

[HawkeyeC25]

I wanted to test out the lights before I sent the bumper off to get powder coated to see if anything needed adjustment.
I did a Quad Headlight mod using a single diode in one of the BCM connectors. Credit goes to our friends over at TrailVoy: http://forums.trailvoy.com/showthread.php?t=58678

Also installed the KAWELL 42W 4.6" 60 Degree Round LED lights, as well as my new TMH 20'' Dual Row Combo High Power 126w Light Bar.
I have the fog lights wired up to the factory wiring with no issues. The LED bar was temporarily hooked directly to the battery.

Low Beams


Low beams + LED Fog lights


LED Fog lights only


Low beams + High beams (Quad Light Mod)


LED Bar + Low beams


LED Bar + Low beams + High beams


LED Bar + Low beams + LED Fogs


LED Light bar only


And some front on shots to see how everything mounted:

[HawkeyeC25]

The bumper has been powder coated!!! Thanks to Brian at Quality Powdercoat & Sandblasting!
A heavy coat of textured black!

[HawkeyeC25]

Got the bumper mounted up, lights in, clevises on, and winch quick disconnect wired up.

[HawkeyeC25]

Washed it up and tried out the winch mount. Ready to find some mud!!

[HawkeyeC25]

I loved the amount of lift in the rear, but the front blocks with stock springs just wasn't cutting it for the front... so I bit the bullet!!
Radflo's!!!!





Cranked them up and now I'm almost level! Love this look and it still rides great!


Rear Sway Bar Delete. Rusty diff cover is next!






Decided to pull off all the corroded lettering off of the back and add some new flare

[HawkeyeC25]

Since these old posts, I've done a complete engine and trans rebuild, as well as upgrading gears, locker, and other things.

Here's the direct link to that project over the 2016/2017 Winter: viewtopic.php?f=32&t=6660

One other thing I finally did was try out MarkMC's Top Spacers above the Radflo's. Worked out very well!! Even at full droop I still have some play in the CV shaft... no binding!!