Question regarding lift & rear brakes

[Look]

Hello :-)

Three questions regarding K5 Blazer 4x4 '84 5.0

1. I'd like to lower from 6" lift to 2" lift.
Plan is to cut or completely remove rear leaf spring blocks and remove extra leaf springs from the front to match 2" all around.
Question: How many leaves should 2" front suspension have ?
Would anyone be so kind and check his own 2" setup ? :-)
Or just take a photo and paste here ?

2. What is the standard distance between center of the wheel hub and lower edge of the fender (untrimmed) ?
I'd like to end up with proper 2" downgrade as much as possible :-)

3. I must replace wheel cylinders and brake shoes. Rockauto is telling me there were two different drum sizes installed in K5s:
a. 11-5/32 inch x 2-3/4 inch
b. 11 inch x 2 inch
How do I recognize which i have on my car without disassembling drums ? Rear axle is 12-bolt GM if that helps...


Thanks in advance for consultancy ! :-)

[Front Range]

Originally Posted by Look

Hello :-)

Three questions regarding K5 Blazer 4x4 '84 5.0

1. I'd like to lower from 6" lift to 2" lift.
Plan is to cut or completely remove rear leaf spring blocks and remove extra leaf springs from the front to match 2" all around.
Question: How many leaves should 2" front suspension have ?
Would anyone be so kind and check his own 2" setup ? :-)
Or just take a photo and paste here ?

2. What is the standard distance between center of the wheel hub and lower edge of the fender (untrimmed) ?
I'd like to end up with proper 2" downgrade as much as possible :-)

3. I must replace wheel cylinders and brake shoes. Rockauto is telling me there were two different drum sizes installed in K5s:
a. 11-5/32 inch x 2-3/4 inch
b. 11 inch x 2 inch
How do I recognize which i have on my car without disassembling drums ? Rear axle is 12-bolt GM if that helps...


Thanks in advance for consultancy ! :-)

1. Spring rate will be different with each brand of spring pack, you will probably have to experiment. For example: Rough Country 2" lift springs have 5 leaves in the pack.

Here is a link to pictures and descriptions of factory replacement springs measurements and leaf counts to give you a reference point. http://www.generalspringkc.com/Leaf_...uck_s/1819.htm.

2. The standard distance will vary depending on the spring rate and degradation over time. Lot of 4x4's are sitting on saggy front springs. For a 2" lift your probably looking at around 24" to 26" from hub center to fender lip - but that is a guesstimate.

3. An 11x2 drum and an 11 x 2 3/4 drum look very similar from the exterior - easy to make a mistake. Your best bet is to remove one rear tire, take the drum off, and measure the width of the pad surface. An example in the pictures: the black one is 11 x 2.75 and the silver one is 11 x 2. Very difficult to tell any difference if they were the same color and bolt pattern.

[Look]

Front Range - thank you very much for such detailed answer ! :-)
Cheers !

[Front Range]

Your welcome, good luck with it.