a few lowering questions

[81 blazer]

Hey guys , iam new to the forums but i have a few questions about my truck , any help would be great!!!

i currently own a 1981 Blazer 2wd , with a 350ci hot cam small block
i want to lower it a fair amount , but i don't know tons about doing this...

i would like to do it all myself as a project , even if it takes a long time i would rather do it myself and have something to be proud of. ANYWAYS!

my questions are:

i was looking at installing drop spindles and drop coils to lower the front end a decent amount , but don't know much about what i would need to do this , any specific tools that are out of the ordinary , apart from wrenches and what not? could a semi-beginner to automotives even complete this job?
i dont know were i could get them installed , and like i said i would rather do it myself if possible.

my second question is , for the rear end i dont want that dramatic of a drop so i was looking at drop shackles/hangers .. is this my only option? i dont have any cutting tools to do a flip kit , so thats out of the question.

mainly iam looking for any tips on lowering my blazer , any information at all is greatly appreciated! thanks guys!!!!

[d10s69c10]

it can be done with just wrenches and pry bars. but for a first timer springs can be aggervating and dangerous.

as for the front 2 exeptional tools to help you out would be what is called a "pickle fork" to remove your ball joints if neccicary and a spring compressor just so your not dealing with a loaded gun.

for the rear yes a flip kit would make an instant 4 inches and you can just about keep everything else stock. but other than shackles and hangars finding softer/flatter springs can often give you 1-3 inches.

[spr85gmc]

i wouldnt reccomend taking it to a shop to get a drop done most likely they will charge you out the @$$ just to swap some parts.. basically what u need is a weekend and alot of patience if this is your first time and a lot of wd-40 or PB blast.. i recommend a 5/5 drop 2in drop coils 3inch drop spindals and a flip kit on the rear, it will sit just right with out having to cut up your frame.. check out djm

[81 blazer]

wow , you guys are great .. responding so fast!
i thought i needed to C notch the frame in order to install a flip kit? am i missing something?

[d10s69c10]

well if you keep everything stock but just flip the axle of course you will lose 4 inches of clearance but unless you hit a speed bump at 30 you should be fine.

[BowTieOgre]

I consider myself a novice mechanic and I did the spindles and springs on my truck by myself in an afternoon. Its not that difficult, especially after reading the articles on the site. As far as the rear is concerned I put in a flip kit with the help of a buddy and all I had to do was grind rivets off the stock bumpstop brackets so I could remove them...no cutting to speak of and no c-notch. I still have 3-4" of clearance between the axle tube and frame and the two have NEVER made contact.

Here is the procedure as far as I remember it.

-Parking brake on, put the front of the truck on jackstands...I put mine under the lower control arm shafts.
-Remove the wheels, loosen the brake caliper and secure it out of the way...dont let it dangle by the hose.
-Pry off the dust cap on the rotor, remove the cotter pin, remove the castle nut and pull off the rotor. I always set the rotor stud side up on some cardboard and tap the inner bearing out with a long handle screwdriver.
-If your bearings dont need replacing then clean the old grease out, let them dry and repack them. You can use the tool from the store or do it by hand.
-Remove the cotter pin and nut from the outer tie rod end connected to the stock spindles and use the pickle fork to separate them.
-Put your floor jack under the lower control arm and jack it up a little, remove the cotter pins and nuts from the top and bottom ball joints and carefully lower the jack while keeping one hand on the spindle to keep it from jumping at you and remember, its heavy.
-After the spindle is out of the way pull the jack out of the way and get that stock spring out of there. When you put the new one in make sure it is seated in the bottom AND the top before you put the new spindle on, if you dont it may make noise later on.
-Everything else is pretty much the reverse of removal. If you arent comfortable with cotter pins you might want to have a few extra handy in case you mess a few up. Oh, inspect your ball joints while youre down there, the lowers are easy to remove/install with a tool loaned from the parts store...the uppers have to be drilled out.

As far as the flip kit goes I removed my leaf springs and relocated them to under the axle and when it came time to reinstall them we used C clamps to reduce the distance between the eyelets and they slid right back into place. The grinding of the rivets was the most work back there. OH, I did have to take some meat out of the drivers side plate where it was making contact with the lower shock mount bolt. The grinder did the trick fairly quick and after some rattle can black you would never know.

Tools - I think I used two 3 ton jack stands, a 3 ton jack, the allen wrench for the caliper bolts, needle nose pliers for the cotter pins, a good selection of sockets, flat head screw driver, pickle fork, grinder, 5lb hammer, grease gun, a good buddy and a cold beer.

[81 blazer]

Thank you very much for the detailed information.
i will make a new thread when i get started ( should be within the next couple weeks here ) and take pictures of my progress!

to the other guys that posted , thanks a TON! you guys basically convinced me on this , i have been thinking it over for months .. i love this forum!

Originally Posted by BowTieOgre

I consider myself a novice mechanic and I did the spindles and springs on my truck by myself in an afternoon. Its not that difficult, especially after reading the articles on the site. As far as the rear is concerned I put in a flip kit with the help of a buddy and all I had to do was grind rivets off the stock bumpstop brackets so I could remove them...no cutting to speak of and no c-notch. I still have 3-4" of clearance between the axle tube and frame and the two have NEVER made contact.

Here is the procedure as far as I remember it.

-Parking brake on, put the front of the truck on jackstands...I put mine under the lower control arm shafts.
-Remove the wheels, loosen the brake caliper and secure it out of the way...dont let it dangle by the hose.
-Pry off the dust cap on the rotor, remove the cotter pin, remove the castle nut and pull off the rotor. I always set the rotor stud side up on some cardboard and tap the inner bearing out with a long handle screwdriver.
-If your bearings dont need replacing then clean the old grease out, let them dry and repack them. You can use the tool from the store or do it by hand.
-Remove the cotter pin and nut from the outer tie rod end connected to the stock spindles and use the pickle fork to separate them.
-Put your floor jack under the lower control arm and jack it up a little, remove the cotter pins and nuts from the top and bottom ball joints and carefully lower the jack while keeping one hand on the spindle to keep it from jumping at you and remember, its heavy.
-After the spindle is out of the way pull the jack out of the way and get that stock spring out of there. When you put the new one in make sure it is seated in the bottom AND the top before you put the new spindle on, if you dont it may make noise later on.
-Everything else is pretty much the reverse of removal. If you arent comfortable with cotter pins you might want to have a few extra handy in case you mess a few up. Oh, inspect your ball joints while youre down there, the lowers are easy to remove/install with a tool loaned from the parts store...the uppers have to be drilled out.

As far as the flip kit goes I removed my leaf springs and relocated them to under the axle and when it came time to reinstall them we used C clamps to reduce the distance between the eyelets and they slid right back into place. The grinding of the rivets was the most work back there. OH, I did have to take some meat out of the drivers side plate where it was making contact with the lower shock mount bolt. The grinder did the trick fairly quick and after some rattle can black you would never know.

Tools - I think I used two 3 ton jack stands, a 3 ton jack, the allen wrench for the caliper bolts, needle nose pliers for the cotter pins, a good selection of sockets, flat head screw driver, pickle fork, grinder, 5lb hammer, grease gun, a good buddy and a cold beer.

[Richard D]

I did the spring/spindle swap with a flip kit on mine, no frame notching. Rides fine, can still jump a curb if I'm carefull.
Don't forget to cut out the front bumpstop brackets as well, and put in some low profile bump stops like these front and rear.
http://www.energysuspensionparts.com...sp?prod=9.9132

[454HO]

Check out my DJM Flip Kit thread for pics and a rough tutorial.

[spr85gmc]

one more thing make sure when you order the parts that they are all corect ones .. when i did mine i was going at it blind and just went at it well long story short i ended up putting springs to drop a dually on my truck which ended up lifting it up boy was i frustrated.....and pissed so just double check all your parts and got DJM fr sure

[N2TRUX]

Originally Posted by 81 blazer

.....i currently own a 1981 Blazer 2wd...... mainly iam looking for any tips on lowering my blazer , any information at all is greatly appreciated! thanks guys!!!!:Chevy:

Guys I think you over looked a small detail. He is asking about lowering a Blazer. The front works exactly as everyone has described. The rear is another story considering the frame is totally different.

You might get by with out a C-notch but I highly recommend you put one in. You also need to know the shackle will hit the gas filler tube and it will take some rerouting for it to clear.

It's not an insurmountable job, but you should be aware of these things. Take look n the Blazer forum and you will find more details.


Oh yah, welcome to the forum...