98~05 Blazer brake upgrade! DONE!

81msw79

Master Mechanic
May 5, 2013
391
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roselle park , nj
So does Autozone or any other parts store . They are dorman brand bolts.

DORMAN PART NUMBER: 14006
Come as a pack of 2. So you will need 2 packages.
 
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Rapidride2

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Apr 30, 2018
35
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Boy did i get lucky today,,,, I scored 2 pair of 2wd blazer spindles for 2 projects . $58 for all 4 spindles!
 
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Geezy24

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Nov 18, 2017
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Yes you can, but you'll need an alignment. Also I'd consider that as "adding height to your spindle" (same goes for using tall uppers), and any time you do that you'll need to re-shim your uppers. I used 0.5" taller uppers with stock upper A-arms and was still able to achieve factory alignment specs with them. (0.5" taller lowers should be the exact same.) And that was done at an alignment shop, so I didn't have to do that myself.
Also, you may have read that I switched to Spohn "Tall Spindle" Uppers. I only did that to be able to get to -2 degrees camber without an extreme amount of shims, and to increase header clearance for my Buick engine.
For reference, these are some reference photos I took before swapping to my tubular upper A-arms. This should be at -1 degree camber if I remember correctly. Note the shim count. Also note that I'm using offset cross shafts in the stock uppers here. I could have flipped them to decrease the shim count. That being said, with the orientation pictured they're actually increasing the necessary shim count. So with non-offset cross shafts and factory camber specs, your shim count should be lower than this. And even lower with flipped offset cross shafts.
View attachment 80960 View attachment 80961

EDIT: If that wasn't -1 degree camber pictured, then it may have been between 0 and -0.5 degrees. Even if so, I stand by my suggestion of the extended lowers being doable with an otherwise stock front end.

How do you like the spohn upper control arms? Also, how is your bump steer? I did this conversion using c6 z06 calipers front and rear but have not aligned it since I am doing the uppers and decided to get the spohn bumpsteer kit as well. Did the tall ball joint lower the car? My 87 Buick GN is on All new moog bushings and I used the tall lower ball joint and I have the Djm tubular lowers that has a 3” drop with stock length coils, however the Djm arms are for blazer so I doubt my GN is as heavy so probably a 2” drop. Still sits very low so not sure if I should go with a tall Ball joint on the uppers.
1e88d9b80118aaa613eb9d7570798cd3.jpg

Here is a picture to give you an idea of how it sits.. 20x9 front wheels billstein shocks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
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307 Regal

Royal Smart Person
Oct 21, 2009
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How do you like the spohn upper control arms? Also, how is your bump steer? I did this conversion using c6 z06 calipers front and rear but have not aligned it since I am doing the uppers and decided to get the spohn bumpsteer kit as well. Did the tall ball joint lower the car? My 87 Buick GN is on All new moog bushings and I used the tall lower ball joint and I have the Djm tubular lowers that has a 3” drop with stock length coils, however the Djm arms are for blazer so I doubt my GN is as heavy so probably a 2” drop. Still sits very low so not sure if I should go with a tall Ball joint on the uppers.
1e88d9b80118aaa613eb9d7570798cd3.jpg

Here is a picture to give you an idea of how it sits.. 20x9 front wheels billstein shocks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Looks slick! Very nice.
Great news for your tall upper BJ concerns: They won't affect ride height!
Here's how I tend to breakdown understanding ride height:
I like to think that the springs and lower a-arm spring seats make up a sort of "pre-wheel ride height" or "spring oriented ride height."
And on the other hand, things like drop/raised spindles and extended ball joints make up what I like to call "wheel oriented ride height."

With spring oriented ride height, what you're really doing is bringing the frame of the car closer to the lower a-arm. Since your lower a-arm's lower ball joint can't get any closer to the ground during normal driving, you can almost think of the lower a-arm like the ground itself. Rock bottom! Your springs (and therefore the rest of the car) are basically standing on them. Using lowering springs is sort of like bending your knees to lower yourself.

Wheel oriented ride height is where ball joints, spindles, and even wheel dimensions come in to play. It's a lot less like bending your knees and a lot more like taking a step down on a ladder! Now let's think of the lower A-arm like your foot, the upper A-arm like your arm, and the wheel & spindle like a ladder. Your ball joints are just like rungs on the ladder. Adding an extended lower ball joint to your spindle is like stepping down to a lower rung on a ladder. You're lowering your entire body. We'll stay with this ladder analogy to talk about the different combinations of parts:

-Stock parts are like you standing halfway up a ladder. Use that height as a starting point when you imagine each scenario.

-Drop spindles are like you moving both your hands and feet an equal number of rungs down a ladder. You're your same old self once you get there, but you're just closer to the ground.

-Tall upper ball joints alone are like moving your hands up to the next rung without moving your feet anywhere. Your body isn't getting any lower so you don't have to worry about getting closer to the ground. But your arms are getting higher so you just have to make sure there's nothing getting in their way. Reach as high as you want and stop where it's most comfortable. Parts wise, we've effectively added height to the spindle.

-Tall lower ball joints by themselves are like taking a step down to the next lowest rung on a ladder without moving your hands from the rung they started on. Your feet and the rest of your body are not only lower, but your arms are now slightly raised in relation to your body as well. This means that taller lower ball joints both lower the car AND raise the upper A-arms in relation to the rest of the chassis. Again, we've effectively added height to the spindle, hence the upper A-arm movement, but this time the so-called spindle height was added below the center axis of the wheel so the whole car moved down too.

-Lastly, both taller upper and lower ball joints together are like moving your arms up one rung and your feet down one rung. There's a total increase of two rungs worth of distance between your hands and feet. But, you're still only one rung closer to the ground because it's your feet that dictate your total distance from the ground and not your hands.

I also made a sketch because I just like explaining these things as best as I can.
LoweringDiagram.png
 
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307 Regal

Royal Smart Person
Oct 21, 2009
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Northern Indiana
Also, I really like the Spohn uppers. They did exactly what I bought them for and they've held up very well to frequent all-weather use.
 

UNGN

Comic Book Super Hero
Sep 6, 2016
3,048
3,264
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Southlake, TX
How do you like the spohn upper control arms? Also, how is your bump steer? I did this conversion using c6 z06 calipers front and rear but have not aligned it since I am doing the uppers and decided to get the spohn bumpsteer kit as well. Did the tall ball joint lower the car? My 87 Buick GN is on All new moog bushings and I used the tall lower ball joint and I have the Djm tubular lowers that has a 3” drop with stock length coils, however the Djm arms are for blazer so I doubt my GN is as heavy so probably a 2” drop. Still sits very low so not sure if I should go with a tall Ball joint on the uppers.
1e88d9b80118aaa613eb9d7570798cd3.jpg

Here is a picture to give you an idea of how it sits.. 20x9 front wheels billstein shocks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Tall upper ball joint will probably help the bumpsteer more than a bumpsteer kit, by reducing the reverse camber curve during the wheel travel.

What springs do you have in front? there is lots of improvement going to stiffer springs over stock '87 GN springs. Something like a moog 5662 that is cut to get the static ride height back to this.
 

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