Little back story, I bought a civilian Blazer instead of a CUCV, and now I want to get the LSD front and rear 14 bolts off a M1028, in addition to the front bumper with the brush guard and the tow hooks. This thread focuses mostly on the need for some tow hooks....
Ok, just before Christmas I took this girl jess out through a mud field and then we had dinner in the back of the blazer. She thought it was cute, and I was able to justify another wheeling trip. This was the night before it started snowing.
(This first part wasn't really relevant, just felt like talking about it anyway...)
Apparently, Jess's friend Emily, whom I also know, was very jealous.
Then, after a few days of snow, Jess's friend Emily, Jess, and I all pile in the blazer, and my roommates, Lexi and Harrison get in his Grand Cherokee. We went up into the mountains to play in the snow. Here is a picture of Hairson's Jeep in the snow, enjoy
Ya... We didnt see the ditch till he was in it
The girls had a great time, but Emily wanted to go back to the mud hole. I had been there 15 times with other people and never had a problem, so just the three of us in the truck went over. This is where I made my mistake, I didnt know how thick things were frozen already, and moreover, I didnt realize just how much of a difference it made. I went for about 15 minuets before I was stuck. I wasnt stuck bad (Both left tires were on ice sheets), but there was no one else there. I was lucky I had quite a bit of gas in the tank, so we were able to keep my miserable excuse for a heater going for the two hours before someone was able to come close enough that I could walk the girls out, then he took them home. I wasnt just going to leave my truck though.
I walked back to the truck. I had a guy from work coming with a newer chevy to pull me out, but traffic was bad. I couldnt believe how much snow had fallen while I was in the truck. Finally, AFTER 3 HOURS IN THE SNOW he arrived and was able to get me out without any trouble, but the cold miserable experience taught me a lesson. Never leave home un-prepared.
I plan to get a quality tow strap, two good d-rings, and a come-along from Harbor Freight this week, so that In the future I could pull myself out. I had to attach to the rear leaf springs, which worked fine this time, but next time I would like to have something that isnt so low, in case I get stuck in a deep puddle or something of the sort, so I need to get some kind of tow hooks.
I also think that with front and rear LSD I would have been ok.
I know the front of the CUCVs have tow hooks, but I cant see how they are attached, and I have wondered how hard to rig up those would be on my Blazer. If they attach with the bumper, then I could just get the entire front bumper with the hooks and the brush gaurd and add all kinds of protection.
At the off road shop, they said any complete bumper would be over $700, and that it would cost me close to $1000 to lock my 10 bolts, and that if I ran over a 31 inch tire, I would break my axles. He recomended a LSD front and rear, and even that would cost something like $800.
I have never torn down a differential, and I worry my ADD young person-ness would lead to not percise enough measurments and I would blow something up, so those prices included installation. All in all, Im still a novice mechanic.
Would the 14 bolts fit on my blazer without excesive modifying? This would also give me the 4.56 ratio which I would like once I have bigger tires. I dont know if the front would be harder because it has the autolocking hubs right now, but I dont mind transfering the manual locking hubs over as well, just because I heard they last much longer.
Maybe I need to get one of the non running M1028s and just start swapping parts over...
Anyway, back to my point.... I need some kind of recovery system....
Ok, just before Christmas I took this girl jess out through a mud field and then we had dinner in the back of the blazer. She thought it was cute, and I was able to justify another wheeling trip. This was the night before it started snowing.
(This first part wasn't really relevant, just felt like talking about it anyway...)
Apparently, Jess's friend Emily, whom I also know, was very jealous.
Then, after a few days of snow, Jess's friend Emily, Jess, and I all pile in the blazer, and my roommates, Lexi and Harrison get in his Grand Cherokee. We went up into the mountains to play in the snow. Here is a picture of Hairson's Jeep in the snow, enjoy
Ya... We didnt see the ditch till he was in it
The girls had a great time, but Emily wanted to go back to the mud hole. I had been there 15 times with other people and never had a problem, so just the three of us in the truck went over. This is where I made my mistake, I didnt know how thick things were frozen already, and moreover, I didnt realize just how much of a difference it made. I went for about 15 minuets before I was stuck. I wasnt stuck bad (Both left tires were on ice sheets), but there was no one else there. I was lucky I had quite a bit of gas in the tank, so we were able to keep my miserable excuse for a heater going for the two hours before someone was able to come close enough that I could walk the girls out, then he took them home. I wasnt just going to leave my truck though.
I walked back to the truck. I had a guy from work coming with a newer chevy to pull me out, but traffic was bad. I couldnt believe how much snow had fallen while I was in the truck. Finally, AFTER 3 HOURS IN THE SNOW he arrived and was able to get me out without any trouble, but the cold miserable experience taught me a lesson. Never leave home un-prepared.
I plan to get a quality tow strap, two good d-rings, and a come-along from Harbor Freight this week, so that In the future I could pull myself out. I had to attach to the rear leaf springs, which worked fine this time, but next time I would like to have something that isnt so low, in case I get stuck in a deep puddle or something of the sort, so I need to get some kind of tow hooks.
I also think that with front and rear LSD I would have been ok.
I know the front of the CUCVs have tow hooks, but I cant see how they are attached, and I have wondered how hard to rig up those would be on my Blazer. If they attach with the bumper, then I could just get the entire front bumper with the hooks and the brush gaurd and add all kinds of protection.
At the off road shop, they said any complete bumper would be over $700, and that it would cost me close to $1000 to lock my 10 bolts, and that if I ran over a 31 inch tire, I would break my axles. He recomended a LSD front and rear, and even that would cost something like $800.
I have never torn down a differential, and I worry my ADD young person-ness would lead to not percise enough measurments and I would blow something up, so those prices included installation. All in all, Im still a novice mechanic.
Would the 14 bolts fit on my blazer without excesive modifying? This would also give me the 4.56 ratio which I would like once I have bigger tires. I dont know if the front would be harder because it has the autolocking hubs right now, but I dont mind transfering the manual locking hubs over as well, just because I heard they last much longer.
Maybe I need to get one of the non running M1028s and just start swapping parts over...
Anyway, back to my point.... I need some kind of recovery system....