CUCV M1028 Compatability with civian Blazer? (14 bolt front and rear, front bumper.)

[Loco_Hosa]

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....

 

[kennyw]

The front axle is a bolt in, the rear will require moving the spring perches. The front bumper and brush guard are also a bolt on for '81-91 K5's, but anything before '84 may not have all the holes drilled. I put CUCV bumpers on my '83, but I have a few more holes to drill before I can use the clevis mounts to pull anything.

But you need the rear bumper off of an M1009 since the pickups and K5's have a different rear bumper setup. I don't know what offroad shop your talking too, but there are a few to avoid down in your area. They see a young kid walk in and see an easy mark to rip you off.

 

[kennyw]

I've been driving around the last two weeks in this snow and ice without a problem. Been through a lot of crap with 3/4 ton axles and 37" tires. Half of the time driver skill will be more important than how well your rig is setup. The other half is knowing your limitations to avoid getting yourself stuck in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Loco_Hosa]

I've been driving around the last two weeks in this snow and ice without a problem. Been through a lot of crap with 3/4 ton axles and 37" tires. Half of the time driver skill will be more important than how well your rig is setup. The other half is knowing your limitations to avoid getting yourself stuck in the middle of nowhere.

I understand this, and driving around in the snow and ice on the road the blazer did wonderful. Once I was offroad I got both tires stuck on plates of ice and learning one limitation....

Im the first to say I have a lot to learn still, and I learned a ton that day

 

[papercu]

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

FYI You do know about Carbon monoxide? Wayne
http://www.examiner.com/x-572-Auto-...Cabon-monoxide-is-a-winter-killer-in-your-car

 

[pc3nmcb]

I understand this, and driving around in the snow and ice on the road the blazer did wonderful. Once I was offroad I got both tires stuck on plates of ice and learning one limitation....

Im the first to say I have a lot to learn still, and I learned a ton that day

Well, you learned something and had fun. Always let someone know where you are gonna be playing.

 

[maritimer]

jeez i run the stock cucv with a winch and 31" hercules traildiggers and only ever had to use the winch to pull myself once

 

[OffRoad]

m1028s don't have 14 bolts front and rear. they have a dana 60 front with a limited slip and a 14 bolt full floater rear with a Detroit Locker, and both axles have 4.56 gears.
good call taking a girl mudding, dinner is the back is cute too. well played
bad call: you went wheeling unprepared.
you got stuck on ice sheets. lockers (1 or 2) could have probably gotten you out of this. your truck has 1/2 ton axles. either dana 44/ 12 bolt, or duall 10 bolts. LockRight Lockers are prolly the best thing for your application.
quality tow strap: good idea, don't cheap out. it'll just snap and break expensive stuff.

you could join Colorado K5. www.ck5.com it's a website all about every aspect of 73-91 chevy trucks, blazers, suburbans, everything. i can not recommend this site highly enough. they have guys in the exact same situations as you posting almost every day. they will help you out. join, search, read. everything you've mention is covered on that site.
big bumpers cost money. fact. you can make big bumpers your self for cheap. for $700 you could buy a welder, grinder, and chop saw and make your own bumper. buy a frame hitch and *poof* you have a rear tow point.
you can run locked up 1/2 tons with bigger than 31s, you're just incresing your chances of breakage. he's saying that becasue he doesn't want you to came back and try to sue him if your axles break.
you might be able to find someone on the CK5 website that is close to you, get them to help you install the lockers, and you buy them so pizza and beer. that sort of arrangment. like when you bribe buddies to come over and help cut down trees or build a deck.

Would the 14 bolts fit on my blazer without excesive modifying?

yes. there is a bit of modifying, but not much.
36x13x16 TSL Swamper tires would be a pretty good fit. you could run surplus Humvee tires if that's more your style, but tye will not have as much traction off road as swampers will.
http://www.intercotire.com/tires.php?id=10&g=1
the biggest thing, as others have said, is learning judgement and your trucks capabilities. i've turned down holes and obstacles cause i was in the middle of nowhere and it was getting late.
also, ou have to decide whether your gonna do the kind of off-roading that requires swampers and lockers or 31s and a rear locker.
personally, wqith everything i've gone through with my truck. i'd say, get:
31" mud tires
a rear LockRight (bribe/pay a CK5 member to put one in for you)
get soem tow straps and a recovery points and go wheeling.
you'll have fun now, not have to wait while your truck is being modified.
the locker will make a huge difference. you won't believe it.

 

[AJMBLAZER]

I'll also recommend CK5. Lots of good tech there for these era GM trucks.

As mentioned before the Dana 60 front axle will bolt in and the 14FF will require the spring perches to be removed and then replaced in the correct place. 1 ton trucks like these have different rear spring spacing than the 1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks.

 

[HAWKMAN]

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....

The towing "Hooks" are bolted to the front frame horns and have a riveted re-enforceing plate on the inside of the frame. They make towing the GI trucks a breeze.If your looking for a pair,(depending on where you are) I can sell/ship then complete for $75.00 for the pair. PM if interested