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    Soften the ride.

    One note here for posterity: spring eye bolts on these trucks have sleeves in them and the bolts should be kept tight.
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    track bar for 1987 V2500

    In general a panhard bar is a bad idea with leaf springs. People think they keep the frame and axle from moving side to side when in reality, they actually force the axle to move side to side. [insert Jedi hand wave] This is not the solution you seek.
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    K5 ls swap

    One thing to consider for your use is a lot of swap crossmember and motor mount systems are pretty light duty which is often (probably usually) fine in 2wd/street use but offroad is a different story. Shameless self promotion here: we (ORD) have a crossmember and motor mount system that is well...
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    C30, 85 with a narrow dually

    We were able to put a regular bed on a cab and chassis truck by moving the rear axle forward with an offset plate and making the bed to cab gap a little bigger than normal. It was a single wheel truck but the axle location part of the puzzle was the same. I think you'll want to plan on wheel...
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    Steering Gearbox Differences

    The difference between 2wd and 4wd is the output/sector shaft. 4wd is splined part way around and uses a crossbolt to clamp the pitman arm to the shaft. The 2wd is splined all the way around (with a taper fit for the pitman arm) like just about every other sector shaft in the world and has a...
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    Traction aid in the front axle or not?

    There seems to be a few of us with pretty good winter experience with a variety of vehicle setups here and my experience drops inline. Open front for snow driving, period. Handling suffers severly when the front wheels are tied together in any way. I've had negative feedback from the amount...
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    Multiple shock kits for k2500 suburban

    One idea you might look at since you mention a stepping stone to coilovers is mounting a 2.5" coilover shock but not using the coil mounting hardware. This can get you to a point that linking the truck and using the shock as a coilover is that much easier. Coilovers are just a 2.5" shock with...
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    Solution for stripped out 10 Spline sm465/np203?

    You can use the factory adapter with the short 32 output shaft, no problem. That output shaft is built long enough to be sort of universal. The 10 spline system was never good but at least with the 205 it was easy to replace. There's a 10 spline 203 buried in the yard at my parents old house...
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    Fox shocks

    Since the chart was already referenced above, here's the info directly: https://www.offroaddesign.com/fox-performance-series-2-0-smooth-body-remote-reservoir-standard-travel-1.html
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    Options for knocking front driveshaft on lifted K10?

    You don't really want to mess with shimming the pinion up, that takes caster away and makes for a wandery feeling on the road.
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    Shackle Question

    The way to verify a spring problem is: 1: put them side by side on the floor and they should be the same height or very close to it. 2: swap sides. If you have a spring problem, the problem will move with the spring. Most of the time, if the springs are the same height on the floor and you...
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    LS bellhousing stiffener rods

    That is correct, sort of. You put 2 separate things in #2. The side brace to the frame rail is essentially an angle iron with a couple of bushings that bolts to the side of the T-case and the bushings attach it to the frame rail. These were in the earlier 70s trucks and were a bad idea. The...
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    Leaf spring bolt sizes

    Front eyes are 9/16 x 5 Rear eye stock is 7/16 x 5 on both top and bottom. 88-91 went to 9/16 on the lower only. 7/16 isn't awesome for any sort of hard use and the stock shackle plates are often a problem with wear and strength too. In an effort to solve the problem, if you have one, I'll...
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    Master cylinder lid leaking

    We often put a hose clamp around the whole master to clamp the lid down better so they don't leak when we're at funny angles offroad. It seems a little butch but solves the problem.
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    Transfer case drop

    I'm a big fan of 2-3" of lift on a K5. And also a fan of CV driveshafts on the rear of K5s. I fought my original K5 for years with driveline vibes and finally relented and put a CV on it and haven't looked back. It's always worth trying with a stock driveshaft if you can since sometimes they...
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    LS bellhousing stiffener rods

    What everyone is missing here is that all the later model drivetrain pieces that did not have side braces came in IFS trucks that don't have plunging driveshafts. The strut rod is there to keep driveshaft plunge forces from working on the adapter and the back of the transmission. It's not a...
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    K5 frame crack

    If you don't see cracks, just put on a brace and drive it and keep an eye on it. If you're going to wheel it hard, you need the weld in and the bolt in no matter what. Or fab in spacer/mounting tubes rather than bolting to the frame surface only. This is one purpose of our (ORD) box...
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    K5 3” lift question

    Keep it to 2-3" with 3 being a max. Reason being dealing with driveshafts. The front will want to come down and hit the crossover pipe if you still have it. The rear is the real problem and you can fight vibrations pretty hard with any taller lift. We generally recommend doing a SYE and CV...
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    K5 3” lift question

    Obviously, the sky's the limit. Kind of a premium 3" would be this K5: This has our custom springs all around with all new hangers and shackles, relocated 2" shocks, crossover steering and a rear 2 link traction bar setup. It's actually a fairly awesome K5 for a somewhat modest build. It...
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    Full top conversion

    Maybe just do the top chop and put a soft top on the stock frame while you look for a soft top specific frame? You don't really lose anything other than the labor involved in capping the windshield frame and you get a full convertible now rather than later or maybe never.
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    2 stick transfer case

    That 205 twin shift pattern is for a Ford 205. The GM has the front output on the right hand side.
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    Full top conversion

    If you're only going to run a soft top, you can just cap the factory windshield header and put the soft top on it. Check out softopper's instructions for the 73-75 tops and you'll see what I mean. If you want to run a hard top, you'll need the full frame for sure but I suspect that's not your...
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    Ball joint

    If you absolutely can't get grease in there, I'd look at trying to get some heavy gear oil under the boot. It's not thick like grease but some lube is better than no lube and could help you kick the can on an otherwise un necessary job for a while. Then when it's actually loose, you can put in...
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    Front driveline angles on a lifted square

    Put the truck frame on jackstands (or a lift) and measure the driveline angle at full droop. Most of the time a modified 1350 is good for about 30 degrees so hopefully you fall in that range. In general, a CV driveshaft will make it usable, maybe not great at higher speeds. A stock 3R CV...
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    73-87 Rear Disc Brake Conversion Problem

    I'd second the 1 1/8" master. 1" will give you a pretty long pedal stroke.

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