Rear Sway Bar for Blazer/Jimmy

[shiftpro]

You really don't want an anti-sway (correct name) bar on the rear. The front bar is enough of a liability off-road already. A rear sway bar will
severely reduce your extension travel, or droop travel, which is absolutely necessary for 4x4 traction.
As mentioned above by a few of our brilliant members, look for problems in the suspension. Worn shocks or even new ones that are wimpy will do nothing to control body lean. Your front sway bar bushings need examination and can be replaced with Poly units that will in fact stiffen up body roll.
Lets get some pics up...

 

[Snoots]

Ewww! Went to get pix today. Man is my face red. Every bushing is shot, shocks too. Need new tires first. UGH! More's the misery.

 

[shiftpro]

Ewww! Went to get pix today. Man is my face red. Every bushing is shot, shocks too. Need new tires first. UGH! More's the misery.

Well now you know what you need to do... the first part of problem solving...

 

[75gmck25]

I am also trying to tighten up the handling on my '75 K25, and I started out the past week with replacing ball joints and tie rod ends, and replacing bushings on the anti-sway bar. Getting it all disassembled so I could pull off the hubs and replace ball joints actually went better than I expected, except for the cold weather. I was able to borrow the ball joint and tie rod tools from Advance Auto, but had to buy a 4WD hub socket and an upper ball joint adjuster sleeve tool.

Once I finish this job I plan to buy a full set of polyurethene bushings for all the springs. After that I will replace the rag joint in the steering, since the swap to a jeep shaft doesn't work on the older trucks. Then I want to adjust the pre-load on the steering box to take out some of the play. I may also look at new shocks, but have to pick a good price point, since some of them are much more expensive.

Getting a 40+ year old vehicle to have decent handling on the road takes some time. However, if you are going to tow with a Blazer, you want it to be as stable as possible.

Bruce

 

[rpcraft]

Don't forget the busines that are on the hangers as well... People do the springs a lot of time and then forget about the second half of the solution. I think between ORD and DIY 4 x 4 they sell a combination of greasable bolts and replacement shackle parts that do a lot to make the suspension more robust for wheeling, but also will help the vehicle have a more solid connection to the frame (and therefore handle better). Also, with things like greasable shackle bolts you will be future proofing the serviceability of your rig.