Stink Ten Two. The second Blazer.

[leegreen]

That is a really clean Blazer. But I think I figured out why the 2.8 oil filter did not fit.

[HO455]

Thank you, I'm trying get it cleaned up bit by bit. The carpeting needs replaced as well and the headliner is sagging so there's a couple of projects on the horizon.

I wondered if anyone would catch the filter joke. My Burban had a whole bunch of PO inflicted problems, this truck is much, much better.

[HO455]

The pinon seal started leaking. At first I noticed spots the size of a half dollar but they quickly got more significant. So I decided if I was going to have to deal with the seal I would change the gear ratio too. The F-body T56's have a 2.66 first gear ratio which I'm sure GM chose due to fuel and emission concerns but otherwise they're a real buzz kill. Especially in stop and go traffic combined with 3.42 rear gears.

The truck had 3.42's in it when I got it. There was a receipt for them being installed along with a list of new parts in the documentation that came with the truck. I wanted to put a set of 3.90's in but they were back ordered so the next best option for me was 3.73's. I ordered a set along with a pinion spacer set to be used instead of a crush sleeve. Then I dropped the truck and parts off at Six States and had them install the parts.

I am pleased with the results as the truck is nicer to drive in traffic with less need to slip the clutch when starting out. On the other end now 6th gear is usable at 60 mph instead of 65. I still think 3.90's would have been the best compromise but I'd probably still be waiting for them to come off back order and leaving a trail of gear oil everywhere I went.

As a side note the shop reported that the reason the pinion seal was leaking was the pinion shaft bearings were loose and the carrier wasn't shimmed properly and it had slightly too much play. So a new set of bearings got installed too. Now the truck certainly seems smoother at this point.

[HO455]

Doing some maintenance on the Blazer today and found this mess in the air cleaner. I'm guessing there 20 horsepower there in amongst the sunflower seeds and the hazelnut.

[HO455]

I noticed early on that the light output on the Blazer's headlights was atrocious! This was kind of unexpected as it had a pair of Hella glass H4 light housings. Until I inspected the lights I was figuring old bulbs and/or low voltage to the bulbs. However inspection showed the silvering on the inside of the housings was failing. (See photos.) I've never seen this kind of failure on quality lights like Hellas before. Basically the fix was new housings followed by installing relays to ensure proper voltage will be delivered to the bulbs.

I installed new Koito H4 headlamps with 60/55W Vosla +150 bulbs that I sourced from Daniel Stern. And I got part of the relays installed but the high temperature ceramic sockets I ordered are back ordered for 2 more weeks. So more to follow on this one.

https://www.danielsternlighting.com/.../products.html

Now I'm eagerly waiting for night fall to go dial in the new illumination.

[leegreen]

I had a set of Hellas do that as well, in storage with bulbs in them.

I had used them for about 5 years up north in a cold environment with lots of salt on the road, pulled them from the truck when I sold it and put them away for about 15 years in unheated but dry storage. When I pulled them out to use them they were junk, worse than your pictures.