b pillar sag

[mudman316]

will replacing the b pillar on the passenger side of blazer stop the sag?

or

am i looking at a different fix?

i have about a 1/2 inch sag under hard top at back of passenger door.

if i attach top will it straighten it out so i can fix it or will it hurt the top?

should i do the fix first? then worry about the line up of the door?

anyone had the same problem?

any advice or picures of fixes would be appreciated.

thanks, in advance.... I LOVE THIS SITE.

[mudman316]

Oh yea,

rockers are gone, boxes are gone, a pillar and body support that goes to main body truss is gone almost. I know i have a lot to do but was wanting to get it road worthy and fix as i go. but maybe this info will help if anyone has any advice.

[Blazer1970]

It sags because the body mounts are rotted out/gone.

[Critter]

I had the same issue. Replace the body mounts and SHIM the mounts to where the top sits level, assuming you top is structurally in decent shape and not cracked all to pieces. Then replace your sheet metal from there. There are lots of threads on body mount shimming, just run a search.

[vtblazer]

All those parts/pieces are structural but if you've got an opening at the bottom rear portion of the door, it's the door doing the sagging.

The 'A' pillar holds the door hinges in alignment and if it's junk on the bottom, it's moving.

With the top off, your firewall is moving, that's why when you put the hard top back on, everything comes back into place.

Post some pics, let us see what's going on if you can.

How are your skillz?
You ready to tear into this?

Here's a couple pics of how well these old trucks hide the rust.
The lower 'A' pillar LOOKS okay in the first pic but not so much once the outer rocker is pulled off.

[Chevyman63]

Originally Posted by vtblazer

All those parts/pieces are structural but if you've got an opening at the bottom rear portion of the door, it's the door doing the sagging.

The 'A' pillar holds the door hinges in alignment and if it's junk on the bottom, it's moving.

With the top off, your firewall is moving, that's why when you put the hard top back on, everything comes back into place.

Post some pics, let us see what's going on if you can.

How are your skillz?
You ready to tear into this?

Here's a couple pics of how well these old trucks hide the rust.
The lower 'A' pillar LOOKS okay in the first pic but not so much once the outer rocker is pulled off.

I agree (and this guy knows what he's talking about)

But you may have to replace all parts mentioned to actually fix the sag problem.

[special-K]

That sag is caused by the torsion boxes and rockers being weak or gone.The boxes give the strength lacking from no top.

[mudman316]

I am working on it on the weekends at my dads he has a better and bigger shop. so i will get pics this weekend. i have enough skillz i think i have done some rocker replacements before but no pillars and mounts. I am a factory maintenance man and can weld and do most anything. i have made floor boards and rockers from sheet metal and done some major sheet metal fabing on a 79 that i owned and 70 i owned but no structural supports so this will be new to me but i think i can handle it with some help.

the front of the quarters move when i close the door that is why i was think start with the supports there.

but assuming that all that i mentioned is bad

where should i start?

A pillar or B pillar or body mount shimms?

At what point do i put the top on to keep every thing aligned?

I hope this is not to much to ask i just want to make sure i do it correct and in the correct order.

VT I have seen your thread and have read and looked at it in depth and will make reference to it during my build you look to be THE MAN TO ASK.

I suppose the correct order is what is important ..

you did it A pillar then B pillar right??

but where do the body mount fit in?

The shimming of body mounts makes sense because the quarters go up when i shut the door but as you said it could be the A pillar allowing the door to sag and then pull the door up.

you tell me I WILL LISTEN.

I will do it the VT WAY!!!!!!!

All help greatly appreciated.

[Classic Heartbeat]

The first thing that you need to do is to make sure that your door allignment is correct befor you start tearing into the Blazer. If your top is in good shape you can use it to maintain the door opening and "A" pillar alignment while working on it. This will also insure that you will not have any problems bolting on the top in the future. Once you get that in order, then you will need to repair or replace the front body mount. It would be a good idea to replace all of the body mounts, so you do not run into problems further down the road by having a mix of new and old ones.
To do the repairs you have many different ways to go about this, but this is how I go about it.
I first remove the rocker and inspect the "A" and "B" pillars. If they are rusted out, I just leave them for the time being. The rocker box if rusted out can be removed at this time. I only would do one side at a time. This will give you access to the bottom of your floor. If the rocker boxes are in tact, then all work will need to be done from the top side.
Unbolt the 4 bolts that bolt the "A" pillar, floor section and kick panel together. I then use an air chissel to seperate them.
Once seperated I cut the bad area of the floor out. Save it to use as a template to cut the patch panel out with. This will expose the top of the front cab mount witch will probably be rusted out. Cut off only what is necessary to repair the support, then use the cut off piece for a template to cut the new piece.
I then tack weld in the new section of the floor support.
I then tack weld the new piece for the floor. This is why I leave the pillars and kick panels in place. That is what I use to make sure things go back together just the way they came out.
Once the floor is in, time to cut out the rusted kick panel and use the same proceedures to replace it.
Next, redrill the holes for everything to be bolted back together.
I then do the "A" pillar. I do it once the inner pieces are in, because I needed it for alignment issues for the inner pieces and now that that is done, I have the inner pieces installed so they will be used for alignment of the "A" pillar.
The proceedures are different for the "B" pillar. I work my way in carfully seperating all of the pieces. Tack weldin in the new parts as I work my way back out.
Replacing the rocker box is the last thing on the list.

This is just a quick write up of how I have done these repairs and believe me there are lots of other ways, including completely cutting everything out at once then replacing the parts. However they are both braver than I and have way more experience than myself. WES

[mudman316]

You guys don't think the top will be hurt by using it to line the quarters and doors up with?

so putting the top on is the first step?

body mounts and front floor support next?

a pillar then b pillar and then rocker box then rocker?

[Classic Heartbeat]

No, you won't hurt the top. You should push on the windshield pillar to help the top line up and bolt into place. Once it is in place it wont hurt it to maintain the door opening while you make the repairs. I won't make the repais without the top on the Blazer, because I do not want the issues of the top not lining up once repairs have been made. There are a couple of members here that have experienced that using measurements instead of the top. Also the order of repairs looks right to me. WES

[mudman316]

thanks wes, i just can't wait to get started on it this weekend. it now moves under it's own power and runs. now to get the top on correct and making it stop when i want it to. stopping is important too. It used to be light green the TOTM competition was right up my alley but i am new to this i just thought it cool that it was themed after my blazer. kinda cool. then i get to start to drive and fix at the same time. I am going to tackle the ignition swithch also the one that is in it has no key and the one that i am using is hanging by the wires. i get to try to remove the switch without the key. i found a thread on here that had a method so i get to try my patience. YEHA.
Oh i forgot i have to put the seats in too. lots of work it will be a couple of weeks before i start driving it on a regular basis to work and back. gona be a long short weekend cause time flies when your having fun. thanks for all the help looking forward to all the good info i will get from here thanks to all thus far. this site is great.

[mudman316]

more pics to go by

[mudman316]

any one have pictures of where the top meets the windshield?

and possilbly

some of where the top sits at the back of the door?

i have a small bracket at the top of the windshield frame on each side that looks factory

but

it may be making the top not able to go up far enough where someone had a soft top on i at one time

i was just wandering if it was factory or if i need to remove it?

i think it is where the front frame is saging a bit as talked about earlier. with VTBLAZER.

and i may just need to push on it as i put the top on to straighten it up for future fixes as talked about in the last post.

i'll try to get some pics this weekend of progress and of top fitment before and after.

thanks again.

[mudman316]

any luck on pics at where the top meets the windshield?

i think the bracket is factory and i just have sag but would like to make sure before i go taking stuff off.

thanks guys. as i said can't wait to get into it and get it down the road this weekend.

[mudman316]

I've been feeling kinda guilty for not supporting this site and
getting all the info. that I have been getting so I finally did it.

SUBSCRIBED AT LAST.

Great to know that others here care about keeping the site running
for all the info. and ties that bind that this site creates.

Thanks to all that have helped me thus far.

[mudman316]

Got the top on for a while if I got it on right. One side the PO took the metal
strip out of the dbl wall so i zipped it for now till I get a permanent fix.

anyone run into this before??

One is a picture of a bracket at where the top meets the windshield frame I think it is ONLY for the soft top that was once on it??
is this true??

[mudman316]

just a progress report.

rear seat bolted in partially.

top on

all fluids changed

tank in and gassed up.

drove it around in the field Friday. 1st gear good and reverse. but did not want to take off in drive or L2. changed fluid but did no good. put Lucas tranny fixer in it and no good think i will have to rebuild. it even sounds as tho it is slipping i can feel it go into gear but no pull when gassed except in low and reverse. However, if i get it going in L1 and then shift up it does OK so i am hoping but not buying into that it is fixed but hoping that after some working over the next couple of weeks it will get lubed up with Lucas and start working perfect. thinking a problem with valve body and some sticking or non-sealing.

anyone run into this problem on there auto tranny ?

P.S. don't drive around in circles without front seat bolted down .

IT CREATES A PUCKER FACTOR.

[71jimmy]

Doesn't sound to good about your tranny. Things rarely fix themselves. But who knows, good luck.

[vtblazer]

I had one act up on a road trip once, wouldn't shift up either and I thought the tranny was smoked and I was gonna be screwed a thousand miles from home but all it turned out to be was the plastic worm gear was stripped.

[jaros44sr]

Originally Posted by vtblazer

I had one act up on a road trip once, wouldn't shift up either and I thought the tranny was smoked and I was gonna be screwed a thousand miles from home but all it turned out to be was the plastic worm gear was stripped.

What plastic worm gear?

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by jaros44sr

What plastic worm gear?

I'm kinda stupid with transmission's but I do remeber is that it was easy to find.

[jaros44sr]

Originally Posted by vtblazer

I'm kinda stupid with transmission's but I do remeber is that it was easy to find.

Your stupid?? I asked b/c I had no idea it even HAD a plastic worm drive gear that does something or other

[vtblazer]

Originally Posted by jaros44sr

What plastic worm gear?

Yep, it's what drives the govenor, which in turns tells the tranny to shift.

[mudman316]

it actually shifts out fine once i get it going in low. it just don't want to take
off in drive or L2 so i was thinking something is sticking in the valve body or the clutches are so worn that it takes additional pressure to push them together. I will get into it more this weekend. A fresh tranny ant so bad. At
least the motor runs and sounds pretty good so far. I got to repair a front
bearing before getting on the road (this was the original reason for parking it according to the PO) . I will check the govn. for sure it is worth a look see before tearing it down. thanks guys.