Mechanics in Tampa Bay

bmcutright

Original poster
Member
Apr 15, 2014
187
2004 Trailblazer LS 4x4 165k miles. Tread is completely worn off on the insides of both front tires. Took it to a place close to me in Clearwater, said the upper control arms and lower ball joints need changed, plus sway bar and alignment. All the advice I've received on here and from friends and family is that it's way too much for me to do myself.

Looking for a good deal and a trustworthy mechanic shop to work on this for me. If I can provide some elbow grease myself to save some on labor costs, I'll buy beer and pizza too.

Thanks! BC
 

bmcutright

Original poster
Member
Apr 15, 2014
187
I've been PMing with BlckShdw already, I never thought about having my own mini meet for it because I don't have a designated parking space at my apt, let alone a garage and all the tools needed
 

MAY03LT

Member
Nov 18, 2011
3,412
Delmarva
I would move to Tampa just for the mini meets. The delmarva crews base got moved an extra 2 hours from me. :frown:
 
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bmcutright

Original poster
Member
Apr 15, 2014
187
Also going to need some body work, dent in drivers rear door actually got into the body above the step board in front of the wheel well. Was planning on saving up for this after I got all the fluids changed, had to bump this down on my to do list for now
 

jimmyjam

Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,634
I used to have a buddy at dimmit who'd do side work, but he moved up north. I work on my own cars so I can't help you with a recommendation

I've got a workshop in largo, and am as familiar as one can get with trailblazer suspension. Don't mind helping out people willing to learn :smile:

don't know jack about body work though, I need to find someone as well...
 

bmcutright

Original poster
Member
Apr 15, 2014
187
Would love any help you can give me, at least to do an assessment of the situation. Have you seen the pic of the tire tread I posted?
 

jimmyjam

Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,634
bmcutright said:
Would love any help you can give me, at least to do an assessment of the situation. Have you seen the pic of the tire tread I posted?
yup, don't look good... I'd say if you're going to take the front end apart, might as well do all the bushings and ball joints, probably around $300 in parts. that way, you get it aligned and you don't have to think about it for another 100kmi
 

bmcutright

Original poster
Member
Apr 15, 2014
187
I was looking into replacing both upper and lower control arms, getting the ones with the ball joints already built on, but to get the uppers loose, you have to disconnect the steering knuckle, and to do that you have to disconnect the tie rod, at least the way I was reading it (Haynes manual: #1 See section 9, #2 See section 10, #3 see chapter 8 :grumble: )
 

The_Roadie

Lifetime VIP Donor
Member
Nov 19, 2011
9,957
Portland, OR
You can easily remove the tie rod end tapered shaft from the steering knuckle without killing the toe-in. It's much harder to press the upper ball joints out of the steering knuckle than getting the TRE disconnected. Just making sure you know the LCA contains the lower ball joints, and you don't have to do any pressing. But the upper ball joints are installed in the steering knuckle and don't come with the new UCAs.
 

jimmyjam

Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,634
My personal opinion is buying whole arms on this car is a waste of money. if you are having a hard take pushing ball joints or bushings out, put down your hello-kitty impact wrench and get a real one.

now when it comes to these style control arms, yes FML they are a pain in the ass. gotta melt the rubber out.
1967%20Chevy%20Impala%20Control%20Arm%20Upper.jpg


tearing down the front end is not a big deal. with carlton swinging the wrenches and me directing while drinking beer, the sky is the limit!
77885_468861053732_2164376_o1.jpg


i'm in the process of pulling the motor out of my astro van, now THAT is a job.
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
jimmyjam said:
tearing down the front end is not a big deal. with carlton swinging the wrenches and me directing while drinking beer, the sky is the limit!
:confused: Wait, then who's gonna handle the paparazzi duties for the meet thread? :raspberry:
 

jimmyjam

Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,634
Tentatively meet date is May 17th, assuming brandon gets his parts in
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
You guys pick a time of day for the mini meet this Saturday yet? Inquiring minds wanna know.
 

jimmyjam

Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,634
I'll be ready to go by 9am. Towing my Impala to the exhaust shop tomorrow...
 

jimmyjam

Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,634
old garage, bellair

you see me rollin...
20140513_204504.jpg


and before anyone says anything... yes, the driveshaft is disconnected...
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
I haven't seen that thing roll anywhere since the day you bought it!! :raspberry:

We have a ton of beer leftover from last weekend, you guys want me to load up the cooler and bring some?
 

jimmyjam

Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,634
i'm going to bookmark this in the event someone tells me there is no such thing as a stupid question
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
:crackup: You know what? Screw you guys!!

David's not coming, Cesar won't give me a straight answer (meaning, he's probably not coming), Carlos only comes when he needs something, and no word from the 2 guys on SSOwners. No idea if Brandon even drinks beer, I had my fill of it last weekend, so that leaves Mr Fancy Pants to drink it. And since none of these have their own special chalice to drink em, it might be beneath him. :raspberry:
 

jimmyjam

Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,634
i prefer a chalice. they should make a chalice koozy...

pala is in the garage south. that was fun. finally a chance to scrub the floor, gallons of trans fluid are soaked into that concrete. gotta pull an engine and blown tranny soon... AC will come in handy :smile:
 

Decembersend

Member
Dec 3, 2011
316
Blckshdw said:
:crackup: You know what? Screw you guys!!

David's not coming, Cesar won't give me a straight answer (meaning, he's probably not coming), Carlos only comes when he needs something, and no word from the 2 guys on SSOwners. No idea if Brandon even drinks beer, I had my fill of it last weekend, so that leaves Mr Fancy Pants to drink it. And since none of these have their own special chalice to drink em, it might be beneath him. :raspberry:
I never said I wasn't coming I just said I had no funds for my water pump ATM it'll have to wait until next pay, but it's cooling fine and will make it there without a prob. :raspberry:
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
Good, you can help Jimmy drink some of this beer then!
cheers.gif
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
Talked to Scott, he flies back into town tomorrow morning, and hopes to pick up his SS from the shop after having some work done. He said if his truck is all wrapped up tomorrow, then he'll come out on Saturday too. :thumbsup:
 

jimmyjam

Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,634
spent half the day cleaning up the garage, got 1/4 of it done....
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
I'll bring chairs. Cesar is now a maybe, since he's got afternoon plans.
 

Blckshdw

Moderator
Nov 20, 2011
10,665
Tampa Bay Area, FL
bmcutright said:
I don't usually drink beer, but I do bend to peer pressure.
You're probably in more trouble than you know, now that we're aware of this! :satan:

We may have a new member join us from Parrish. So that makes potentially 7 of us if everyone shows up. Could get rowdy... :popo:
 

Decembersend

Member
Dec 3, 2011
316
Before I bring it anyone want to help me replace my passenger side CV axle? There's nothing wrong with it but the drivers side went and I replaced that already but I've been to lazy to replace the passengers.
 

jimmyjam

Member
Nov 18, 2011
1,634
i have a dinner date that evening so I can't stay all night but you guys are welcome to camp out there.

should be able to gitrdun
 

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