im new! i dint know what to do!

[jrivs4x4tb]

Actually I somewhat know what to do but need advice . I'm fairly good at picking up on things so once I start taking this vehicle apart and outing it back together I will be pretty confident in adding new stuff
yeah the little pic basically describe s what I want to do not too much rock related offroading but definitely mud and steep up hills and tight corners with cliffs and such


Alright so I just bought an 06 tb ls , 4x4 4.2 I6, gu6 3.42 ratio, 17" wheels , stock size tires . Did add a bullbar and some off road lights but haven't modified anything mechanical.
So basically what should I start with? I know I want the 3" suspension and body lifts from liftmeister. Also want 33" tires and 1.5 spacers with some nice steel wheels

I just realized that I have the open rear diff and was also wondering if I should do some internal swapping to make it a locking or just go pull a g80 from the junk yard and swap the whole rear . If I do the g80 swap I wasn't sure if could pull it from any old gm vehicle or if it had to be a tb or envoy and also wanted to know the difficulty level
For diy for the g80 swap . Also obviously the internals swap would cost more so is it worth the price? If so what is a good aftermarked setup for that

Next I want to add some rock sliders so are there any direct fit kits out their? If not what is a good start to have something custom fabricated to fit?

Later on I want to do a completely aftermarket suspension so some tips there would help also.

Thanks and hope you all can give me some good pointers

[Diacom]

Welcome.

Starting with Armor would help eliminate some unnecessary repairs to begin with. I'd suggest starting there.

You might also update your profile with your location so those closer to you will know that they are.

[mattrustable]

This site has tons of info on all the stuff your looking for. Just go to the search bar and search it and your answers will fall in your lap. But if your looking to swapping the whole rear, in order to have the ABS still functional, you have to find a 06-09 off of a TB. Welcome to the site

[TBYODA]

Welcome, going by your info above you have the weaker 8.0 rear axle (you should confirm by counting the axle splines) with two locker/LSD choices. I suggest before you jump in you need the read the Stickley's and go thought the information in the intro email you got. Most if not all your questions will be answered. Also check out the gearing under the tech doc's. http://www.offroadtb.com/articles/tech-docs/

[jrivs4x4tb]

Ok so maybe a rear end swap won't work well I haven't seen any trail blazers in the junk yards near me, what about just ordering a locker? Sorry but I'm not too familiar with 4x4 parts my previous vehicle was an impala ss so I was more about street racing, so if I choose to keep my current diff what can I do as far as ordering and installing parts to make it a locking rear diff? Also I've heard that the stock housing doesn't support many upgrades .. so is it a better idea to find the 8.6" somewhere and do the swap? And as far as coil spacers has anyone had personal experience installing the liftmeister kits? And are they any good? And I also want bigger rubber but I'm not sure if I should do the spacers or get different back spaced wheels. Anyways I'm sure once I get more into this website I will change my mind about some things

[Eredin]

Mark's kits (LiftMeister) are great and easy to install. I'll recommend Mark to anyone, he helped me out immensely with an issue I recently had and will stand behind everything he sells.

For the rest, do a little digging, most of the stickies contain the info you seek and it's very well put together. Welcome!

[jrivs4x4tb]

Alright well I was seconds away from hitting the add to cart button last time I was on the site so I'll probably get the liftmeister kit soon, and as far as tires go I think I read that 33" works well with the spacers he also sells on the site so I will maybe end up going that route? And I said in another thread that I like human interaction so even though I can go and research things myself I really want to just talk about options and what others have done because I've always had good results when it was a spurred of the mient decision based on a good suggestion that came up

[Trail X]

Just understand our point of view. If we go around answering every question 500 times, the forum becomes much less easy to search and find things. We would much prefer if you searched, found a thread that was pertinent to your needs, read the thread, and if you still had questions, then ask the question in that thread. That just helps to keep all of our topics and discussions a little more organized for future members.

We have also adopted this rule because it mirrors the self-reliance that is needed when out on the trails. You may not be able to lean on anyone else in the field if you break down, so you need to be able to use the tools that you have available.

If you continue to ask questions that have already been covered multiple times, I guarantee that you'll find our membership starting to answer your questions less and less.

[Cable810]

Welcome!!

[v7guy]

I think we all get wanting to have a conversation. But until you've got a rough idea through reading at least the stickies and the intro thread it's kinda like trying to have a talk to someone about building a motor when they don't know what an exhaust or intake manifold is.

With that said, you can fit 33s without a body lift. You will want steeper gears, one of the NY guys is running 4.56s on the 33s it's fine on the highway, with the 8.6 your locker options expand greatly to auto lockers, limited slip, and selectable.

Wheel spacers or adapters are almost a necessity, you'll get pigeon holed into using stock bolt pattern and limited wheel choice with spacers, adapters open up choices massively.

There's literally so much to cover it's almost impossible to do so in a reply. If you find yourself in an old thread reading and have questions post a reply in that thread and we'll be happy to continue conversation.

There's even a little talk about long travel stuff if you decide to get real crazy in the future.