Since street tacos.com isn’t available anymore, where else could I get good quality drop blocks? Looking for a 3inch drop. Couple questions though Are steel lowering blocks better than the aluminum? Are angled/tapered blocks recommended? I have found some belltech lowering blocks with a 2degree taper, but I heard it doesn’t have a long enough u bolt? Any of you guys have any problems? thanks!!!
Also gonna pair the 3inch rear drop with stock mighty max springs up front and possibly a oe replacement shock, or should I get some kind of lowering shock?
In general a lot of people favor steel blocks vs aluminum. I'd assume it's because metal will not fracture like aluminum would - I had a 4" block lift block crack on my old K5 Blazer, probably more likely to happen with lift blocks vs drop due to axle being underneath and transferring weight upward, but at least I can confirm it's definitely possible to crack aluminum blocks. If you lower the truck, it changes pinion angle - so you will usually need to correct it a tad afterward. I believe stock height shocks are what most people are using on these trucks unless you modify things to accept something else. Haven't done it yet on my truck due to wheels/tires I have and lack of time, but already have MM springs and some steel 3" angled blocks I got off eBay, I was just going to go with the same size shocks everyone else is referencing here.
I wasnt able to find a shorter shock for the front that what was already installed. I have about an inch of travel in the front shock before it bottoms out. For the rear you wont need anything other than a stock replacement since the mounting point distance will be staying the same
I read this a lot (here and other forums) and am skeptical about it. If you use 'flat' blocks, all they do is raise the axle straight up. The pinion angle doesn't change. If, OTOH, you raise/lower the rear with longer/shorter rear shackles, then the angle will change. IIRC, back in the day, truckers that lifted their trucks (3+ inches) with blocks found that the the drive shaft would end up being too short. That's because lifting a truck increases the distance between the transmission and rear axle. So, angled blocks were invented to tilt the axle pinion upward and 'fix' the problem. This often led to driveline vibrations, though. However, I am not so dumb as to argue theory against actual practice. If you have no issues with angled blocks, then you should be fine. However, I plan to use 2" blocks without the angle.
From what I heard/read... angle is needed when using 3inch blocks or bigger. But I also never heard of anyone having problems with flat blocks no matter the size. So... I’m just gonna go ahead and get those flat steel 3 inch blocks and hope for the best!
Correct, the pinion angle will not change - but the operating angles of driveshaft will change. If you have issues, you can always add in angled shims
So, I was flipping through one of my books on suspension modifications and came upon a discussion about pinion angle. Apparently "pinion angle" is a term of art and has the specific meaning of the angle between the pinion and the drive shaft. If that is what you (and everyone else) meant by flat blocks changing "the pinion angle", then that's correct. However, I look at "pinion angle" as the angle between the pinion and some stationary frame of reference, such as the ground. As I understand it, the pinion angle (as I saw/see it) is supposed to be the same as the transmission output shaft angle to eliminate/minimize driveshaft vibrations. That is, the pinion and transmission angles should be parallel. As such, a flat block should/would not introduce an angle between the pinion and transmission.
