Offroad Trailblazers and Envoys

Author Archives: mason10198

Flipping Upper Control Arms

After lifting the suspension of our trucks, the upper ball joint can be put at some harsh angles. Especially when the suspension is flexed from side-to-side. A lot of users, including myself, have flipped the upper control arms to compensate for the angle of the ball joint. In order to “flip” your UCAs, you need to remove both control arms, and re-install each on the OPPOSITE side of the vehicle, UPSIDE DOWN. Ex. Take the control arm from the DRIVER side of the vehicle, and re-install it UPSIDE DOWN on the PASSENGER side of the vehicle. Shown below is what the upper ball joint might look like after installing a suspension lift, and before a UCA flip. Notice the ball joint is angled towards the tire. If the tire were to go up higher, then the ball joint would angle towards the tire even further.
 
  Shown below is the upper ball joint after the UCA flip. As you can see, there is a visible amount of angle recovered by the UCA flip, which also results in just a tad bit more clearance between the ball joint mount and the tire.
   

New Official ORTB Homepage!

Hello everyone! We have been working hard on this new homepage for a while, doing our best to provide our guests with a much better user experience. It is still under a bit of construction, so if you notice any bugs or have any other suggestions, please let us know!

Engine and Transmission Diagnostic Sheets

Below are trouble code diagnostic sheets for the TrailBlazer, Envoy, Rainier, Bravada, Ascender, and Saab 9-7 based on specific engines and model years.
Year Engine Transmission
LL8 4.2L I6 LM4 / LH6 5.3L V8 LS2 6.0L V8 (SS) LL8 4.2L I6 LM4 / LH6 5.3L V8 LS2 6.0L V8 (SS)
2002 PDF PDF
2003 PDF PDF PDF PDF
2004 PDF PDF PDF PDF
2005 PDF PDF PDF PDF PDF
2006 PDF PDF PDF PDF
2007 PDF PDF PDF PDF
2008 PDF PDF PDF PDF
2009 PDF PDF