I had a productive Monday!

"Tristan" (casselts)
06/04/2019 at 12:35 • Filed to: None

It was a gorgeous day, so I decided to take care of some stuff I’ve been ignoring for a loooooong time.

First, I installed the fawnceh LED DRL bulbs. The early GMT800s had a tendency to burn through DRL bulbs just as fast as they burned through gas. Hopefully the LEDs will remedy this issue. Plus, they give off a pretty white light!

Next, I installed the replacement fog light housings that I’ve had kicking around the garage for months. They’re super easy to replace... all you have to do is remove the grill, the headlights, the DRL/corner lights and the entire friggin’ bumper to get to the bolts. I also replaced the burner-out corner lights with LEDs and gave the lenses a quick polish.

Then, it was on to the heavy stuff. I’ve had new Timken wheel bearings kicking around the garage since last July, so it was about time I swapped those out. It appears the old one’s really weren’t as bad as I thought they were and my wheel bearing-ish noises didn’t go away, so I think the noise might be attributed to uneven tire wear due to my alignment being trash. It goes in for an alignment tomorrow.

My final act was to install a set of 4 shiny Bilstein 5100s in place of the rather crusty MOUNTAIN TERRAIN XT shocks. This truck rides like trash, especially if you run the recommended 60 psi front/80 psi rear tire pressure. These shocks are quite stiff, but they really make it feel more stable and help it to recover from road imperfections much better.

The to-do list is getting smaller! The junkyard steering gearbox is still bone dry, too. Next up: replace the totally rotted-away jounce bumpers on the front end, figure out what’s rattling on tip-in as I pull away from a stop, change the rear diff oil, transfer case fluid, do a drain and fill on the trans, and the BIG ONE: replace the slobbering rear main seal. That’ll be fun.

Why do I love this stupid truck so much?

DISCUSSION (12)

7:07 > Tristan
06/04/2019 at 14:19

Suburban 2500? Which engine? I’m looking at a couple 2001s with the 8.1L V8 and am wondering if they are solid trucks . I had a 2003 Suburban before and thought it needed more power.

Future Heap Owner > Tristan
06/04/2019 at 14:53

Nice work! How long did it take you to replace the shocks?

Now that I’m no longer so concerned about the noise my truck has started making (hopefully the fuel system cleaner will sort that out), I’m planning to ( finally) do a bunch of maintenance on it in early July. My list right now is tie-rod ends and a throttle body rebuild for sure, and likely spark plugs & wires. I’ll need to take a look at the distributor cap to see if that needs replacing. And I should probably replace the shocks, too, but that depends on budget after all the other stuff.

Tristan > 7:07
06/04/2019 at 15:01

It’s a 6.0 LQ4 with 4.10 gears. It won’t win any races, but it gets the job done. I’m hoping to get it tuned in the next month to help wake it up a bit, since GM really went conservative on the tune with these trucks.

The 8.1 is a different animal. It has GOBS of torque and I’ve heard they out-tow an LB7 Duramax. The Suburban with the 8.1 didn’t get the Allison, but rather a 4L85E. Still a very solid trans. They also got a full-floater 12 bolt versus the 6.0's semi-float. The 8.1 is known to use a bit of oil- it’s not cause for alarm, that’s just the nature of the beast. If you live in an area with salty roads, get underneath it and look around. GM has never been good at rustproofing, and the GMT800 trucks rust like mad. I’m fortunate enough to live in a salt-free state, and I bought the truck from California. I went with the 6.0 because I don’t tow all that often and I can get 12-14 MPG versus 10, plus availability of parts for the LS-style engines is a lot better. I went with a 3/4 ton because I do tow stuff like travel trailer and loaded car trailers from time to time, and half ton GM trucks are WEAK (insert Vin Diesel “I live my life 1 4L60E at a time” meme here).

If you want a tow pig, it’s hard to beat an 8.1 Suburban.

Tristan > Future Heap Owner
06/04/2019 at 15:05

Shocks were easy-peasy, aside from the rear shocks needing a cargo strap to compress them up into their brackets . They’re STIFF . The wheel bearings were the biggest PITA as the cali per bracket bolts were torqued to 1 million foot pounds and were slathered with thread locker.

Urambo Tauro > Tristan
06/04/2019 at 20:40

The early GMT800s had a tendency to burn through DRL bulbs...

Always on just one side too, it seems !

Tristan > Urambo Tauro
06/04/2019 at 21:49

Both of mine have been burned out since I’ve owned it. I just finally decided I’d get them working again and knew incandescent bulbs would be a total waste. I remember seeing almost all of these with one burned out when they were brand new.

NojustNo > Tristan
06/04/2019 at 23:04

>>>> especially if you run the recommended 60 psi front/80 psi rear tire pressure.

That seems crazy high. Does it really say that is the recommended tire pressure in the door jam?

shop-teacher > Tristan
06/04/2019 at 23:34

Nice work!

Through some sort of black magic, both my original DRL bulbs still work on my ‘06. My housings are starting to get cloudy, but I don’t dare touch them. Actually, every bulb on the truck is original, except the right rear turn signal bulb, and left rear brake light.

7:07 > NojustNo
06/05/2019 at 02:06

It’s a 3/4 ton chassis with load range E tires. Those are standard pres sures

Tristan > NojustNo
06/05/2019 at 02:10

What 7:07 said... It’s designed to tow and/or carry a bunch of weight. The tires are 10-ply load range E.

Tristan > shop-teacher
06/05/2019 at 02:15

Wow!!! I wonder if they secretly improved them later on in the model run. For the most part I love working on this thing. The grille is held on by one 10mm bolt, 4 quarter-turn phillips fasteners, and 2 clips. The headlights are held in by 2 pins and the DRL/signal housings are simply clipped in place.

I’m glad you didn’t have the money when I offered this thing for sale last fall... Even then I didn’t really want to sell it.

shop-teacher > Tristan
06/05/2019 at 07:41

I dunno, I guess they did. I still don't dare touch them, for fear that whatever voodoo magic is in them might escape. That turn signal bulb didn't even burn out. Once I pulled it out, I could see that the contacts at the base of the bulb were worn out. I probably could have flipped it over and just used the other pair of contacts. Since I already had the new bulb, I just popped it in.

And I am glad you didn’t really want to sell it, because if you ever do decide to sell it, I hope I can afford it then :)