The Yukon

[TylerZ281500]

something 454ss? body kit?

 

[BoxerPitMix]

Hey guys. Haven't been around too much lately. Working 2 jobs and averaging 72 hours of work per week will do that. But now I'm back down to just one full-time, so it's time to play a bit.

The trans is still 1st and 2nd gear only. Lost 3rd about a month ago, but it drives fine if I lock it in 2nd, that way it won't burn up the fluid trying to shift into 3rd. I keep my speed low to reduce RPM, but I'm ready to get it taken care of. I have a tune from Wester's to run a 4L80e, which is sitting in my garage. So now I just need to run some new cooler lines and work on the wiring aspect, and then I'll have it swapped over.

Also, I might be getting something new for the exterior. Here's a clue: they're REALLY hard to find, there were only about 8000 trucks made that they came on, and they will make my truck look lower, without actually lowering it.

Nice to see ya back!
Sucks about your transmission!!

And Tahoe Limited ground effects???

 

[88GMCtruck]

Yup, Tahoe limited has to be it.

Good to see you back.

 

[gmcyukondriver]

Yup, Tahoe Limited ground effects. Found a set in Hawaii on CL. Still talking to the guy to see if he is willing to ship and how much that would be, but if it isn't crazy, I'll be getting it. I guess the police over there used a lot of them for police vehicles, so he said there are a lot of them to be found over there. I think the body kit will fit well with the look of the truck. It rides low enough, it'll hide those stupid frame rails (suv's are worse than the trucks), and I think it'll look really cool with the Esky roof rack on there. I also don't think I've ever seen a truck with those effects painted any color other than black. We'll see.

Transmission lost 3rd about a month ago. 205k on a 4L60e that towed a trailer for the first half of it's life and has had a supercharger for the last 15k miles will do that. I took it to a shop and asked if he could swap in a 4L80e. He said that would be almost impossible to do, because you would have to get a separate trans controller and bla bla bla.

So I'm re-pinning a couple wires on the connector. I already have a tune that is supposed to have a 4L80e segment on it to run it, just waiting on some flexible cooler lines and a trans fluid dipstick. After that, it's go time. Crossmember has to move back, but holes can just be drilled in the frame wherever they need to be. The driveshaft might have to be shortened, but there's a shop locally that can take care of that pretty easily. I'm looking forward to being able to go over 40 again.


How y'all been? The truck is a mess right now. Haven't washed it in months because of work, and I think someone hit the passenger side rear door. No dents, but there are scrapes and paint transfer, but it should buff out for the most part. Still pissed me off to no end.


Oh, and some of you might remember that I have a 14-bolt from a 454SS. I haven't done that swap yet because I'm working on new gears for it. Yeah, I opened it up and I already knew it was toasted. Metal shavings and chunks everywhere. I don't know how you take off several teeth from a 14-bolt SF, but someone did it.

 

[TylerZ281500]

considering a 454ss was either a prized possession or someone ugly redheaded stepchild i can see how that rear couldve been demolished, and i imagine the rest of the truck had a hard life as well. sorry to hear of trans and paint transfer damage but thats life sometimes, with all the stuff you have coming in im looking forward to some pics in the near future.

 

[gmcyukondriver]

Well guys, the truck is in the shop getting the 4L80e swapped over. Wish me luck, still not 100% sure it's going to work out like I hope it will, but I did as much research as I could. Here's to hoping that the wiring and computer chip actually control the stupid thing like it should.

In other news, I need to stay off CL. I was browsing and saw someone had a 350 TBI for sale. I just checked to see what he was asking, but in no way was I expecting to buy anything. Part of the ad, he also had an Edelbrock MPFI kit, you know, the intake manifold with the fuel rails and 8 injectors? It was discontinued about 7 years ago, but they retailed for $1300 new. I got the manifold, rails, and injectors for $240! Just waiting on a wiring harness from Edelbrock before I really start looking at it. I already have SS braided fuel lines with fittings, so the only thing I'll be missing is the block off plate for the injector pod on the throttle body, but that would be easy enough to have a machine shop make.

This is gonna be fun.

 

[skylark]

Funny, I was just talking about you in a TBI supercharger thread.

 

[gmcyukondriver]

Funny, I was just talking about you in a TBI supercharger thread.

All good things I hope.

Yeah, it's been a pain at times, and obviously more expensive and less efficient than an LS swap, but it's different than anything most people see. I like it, having the stock block. (pretty soon I won't even be able to say that it's throttle-body injected, though, haha). I've been working my butt off lately, and I got a little burnt out on the truck for a while, but now I'm back and I have a little bit of time and money, so it's time to play.

But, as is always the case, the cost of things you want to do is far more than the amount of money you actually have. Oh well, that's what makes it a journey, and a little more special, because of the work and waiting that goes in to them.

I was thinking about doing the Hot Rod Power Tour this year, but unfortunately, I won't have it quite where I want it to be by then, so maybe next year. I will definitely be entering it in some shows this summer, though. Motivation to get it cleaned up a little more.

 

[skylark]

I hear you on the time and money. I usually work my butt off over the winter time and I buy lots of parts with my overtime money. During the summer time when it slows down a little bit I finally have a chance to play with my stuff. Unfortunately my dually has been broken since November.

 

[gmcyukondriver]

A month later, and the 4L80e is finally running right. Had some problems with receiving the incorrect tune, miscommunication. After that, I spent weeks trying to figure out why it was in limp mode. 2nd gear only. I wasn't driving it at the time, didn't want to break or damage anything. Double, triple, and quadruple checked my wiring diagrams. Checked every trans wire for continuity and resistance. Checked all my solenoids for resistance. Checked my ECM for power and signal to the trans. Everything looked good.

So I finally got tired of it. I was on my way to my mechanic's shop, and about 6 miles into the 7 mile drive, and the stupid thing SHIFTED!!! Don't know why. At the shop, no codes, everything looked good. Left the shop, this time, it's shifting and driving like it should.

So after 4 months of not having a fully working transmission, the truck is now running right again. You guys wouldn't believe how many shops told me that this swap couldn't be done, and would never run right. I was almost starting to believe them.

Sorry for the crappy pics, low light + cell phone = bad pics, but I'll snap better ones later. Still working on getting a flexplate cover for it. Everything electronic was hard wired using the stock harness, just re-pinned, so it's basically like it would have come from the factory like this.

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Except for the crossmember mounts. You can see where they welded some spacers onto the frame. The crossmember had to move back since the trans is longer than the 4L60e, but the frame on these Tahoes/Yukons curves down at a very inconvenient place. Also, this trans had a bolt-in yoke, so my driveshaft was cut and modified to run a slip yoke with the heavier duty 1350 U-Joint.

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