'99 Suburban Overland Rig

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JackE

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May '17 I was driving a '00 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited and having a good time with it, but missing the size and comfort of the Suburban. The Jeep needed some work done that I was lacking the motivation to do, because it wasn't a Suburban. Hop on the internet classifieds and found this '99 2500 Suburban that was on the last day of it's listing. Quick phone call to the owner and I find out he has a local wrecking yard that is 2 days late on their schedule to pick it up for $500. I told him I would give him $550 if he would call them off and I would be there the following afternoon to pick it up. I make a quick scramble with my out of commission trailer to get it ready, and head out early the next morning. 300 miles and a few little issues with trailer lights and I'm at dudes house to load her up. As I'm loading, the wrecking company shows up to try to talk the guy into letting them still have it. After a heated argument with the yard owner, the seller turns to me and says "It's already on your trailer, it's yours for $400!" SOLD! Yard owner pissed, me very happy! I will try to remember all the things I have done to it in the last year and a half and add pics as I can to each post. Most of my writing is done at work where I'm killing time for the government, so I'll have to add pics when I get time on my home computer.
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JackE

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So, first off here is what I ended up with.

1999 GMC Suburban 2500 SLE 7.4L Autotrak II Customised by Colorado Custom Center. It has a working 13" color TV, VHS player, and a radio all for the back seats. There is a switch that allows the TV sound to go over the speakers, or through 4 separate headphone jacks. Each of the 4 headphone jacks has the option of switching between the TV or radio. All of it still works. It also had the boomerang style antenna on the roof. That wasn't much good in the new digital era and it was in the way for some of my other plans, so it came off.

I got her home and started the initial check over. I knew for $400 I was in for some serious work. Coolant level was nil. Oil was over full by 3-4 quarts and looked like chocolate milk so I had some decent work cut out before I could start to enjoy the daily driving.
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JackE

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Heads off, new top end gasket kit installed and she ran smooth as silk, after the initial knock, knock, knock on startup. Once the oil pressure built up, it was fine. Since I am a good State employee, my favorite saying is 'Good enough for government work!' Time to start on the cool stuff, I'll worry about the knocking somewhere down the road.
 

JackE

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My fuel gauge had the shakes so I decided to replace the pump and sending unit. I decided since the tank was over half full and with the commonality of these fuel pumps failing, I would go the access panel route rather than dropping the tank, AGAIN!

Step 1: Getting under the carpet.

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I chose to cut the carpet rather than peal it up all the way to the edges, mostly to save time, but also for added ease in the event of a trail fix.



Step 2: I used T-rex tape to bind the sides of the carpet where I cut it

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Step 3: I cut a small peep hole to determine where I needed to make my full cut. I was almost surprised to find the pump exactly in the middle of the suburban. The center of the pump is exactly centered side to side, and 19" from the back door seam.

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Step 4: My access hole measures 13" from the same seam as the other measurement. The hole is about 12"x10". It is 2 ribs, 3 valleys.

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Step 5: Luckily I have a donor Suburban out in the back 40, so I cut a cover plate out of that one. The cover plate measures 16" long, and I went a full rib on each side for added strength. I put a bead of silicone down, then used some orange gorilla tape to go around the plate.


Step 6: Button it back up. I ran a piece of tape over the seam in the carpet to keep it held down tight and replaced the trim piece across the back. Ran out of grey so I had to use he orange, but I'll change that later. Covered it back up with the rubber mat and nobody is the wiser! Even with the carpet down, you can't tell where the cover plate is.

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For whatever reason it doesn't like my pics. Check out my thread over here https://www.gmtruckclub.com/forum/threads/99-suburban-fuel-pump-access-panel.1421900/
to see the pics.

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JackE

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The first official road trip was a 500 mile round trip to my nieces wedding. About 200 miles into the trip I can hear a bad sound coming from somewhere under the Burb. As I pulled off the side, there was some audible clunking and some binding in the driveline. I figured it must be U joint issues, but all looked good there. I jumped back in to roll back and forth to try and figure this thing out and I couldn't get any rolling forward or back. It felt like the brakes were binding. In gear no brakes, it wouldn't roll. Give a little juice and it would go, but stop as soon as I let off the gas pedal. I decided the damage was done and I probably couldn't do much more, so I drove a couple more miles to a scenic overlook where I could do more checking on a paved surface instead of the weeds and gravel of the ditch. With a better view underneath and running it with the back wheels off the ground, I determined the transfer case was the issue. I pulled the drain plug expecting to find shrapnel and shavings but found nothing. Not even a single drop of fluid! A call to my brother brought me a few quarts of fluid and a funnel. An hour later I was back on the road. About 10 miles down the road my brother, who was behind me, calls and asks if it's starting to sprinkle. No, why do you ask? He was getting a spray of something all over his windshield. Another stop, further inspection, the entire underside of the Suburban was covered with oil. Add a bit more and head for the closest parts store. More fluid and output shaft seal, along with a hotel parking lot repair, and we were back in business. Haven't had a problem since.
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JackE

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I bought myself a remote start system because I hate winter. I chose the Crimestopper SP-502. I installed the RS4-G5 on the Jeep and was impressed with how well it worked, so I decided on the fancier model since this is the last vehicle I plan on building. It is a good full day to get all the wiring connected, and no small feat electronically. I chose to use the resistor bypass on the Passlock II rather than a bypass module. I have since lost the instructions for the resistor bypass, but it's not too hard to find if you ask Mr. Google.

No pics of that wiring rats nest, but I'm sure you can imagine.
 

JackE

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With winter coming on it was time to give the 4 wheel drive some attention. That is when I realized it wasn't working. With some great help from the guys over at GMTC I was able to find my wiring problem. No small feat!
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Hours of staring at wiring diagrams, wire chasing, and blowing fuses, I finally found the culprit wire. The hot wire from fuse going to the axle actuator motor was shorted between the firewall and the actuator somewhere in the engine bay. I wasn't able to find the problem spot, but running a new wire from the firewall to the actuator fixed the problem. Interestingly enough, it also made my ABS light go out.
 

JackE

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Next on the list was wheels and tires. I really like the wheels that came on it, but they are in pretty rough shape.
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I decided to use them as my offroad set and bought a set of Treadwright Guard Dogs to mount on them. Excellent traction for everything off road that I have done. Not a bad price either!

https://www.treadwright.com/collections/filter/products/guard-dog-g26516d
 

JackE

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I got a set of the stick-on window vent/shade things. I like the look, but I also like being able to leave the window down just a bit to let the hot summer air vent out while it's just sitting.
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JackE

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While kicking around the scrap pile at the high school, I came across this old wood trailer that someone donated. Talking to the welding instructor, he had no plans for it and it was so big, he was only too happy to have me take it off his hands. With very little work, and some black spray paint, I now have a full length heavy duty Safari rack.
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