Popeye
Full Access Member
I bought the 98 Tahoe as a functional tow rig/camper, for occasional use. The operative word is ‘functional’. Last year that is what it was used as but now slowly (as a direct result of reading this forum), the Tahoe has been getting more attention than I want it to. I keep wondering if this is another slippery slope into the proverbial hobby $$ pit, the same path my Jeep took me. I am writing this thread so that as to remind me of the mods done so far, and to query the experienced, who has walked this path can steer me from the common pitfalls, so in rough chronological order, the mods are
- The rear sagged when i hitched my trailer onto it, so i added a leaf to the pack. I recommend this as it now stands up to the tongue weight. Perked up the rear too.
- While working under the truck I realized it was rusty all over. So, I got a Krown Rust Treatment done, my driveway is a mess with the dripping but the truck stopped squeaking. I am happy with this treatment and I have topped it up again this year.
- I also noticed that the rear diff cover was rusted to ***** … So in my infinite wisdom, I sprayed WD40 all over. Not the best idea as it helped to release the rust and the bolts and the damn thing started to leak. SO I had to replace the cover. There were scary moments as the bolt heads were badly rusted and I had to be very careful removing them. Tip: I used a size smaller socket, tapped it in with a hammer and undid the bolts. This worked for me not sure if it will for you.
- The trailer wiring (truck side) was a red neck job, so i cleaned it all up with harnesses etc and tucked it into the rear bumper for a professional look.
- The 8 under the hood lacked 'umph', so i got a BB Tune done. Mind you the ODO meter indicates 265k (km) but Justin woke the beast up and now it tows like a dream. WOT is scary to say the least. (for you inquiring minds, I drove down to Washington DC and met up with Justin in person, job was done in 2 hours.)
- On the recommendation of Justin i added a k&N filter. Did not see huge performance gains IMO, but psychologically i feel better that the engine is breathing better.
- Replaced the soccer mum 265/75/16 Michelins with BFG AT 285/70/16, on stock rims. Looking for some after market backspaced rims now, anyone?
- A truck is nothing without tunes, the factory CD player was DOA. So I removed it and replaced it with a USA SPEC Ipod integrator. Picked myself a broken 30Gb IPOD and permanently fixed it. We are rocking now.
- The lights are a miserable failure in these trucks. So i added drive fogs/lights up front and while i was at it added two more for the rear for camping/unloading/hitch work in the dark etc. I am a night driver, especially when i am towing and now can see more of the road (and occasional wild life). I located the switches in the center console so that I did not have to move my arm too much to turn 'em On and Off.
- Given the towing and time spent on the pavement, I added a Cobra 29 WXNSST CB Radio. On a clear night I speak to US truckers (I live on the Canadian side of Lake Ontario). A plus again to get to know another language. The CB lingo is strange! I mounted the unit in front of the OBS Centre console (see Pic). At this moment, I use a magnetic antenna but hope to make it permanent on the roof rack, in the future
- The rear hatch wiper was DOA with the plastic spider gear all worn off. You cannot repair these motors, believe me the cheap bugger in me tried. In the end, I replaced it with a new motor and a wiper arm (from a Jeep), they all fit and it is working well.
- AC was also DOA, front and rear. When pressurized it, it leaked, from the lines going to the rear. So I capped the lines with a barbed air insert. Not sure if this holds as I have not pressurized the system yet. I will update this when done. If this does not hold, I will try the Swage locks as mentioned in another thread, they are a few bones more than I want to spend.
- My dash has a mind of its own. For the life of me and my research I cannot figure why the tach and the speedometer reads way above what it should. See thread for more details. So I added a old Garmin GPS on top of the CB so that I know how fast/slow I am going, so as not to get honked too often. When the funds allow I am hoping to get a “Scan Gauge II” and eliminate the GPS.
- All these extras require battery power, I found that the hard way when I left a door slightly ajar over night. So I added a dual battery setup to mitigate that error. This write up helped me immensely and I Thank all the authors. I went with Gauge 4 wire from a Hi Fi shop / Solenoid (I have used these for winches before) from the RV section / and a Optima Red top as the aux battery. Cheap and cheerful it has held up so far.
- I had bought a Garvin Safari Hood Rack for my Jeep but never got round to adding it as I could not have got it in the garage. So the other day I put it all together and tried it on the Tahoe. I did not have the brackets to attaché said rack to the Tahoe factory railing. Garvin wanted my new born for a set. So I put my metal working skills to the test n came up with the brackets and viola the rack is now on the Tahoe. Comments are welcome. I do have 5 light points, 1 CB antenna point, shovel/axe bracket and the Hi-lift bracket. When all these things are on it should look good. Mounting lights will take some time (I don’t have any spare lying around), but when the others are done I will post some pics.
-
-
Still in the plans
- The dive action when breaking indicates that the shocks need replacing, I picked up some Reflex shocks, need to put them on.
- Wet front driver side carpet,
- Wheels with some backspacing to make em flush with body
- Squeaky internal fan at 1
- Hitch receiver behind the plates, thinking of mounting a plate between the tow hooks up front to support a 2”x2” hitch receiver behind the front plates. When needed i drop the Plates (use a Jeep wrangler rear plate mount with spring) and use the hitch. This is mainly for the use of the Winch.
- I am looking for a hood bug deflector if anyone has one for sale.
Constructive comments are welcome. I have added some pics to better illustrate what i have done. if specifics are needed, do call out. Hope this helps others who are embarking on some of these mods.
- The rear sagged when i hitched my trailer onto it, so i added a leaf to the pack. I recommend this as it now stands up to the tongue weight. Perked up the rear too.
- While working under the truck I realized it was rusty all over. So, I got a Krown Rust Treatment done, my driveway is a mess with the dripping but the truck stopped squeaking. I am happy with this treatment and I have topped it up again this year.
- I also noticed that the rear diff cover was rusted to ***** … So in my infinite wisdom, I sprayed WD40 all over. Not the best idea as it helped to release the rust and the bolts and the damn thing started to leak. SO I had to replace the cover. There were scary moments as the bolt heads were badly rusted and I had to be very careful removing them. Tip: I used a size smaller socket, tapped it in with a hammer and undid the bolts. This worked for me not sure if it will for you.
- The trailer wiring (truck side) was a red neck job, so i cleaned it all up with harnesses etc and tucked it into the rear bumper for a professional look.
- The 8 under the hood lacked 'umph', so i got a BB Tune done. Mind you the ODO meter indicates 265k (km) but Justin woke the beast up and now it tows like a dream. WOT is scary to say the least. (for you inquiring minds, I drove down to Washington DC and met up with Justin in person, job was done in 2 hours.)
- On the recommendation of Justin i added a k&N filter. Did not see huge performance gains IMO, but psychologically i feel better that the engine is breathing better.
- Replaced the soccer mum 265/75/16 Michelins with BFG AT 285/70/16, on stock rims. Looking for some after market backspaced rims now, anyone?
- A truck is nothing without tunes, the factory CD player was DOA. So I removed it and replaced it with a USA SPEC Ipod integrator. Picked myself a broken 30Gb IPOD and permanently fixed it. We are rocking now.
- The lights are a miserable failure in these trucks. So i added drive fogs/lights up front and while i was at it added two more for the rear for camping/unloading/hitch work in the dark etc. I am a night driver, especially when i am towing and now can see more of the road (and occasional wild life). I located the switches in the center console so that I did not have to move my arm too much to turn 'em On and Off.
- Given the towing and time spent on the pavement, I added a Cobra 29 WXNSST CB Radio. On a clear night I speak to US truckers (I live on the Canadian side of Lake Ontario). A plus again to get to know another language. The CB lingo is strange! I mounted the unit in front of the OBS Centre console (see Pic). At this moment, I use a magnetic antenna but hope to make it permanent on the roof rack, in the future
- The rear hatch wiper was DOA with the plastic spider gear all worn off. You cannot repair these motors, believe me the cheap bugger in me tried. In the end, I replaced it with a new motor and a wiper arm (from a Jeep), they all fit and it is working well.
- AC was also DOA, front and rear. When pressurized it, it leaked, from the lines going to the rear. So I capped the lines with a barbed air insert. Not sure if this holds as I have not pressurized the system yet. I will update this when done. If this does not hold, I will try the Swage locks as mentioned in another thread, they are a few bones more than I want to spend.
- My dash has a mind of its own. For the life of me and my research I cannot figure why the tach and the speedometer reads way above what it should. See thread for more details. So I added a old Garmin GPS on top of the CB so that I know how fast/slow I am going, so as not to get honked too often. When the funds allow I am hoping to get a “Scan Gauge II” and eliminate the GPS.
- All these extras require battery power, I found that the hard way when I left a door slightly ajar over night. So I added a dual battery setup to mitigate that error. This write up helped me immensely and I Thank all the authors. I went with Gauge 4 wire from a Hi Fi shop / Solenoid (I have used these for winches before) from the RV section / and a Optima Red top as the aux battery. Cheap and cheerful it has held up so far.
- I had bought a Garvin Safari Hood Rack for my Jeep but never got round to adding it as I could not have got it in the garage. So the other day I put it all together and tried it on the Tahoe. I did not have the brackets to attaché said rack to the Tahoe factory railing. Garvin wanted my new born for a set. So I put my metal working skills to the test n came up with the brackets and viola the rack is now on the Tahoe. Comments are welcome. I do have 5 light points, 1 CB antenna point, shovel/axe bracket and the Hi-lift bracket. When all these things are on it should look good. Mounting lights will take some time (I don’t have any spare lying around), but when the others are done I will post some pics.
-
-
Still in the plans
- The dive action when breaking indicates that the shocks need replacing, I picked up some Reflex shocks, need to put them on.
- Wet front driver side carpet,
- Wheels with some backspacing to make em flush with body
- Squeaky internal fan at 1
- Hitch receiver behind the plates, thinking of mounting a plate between the tow hooks up front to support a 2”x2” hitch receiver behind the front plates. When needed i drop the Plates (use a Jeep wrangler rear plate mount with spring) and use the hitch. This is mainly for the use of the Winch.
- I am looking for a hood bug deflector if anyone has one for sale.
Constructive comments are welcome. I have added some pics to better illustrate what i have done. if specifics are needed, do call out. Hope this helps others who are embarking on some of these mods.
