Progression of a well used 2000 Tahoe Z71

[Y2KpewterZ]

So let me start from the beginning. My first Tahoe was a 99 LT, fully loaded and burgandy on burgandy. I did alot of work on it and it was truly a great vehicle. Except I totaled it about five years ago.

During this time I bought a 2002 F150 and built it up pretty nicely, 9" of lift, 38x15.50s, Eaton Locker, and the list goes on. Except it was too tall to fit into the college parking deck, and i also longed for another GMT400 suv.. so i started searching craigslist on the daily for a cheap decent one. I quickly realised these two words dont go together very well when searching for a 15+ year old family vehicle. I found this 96 Suburban that needed a little.. uhm.. tlc. But i drove it away for $700.

I had given it, to my now ex, so I have taken ownership of the Suburban again, and is currently for sale.

So here I was in the same situation, and needed a more practical daily driver.. after searching craigslist for awhile an ad finally popped up for a 2000 Z71 Tahoe for $1500. The mileage wasnt listed though.. turns out 260k was on the clock. This didnt scare me away, as I know these Vortec 350s go forever after intake gasket replacements. It needed some TLC like the ole' Burb. Some rust, dents, some missing/broken lights but I figured it would make a nice project. I really wanted one with a tail gate but I could sacrifice those for a Z71 trimmed Hoe. I bought it on the spot in the dark and drove it an hour and a half home on 3/17/13.

I bought it from an older gentleman in rural VA that just bought a new Z71 Suburban and no longer needed the Tahoe. It needed a thorough cleaning from being neglected in the rural life for who knows how long.

First thing I did was ****** the 6K HIDs out of the Burb. She didnt like them so sure.. ill take them back lol.

And then I found out my G80 was broke. Had to get my F150 and pull it out of my front yard. Fail.

So.. on the want to-to do list was..
-NBS 17"s like on my old Tahoe
-More aggressive tires
-fix all the rust
-replace the rusty/dented bumpers
-replace all missing/broke/burnt out lights
-fix the drivers seat!
-replace the broken side mirrors

---------- Post added at 10:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:11 PM ----------

Then I added some NBS 17s with some slick 265 street tires.

The next items to come were 285/70 Goodyear Duratracs. I also added the ebay crystal clear light set. I believe also at this time i repainted the lower section of the front doors because they had some surface rust coming through. I also replaced the broken side mirror, blacked out the bowtie and a custom "HOE" rear badge.

During this time I changed out the differential fluid, replaced the transfer case fluid with fresh AutoTrac, replaced two sway bar end links, and replaced the transmission fluid and filter, also replaced the fuel filter and pcv valve, only using ACDelco parts. I also removed the Vortec box, hacked off and plugged the air silencer, removed the diffuser plate on the throttle body, and had the A/C system vacuumed, recharged and installed new A/C lines. After all this the A/C system will still sub-par. After spending more then $700 to try and figure out why, it turns out the relay was going bad and would cut the compressor off.

I had an HID ballast go out on me. i got them off craigslist for the Suburban originally, so who knows how old they were to begin with. I orded a ballast of Ebay. I had Xentecs in my first Tahoe so I didnt think it would be an issue, buying a cheap $10 ballast from ebay. I was wrong. The first one melted itself. I smelt burning electronics while pumping gas and my nose led me to the front behind the grille and found this.. since I have a gmt400 i keep tools with me so i yanked it out at the gas station lol

I got a free, no hassle, second replacement after bringing it up to the ebay seller. A week later the back of the ballast fell of, exposing it to the elements. At this point i said f it and went back to standard halogens.
Trying out the Duratracs in mud and the sand of the OBX

Oops!

Full detail after my beach trip.

---------- Post added at 10:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:33 PM ----------

Well since im an idiot and didnt take the rust down to bare metal.. the paint started to bubble up again; had to redo the bottoms of the doors, so this time I took it down to bare metal and reshot it.
Before:

After:

(Excuse the redneck paint booth haha)

Found these in the junkyard. Esky console.. some assembly required. And got the 120 cluster. All for $30. Yes!

I used a self tapping screw and a tab from a soft drink can as a swivel type clip to hold the center pad down. I also installed a power inverter in the rear where the audio controls were. I also put blue lights in the HVAC unit to match the cluster

Then i got a good clean rust free bumper.. except it was green.. but i got the bumper, factory Z71 brush gaurd and another set of fog light housings for $150.

My original one. Nice and crusty..

The newly painted one. 3 coats of base 3 coats clear, wet sanded, buffed, waxed, and coated with 3Ms Paint defender spray.

While i had it all apart i installed DDMtuning 6k Fogs, 6led 194s in the corners, and replaced a ballast on my lows so I could go back to HID lows.

And.. all done

---------- Post added at 10:55 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:44 PM ----------

I carried the lighting upgrades to the inside with LED door panel lights, dome, and foot wells. Next is gauge cluster and HVAC unit.

Found a clean rust free pewter bumper in the junkyard. Its got a small dent and some red paint from a parking lot pole but I should be able to make it decent. Sure beats the one thats on there though. Ill probably wet sand it and just buff it back out.

But lets take a moment for the GMT400s that had to die so mine could live on.. lol
2000 Limited

2000 Z71

And for nostalgia purposes.. a 14 year old factory ad.

And a photo from today (11/12/13) A brand new Z and my old Z.. now with 281k miles.

So to-dos and want-to-dos..
Needs tune up. Cap, rotor, coil plugs wires.
Needs front end over haul. Tire rods, idle arm, ball joints
Needs new tires shortly.. not sure what im going with this time. Ive been checking out the Summit Mud Hog, Pinnacle Grizzly Grip or Thunderer M/T405.
Exhaust work; cats, duals. Im thinking Cherry Bombs Vortex DI/DI. It sounded great on my girlfriends 98 2-Dr Tahoe.. or as the gangster brah at the convenience store said "throw some loud pipes on dat ass" .. lol
Off road roof rack with LED bar
Fix or replace G80
LED tail lights
LEDs in cluster and HVAC unit
Fix this damn drivers seat!

Want tos:
Sas (a dream, low lift hight on 33s.. blahblahblah)
If i dont SAS, 14b SF 6 lug
Mount the factory Z71 brush guard with LED bar

 

[Donnie Yukonie]

Awesome work my friend , I remember you from GMT400. Love what you did to the hoe , Do you still have the stock bulbs for the fogs? I bought a z71 bumper and now need the wiring harness ectt….

 

[Goodinblack]

Nice work

This thread makes me feel old.

I remember when the 1995 Tahoe came out. Liked it a lot.

Bought a 1996 in 1999....... White LT

Fun times

 

[YukonXLPerk]

Very nicely done my friend.

 

[07Burb]

I'd like to own another gmt400 at some point

 

[Y2KpewterZ]

Thanks guys. I love my old gmt400. I had a chance to get rid of my obs, for a nbs Tahoe; gunmetal grey in color (my favorite,) 5.3, LS with leather but i couldnt find it in myself to get rid of my 400.

Awesome work my friend , I remember you from GMT400. Love what you did to the hoe , Do you still have the stock bulbs for the fogs? I bought a z71 bumper and now need the wiring harness ectt….

Thanks. I do not, i can tell you the bulb # is 880 or 881, with the factory fog lamps. Either one works. I sold my other set of lights and the guy said he got a harness to work from an 03 Envoy. I dont recall what years the Envoy was a trim package on the s10 Jimmys, or when the Envoy became its own model.

 

[Y2KpewterZ]

Okay here was my biggest issue with this Tahoe..
My driver seat seems to have a broken hinge.. or something. The base is still tight, its just the seat back. As you can see its got the gangster lean, and the reclining mechanism is broken too, as it will go all the way back but will only lock in the position its in.

I can twist it foward by pulling on it too..

Talked to a buddy of mine. His mother is an upholsterer, so he grew up around this stuff, and hes a welder by trade.. and he offered to tear into my seat.

This was all that was left of my frame after removing the broken parts lol

The bottom cross bar broke on one side, the outer frame broke at the corner, the upper cross bar snapped off, and the small rod that runs across broke off as well.. but its all welded back together and as good as new.

Now the icing on the cake.. while we were wrestling the leather off, a relay fell off from the bottom of the seat. I plugged it back in before we bolted it back in the truck.. and now my heated seat works!. Winning. Never shall I take being able to lean back in a seat for granted lol.

 

[Y2KpewterZ]

The clips on my original door bezel snapped off (imagine that right!?). Anyways got this grey one out of the junkyard. And had this SEM colorcoat paint i never used. I got the paint originally because i had intended to buy a center console out of a Denali.. so it would have been gray.. but I ended up getting one out of an Escalade.

Meh.. a few shades brighter lol, but it actually almost spot on matches the factory Escalade console color.

And painted the bumper..

 

[95escahoe]

Awesome work my friend , I remember you from GMT400. Love what you did to the hoe , Do you still have the stock bulbs for the fogs? I bought a z71 bumper and now need the wiring harness ectt….

Mean Green on GMT400 can prolly make you a harness

The clips on my original door bezel snapped off (imagine that right!?). Anyways got this grey one out of the junkyard. And had this SEM colorcoat paint i never used. I got the paint originally because i had intended to buy a center console out of a Denali.. so it would have been gray.. but I ended up getting one out of an Escalade.

Meh.. a few shades brighter lol, but it actually almost spot on matches the factory Escalade console color.

And painted the bumper..

Looks great and those clips always break I got a screwdriver from Lowes that gets them off perfectly


Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk

 

[Y2KpewterZ]

Thanks. Just gotta know where to stick the screwdriver so it dont break the tabs.

Anyways, had the duster attachment on the vacuum and was cleaning tje dust off the radio (stock).. and ended up sucking one of the tuning knobs off... you might own a 90s GM product if..