2002 Denali Camping Build

[Buggdave]

I use my Denali for towing a travel trailer, about 5,000 lbs, though the mountains at least monthly. I regularly reach elevations at 10,000 ft here in Utah. Over the summer I traveled into Wyoming and was at 11,500 ft. When I reach these elevations, i was having trouble keeping the engine cool on some of the uphill long pulls. I researched and decided to add a Mishimoto radiator. This thing is a beast.
My research had shown that with a few of the other 3 row aluminum radiators did not have the overflow connection design correctly. They did not have a flow reducing bushing which causes the engine to have a hard time warming up. The solutions to fix this was simple, put a washer in the overflow line at the radiator, but i happened on an open box Mishimoto radiator from Amazon that was about the same price as the no-name radiators, so it was a no brainer. The documentation for the Mishimoto Engineering is impressive and had me sold. The install was a breeze any my electric fans mounted to the radiator just like factory. I have seen a reduction in towing temp to about 200 degress. Prior to the install, i would stay around 220 to 230 degrees on even the slightest of grade.

 

[Tonyrodz]

I regularly adjust my settings on the shocks depending on if I am towing, offroading or daily driving. This feature is why i like the double adjustable Viking shocks. The the other area that has helped handling was the addition of the Hellwig swaybar for the front. I noticed that my OEM sway bar was not performing as well as I expected when traveling some road construction on my daily commute. I adjusted my shock settings (Rebound and Compression) but this did not produce satisfactory results. After installing the Hellwig product, I can say i noticed improved stability when traveling over the uneven portions of the road. The roll and pitch of the vehicle as I hit the uneven areas of the road surface, was drastically improved. I will update the rear sway bar in the future but right now the need is not as imediate as the front was.

A few of us have the front and rear Hellwig bars. Very nice bars.

 

[Buggdave]

@Tonyrodz that is how i found out about them, hearing the reviews from others here convinced me that they were the way to go.

 

[Tonyrodz]

I follow this guy. Check this out.

 

[Buggdave]

During my summer trip this year to the big horn mountains in Wyoming, my Yukon started to show its age, now at 203,000 miles. I struggled to climb some of the grades to get to the high mountain lakes we were targeting. So little investigation ensued. My cranking compression is lower than i expected, about 75 to 80 PSI. The leak-down test showed that my rings are failing. My valve seats seem to be ok, but I did hear some air escaping into the intake manifold, though most was heard through the dipstick. I have also been dealing with a rear main seal that is leaking which has been driving me crazy. This is the catalyst i needed to start planning my engine re-build.

 

[pwtr02ss]

During my summer trip this year to the big horn mountains in Wyoming, my Yukon started to show its age, now at 203,000 miles. I struggled to climb some of the grades to get to the high mountain lakes we were targeting. So little investigation ensued. My cranking compression is lower than i expected, about 75 to 80 PSI. The leak-down test showed that my rings are failing. My valve seats seem to be ok, but I did hear some air escaping into the intake manifold, though most was heard through the dipstick. I have also been dealing with a rear main seal that is leaking which has been driving me crazy. This is the catalyst i needed to start planning my engine re-build.
View attachment 354343

Sounds like a great excuse for some power/powertrain upgrades!

 

[Buggdave]

I have heard nothing but rave reviews about Vinci Cams from my fellow NBS owners so that is where I turned first to get some advice on my build and pick a camshaft to meet my goals for this Denali. I can echo that Roger is amazing and is a wealth of knowledge. I explained to him my desire for a tow capable rig for high elevation. I have never been comfortable of revving my engine over 5k, so I wanted all of my gains down low being this is a tow rig & mountain road most of the time. I am also not ready for FI yet and don't know if I will ever be, wanting to be able to repair this engine in remote towns if ever the need arises, following an overlanding mentality. He recommended their Max Torque Series camshaft, VHP 556, DUR @ .050" 208*/ 216* LIFT .578 / .578 LSA 113* 5A.
For this camshaft to perform well, he recommended that I target 11:1 compression ratio. I sourced a set of 862 heads from my local junkyard and as per Roger, I have been planning to have them milled down .030 to get my LQ4 to 11:1.

 

[Buggdave]

@pwtr02ss I have been looking for excuses since i got this Denali. As you know, the "more power bug" is an epidemic and it only takes time before you start showing symtoms, "cough, cough, cough".

 

[Buggdave]

I have been working on my new heads. I had some 243 heads decked at my machine shop. I did a bowl blend and then lapped the valves.
purchased the full cam kit from Vinci, so I started installing the new valve seals getting ready for the dual springs.
i need more cleaner before I install the springs. I still have some residue from lapping the valves. I hope to have both heads put back together this week.

 

[Geotrash]

I have been working on my new heads. I had some 243 heads decked at my machine shop. I did a bowl blend and then lapped the valves. View attachment 354965View attachment 354966
purchased the full cam kit from Vinci, so I started installing the new valve seals getting ready for the dual springs. View attachment 354968
i need more cleaner before I install the springs. I still have some residue from lapping the valves. I hope to have both heads put back together this week.

Really enjoying this thread, thanks for sharing.

Whatever you do, DON'T use the lifter trays that Roger sells you. Use new GM trays only. I got a set of trays from him that ate up 2 cams before I figured out what was going on. I also had one of the valve stem seals pop off (yes, it was seated correctly), and one lifter that wouldn't fit in any of the bores (which he replaced). The lifters he sold me also had a much narrower wheel on them than either the factory or any of the well-known brands including Morel and Johnson (see pictures below to see what I mean). My learning from the experience is that he makes a great cam and provides fabulous support but I would source lifters, trays and valve seals elsewhere.

Damaged Morel 6504 lifter:



Damaged Vinci lifter:



Damaged cam lobe showing scar evidence of the lifter twisting in the tray: