2002 Tahoe Z71

[zraffz]

I purchased this Tahoe bone stock in March of 2014 with 191k miles on it; blown rear, no 3rd or 4th gear and rotten brake lines.



It sat for a year while I did all of the brake lines, fully rebuilt the rear, had the transmission & converter rebuilt, cleaned/painted the frame, installed a 6" Rough Country NTD lift, replace the entire front end, serviced the front differential & transfer case, upgraded the audio system, replaced all of the window motors and so on.





A few months later I did tires...

 

[zraffz]

I eventually lifted it another 1.5"...


A few months later, those cheap Chinese hub assemblies bit me in the ass and got replaced with Timkens...


The truck continued on its life and got new fuel lines, shocks, HID lights and torsion bar crossmember bushings along the way. I have literally done everything imaginable to this truck short of the motor, transfer case and fuel pump. I have this crazy attachment to the old girl; this fall I had listed it for sale and couldn't stomach letting it go when $3,000 was placed into my hand.

Recently, I noticed how bad the rocker panels, inner door jams around the rear wheel wells, rear bumper and rear quarters have gotten with rust. The 5.3 is tired of lugging around this truck, the cold start piston slap has gotten much worse and this past week the rear main seal started to pour out oil when its running.


This spring & summer the truck is getting overhaul #2...
The 5.3 is getting replaced with a refreshed LQ4 with a small cam/tune. Transmission and differentials will be serviced. All the body work will be done. The frame will be wire wheeled and repainted. The truck is getting new cab mounts and a 2-3" custom body lift (no, not hockey pucks) in preparation for 37's. I'll follow it up in the winter with changing the gears out for 4.56s until the differentials grenade.

 

[zraffz]

RESERVED

 

[Tonyrodz]

Nice looking truck. Where in Jersey are you?

 

[DenaliBQ]

how was the rough country lift any issues i want to add that to mine

 

[DenaliBQ]

your truck really looks great btw

 

[zraffz]

how was the rough country lift any issues i want to add that to mine

The kit itself is much better quality than the old 88-98 style RCX kits. It took 8-10 hours total but I replaced control arms, hub assemblies and steering components too.

No issues within 5 years/50,000+ miles!

 

[Fosscore]

Nice.

 

[05Single]

Looks good. I love they way these trucks look lifted

 

[zraffz]

Looks good. I love they way these trucks look lifted

Same. I wanted one back in high school but couldn't afford it. I recently entertained buying a 2007+ style to lift but I can't part with this old girl. I'm excited to knock off my checklist this year.