Is it a new truck yet? I'm throwing parts on cuz I LOVE MY YUKON!

[nocal95-2dr-yukon]

View attachment 270881 Today's project is getting the Tri-tip ready for the ??? rally! This team is missing a hungry woman co-captain/driver. FwIw...

 

[nocal95-2dr-yukon]

The transmission is one with the engine! Time to air up the tires for belly room to mount the exhaust, connect linkages and wiring. It looks like smooth sailing if the weather holds.

 

[Rocket Man]

The transmission is one with the engine! Time to air up the tires for belly room to mount the exhaust, connect linkages and wiring. It looks like smooth sailing if the weather holds.

Holy crap are you working at 4am or just reporting on yesterday’s progress?

 

[nocal95-2dr-yukon]

Holy crap are you working at 4am or just reporting on yesterday’s progress?

Just taking a minute to update on the progress. Just wait till you see what I'm sharing today!

 

[nocal95-2dr-yukon]

Dear friends, this is for anyone that really needs a laugh! After making some repairs a while back, I wanted to take a little test drive. I like to leak check the cooling system before putting coolant in, check for leaks of engine oil or trans fluid, see if it shifts, stops, all that. This was right after some trans repairs I had made, so I by passed the trans cooler and went for a drive. NEVER DO THAT!!! The trans worked great for the first 10 days...but what they say about heat being the enemy is true.

So, the elevation is about 2600 feet here. A friend needed to see someone in the valley, so I grabbed the cooling lines to install before returning. Did I mention 10 days? I didn't get to install those lines and toasted the tranny coming home. Although I have parts to fix it, finding a place to do it was impossible!! I ordered a trans from Monster Transmission in September, it arrived in December. I'm wrapping up that part of the project now, including a new radiator and trans oil cooler.

Fwiw, the trans cooler in the radiator probably doesn't cool the fluid enough for long term reliability. Anyway, here is the reason for today's post; my upper radiator hose started getting into the fan a little.

Here is the fix...

NICE!

 

[Rocket Man]

Dear friends, this is for anyone that really needs a laugh! After making some repairs a while back, I wanted to take a little test drive. I like to leak check the cooling system before putting coolant in, check for leaks of engine oil or trans fluid, see if it shifts, stops, all that. This was right after some trans repairs I had made, so I by passed the trans cooler and went for a drive. NEVER DO THAT!!! The trans worked great for the first 10 days...but what they say about heat being the enemy is true.

So, the elevation is about 2600 feet here. A friend needed to see someone in the valley, so I grabbed the cooling lines to install before returning. Did I mention 10 days? I didn't get to install those lines and toasted the tranny coming home. Although I have parts to fix it, finding a place to do it was impossible!! I ordered a trans from Monster Transmission in September, it arrived in December. I'm wrapping up that part of the project now, including a new radiator and trans oil cooler.

Fwiw, the trans cooler in the radiator probably doesn't cool the fluid enough for long term reliability. Anyway, here is the reason for today's post; my upper radiator hose started getting into the fan a little.

Here is the fix...
View attachment 271272
NICE!

WTH?

 

[nocal95-2dr-yukon]

WTH?

I taped a stick to the upper radiator hose to keep it out of the fan. Notice the attention to detail, curve of stick is very close to shape of hose! Harbor freight duct tape might be better than dollar hut, but it worked!

 

[nocal95-2dr-yukon]

I was looking at a couple of other "under construction" threads and noticed comments about ride quality. Many of the remarks were from people with lifted, IFS trucks with cranked torsion bars & similar setups to how I've been running mine over the last several years.

Since I live in a fairly rural area where the roads off of the main highway are completely ugly ( as in deep, large potholes or long deep rutted stretches), I felt like adding a small suspension lift and staying with my 33x12.5x15's made things GREAT. I tell people that the faster I drive, the smoother the ride and I'm serious. Nobody believes it until they take a ride with me. They are used to the nearly neck breaking side to side or cringe inspiring drops into potholes their vehicles usually provide and act like I'm surely thinking of killing them when I give Scruffy the gas as I approach a pothole that would scare a Baghdad cabbie.

My Yukon is my only vehicle and a daily driver. The only thing I really want to do is to lower the front differential a little more than the lift kit accomished so my front drive axles are less loaded than they are now.

I feel like the tires on it offset the stiffness of the upper control arms being in contact with the bump stops and since I run without a front sway bar, the UCA's against the stops seems to compensate well for the body roll that removing the sway bar would be likely to generate. On any typical day I am as likely to be off pavement as I am to be on it.

Here are the two reasons I tell you all of this:
1.) I have thought that it would be good to set up some "highway" tires for my truck so I could avoid wearing out the balloons. I know how fast I can wear out 33's from alignment problems and I intend to get some new paws for Scruffy after I make some front end improvements.
2.) My thinking on highway tires is to run a low profile tire on some pretty big wheels. Like a 20 to 40 profile on 27" wheels. The idea is to retain the 33" stance and wear out highway tires when I know I'll be spending a fair amount of time city driving. I have looked at this setup and like the look. I also figure that there would be enough "stiffness" retained between the low profile tires and the UCA contact to have relatively tame ride quality without doing more than what amounts to changing shoes.

I would appreciate forum member input on these ideas. When I make road trips to L.A or Reno it is easy to do 1,100 or more miles in a week or less. I can take other wheel/tires with me if I plan on wheeling, but most trips are either boots or suits.

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[nocal95-2dr-yukon]

Project update.
The new trans is in, including all fluids for the first run. When I got the torque converter ready, I put about 2 qts in before indexing it to the splines and trans oil pump. This is a one man rodeo, so it was way too many trips down to rub the trucks belly and up to scratch it between the ears, but once it was on the bellhousing pins, I had it where I wanted it!

Do you like hearing about the things I wish I knew when I started this project? Here is one...I like Rock Auto, but you need to be SURE the parts they send are going to meet your needs when they arrive. What I mean is, if you dont get around to using the part until 4 or 5 months after it gets to you and then find out that you have some kind of problem, it could be hard to get things exchanged. Not complaining just saying. You will do better to make sure that the fittings match you application when you get it rather than when you go to install it.

So, I went to start it up after installing the trans and my security system is doing its job. I'll either work around it, correct it, or remove it. The last time I replaced the trans it took way more atf than I was ready for. The book says just over 11 qts and it took every bit of that the last time. I have 7 qts in. That should be distributed through out the system on the first short run. I have extra fluid to bring it up to the correct level quickly this time.

After some sausage and eggs it is time to make it start. More on all that soon.

 

[nocal95-2dr-yukon]

Great news! The new transmission is in! I have taken it out for a couple of test drives and I am happy to say that it is working perfectly. The first drive was a short run just to see that there were no leaks, and it moved. I did a relearn topped the fluid and went for a longer drive the second time. 50 to 60 mph is barely breathing. I can't wait to see how freeway driving goes.