Just Fishing's 09 Tahoe Build thread

[Just Fishing]

Depending on my motivation, I'm thinking I want to also pull the engine and change the cam bearings due to warnings of those OEM bearings having issues with the dual valve spring (pac) setup I have.

It would also be easier to setup the pushrod legnth with the new lifers.
The new style should require less preload with these heavy springs I'm running.

That would also allow me to really check everything out.

But we shall see how motivated I get with that.

 

[Just Fishing]

Also, the transmission has been going great!
I even lowered the pressures in the transmission to see how it does with a more "oem" pressures.

So far so good!

I still haven't pulled the pan yet, so I'm trying to hold off from patting myself on the back.
however, I bought a tool to hopefully make sucking the fluid out before pain removal easier for me.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N7YV5GN

I have been watching this tool for some time.
It has been over $100 for a while.
I saw it with a price tag of $69, so I decided to grab it.
I haven't had any issues with the "OEM tools" brand, and as of right now I consider it to be trusted like "Astro"

There are other brands like 4 uncles that are much cheaper, but I haven't had the best experience with their stuff.
Since it's plastic, I'm willing to spend a little more for a brand I trust....

This runs with either a manual pump or using an air compressor.
I fully plan to air compressor it.


After I ordered, I'm now thinking I probably should have gone with the larger capacity model just in case the pan holds more fluid than I think it might.
I fully plan to shove the tube down the dip stick hole and walk away for a while...

There are a few things that I don't like too much about the design, but we shall see how it works out.

I also already see that I'll need to add some hose extensions.
but that's easy enough to do by either using fittings, or just sticking a smaller diameter hose in the current hose.

 

[Just Fishing]

and next, the transmission cooler setup I did.
Running in parallel with the radiator @ stock cooler sitting on their own circuit.
then flowing from and to -8an (1/2in) vs the stock -6an (3/8in) lines.

Pressures still going great, never goes over 70psi on the cooler circuit.

And so far, I haven't used the bypass valve I setup to shut off flow from the large cooler.
An old "install" picture for reference.



I have the OEM cooler sitting on front of the larger double pass cooler in the image.
Right now I just shoved a piece of cardboard down through the access hole in front of the hood latch.
That seems to be the perfect size to shove something in there in order to limit airflow.

That's allowing me to get the transmission temperature to a nice low 170 degrees after a few hours of use around town.

I'll play around with the idea later, maybe even make something a little more permanent, but I like this vs possibly increasing the back pressure in the cooler lines.

 

[Sparksalot]

Also, the transmission has been going great!
I even lowered the pressures in the transmission to see how it does with a more "oem" pressures.

So far so good!

I still haven't pulled the pan yet, so I'm trying to hold off from patting myself on the back.
however, I bought a tool to hopefully make sucking the fluid out before pain removal easier for me.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N7YV5GN

I have been watching this tool for some time.
It has been over $100 for a while.
I saw it with a price tag of $69, so I decided to grab it.
I haven't had any issues with the "OEM tools" brand, and as of right now I consider it to be trusted like "Astro"

There are other brands like 4 uncles that are much cheaper, but I haven't had the best experience with their stuff.
Since it's plastic, I'm willing to spend a little more for a brand I trust....

This runs with either a manual pump or using an air compressor.
I fully plan to air compressor it.


After I ordered, I'm now thinking I probably should have gone with the larger capacity model just in case the pan holds more fluid than I think it might.
I fully plan to shove the tube down the dip stick hole and walk away for a while...

There are a few things that I don't like too much about the design, but we shall see how it works out.

I also already see that I'll need to add some hose extensions.
but that's easy enough to do by either using fittings, or just sticking a smaller diameter hose in the current hose.

I have a pump like this to do the same.

https://www.amazon.com/Extractor-Changing-Scavenge-Transfer-Motorbike/dp/B08T1KPSKV/

 

[Just Fishing]

I have a pump like this to do the same.

https://www.amazon.com/Extractor-Changing-Scavenge-Transfer-Motorbike/dp/B08T1KPSKV/

I have the same thing, it's slow and I have to prime it using my brake bleeder to get it running.
I'm hoping this works much better.

And if I hate it, it's prime + extended Christmas returns!

 

[Just Fishing]

I also had an issue where I started seeing codes related to running too lean during cold startup once winter hit.
I started doing some adjusting on my MAF to see if i could sort it, but it continued.

AFR gauge showed it idling pretty lean, but it bounced around a bit.

I finally found that one of my recycled hoses that connects my catch cans to the intake split and started leaking, causing the issue due to a vacuume leak.



During that, I found that I had issues opening the MAF scale.
And clicking around, I found that the newest hptuners version has a new "Feature" where some emission related settings are now locked.
To get them unlocked, you need to go to the hp tuners website and take a little online class.
Afterwards you can grant access from the site?!

Reverting to an earlier version would remove that restriction, however it's just a warning for others.
If you need access to the O2 sensor settings, don't update unless you're ready to take the little online course.

And for that newest version, they added some tools related to logging and the special functions has a few new features.
Nothing really warranting the update IMO, but it's there.

I'm sure this is to prevent hptuners from getting fined/shut down.


And of course, the issue I was having wasn't even related to that, for some reason the laptop that I use to program won't open that value...
It will open others, just not that one.

 

[Just Fishing]

I used this yesterday to suck out the transmission fluid.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N7YV5GN

I didn't have much luck with the hoses that come with it.
Instead, I used my 6mm air line that I used for the other fluid pump and adapted it to the hose that it came with.
That allowed me to get further down into the pan.

Example of what I'm talking about with the air line/hose: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=6mm+airline+tubing&ref=nb_sb_ss_fb_1_7
I have a couple pneumatic air cylinders that I played around with for a while.
I never found a really cool/good use for them around the garage, but I came up with plenty of ideas.
Cool stuff with the different ways you can direct air using the little controllers they sell (cheap).

If you ever played with lego's as a kid and had the pneumatic technic lego sets, it's like that but bigger!

I made an adapter out of some hose I had laying around, and then sealed up with some electrical tape for good measure.



I ended up drilling out the little air outlet in the fluid suction tool, that gave me much better suction!
I didn't go much larger, just a tiny bit.
then beveled the outlet to quiet it down a little.


I'm happy, it sucked with plenty of power.
And the size of the tool was just about perfect for the amount of transmission fluid I pulled out.
I should have spent a little more for the larger size, but I didn't make a mess.

 

[Just Fishing]

I also noticed some "lines" in the fluid i extracted, but I didn't really have any clutch material or too much metal on the magnets in the pan.
Just the right amount for the new transmission.

I think the "lines" in the fluid came from all of the transgel I used during assembly.
(Just about an entire tub)

I really coated all of the seals to prevent any sort of tearing during assembly, so much I had to force in transmission fluid in order to pass the air checks before installing the valve body.

I figure the extra transgel probably helped thicken the fluid up just enough to help with the break in of the new bushings.
Enough I figured I didn't want to tow much until I did the final fluid change.

I think I'll use my cooler line filter housing to help me flush a good gallon or two through the cooler lines..
Filter off and I have a good drain port.

 

[Just Fishing]

I haven't updated this in some time.
The Tahoe is doing well with the 6.0 and the transmission.
I still want to replace the lifters one day, but it's good enough for now.
The Tahoe really moves with the new setup!
I have been running some "cheap" 15w40 oil, that resolved some of the lifter noise and the engine has been happy since.

Driving around town it's still a light touch and it moves.
I'm still running the 5.3 timing, mostly out of lazy.
I did adust the MAF for a little extra fueling, and it's happy there per the wideband.
I still need to spend the time to really dial it in, and I'm still dreaming of the 6.2 timing for long term.
In the end of 2023, I picked up a new to me boat, and the Tahoe did fantastic hauling it home for its several hour drive, and up some canyon roads at highway speeds.


The boat is a 1994 22ft StarCraft Islander 221 with a MerCruiser 4.3l that has a somewhat small crack in the engine block.


The trailer is a 05 Metalcraft with all the bells and whistles, first time having something with brakes and double axles!
Not to mention this thing was professionally fitted to the boat as metalcraft is local.
The PO kept meticulous records, I have everything including the trailer and the fitting done by metalcraft.
Work starts on it soon...

Then the end of 2022 I also picked up a new project, the price was right so I couldn't pass it up.
The Tahoe got it's first taste of about 7,000 lbs (+/-), it did great!

The project was a 2007 Jeep wrangler Unlimited.
Price was 5k.
the catch: Severe rod knock/spun bearing.


I think part of the good deal and the motivation is that the seller came from NC, and the Jeep still had the NC plates on it.
He tried and failed to get it registered here in UT per some receipts I found.
I found it was leaking oil, and antifreeze pretty badly, I suspect that helped make the engine fail.

It was a pleasure to work on something other than the Tahoe.
I ended up rebuilding that engine for under 1k invested.
I had to replace one rod + piston, and I got a used crankshaft from a minivan that was a perfect match.
Metal had gone everywhere, so it was a full gut, cleaning, new camshaft, new lifters since they were seized with metal.
Pushrods had that sanded look, so those were toast.




This engine has about 4k+ on it now and it's doing great.
One fun part was that Chrysler made the cam bearing setup so it's impossible to replace like you would an LS.
they have to be installed from the front back, no way to insert cam bearings through the bottom...
I hired that job out to the best person I could think of, and it was still a challenge!
The hardest one was the front since you can't use the other holes to align while it's driven in.
So the front bearing was a bit tight for the new camshaft.
He had fitted using the old camshaft, but the size difference was enough that I couldn't fully install the cam shaft!
Some careful fitting and lapping of that bearing on my end, I used car polish/scratch remover as a super fine lapping compound, it also showed me where the high spots were.
finished with some non-wax car polish (nu finish), then brake clean to remove any residue, but the fitment was still pretty tight.


Once she was back together, I had to deal with some wiring issues, and I found some history of it failing emissions due to some O2 sensor issues.

Later I began the "build" as things showed up second hand, and for the "get it out of my garage" price.
First I needed to dump the tiny little tires it came with, those were 29in tall and on 16in wheels.
Per the sticker in the door it should be on 18's and 31in tall.

One day while shopping I found some nice take off tires, mounted on wheels for $200.
A picture my wife snapped while it was still up in the air, if you look closely, you should be able to make out the jack handle, and the rear tire is above the driveway by about 2inches.


The tube doors were also picked up as I had to do some body work on the rear tail light.
The wife came out to see it with the top removed, sat in there and said with a sad look "I thought it would be more open".

And she didn't like the idea of no doors, so tube doors it was!!

 

[Just Fishing]

another "Feature" of this jeep was an absolutely trashed interior.
If I were to guess, the top was off or the windows down.
And some birds had a party.

The carpet and drain plugs were also missing.



A bit of gear oil had also spilled in the back, so it had that wonderful smell...
Once she was running, I took a black trash bag with me and headed down to the local wash bay.
This was in February, so freezing was a real thing.

I soaped this thing inside and out, and even used the brush where I could.
the seat's cleaned up pretty well, and I got the white shit that was all over the doors, dash, seats, and floors off.

After I bought this thing i had already picked up some nice diver down seat covers that were on an "after christmas" sale.
And I scored a full bedrug carpet kit that was a return.
More than 50% off, but there was some minor damage on some of the pieces.