New guy, picking up an 01 Yukon XL

[KillNThrill24]

Hey all new to the forum. Playing around on the auction sites I ended up buying an 01 Yukon XL last week lol. I'm hopefully picking it up in the next few days here. Paid a grand for it. There wasn't much in terms of description, so it was like a $1000 lottery ticket. Well, I think I got burned. But regardless, it's mine now. So I'm gonna make the best of it! Here's what I bought it based off of seeing haha. I don't think it looks too bad...

It's a white 2wd SLE.. Living in northern Ohio, I'd much rather have had a 4x4 but it is what it is! I know a good set of tires and common sense will get me where I need to go. I haven't used the 4x4 in my explorer or WJ yet, and I'm very good at bad weather driving.

I had a friend at a local dealership run the carfax on it, and I almost cried (metaphorically). This is why I don't play the lottery lol. The GOOD news is that it spent up until 2010 in Tennessee, so I'm sure rust will be pretty low. And ummm.... That's probably where the good news ends, LOL. It had 7 owners, 7 accidents, a salvage title, and a LOT of miles... Last recorded was 274k. But the good news about that, it was recorded at a Chevrolet dealership and that dealer did "engine maintenance". So it's at least been looked into recently.

The salvage title I THINK is from being maybe stolen. I got it from an impound lot, the radio was missing and there are subs in the back end. Passenger window is also busted out. When I get it home I'll get some pics of it, and get some work done on it. I guess for now I'm just going to use it as a work truck.

I have some spare wheels and tires from an 02 silverado, those should swap right over right? 275/70-17's. I come from the Blue Oval family lol, but I like anything American. So this is a new learning curve for me. As far as maintenance and what not, and being SUCH a high mileage vehicle, is there anything I should look into right away? Oil change would probably be 1st on the list, but after that where should I start hunting?

 

[KillNThrill24]

Well the officer that has the title hasn't exactly been helpful so far. He told me to come in anytime during the week and the 2 days in a row that I went in due to being off, he wasn't in lol.

But I managed to get the glass I needed for $20 from the local junk yard while on a recon mission to see what they had in terms of yukon/tahoe parts. Found the same year xl and the same year tahoe there. Both with full interior. So if I need interior pieces, they are ready for me to take. And I'm in the process of painting some Silverado wheels I had sitting around. Might try to find a set of some newer wheels locally. Took the new keys to the dealership and they wouldn't help me without the title. So no keys yet. I'm gonna have to get a locksmith to meet me at the yard to cut some keys on site. We'll see what happens over the course of the next week.

 

[Lil_Stump]

For $1000 it's definitely not the worst you could have gotten lol. Definitely has a lot of potential if you put time and money into it, but I guess that's just like anything else. As for the rims and tires, I think they should fit no problem, but if push comes to shove and they do rub you could always crank the torsion keys up a bit, or trim where it's rubbing and be good to go.

 

[#1taho]

For a grand I think you did good!!!! I would be happy with that. How about more pics ?

 

[KillNThrill24]

Hey all!! Sorry for the delayed reply. I've been super busy since I brought the big old turd home lol

Where to start.... So The first thing I had to do was clean it out. It was just awful!! Look at the before and after

 

[KillNThrill24]

And heres the crap all piled up ready for the dumpster


I have a carpet scrubber that I'll be bringing down to fully clean it out lol. After I cleaned it out, the next thing on the list was the shift linkage which was broken by the tow yard so they could change the gears without the key. I ended up having to have my mom sit in it at the yard with it running, jack it up, put it in reverse, drop it back down, then have her back it out, then I had to jack it back up, pop it in neutral, and put it back down so the tow truck could get it lol. It was a blast...... But anyways, I went to the local junkyard today and snagged the linkage out of a tahoe on the lot. Once I got that installed, I changed the oil, put the new battery in it, and added some coolant since it was low. Looked like Dexcool was in it, so that's what I re added to it.

The next task was easier than I thought it would be. I found the passenger window track and motor in the back end, no hardware or anything. Wasn't sure it worked so I popped the door panel off and plugged it in. Went up and down without a problem. I was happy at that point! Found 5 matching bolts in my collection of extra bolts and such from past projects... Popped the track back in, loosened up the saddles, and dropped the glass in. BAM I had a functioning window at that point!

Finally, the hardest project I had today, was cleaning up the left over residue and the remaining duct tape that was holding something over the door in place of the window... It wasn't there when I got it so I'm not sure what they had over it. But my buddy had this awesome rubber wheel thing in his shop that was designed to remove decals and such from cars. Worked wonders!



I needed the mask and glasses... I had goo gone soaking into the tape. You can imagine how messy it got LOL. But turned out great! Minus the paint that came off with the tape. The wheel actually kept it to a minimum. I peeled a lot of that off by hand.



Still have to finish removing the glue and plastic from the old vent visor, but I'll get there.

 

[KillNThrill24]

This is what it looked like at the lot, so you can see how much tape and gunk I had to remove. It was BAKED onto the car. Never seen duct tape so dried out before.



I have to admit. I was so so happy when I jacked this thing up and saw how clean it was underneath. Being in Tennessee from 01-10 REALLY helped preserve this thing.

 

[KillNThrill24]

Don't know a lot about these subs, but there are 4 of these Soundstream SPL 12's in a big ol box back here. 3 were pulled out, I'm guessing to check for drugs hahaha. Also found this American Bass door speaker on the passenger side. I'm guessing they all are. Pretty cool. I used to be into this stuff back when I was younger. But never listened to the right music for it (metalhead here lol).


And just a random I took of it when I got back from trying to get it to do a burnout today LOL. My shop is in an industrial parkway, and theres a deadend road to nowhere that I use for testing my cars out to see how they're running or to see what's wrong with them. I was disappointed when it only chirped the tires and then ran hahahaha...



It's a work in progress. The flasher relay is shot, the right turn signal was stuck on. So I un plugged it. I can't get any of the 3 GM remotes I have to program to the vehicle, and being that the ignition is aftermarket, I do not have a door key... So I need to get a remote to work soon. It has a Viper alarm on it that my locksmith and I disconnected at the brain so we could get the vehicle to turn on lol. I ordered a replacement viper alarm remote, we'll see how it works when I get it. Also, the abs and brake light is on....... After a quick Google search I found out it's an EBCM issue..... That explained why the ABS 60amp fuse was missing. I plugged one in, and right away the pump kicked on. So I unplugged it again. I personally don't care about the ABS, but being that I need to get it inspected by the state highway patrol (plates that are on it right now are my mustangs plates. I just put them on for AAA to tow it. I haven't taken it outside of the industrial parkway.) in order to get the rebuilt salvage title... I'm gonna have to get it fixed. Any cheap, quick fixes??

And finally... Last thing that I can think of at the moment, the sunroof is fawked. no other way to put it. Half of the adjustment track (section that moves it up and down) is gone. It doesn't move when you hit the button either. So I'm gonna have to source an entire assembly from a junkyard or something.

Also, it's got 295,300 miles on it LOL. She's been through a lot. But I'm impressed that minus a slight exhaust leak, it runs great. At first, it was a fudgin DOG off the line. But as I did a few more pulls, I could feel it getting a bit quicker. I noticed a lot of water coming out of the muffler, I'm sure there's tons of condensation built up from sitting so long. It could use a fresh tank of gas too I bet. And some new plugs. But the oil filter that was on it was a K&N, and the oil was synthetic. I was surprised to see that. Previous owners, mechanically, must have taken good care of it.

So stay tuned... Lots more to come. Any info on the issues I'm having, or any suggestions, will be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Tonyrodz]

I don't have any info for you, but I think, so far, you came out pretty good. Taken care of, these trucks run a long time. Good luck with the project!

 

[Fosscore]

Nice work so far resurrecting her to this point. Good luck and keep the updates and pictures coming. Good reference for other projects.