War_Pig
TYF Newbie
Howdy, y'all.
I'm almost done refreshing my 190k 2006 Tahoe. It has a fairly colorful history and is enjoying retirement as a good daily. It will double as an overland camping vehicle. Pics in bio.
The '06 vintage for Border Patrol I think simply had a Z71 suspension and 4.10 gears. I'll be sure to pull the code list from the glovebox. It needs a few last minute parts and I was hoping you folks could help. There are spots on the inside where the interior was a little rushed, and I think there's bondo bullet holes in a few doors.
Mods:
3in puck and shackle lift.
Road One 31in off road tires.
Bilstein 5100s.
New Z71 rear springs.
Removed thicker anti-sway bars (35mm?)
All new front end suspension
All new rear end, 4.10 w/ posi
New rear main seal
Self-tune in HPTuners. Richened low end and massaged shift points for easier driving. It doesn't shift as much and has plenty of torque going uphill at part throttle. The stock shift pattern danced around too much. It drives very well like an old Chevy and I'm just letting it be a "truck truck truck" instead of an "ESSYEWWVEEE".
New o2 sensors
New coils, wires, and plugs.
K&N air filter
Magnaflow muffler
New front axles
Soon to be completed:
- Long Tube Headers (Mean! Cheap! Wow!)
- Engine mounts (Does it perilously need OEM, or can I use cheaper replacements?)
- Z71 front torsion bars
- Oil pan gasket.
- Knock sensors and harness
- Clean up a little wiring that seemed to be an afterthought when they decommissioned the vehicle.
- Finish outfitting it for some camping!
- That oil galley vent tube thingy that these are known to go through.
Dream mods:
- 4L65 transmission upgrade
- Chopacobra/Truck Norris cam + valvetrain
- New injectors
- ITB kit for about 450 hp. Yeah, you can do it with a cam and 1 throttlebody but these look like more fun!
I love looking under my truck and seeing it completely DRY, firstly
. Second, it has excellent soft road manners for my aging bee-hind. A couple (ok, several) small details are getting it to be reliable and comfortable with minimal compromises.
The most pressing needs to finish the expensive work are:
- Engine + trans mounts
- Z71 front torsion bars
With the above parts, I can finish the lift and drive more normally with good mounts. What do you all suggest for these?
I was emphatically told OEM mounts but have no first hand experience. AZ has them in a package for $150ish. All 3 OEM mounts will probably go past $400.
Z71 front torsion bars look recently discontinued. Are they stiffer or the same part as the base Hoe? The driver side indeed sags after nearly 20 years. It was probably lifted with keys before. All the parts underneath looked different shades of dusy brown, like they had lived different lives. That leads me to believe it was made as stock as possible when they decommissioned it or the second owner did some work under there.
$500ish to throw these in and I'll be a happy camper.
I'm almost done refreshing my 190k 2006 Tahoe. It has a fairly colorful history and is enjoying retirement as a good daily. It will double as an overland camping vehicle. Pics in bio.
The '06 vintage for Border Patrol I think simply had a Z71 suspension and 4.10 gears. I'll be sure to pull the code list from the glovebox. It needs a few last minute parts and I was hoping you folks could help. There are spots on the inside where the interior was a little rushed, and I think there's bondo bullet holes in a few doors.
Mods:
3in puck and shackle lift.
Road One 31in off road tires.
Bilstein 5100s.
New Z71 rear springs.
Removed thicker anti-sway bars (35mm?)
All new front end suspension
All new rear end, 4.10 w/ posi
New rear main seal
Self-tune in HPTuners. Richened low end and massaged shift points for easier driving. It doesn't shift as much and has plenty of torque going uphill at part throttle. The stock shift pattern danced around too much. It drives very well like an old Chevy and I'm just letting it be a "truck truck truck" instead of an "ESSYEWWVEEE".
New o2 sensors
New coils, wires, and plugs.
K&N air filter
Magnaflow muffler
New front axles
Soon to be completed:
- Long Tube Headers (Mean! Cheap! Wow!)
- Engine mounts (Does it perilously need OEM, or can I use cheaper replacements?)
- Z71 front torsion bars
- Oil pan gasket.
- Knock sensors and harness
- Clean up a little wiring that seemed to be an afterthought when they decommissioned the vehicle.
- Finish outfitting it for some camping!
- That oil galley vent tube thingy that these are known to go through.
Dream mods:
- 4L65 transmission upgrade
- Chopacobra/Truck Norris cam + valvetrain
- New injectors
- ITB kit for about 450 hp. Yeah, you can do it with a cam and 1 throttlebody but these look like more fun!
I love looking under my truck and seeing it completely DRY, firstly
. Second, it has excellent soft road manners for my aging bee-hind. A couple (ok, several) small details are getting it to be reliable and comfortable with minimal compromises.The most pressing needs to finish the expensive work are:
- Engine + trans mounts
- Z71 front torsion bars
With the above parts, I can finish the lift and drive more normally with good mounts. What do you all suggest for these?
I was emphatically told OEM mounts but have no first hand experience. AZ has them in a package for $150ish. All 3 OEM mounts will probably go past $400.
Z71 front torsion bars look recently discontinued. Are they stiffer or the same part as the base Hoe? The driver side indeed sags after nearly 20 years. It was probably lifted with keys before. All the parts underneath looked different shades of dusy brown, like they had lived different lives. That leads me to believe it was made as stock as possible when they decommissioned it or the second owner did some work under there.
$500ish to throw these in and I'll be a happy camper.
