New Here - Just picked up a 2007 Yukon XL Denali

[jonnyj]

My first battery on my Yukon lasted like 7 years (new OEM from the factory). My second lasted like 5 years (high quality wet cell). My current battery (expensive Napa AGM) was looking like it wasn't going to last even to the free replacement warranty cutoff.

My guess is my use profile had evolved from lots of long distance travel to much more short trips where the power management just wasn't getting my battery fully charged back up to where it needed to be frequently enough to stave off early chemistry deterioration. My normal charge after a number of hours of shutdown was hovering around 12.2-.3v.

My alternator had a whining bearing, so I replaced it. That didn't change how my battery was keeping charge.

I decided to buy one of those fancy CTEK trickle chargers that have built in conditioning and have used it fairly faithfully in recent months and my battery now recovers right at 12.8v after some hours after a shutdown, so it does seem to have stemmed the early deterioration I might have been seeing with my short trip use profile.

Lots of assumptions in the above, some of which may not be accurate, but right now, it seems the battery charger I connect most nights seems to be making a difference in how my battery will hold up, given my short trip use and how GM seems to manage charging in the power hungry trucks.

Thats actually really good for me to know. Because of working from home it'll be used for mainly short trips. I think I should keep an eye on my battery charge level at least for the next little bit.

 

[jonnyj]

Also today I went around the vehicle looking at any scuffs and paint transfers that occurred onto the Yukon's paint. The Eraser Wheel was excellent in removing those as well. Here is a before and after pic from the left front bumper. The yellow "dust" you see on the bumper is the eraser wheel. It wipes right off.

Tomorrow I start to tackle the various rust spots around the vehicle before taking it back to the auto body shop for the quarter panels. I found duplicolor perfect match spray paint for the car as well that I will use to blend in and cover the treated / repaired areas.

 

[wsteele]

Thats actually really good for me to know. Because of working from home it'll be used for mainly short trips. I think I should keep an eye on my battery charge level at least for the next little bit.

I think that sounds like a good idea.

One thing is these things start spooling up as soon as you open a door and after shutdown don't spool down for quite a while. So when taking voltage readings on the battery to check charge status, wait a few hours after shutdown. The immediate parasitic drag is pretty high (which will make the charge status seem poor), but that fades away and in a few hours your battery will have bounced back some and will give you the accurate status of where it sits.

 

[89Suburban]

Jeeze louise how did I miss this thread?

 

[89Suburban]

It does here. The 07-14 suvs are built like **** anyhow, but 07 is far and away the worst of the bunch.

I guess I have a Unicorn then. Phew...

 

[CaptainAmerica1]

I guess I have a Unicorn then. Phew...

Me too

 

[jonnyj]

So it’s been a while!

Haven’t been able to work it regularly because of work/life.

Started on the rust yesterday. Here’s a quick shot of the side after sanding away a few of the rust spots. I’m happy to report so far superficial rust spots.

More updates this week as I use bondo to fill and sand down to the proper lines and curves of the body panels.

 

[Rocket Man]

So it’s been a while!

Haven’t been able to work it regularly because of work/life.

Started on the rust yesterday. Here’s a quick shot of the side after sanding away a few of the rust spots. I’m happy to report so far superficial rust spots.

More updates this week as I use bondo to fill and sand down to the proper lines and curves of the body panels.

You have to realize that rust is coming from the back side though. If you only attack it from the front, and then add bondo to it, it’s still rusting from the backside only now you can’t see it. The only way to get rid of it if you can’t access the backside is to cut the sheet metal and patch it in with new metal. You’d be surprised how much more rust is back there as opposed to the front. You’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg.

 

[jonnyj]

You have to realize that rust is coming from the back side though. If you only attack it from the front, and then add bondo to it, it’s still rusting from the backside only now you can’t see it. The only way to get rid of it if you can’t access the backside is to cut the sheet metal and patch it in with new metal. You’d be surprised how much more rust is back there as opposed to the front. You’re just seeing the tip of the iceberg.

So far on this side, its all superficial from paint chips (you can zoom in on the spots I've sanded away and see the nice clean sheet metal underneath). On the driver side- by the gas tank door its bad, that quarter panel is getting replaced.

 

[Rocket Man]

So far on this side, its all superficial from paint chips (you can zoom in on the spots I've sanded away and see the nice clean sheet metal underneath). On the driver side- by the gas tank door its bad, that quarter panel is getting replaced.

You sure? The “dog legs” are what usually rust out first. Theres no pinholes there? If there’s heavy paint chips, they’re always behind the wheel where gravel and rocks are thrown, not in front of it. You should be able to pull your wheel liner and look at the backside unless that’s a cavity. I don’t own a NNBS except a Silverado so I dont know for sure. Hopefully somebody that has experience with rust in this area will chime in.