Rocket Man's 02 Denali Build Thread AKA "THE BEAST"

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89Suburban

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I got a couple parts in, still waiting on the line. The block off plate seems ok, could fit better but I think the main problem is the seals they included. They’re about twice as thick as the factory ones and when I installed the high pressure side and torqued it to spec it looked crooked, didn’t sit flat. I tried it with a new stock seal and it looks fine. I feel better about it now.

Maybe cut a piece of aluminum angle to put under the nut to spread out the force?
 
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Rocket Man

Rocket Man

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Since I’m returning the evaporators and not spending money on the rear ac I decided to order front inner fenders to replace the ones I cut up when I had the 26’s on it. They’ve kinda bothered me but also I never found any that fit besides OEM and those were $$$ so I lived with it. The ones for the Tahoes and pickups were available but they always said they don’t fit my truck so I never ordered any. I found an eBay seller that shows a 2002 Yukon Denali in the compatibility table so we’ll see. At $125 for the set it’s not bad if they do fit. The pics for the Tahoe ones looked different than mine, these look correct. It would be nice to clean up the front fender wells.
 

Sam Harris

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George B

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I am surprised you aren't fixing the rear AC. The rear is inoperable in our Envoy and I miss it. It helped cool and heat the cabin more evenly in my opinion.

I will fix it sometime soon as I only need a $90 part.
 
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Rocket Man

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I am surprised you aren't fixing the rear AC. The rear is inoperable in our Envoy and I miss it. It helped cool and heat the cabin more evenly in my opinion.

I will fix it sometime soon as I only need a $90 part.
I honestly have never used it except once on a trip about 7 years ago when I had 6 people in it, and the $400 in parts it requires helped me make up my mind. I can always buy the line kit and rear evaporator in the future but I know it will never happen. I don’t have kids or anybody else riding with me, just my dog. So the only part of the truck I need cold is up front.
 
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Rocket Man

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I realized I forgot to add oil to the condenser before I installed ut so I rigged up a funnel with 3 different size hoses and was able to add it.

I also decided to use up the rest of the flush fluid on the front evaporator so I can put the kit away. I don’t care what anybody says. You’re gonna get that sh*t all over no matter what you do. As soon as I hooked up the thing, one of the fittings was loose so all the fluid that was in the thing shot everywhere including my face. Again. I filled it with the remaining fluid and thought my drain hose was in the hole tight. It was not. The hose shot out as well as more fluid. By now that whole half of the engine bay was covered in it as well as my face and glasses. Neighbors got an earful of cussing if they were outside. Why does it have to be a fight every time I work on the AC? Anyway I got it done. Blew air through it for a good 5 minutes as it continued to decorate me with a bit more fluid since I didn’t care at this point, it had won. I wiped up the mess and figured I’d just power wash everything down when I’m done. Now back to waiting on that line. Friday can’t come soon enough. I need to be done with this sh*t.
 

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RAMurphy

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I realized I forgot to add oil to the condenser before I installed ut so I rigged up a funnel with 3 different size hoses and was able to add it.

I also decided to use up the rest of the flush fluid on the front evaporator so I can put the kit away. I don’t care what anybody says. You’re gonna get that sh*t all over no matter what you do. As soon as I hooked up the thing, one of the fittings was loose so all the fluid that was in the thing shot everywhere including my face. Again. I filled it with the remaining fluid and thought my drain hose was in the hole tight. It was not. The hose shot out as well as more fluid. By now that whole half of the engine bay was covered in it as well as my face and glasses. Neighbors got an earful of cussing if they were outside. Why does it have to be a fight every time I work on the AC? Anyway I got it done. Blew air through it for a good 5 minutes as it continued to decorate me with a bit more fluid since I didn’t care at this point, it had won. I wiped up the mess and figured I’d just power wash everything down when I’m done. Now back to waiting on that line. Friday can’t come soon enough. I need to be done with this sh*t.
Actually made me laugh. Sorry for the several "baths" in that crap.
 
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Rocket Man

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Actually made me laugh. Sorry for the several "baths" in that crap.
I ended up laughing myself once I was finished and came inside and looked at myself in the mirror. I couldn’t believe one of the fittings on that thing had loosened up so much that it wasn’t even making contact with its o-ring ( I discovered everything was finger tight) and as soon as I hooked it up to 120 psi of air pressure it instantly shot all its contents out before I could go from “oh shit” to disconnecting the air line. There was no preparing for that. :yaoface2:
 
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Rocket Man

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This is why I hate waiting for parts. Because now, to be honest, I’m not even returning the rear evaporator. Here’s my thoughts: I hate having something in any of my vehicles that doesn’t work. The rear ac hasn’t worked for awhile, I don’t believe. I think I quit trying to use it because it blew warm air. Maybe that was the blend door actuator, maybe it was the evaporator. IDK. I don’t really know, and don’t remember when it stopped working. I think I’ll end up fixing it. I did find the line kit on Amazon and in fact came super close to buying one, because it was one day delivery and I could still wrap this thing up this weekend BUT I discovered that was for the XL. The one for the short wheelbase is actually only available on eBay or Amazon non-Prime for around $400 shipped, and about a week out. So….I’m gonna get this put back together with the block off kit. Then I’ll most likely buy the hose kit and fix the rear ac. My buddy will only charge me once, and only $60, to evacuate and recharge the system. There’s still a bit of hot weather left this year. Or I might wait until next year. The hose kit is on my Amazon list. I blame @George B for this latest nonsense. Thanks George! :rolleyes:
 

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