Want to take my 2010 Yukon XL Denali with 180,000 miles for a family trip from Michigan To Florida - Can you help me make this a success!

[B-train]

If it hasn't been mentioned already, when you fill it with coolant, run the engine up to operating temp with the cap off. Turn both front and rear heat to hot, and massage the upper hose a little if needed to help move pesky air bubbles along. Once the thermostat is open and modulating, run up the rpms to about 1500 for a couple minutes to speed up the flow rate and see if any more air moves out.

Then shut it down, top off as needed, cap it, and take it for a few mile spin down the road. You can leave the cap on, or off while it cools and check in the morning. I usually like to burp systems warm, top off, then put the cap on. This, in a sealed system, should pull a vacuum on the it when it cools and contracts. When it heat cycles hot again, you don't have an additional air spring pressure that builds up.

Great job so far, you've tackles a lot. Don't fret about the rear shocks and compressor, there a piece of cake. You got this!

 

[bobby2175]

If it hasn't been mentioned already, when you fill it with coolant, run the engine up to operating temp with the cap off. Turn both front and rear heat to hot, and massage the upper hose a little if needed to help move pesky air bubbles along. Once the thermostat is open and modulating, run up the rpms to about 1500 for a couple minutes to speed up the flow rate and see if any more air moves out.

Then shut it down, top off as needed, cap it, and take it for a few mile spin down the road. You can leave the cap on, or off while it cools and check in the morning. I usually like to burp systems warm, top off, then put the cap on. This, in a sealed system, should pull a vacuum on the it when it cools and contracts. When it heat cycles hot again, you don't have an additional air spring pressure that builds up.

Great job so far, you've tackles a lot. Don't fret about the rear shocks and compressor, there a piece of cake. You got this!

Thanks so much for the encouragement! I didn't catch your note before I started everything up, so I'll take another look in the morning. I did not have the rear heat on today, but will do that tomorrow.

In general, I felt like things went very well! I don't see any leaks anywhere.

At startup, everything seemed very normal. A few minutes in, I started to hear a dancing "tick "tick tick" from around the engine bay that I could not isolate. It wasn't really on a regular rhythm either. Once the temp gauge got up to 210, it started to slow down and then went away completely.

I took the truck for a spin about 20 minutes or so getting up to about 55-60 mph for a few stretches and coming back down again.

My observations:
1. The rough idle I was complaining about is gone!
2. The idle never went higher than 700 (I had some concerns about idle after cleaning the throttle body)
3. As I'm coming to a stop, the idle will surge 2-3 times before I come to a complete stop. As I'm slowing down, the idle will dip to 800, then jump to 1200-1400. This will happen about 3 times before I come to a complete stop.
4. Steady idle is around 600 rpm and feels pretty smooth
5. I only needed just below 3 gallons of coolant - that seemed a little light to me, but I'll see how it looks tomorrow. It's definitely a little below the fill line right now, so I can see adding a little more. Possible there's still some air hiding somewhere.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on these things to make sure it's all good.

Thanks again for all of your help. I think things have gone pretty well so far!

 

[Geotrash]

Wanted to switch gears a little bit and go back to the scan tool. I'm very lucky and fortunate to have the means to purchase this - is this what I want to get and will I be able to get the value out of it over time and multiple vehicles?

In my opinion, yes. But to be clear I don’t own one by that manufacturer… I’ve only heard people rave about them here. @Fless owns one similar though and would be a balanced observer of his experience.

 

[Fless]

We (my son and I) do like the Autel we got; he works on multiple car makes occasionally and needs the flexibility. We have the MaxiPro MP808S-TS which runs about $900 now, I think. I don't know what the one you posted will do that ours won't, but it likely has some other advanced features. My price ceiling was $1K so this one fit the bill. I do like that it will program new Autel TPMS sensors and will reset the TPMS sensor positions without inflating/deflating and can tell if a sensor is good. It will also do Battery Reset when changing batteries on newer cars.

You can probably find a feature comparison chart on Autel's site.

 

[iamdub]

Thanks so much for the encouragement! I didn't catch your note before I started everything up, so I'll take another look in the morning. I did not have the rear heat on today, but will do that tomorrow.

In general, I felt like things went very well! I don't see any leaks anywhere.

At startup, everything seemed very normal. A few minutes in, I started to hear a dancing "tick "tick tick" from around the engine bay that I could not isolate. It wasn't really on a regular rhythm either. Once the temp gauge got up to 210, it started to slow down and then went away completely.

I took the truck for a spin about 20 minutes or so getting up to about 55-60 mph for a few stretches and coming back down again.

My observations:
1. The rough idle I was complaining about is gone!
2. The idle never went higher than 700 (I had some concerns about idle after cleaning the throttle body)
3. As I'm coming to a stop, the idle will surge 2-3 times before I come to a complete stop. As I'm slowing down, the idle will dip to 800, then jump to 1200-1400. This will happen about 3 times before I come to a complete stop.
4. Steady idle is around 600 rpm and feels pretty smooth
5. I only needed just below 3 gallons of coolant - that seemed a little light to me, but I'll see how it looks tomorrow. It's definitely a little below the fill line right now, so I can see adding a little more. Possible there's still some air hiding somewhere.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on these things to make sure it's all good.

Thanks again for all of your help. I think things have gone pretty well so far!

1. Great!
2. Also great!
3. At this point, I'd attribute it to relearning its positions when slowing but not stopped and idling.
4. Sounds normal
5. Without removing the plugs in the block, you'll always have a few gallons remaining in the engine block. The heater cores hold some, too. Just keep a bottle of coolant on hand and keep it topped off at the "FULL HOT" mark. Check it the next morning when its cold and add if necessary to bring it to the "FULL COLD" mark. After some driving, you'll find that you're adding less and less as all the air works its way out. Soon enough, it'll settle and the level will cycle between the marks on its on.

 

[bobby2175]

Did a few more miles of driving today and it seems like the rough idle is still around. Not quite as bad as it was before, but definitely still present. I'm only on tank #2 of Berrymans B12, so hoping it will still clear up.

I'm working on rear air suspension and seeing if I can drop the spare and checking it's condition tomorrow. If any tips on that stuff, I'm all ears. I do remember the one point about the ABS sensor wiring I believe being in the area of the shocks and making sure I lift the axle and bring it down slow. I have a couple of videos, so will see where I get on those! I also saw some conflicting videos where some say not to use an impact on the shock bolts - any thoughts?

I think the next place I need to go are fluids. I'm assuming that means transmission, brake, power steering, and oil change - did I miss anything? I've never done any of them! Do you think I can do those myself or should I be looking to take it to a dealer or see if I can find a better local mechanic than the one I've been using?

 

[Doubeleive]

Did a few more miles of driving today and it seems like the rough idle is still around. Not quite as bad as it was before, but definitely still present. I'm only on tank #2 of Berrymans B12, so hoping it will still clear up.

I'm working on rear air suspension and seeing if I can drop the spare and checking it's condition tomorrow. If any tips on that stuff, I'm all ears. I do remember the one point about the ABS sensor wiring I believe being in the area of the shocks and making sure I lift the axle and bring it down slow. I have a couple of videos, so will see where I get on those! I also saw some conflicting videos where some say not to use an impact on the shock bolts - any thoughts?

I think the next place I need to go are fluids. I'm assuming that means transmission, brake, power steering, and oil change - did I miss anything? I've never done any of them! Do you think I can do those myself or should I be looking to take it to a dealer or see if I can find a better local mechanic than the one I've been using?

I wouldn't use a impact, just a regular ratchet and torq to spec as previously noted, using a impact might bend the ears or even strip the bolt, some bolts do not like impacts

 

[bobby2175]

Ok, got the spare off. It's all a rusted mess. What do you think? Should I be getting a new wheel since it's pretty rusted up?

What do you think of the hoist? Should I be looking to replace any of the parts or should I put some penetrant or lubrication on it before I re-secure the tire?

 

[mountie]

Ok, got the spare off. It's all a rusted mess. What do you think? Should I be getting a new wheel since it's pretty rusted up?

What do you think of the hoist? Should I be looking to replace any of the parts or should I put some penetrant or lubrication on it before I re-secure the tire?

Your photos show only surface rust ( pretty common )..... maybe take the hoist parts to a bead blaster, then inspect the condition, and if save-able, then spray paint? Wire wheel the rim. then paint.

 

[Sparksalot]

Ok, got the spare off. It's all a rusted mess. What do you think? Should I be getting a new wheel since it's pretty rusted up?

What do you think of the hoist? Should I be looking to replace any of the parts or should I put some penetrant or lubrication on it before I re-secure the tire?

How old is the tire itself?