Chris Mckowen
TYF Newbie
- Joined
- Sep 26, 2018
- Posts
- 5
- Reaction score
- 7
My son got his license recently, and he took over my 2004 Yukon with 186K miles. Decided I needed to repair some items for him to make it a litter better and safer.
1) Replaced the wore out autoride shocks with Bilstein 4600 series standard shocks. Lot of threads on this. Some say to change out the rear spring also since you are doing away with electric and air suspension that is part of the overall suspension package. I decided not to change the spring since my son will not do any towing. Ride height is the same, and the ride is much improved. I also ordered some modules off ebay for 30 bucks, so you don't get the error code when you disconnect the connectors of the old shocks. Very satisfied with this change.
2) Had some gauges not working, took the instrument cluster out and disassembled and ordered new stepper motors off ebay, 3 bucks each, easy to change with a desolder sucker tube and solder iron. Kits with all included on ebay. Gauges now work perfect. Replaced all 6 for 20 bucks.
3) Replaced the heater AC control module that was wore out with Dorman 599-211 new aftermarket replacement. Works great with brighter lights. the 599-211 is a new model, they have another one that is a refurbed OE model. Good luck trying to find a new AC delco OE part, pretty sure they quit making them.
4) Replaced the rear brakes and rotors with parts from NAPA, outside pads were a challenge to get in until I files a small burr of the mounting tabs. Rotors are cheap, I said the heck with turning the old ones down and went new.
5) Installed a garmin drive assist GPS with BC 30 back up camera (separate purchase). This unit is awesome. The last one I bought was the original nuvi back in 2004. However, my son says the drive assist in constantly chirpin, so we turned it off. It has sensitivity settings, but they are either too sensitive, or not sensitive enough, our opinion.
6) I thought the spare tire would be a challenge for him to get off in the middle of the night if he got flat, so I took off and put in the back hatch dept. Glad I did, these pulley release systems have a secondary lock that goes bad over time, had to watch a you tube video to get it off, took about 2 hours.
7) Replaced the hazed Headlamps with ebay after markets from korea, looked exactly same, but low beams were not nearly as good as original, much weaker light output and pattern was smaller. Ended up going to GM and buying OE ones, which are now made by Autosystems, not Guide (Guide out of business long time ago). They are very good. Definitely worth the extra $. They were $300 for the pair.
8) Getting ready to do some small rust repair now on rocker panels. Local parts store can mix you some body match paint in an aerosol can, first though, going to put on a coat of Permatex rust treatment.
I so miss this vehicle! Especially since I fixed everything! Thinking about swapping him for my 2017 F250!
1) Replaced the wore out autoride shocks with Bilstein 4600 series standard shocks. Lot of threads on this. Some say to change out the rear spring also since you are doing away with electric and air suspension that is part of the overall suspension package. I decided not to change the spring since my son will not do any towing. Ride height is the same, and the ride is much improved. I also ordered some modules off ebay for 30 bucks, so you don't get the error code when you disconnect the connectors of the old shocks. Very satisfied with this change.
2) Had some gauges not working, took the instrument cluster out and disassembled and ordered new stepper motors off ebay, 3 bucks each, easy to change with a desolder sucker tube and solder iron. Kits with all included on ebay. Gauges now work perfect. Replaced all 6 for 20 bucks.
3) Replaced the heater AC control module that was wore out with Dorman 599-211 new aftermarket replacement. Works great with brighter lights. the 599-211 is a new model, they have another one that is a refurbed OE model. Good luck trying to find a new AC delco OE part, pretty sure they quit making them.
4) Replaced the rear brakes and rotors with parts from NAPA, outside pads were a challenge to get in until I files a small burr of the mounting tabs. Rotors are cheap, I said the heck with turning the old ones down and went new.
5) Installed a garmin drive assist GPS with BC 30 back up camera (separate purchase). This unit is awesome. The last one I bought was the original nuvi back in 2004. However, my son says the drive assist in constantly chirpin, so we turned it off. It has sensitivity settings, but they are either too sensitive, or not sensitive enough, our opinion.
6) I thought the spare tire would be a challenge for him to get off in the middle of the night if he got flat, so I took off and put in the back hatch dept. Glad I did, these pulley release systems have a secondary lock that goes bad over time, had to watch a you tube video to get it off, took about 2 hours.
7) Replaced the hazed Headlamps with ebay after markets from korea, looked exactly same, but low beams were not nearly as good as original, much weaker light output and pattern was smaller. Ended up going to GM and buying OE ones, which are now made by Autosystems, not Guide (Guide out of business long time ago). They are very good. Definitely worth the extra $. They were $300 for the pair.
8) Getting ready to do some small rust repair now on rocker panels. Local parts store can mix you some body match paint in an aerosol can, first though, going to put on a coat of Permatex rust treatment.
I so miss this vehicle! Especially since I fixed everything! Thinking about swapping him for my 2017 F250!
