'92 K2500 Suburban Refurb...

[Blue Bowtie]

Originally Posted by WetPaintSierra

What size are the Duratracs?

265/75R16

Burban looks really good. I think the 2500HD wheels look really good on the OBS 2500s, or atleast they do on yours and mine. Oh and, how do like the duratracs so far?

[markhuntsville]

Originally Posted by Blue Bowtie

265/75R16

Burban looks really good. I think the 2500HD wheels look really good on the OBS 2500s, or atleast they do on yours and mine. Oh and, how do like the duratracs so far?

Thanks! We're all really happy with the look.

Being that I've only driven home from the tire shop - so far I like them - I can hear a very slight 'roar' - that hopefully won't become large... they ride good also - but of course the Michelin's that were on before are super tires, so it's tough to compare.

The real test is when it rains and how they grip both from an acceleration AND braking - I'm REAL picky about wet traction.

Got the 3.5" Stainless Tips in today. They look great, except it's started a disagreement with my son -

He says the exhaust should exit one on each side behind the rear wheel (like our ole blue in previous pics).

I'm leaning toward both tips exiting on the passenger side behind the rear tire - with the angle of the tip parallel with the side of the vehicle.

Being that he'll probably drive it more than anyone, I'll probably give in and put them on the way he wants...

We reassembled the '40' middle seat and the 3rd row tonight - still have to clean the '60' middle seat and then we're DONE with cleaning the interior!

[94383Z71]

Originally Posted by markhuntsville

No - that is my DD '97 Jeep TJ - it's my off-road toy that my son gets to enjoy driving to school each day... The Jeep that will be towed is the Silver/Black Cherokee shown in a previous post by my son (it's his off-road toy that is 100% for off-road)

OK - sorry everyone, we got off on a thread-tangent, we'll get back to the 'mater now..

ahhh ok. I'm just observant in pics lol

And lucky for your son, mater and the tj

[bigtfw2000420]

looks great

[ROCK_KRAWLER]

Originally Posted by 94383Z71

And lucky for your son, mater and the tj

its cause i do all the dirty/slave labor with the vehicles in the driveway.

getting the exhaust on tomorrow!

[markhuntsville]

Originally Posted by ROCK_KRAWLER

its cause i do all the dirty/slave labor with the vehicles in the driveway.

getting the exhaust on tomorrow!

Oooo... better be careful using the word 'ALL'! That get's you in ALL kinds of trouble!

Where were you last night when I (me, myself, and I) were removing the front bumper and working on the grill/headlights???

[bhookxen]

glad i got to see a pic of "ole blue" since i'm putting those same wheels on mine as soon as i wear out the tires currently on it.

[94383Z71]

Originally Posted by markhuntsville

Oooo... better be careful using the word 'ALL'! That get's you in ALL kinds of trouble!

Where were you last night when I (me, myself, and I) were removing the front bumper and working on the grill/headlights???

thats happens to me too lol my Dad's a member here and posts in my build

but come on now, bumpers are a pain to work alone

[markhuntsville]

OK - pics of the front end during the bumper removal and the headlight refurbishment;

Here's the front end stripped down (had to remove the grill to get to the bumper bolts since the bumper was pushed back into the grill)

You can't see it, but there is a power steering cooler on the far drivers side - this Suburban has coolers for everything!

The passenger headlight has been polished - the drives side hasn't - see the difference!

After the Meguiars headlight polish - MUCH betterm but not what they claim - it's acceptable now at least.


Next is the exhaust...

[markhuntsville]

Here's a shot of the Magnaflow muffler installed;


Front view of the 'mater on the rack...


Front view at home, you can barely see the rear tip;


The exhaust job is 'acceptable' - and it is REAL quiet! (almost too quiet...) Has a nice rumble at the rear, but you can't hear the exhuast at all from the drivers seat.

[markhuntsville]

So most of the day Saturday was spent replacing the front steering parts (stabilzer, idler arm, pitman arm, steering box, and P/S pump) - we also replaced the radiator while we had the front end tore down.

Pic of David getting to it;


New idler arm already installed;


View of the new CV axle we installed a while back;


View of the P/S pump with the pulley removed;

(this was a pain, but the rental tool works great)

David looking up front underneath;


Frnt of motor torn downl


Old steering box;


Radiator removed, new P/S pump installed;


All in all - it went well, steering is much better, no bump steer with the new setup and stabilizer... now on to get the front end aligned this week.

[Blue Bowtie]

Lookin good man, keep up the good work.

[kre8speed]

nice build man i am looking forward to seeing it progress!
kris

[Drisco Z71]

It's amazing what a little tlc will do to a vehicle, looks great.

[markhuntsville]

Drove it to dinner tonight...drove well until had a little problem overheating - we didn't get it 'burped' properly, so it overheated on the way over the mountain...

Had to make a pit stop at Wally World to get additional coolant.

Once we got it burped and re-filled with coolant - all is well, stayed nice and cool. Although the radiator cap doesn't appear to be correct for the new radiator?? i.e. there's coolant coming out around the cap - it feels 'loose' when putting it on, so I guess we'll get Autozone tomorrow to get a new cap.

Definitely think we've got a transmission leak somewhere as the transmission fluid level drops and there's oil 'spraying' the underside of the 'mater... from what I've researched here at fsc, looks like the seal between the transmission and transfer case may be bad?

[markhuntsville]

Went to the junkyard this morning and scored the following;

Front Bumper with brackets and bolts $30

Complete taillights with wiring pigtail (in case I need to make repairs) $20

Console rear-cupholder slide
Console inner tray (in the bottom)
Console latch
Drivers Side Electric lock switch
Drivers side electric mirror switch
Rearview mirror
All this for $10!

Total - $60!

Here's a few updated pics, testing the tow capability with David's Cherokee -we only drove it around the block, so don't freak out about the number of tie-downs, or lack off - we also didn't have the drop hitch, so the front of the trailer is abnormally high. It was a quick test, so we weren't worried about the balance too much.

Front view - we still need the filler between the grill and bumper;




Rear view - with the new stock taillights;


It pulled the Jeep and trailer pretty good - of course we have trailer brakes, so that helps a lot.

[94383Z71]

I love the Jeep

gotta love trailer brakes

[ROCK_KRAWLER]

Originally Posted by 94383Z71

I love the Jeep

gotta love trailer brakes

haha dont hate on the xj...i had to have it different!

[94383Z71]

I wasn't, i swear

[markhuntsville]

UPDATE! (Sorry for the long delay)

Since we've replaced the radiator and fan clutch, we've been nagged with overheating issues... the temp gauge shoot up to 260+, then come back down. It's done this several times. We also noticed that the coolant overflow tank would eventually get really full and coolant was also mysteriously disappearing... not a good sign.

We kept working on burping the system, thinking we'd eventually get it solved. Things seemed to be going ok, I had driven it to work several times with no problems (although, not a long drive, nor very strssful on the vehicle).

So, about 4 weeks ago, we decided to go off-roading and pull the Jeep about 1 hours to a nearby OHV park;
http://www.halemountainohvpark.com/Home.html

We loaded up and stopped at the nearby gas station to top-off. As soon as we pulled out on the road after gassing up, the temp gauge shot up to 260 again! We babied it into a parking lot, and sat while it went back down. Went on the the OHV park, no further problems. The 'mater towed the Jeep great, the Wrangler tires did awesome pulling through a muddy parking lot and long slippery entrance. Got home fine, no further 'episodes'...

Then 2 weeks ago, we pulled a couple of JetSkis to the lake for a last-weekend lake trip (kids got in the water, but not me!). Again, all seemed to be going well... until the drive home, where I was driving, and running the 'mater pretty hard. When we pulled in to unload the 'skis, white smoke started coming out of the exhaust... oh crap!

So, to make a long story, really long, we decided it was time to pull the heads and do some major work on the motor....