2000 Suburban K1500 budget low lift with 37"s

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Cant we just go out to the desert and grab some of these abandoned trucks and make some new projects?=
Crazy get on that! Cheers, Chilli...:)

Chilli,

That thought has crossed my mind a time or two. I am looking for the right one to drag home, maybe later this summer something fun will come up.
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
VIDEO: Deadman Pass and Lost Section Rd

The last two video's from last week's adventure in Death Valley.

Deadman Pass is an alternate route in to Death Valley starting couple miles south of Death Valley Junction and coming out onto Furnace Creek Wash Rd. It's a fun drive, very smooth going up to the pass and a slow roller coaster of 1-2ft deep dips every 200-500ft.


Lost Section Road starts off Furnace Creek Wash Rd less than a mile north of where Deadman Pass exits. It's a very pleasant and smooth rolling trail with a fun but short lived section over a mountain in the middle, then smoothing out across a pasture before coming to a dead end at Willow Spring which is the upper trailhead for Sidevinder Falls.


Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 
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CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Another Death Valley Trip in the books, this time I planned on exploring 5 trails however only managed to do one. My buddy that came with his super awesome 2015 4runner limited on street tires and 20" rims got one one complete sidewall puncture and one partial so we had to turn around and limp back home after the first trail.

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The trucks at the top of the quarry.

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Boys playing and exploring yet another Death Valley hidden gem.

I did manage to get one timelapse video in of the Hole in the Wall trail. The trail was relatively uneventful and we explored the quarry at the end. the last switchback was too tight for the Sub to manage so I backed up it in reverse Elephant Hill style. Working on editing the video and will get it up soon.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
This new format is frustrating, lost many pictures and none of the videos are showing up. Next weeks' project will be to go through all the pages and update the pictures and videos so they show up. Earlier this morning I was upset with ExPo's new format, however it looks like they are updating the features on the posts like pictures and videos can still be added and posts edited.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Started a new project today: Snorkel

Found a 80 series Land Cruiser snorkel on eBay for a good price, all the pictures showed a blank snorkel, however once it arrived is had the words Land Cruiser on it, I complained enough to get a $20 refund, making the total snorkel price under $50 shipped.

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Measured the approximate spot for the snorkel, cut a hole through the 3 layers of metal in the fender and mocked it up. I kept the cold air intake pipe, however I removed the K&N filter and replaced the stock airbox, not to figure out how to seal it and attach it to the snorkel.

More pictures once the install is complete.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
This is the video of the last trip to Death Valley: Hole in the Wall rd.

It's a fun mellow road this time around, even saw a Cadillac CTS 5 miles in. The trail runs 4 miles to the actual hole in the wall and then continues for approximately 2 miles the the quarry at the end at the actual edge of the National Park boundary.

I explored the quarry at the end, however the last turn was a little too tight for the Sub to make, and my spotter was not quite spot on so I ended up backing up the last switchback in reverse in 4x4 low, Elephant Hill style.


Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Snorkel is finally on, took a lot more time and effort than I anticipated but its on. Have a couple trips planed with it this week. I will work on a write up, I took a few pics of the process, and that will follow in a couple days, until then enjoy the finished product.

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Side view.

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Looks really good with the fender flares.

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Tucks away well on the a-pillar after a little heat gun therapy.

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Field testing.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 

chilliwak

Expedition Leader
The snorkel looks cool installed Crazy. I also enjoyed your video with the reverse hill climb. The music you used is something I have in my collection somewhere. Thanks for posting up. Cheers, Chilli...:cool:
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Snorkel install.

Before we start this install write up I have one concern regarding this process based on what I have seen and learned fro the other guys on this forum and elsewhere that have installed the 60 or 80 series snorkel on their GMT800 trucks. The 3" bottleneck in the snorkel output compared to the 4" mass airflow sensor and 4" throttle body input. I am concerned that that bottle neck will severely restrict airflow to the motor and I will have issues with it especially if I seal the factory air box.

I can not afford the luxury of a $350 custom sealed air box so my only other option is to seal the factory air box which is not a big deal. However the factory air box has two air vents: approximately 3"x1" and 8"x4", that brings us to 3+32= approximately 35 square inches of air intake holes in the factor air box, and the snorkel's 3" hole is only 7.07 square inches. That is five times less airflow under the same pressure than the factory setup. I know every member that has performed this mod and sealed the system claims that the airflow in the snorkel is sufficient and does not decrease the performance of the truck and actually improves performance, however based on the actual numbers I am willing to bet that they are completely delusional, do not have a sealed system or never take the trucks off road, because to get the same airflow at 5mph crawl in 4x4 low you now need to be moving 25mph to deliver the same volume of air as you had to before.

Let the butchering commence!

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GMT800 trucks have 3 sets of metal to cut through in the fender, I started out with a hole saw to make the hole pretty, but quickly moved onto the sawzall to make this a quicker process.

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Another angle of the triple metal cut from hell.

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View of the inside of the fender to get an idea of how much metal needed to be cut out.

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Inserted the snorkel into the hole, mocked it up with the clamps. Looks like a good spot for it.

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Factory air box with all the attachments removed.

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Cut out a piece of aluminum to cover the lower hole.

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Gaffers tape is amazing as a temporary holder while i get everything mocked up for street trials.

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Used aluminum duct to make a 9"x5" backing plate and a 4" diameter opening to which I will be attaching the snorkel.

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Air box outlet attached to the air box with what else but more gaffers tape.

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Gaffers tape seals pretty well and makes an excellent temporary seal before I mold and weld ABS plastic to the correct shape.

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Inside of the air box, after the street trials the plan is to silicone all the gaps.

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Gaffers tape is strong but not that strong, needed them structural drywall nails to keep everything in place.

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Since I will be using the paper air filter the top dry wall screws needed to be cut off to avoid damaging the filter.

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Template supplied was a little off on the location of the holes, so I punctured the correct hole locations and transferred the template onto the truck. Drilled the holes and bolted up the snorkel to the fender, I was only able to only attach 4 of the 6 bolts and only 2 of the supplied bolts were used, the other 2 needed to be much longer.

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Windshield angle of 80-series Toyotas is a little different than that of the Sub. I spent around one hour with a heat gun slowly re-angling and bringing the snorkel closer to the a-pillar.

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Last 15 minutes with the heat gun, the snorkel is just about lined up where I want it.

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GMT800 trucks have 2 weather strips and a plastic windshield trim piece that hides the windshield glue, I pulled the trim piece off and cut a hole in it just large enough for the bracket to fit through, tapped three holes, screwed the bracket onto the a-pillar, reattached the trim piece and reattached the two weather strips. Looks like a factory fit.

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I spent another 30 minutes with the heat gun to get a better angle and relieve some pressure points on the snorkel. I had a rubber 3" into 4" adapter laying around, connected the snorkel to the air box and fired it up. Looks, sounds and feels good. After a quick drive around the neighborhood the setup seems to be working so far. Maybe I was wrong about needing a larger air intake port.

I have a fun 500 mile field test in Death Valley coming up, will update once I get back back.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 

02TahoeMD

Explorer
Nice job with the snorkel, especially working it over with the heat gun. Getting through the fender is a PITA for sure. I have had no problems running my snorkel now for the 10 years it has been on my rig ( I think that is when I did it....) and have seen some Toyota Land Cruisers with 5.3L V8 conversions breathing through snorkel systems with no problem. Happy wheeling.
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Nice job with the snorkel, especially working it over with the heat gun. Getting through the fender is a PITA for sure. I have had no problems running my snorkel now for the 10 years it has been on my rig ( I think that is when I did it....) and have seen some Toyota Land Cruisers with 5.3L V8 conversions breathing through snorkel systems with no problem. Happy wheeling.

02TahoeMD,

Your build partially inspired me to put the snorkel on the truck, I am glad you have not had any issues for 10 years, hopefully I will have the same luck. Are you running a factory air box or an aftermarket unit? Is it completely sealed? Also what kind of terrain are you driving? My last day trip to Death Valley included 70,000-80,000 ft elevation gain up and down numerous passes from below sea level to as high as 8,500ft.

Can't wait to get the snorkel wet.
 

02TahoeMD

Explorer
I have a Volant cold air box tied into my snorkel with the Volant oil - less filter. The box is completely sealed with the exception of one side of the top. I found that it seemed I was developing overpressure coming down mountain passes as so much air was being crammed into the system it sounded odd to me. By keeping one side of the lid loose, it allowed the excess air to bleed out. Of course, I may have been hearing things. I have the box cover held down by wing nut topped bolts and keep the 2 bolts from the one side in my cup holder. Once I am on a trail system, I just pop the hood and tighten down the cover all the way. I have taken my truck through the ponds of the Outer Banks, never ingested any water at all. Without the snorkel I would have killed the engine for sure....one year I was down there I did see a Suburban attempt to ford one of the ponds and died mid way through, and he had only gotten to the depth of his rocker panels when it went down. I have also taken my truck to the Rockies and Grand Canyon country and driven a couple thousand miles off road in a variety of locations and she is still running fine. One of the active gauges on my Scan Gauge 2 is the MAF sensor temperature and I can see how the snorkel helps keep cooler air flowing into the engine. If I am stuck in traffic, you can see the temp start to climb, but as soon as I am moving the temp will fall right down to whatever the outside air is.

Over on the Z71Tahoe-Suburban site there is a snorkel mod that was done with a different type of CAI system that is worth checking out.

You have a nifty build, I appreciate someone who thinks outside the box. Look forward to your future adventures.
 

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