HUMDEF
New member
Hello group
I, like many noops, have been reading this forum for many months but this is my first post. It’s a long one, please forgive me.
I am genuinely impressed with the ingenuity of the builder/owners here as well as the friendly nature everyone seems to have.
My story; I have been OHV driving since I was 9. My Dad is a geologist in Nevada so I was taught young to drive OHV so I could work in the mountains with him. I also spent a lot of time in Wyoming on ranches so driving ranch and hay trucks came early. My first car was a full size bronco, followed a year later by a nicer full size bronco – been trading up ever since.
Fast forward to about 5 years ago, I was awarded several contracts in Wyoming and Colorado to patrol oil and gas pipelines and some remote uranium mines. For this, I was finally able to build my “dream” expo rig – company money! I ended up a few ticks down from my dream truck (needed a 4 door SUV so broncos were out and had to be an American car – contract requirement) but built a killer rig none the less.
I bought a 95 Tahoe 4 door 4X4 on ebay for about $3500 and promptly put over $10k into it.
List of mods:
6in racing suspension lift
16in Rockcrawler wheels + 2 spares
315/75/16 ProComp Xterras + 2 spares
Full custom exhaust (header to pipe) with Flowmaster
GM performance Parts hi-pro in-tank fuel pump (replacement for the stock one that crapped out)
K&N filter
Block heater
Full length Surco Safari roof rack (continuous mounting problems) with spare tire mount, shovel, hi-lift and ax mount.
2 rear facing off-road lights, 4 forward facing lights and 2 (1 L and R) side/down facing
3 ammo can mount bracket from a HUMVEE w/ 3 cans for tools, spare parts, jumper cables eingtc.
2 jerry cans
DOT yellow strobes + a set of small LED red and blues
12ft lighted flag whip (MHSA requirement for driving on mine sites)
Several antennas (CB, UHF/VHF and HF)
Nerf bars
Brush guard from a 2000 Tahoe – had to cut, weld and fab to make it fit but worked great
2 off-road lights mounted to brush guard
The interior was the fun part. Because we were running security patrols in very remote areas of the Rockies, year round, I had to build this thing with redundant comms, mounted computers and enough gear to survive blizzards.
Gamber Johnson center console with 2 pedestal mounts for laptops
In the console:
Cobra CB
Motorola high-power 2-way radios; X2
Barrett HF radio loaned to me by the oil company (hard to give it back; it sucked to give it back - was a killer radio)
Police scanner
XM and Sirius Sat radio heads
Full rocker switch set for off-road lights + two primary power kills pull buttons
110 power inverter
Power distribution block
Iridium sat phone
Several cell phones from different carriers (patch work of providers in BFE Wyoming)
2 Panasonic Toughbooks, 1 front, 1 rear - both connected to cell-based internet
Front laptop connected to an external Garmin GPS antenna so we could run real time nav from Garmin’s software (we were never really happy with this setup)
After market CD/MP3 head unit with CD changer (changer came with truck and survived one trip into the hills before in took a dump)
__
I never got around to completing the cargo area so all of our security gear, guns and expo gear was laid in the back in duffels. It worked but was a mess and, as I’m sure you all know, whatever I needed was in the bottom bag, so I have to unload it every time.
Over the next 2 years, I put just about 100,000 miles on that truck, 73,512 (thanks IRS for making me keep records) of them were OHV, mostly fire and oilfield roads at up to 10,000 feet. It never once gave me a bit of trouble, I never did the maintenance I should have, never got stuck (even in 5-6 ft snow drifts – close and Halliburton dispatched a D8 to get me but I got out b4 it arrived) – and only one flat tire – tread puncture from bushwhacking over sage brush. I ended up selling the contract and moving to Ohio where my wife is from because she was pregnant and we wanted to be closer to her family.
Not too long after we got here, the original rear-end ‘blew-up’ on me. The only junk yard replacement we could find was a posi out of a 99 (I think) Escalade.
So, fast forward to today, the Tahoe has been sitting behind the barn for the last two years – I only used in maybe 5 times a year to pull logs out of the bottom of the property for firewood.
I now run a small international non-profit disaster response organization; I just returned from Haiti about a week ago. While we were in Haiti, I had the wild idea to get the Tahoe rebuilt and shipped to our office in the Dominican Republic for work on the island. So, yesterday, I jumped it, drove it around a bit and parked it at the garage.
Here is my problem; the rear end, transfer case and 4wd are rock solid but the tranny is slipping a bit. I can’t say I’m surprised but none-the-less; it’s time for a new one.
My question is: It has the stock 4L60E in it; it has worked perfectly for me over the years until now and I can get a reman for about $600. Is that my best option or is there a stronger, better option that will bolt right in?
I will get some photos posted shortly for the tucks in her hay-day. I will be tearing it apart of the next few months and turning it into a really nuts expo/SAR rig. I would love input and suggestions as I do, I will post photos and updates as I go. I will also be picking your brains for ideas and solutions. I’m not really a mechanic so much of the technical stuff will require some hand holding.
I am very sorry for the long post.
Thanks in advance; I’m glad to be here.
Charles aka Chic
I, like many noops, have been reading this forum for many months but this is my first post. It’s a long one, please forgive me.
I am genuinely impressed with the ingenuity of the builder/owners here as well as the friendly nature everyone seems to have.
My story; I have been OHV driving since I was 9. My Dad is a geologist in Nevada so I was taught young to drive OHV so I could work in the mountains with him. I also spent a lot of time in Wyoming on ranches so driving ranch and hay trucks came early. My first car was a full size bronco, followed a year later by a nicer full size bronco – been trading up ever since.
Fast forward to about 5 years ago, I was awarded several contracts in Wyoming and Colorado to patrol oil and gas pipelines and some remote uranium mines. For this, I was finally able to build my “dream” expo rig – company money! I ended up a few ticks down from my dream truck (needed a 4 door SUV so broncos were out and had to be an American car – contract requirement) but built a killer rig none the less.
I bought a 95 Tahoe 4 door 4X4 on ebay for about $3500 and promptly put over $10k into it.
List of mods:
6in racing suspension lift
16in Rockcrawler wheels + 2 spares
315/75/16 ProComp Xterras + 2 spares
Full custom exhaust (header to pipe) with Flowmaster
GM performance Parts hi-pro in-tank fuel pump (replacement for the stock one that crapped out)
K&N filter
Block heater
Full length Surco Safari roof rack (continuous mounting problems) with spare tire mount, shovel, hi-lift and ax mount.
2 rear facing off-road lights, 4 forward facing lights and 2 (1 L and R) side/down facing
3 ammo can mount bracket from a HUMVEE w/ 3 cans for tools, spare parts, jumper cables eingtc.
2 jerry cans
DOT yellow strobes + a set of small LED red and blues
12ft lighted flag whip (MHSA requirement for driving on mine sites)
Several antennas (CB, UHF/VHF and HF)
Nerf bars
Brush guard from a 2000 Tahoe – had to cut, weld and fab to make it fit but worked great
2 off-road lights mounted to brush guard
The interior was the fun part. Because we were running security patrols in very remote areas of the Rockies, year round, I had to build this thing with redundant comms, mounted computers and enough gear to survive blizzards.
Gamber Johnson center console with 2 pedestal mounts for laptops
In the console:
Cobra CB
Motorola high-power 2-way radios; X2
Barrett HF radio loaned to me by the oil company (hard to give it back; it sucked to give it back - was a killer radio)
Police scanner
XM and Sirius Sat radio heads
Full rocker switch set for off-road lights + two primary power kills pull buttons
110 power inverter
Power distribution block
Iridium sat phone
Several cell phones from different carriers (patch work of providers in BFE Wyoming)
2 Panasonic Toughbooks, 1 front, 1 rear - both connected to cell-based internet
Front laptop connected to an external Garmin GPS antenna so we could run real time nav from Garmin’s software (we were never really happy with this setup)
After market CD/MP3 head unit with CD changer (changer came with truck and survived one trip into the hills before in took a dump)
__
I never got around to completing the cargo area so all of our security gear, guns and expo gear was laid in the back in duffels. It worked but was a mess and, as I’m sure you all know, whatever I needed was in the bottom bag, so I have to unload it every time.
Over the next 2 years, I put just about 100,000 miles on that truck, 73,512 (thanks IRS for making me keep records) of them were OHV, mostly fire and oilfield roads at up to 10,000 feet. It never once gave me a bit of trouble, I never did the maintenance I should have, never got stuck (even in 5-6 ft snow drifts – close and Halliburton dispatched a D8 to get me but I got out b4 it arrived) – and only one flat tire – tread puncture from bushwhacking over sage brush. I ended up selling the contract and moving to Ohio where my wife is from because she was pregnant and we wanted to be closer to her family.
Not too long after we got here, the original rear-end ‘blew-up’ on me. The only junk yard replacement we could find was a posi out of a 99 (I think) Escalade.
So, fast forward to today, the Tahoe has been sitting behind the barn for the last two years – I only used in maybe 5 times a year to pull logs out of the bottom of the property for firewood.
I now run a small international non-profit disaster response organization; I just returned from Haiti about a week ago. While we were in Haiti, I had the wild idea to get the Tahoe rebuilt and shipped to our office in the Dominican Republic for work on the island. So, yesterday, I jumped it, drove it around a bit and parked it at the garage.
Here is my problem; the rear end, transfer case and 4wd are rock solid but the tranny is slipping a bit. I can’t say I’m surprised but none-the-less; it’s time for a new one.
My question is: It has the stock 4L60E in it; it has worked perfectly for me over the years until now and I can get a reman for about $600. Is that my best option or is there a stronger, better option that will bolt right in?
I will get some photos posted shortly for the tucks in her hay-day. I will be tearing it apart of the next few months and turning it into a really nuts expo/SAR rig. I would love input and suggestions as I do, I will post photos and updates as I go. I will also be picking your brains for ideas and solutions. I’m not really a mechanic so much of the technical stuff will require some hand holding.
I am very sorry for the long post.
Thanks in advance; I’m glad to be here.
Charles aka Chic
