1989 GMC Suburban "Trail Boss" conversion

[shrineboy]

Well last week did not go as planned with 3-4 days with 20-30 mile an hour sustained winds made it a little hard to work on stuff outside so I didnt get any work done on this and had to just take the Tacoma camping with the scouts. The suburban does quite a bit of wandering on the road and there was a new drag link in the back when I bought it. Had the kid shake the wheel back and forth and there was a bit of wiggle at the pitman arm so I went ahead and replaced it.

It helped but wasnt the cure, It still wants to wander but now only above 45-50. I have a weld on steering box brace and an XJ steering shaft to go in, still need to check the rest of the steering components and do an alignment/castor check.

We did have nice weather for camping though, 70 during the day but chilly at night (35-40 degrees)

Well last week did not go as planned with 3-4 days with 20-30 mile an hour sustained winds made it a little hard to work on stuff outside so I didnt get any work done on this and had to just take the Tacoma camping with the scouts. The suburban does quite a bit of wandering on the road and there was a new drag link in the back when I bought it. Had the kid shake the wheel back and forth and there was a bit of wiggle at the pitman arm so I went ahead and replaced it.

It helped but wasnt the cure, It still wants to wander but now only above 45-50. I have a weld on steering box brace and an XJ steering shaft to go in, still need to check the rest of the steering components and do an alignment/castor check.

We did have nice weather for camping though, 70 during the day but chilly at night (35-40 degrees)

You may want to consider this to help with bump steer.

 

[warrpath4x4]

You may want to consider this to help with bump steer. View attachment 826311

Ya ive thought about it but i dont want to have to lift this thing any higher than it already is. As this thing sits the rear cargo space is about my stomach and i dont want to need a step stool for the scouts to get stuff out lol

 

[warrpath4x4]

So when I bought the suburban the guy said it leaned a little to one side, It was on a hill so I didnt really notice it. Since having it home I have noticed that ya it does lean to the driver side, looks like the driver spring is just sagging compared to the passenger side. Last night I pulled the tape out and the driver side is 1.5 inches lower than the passenger from the fender lip to the top of the hub. I debated several ways to "fix" it while being cheap (contradiction in terms lol) and decided just order a new set of Tuff country leaves for just the driver side. It was hard to swallow cause one leaf pack is $270+/- when both pairs of 4" springs i ordered for the stepside were only $200, but I really dont want to lift this thing any higher.

So waiting on the leaf spring to show up and new U-bolts from ORD because I do not reuse U-bolts.

 

[warrpath4x4]

Built a simple bracket and mounted a GMRS on top of my CB, still need to wire them in. I am very new to the GMRS radios so please let me know if there will be interference between the radios or not.

I mounted them offset so I can mount a switch panel closer to me

 

[warrpath4x4]

Well I had planned on taking this to the Veteran Overland Memorial Day Muster but that didnt happen, ran out of time and waiting on parts to show up.

while waiting for parts I installed the new headlights, they are SMD sealed glass lens conversions to convert to an H3 bulb

ditched the wiring nightmare of a stereo install (on the left is the old, the right is the new pigtail)

and with a new head unit I had to upgrade the rest of it, new speakers under the dash pad, 6X9's in the rear side panels (because crutchfield was wrong on size), and a powered 10" sub under the back seat.

little bit of a difference

 

[warrpath4x4]

I was trying to get this thing ready to go for a trip and that did not happen so I quickly yanked the CB and GMRS out and threw them in my tacoma. Ive realized that this thing wont really work how I wanted it to for hauling scouts and "overlanding". I put new leaf springs in the front and it still leans to the driver side, I added a zero rate and it still sits unlevel. The frame has to be tweaked but i cant see where. So it just sat over the summer as we were busy with scouts and different plays my kid has been in.

I picked up a one ton parts truck for my stepside I am building so I have all the parts to build the 44/12 bolt from the stepside which i was going to do and put them in my kids 72 K5 but am second guessing giving him a daily driver in high school with lockers, beadlocks, and 37's lol. soooo... I am thinking of building the 44/12 and throw them in the suburban and use it go ice fishing (hoping for good weather) and take the scouts sledding and winter camping.

Trying to remember all the parts I have from the stepside for the axle swap, 4.88 gears, 12 bolt mini spool, zip locker front, chromoly shafts front/rear, crossover steering (maybe highsteer also), ORD cross member, steel diff covers f/r, 37" M16 swampers on beadlocks, and from the parts truck a shackle flip and ORD front body mount/spring hangers. The suburban has the funky 4" lift springs with extended hangers, I have a set of 08? HD leaf springs and the shackle flip to install, I may have to play around with spring packs but I have several laying around.

 

[warrpath4x4]

Since buying this thing it has stumbled and tried to die and sometimes did die when hitting the brakes but not all the time. I ordered a TPS and IAC from Rock auto, standard brand and was just gonna replace both since sensors/electrical are getting old on this thing. Pulled the TPS and it was already a replacement unit (someone's been down this road) went to pull the IAC and it was finger tight at best. Went ahead and replaced it anyways since i was there. Runs like a top now, no stumble.