2000 Suburban K1500 budget low lift with 37"s

[Lykos]

Yo Drei. What are you doing for skid plates? I did a thread search and only came up with your front Raptor skid post.
I have the factory z71 sits but there's no gas tank skid. Of all the things I don't want getting a hole in the gas tank is at the top of the list. You seem to be the low buck diy gmt800 guru so I humbly seej your advice.

 

[rayra]

harrumph

speaking of skids, he better put something in place to shield that tank from sharp rocks flung from his spinning tires.

 

[CrazyDrei]

Yo Drei. What are you doing for skid plates? I did a thread search and only came up with your front Raptor skid post.
I have the factory z71 sits but there's no gas tank skid. Of all the things I don't want getting a hole in the gas tank is at the top of the list. You seem to be the low buck diy gmt800 guru so I humbly seej your advice.

Lykos,

That's a great question... GMT800s drivetrain components are well protected by cross members: front diff, engine oil pan, transmission and transfer case. However if you drive the truck hard enough to actually need skid plates you will first and foremost destroy the CV axles so you will not actually need the skid plates after all.

I have no skid plates in the truck nor will I be installing them anytime soon. However if I were to add underside protection I would get 2-3 sheets of 18ga steel, sandwich them with epoxy, and attach them on the underside of the gas tank. This would give me a flexible protective layer under the fuel tank.

 

[Lykos]

Lykos,

That's a great question... GMT800s drivetrain components are well protected by cross members: front diff, engine oil pan, transmission and transfer case. However if you drive the truck hard enough to actually need skid plates you will first and foremost destroy the CV axles so you will not actually need the skid plates after all.

I have no skid plates in the truck nor will I be installing them anytime soon. However if I were to add underside protection I would get 2-3 sheets of 18ga steel, sandwich them with epoxy, and attach them on the underside of the gas tank. This would give me a flexible protective layer under the fuel tank.

Fair enough. I'm paranoid about a random branch in the mud getting kicked up and puncturing that plastic tank. I know that is highly unlikely but I'm weird. ?

 

[CrazyDrei]

harrumph

speaking of skids, he better put something in place to shield that tank from sharp rocks flung from his spinning tires.

Rayra,

Missed your knowledge and experience when I was trouble shooting the snorkel, MAF and foam air filter, lol.

I actually had to google harrumph. Haven't had any problems with punctures in my tank yet, only scratches some pretty deep. It's only a matter of time until I find something to put a hole in it.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[rayra]

Wrap it in a piece of carpet, if nothing else. Or one of those $5 recycled shredded tire rubber door mats.

 

[CrazyDrei]

DAY Trip: Bitter Springs Trail Backcountry Byway

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The last few months have been a little hotter than usual in Vegas so I spent more time wrenching on the truck than out playing. Now that the weather cooled off to reasonable temperatures it's time to get out and continue the adventures and shenanigans.

Reasonably cool temperature.

Today we explored the northern park of Lake Mead NRA: area managed by the BLM called Muddy Mountain.

Boathouse Cove trail was on the way home and it looked like a fun drive.

The trail did end at waters edge however there were large trees that blocked the water access to the Sub, we had to walk 50 feet to the water.

Waters edge.

Played with my compressor and the new onboard air system. Puma worked great, inflated the two rears from 18psi to 40psi in approximately 4 minutes.

I let the compressor fill up the 2gal tank completely, took another minute. Then I inflated both the front tires from 18psi to 40psi. The circuit breaker cut out after 3 minutes and had to wait approximately one minute before I could finish inflating the fronts all the way.

Looks like the 40 amp circuit breaker might not be enough for continuous flow, going to step up to 50amp circuit breaker and see what happens. Also the small air leaks coming from the eBay manifold are annoying and I will be switching to two standard NPT 3-way fittings.

As usual I recorded two timelapse videos which I am currently working on.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[SexyExy]

Drei,
If you're going to be looking for new tires, I just ordered a set of these tall skinny 39's with an E load range. We'll see how they work out. It'll take a few weeks to get them installed since I'm finalizing which wheels to get for them.

https://simpletire.com/catalog?select=1&width=39&ratio=12.5&rim=17

 

[CrazyDrei]

Drei,
If you're going to be looking for new tires, I just ordered a set of these tall skinny 39's with an E load range. We'll see how they work out. It'll take a few weeks to get them installed since I'm finalizing which wheels to get for them.

https://simpletire.com/catalog?select=1&width=39&ratio=12.5&rim=17

SexyExy,

I like the size, tall and skinny is how I want to roll in the Sub. I Price is a little steep, but the weight: 37x12.5R17 claimed 69lbs! That's 5lbs less than my actual and exactly the same weight as BFG KO2 AT tires in the same size. Can you please weight yours when they arrive? I want to know how much the 39s weigh. Kanatis are in contention for my next tire once the Patagonia MTs wear out.

Drei

 

[SexyExy]

SexyExy,

I like the size, tall and skinny is how I want to roll in the Sub. I Price is a little steep, but the weight: 37x12.5R17 claimed 69lbs! That's 5lbs less than my actual and exactly the same weight as BFG KO2 AT tires in the same size. Can you please weight yours when they arrive? I want to know how much the 39s weigh. Kanatis are in contention for my next tire once the Patagonia MTs wear out.

Drei

They weigh "TBA" according to the Kanati website, lol. I should have them Monday or Tuesday and I'll throw one on our shipping scale and let you know what I find out. I'm guessing they'll be near the 85-ish pound mark.

 

[rayra]

two tires at once, interesting idea. I'll have to look into that solution with my tinier pump kit. Not sure if its duty cycle can hang with filling two at once.

I'm wanting to add a 3" dia mandrel-bent as a front bumper guard addition to an Ares brush guard and convert the pipe into an air tank with couplings tucked into both ends. I figure it should be enough to air up the fronts while the portable pump slaves on the rears.

 

[CrazyDrei]

two tires at once, interesting idea. I'll have to look into that solution with my tinier pump kit. Not sure if its duty cycle can hang with filling two at once.

I'm wanting to add a 3" dia mandrel-bent as a front bumper guard addition to an Ares brush guard and convert the pipe into an air tank with couplings tucked into both ends. I figure it should be enough to air up the fronts while the portable pump slaves on the rears.

Rayra,

That's very AEV like and I like it, a 3" tubular bumper should be around 2-3 gallons of air which would be the enough to get the front tires aired up a little while the compressor fills up the rears. I want to see pictures of your undertaking.

 

[CrazyDrei]

Made in China eBay MAF: problems and solutions.

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My 18 year old MAF was giving me many check engine codes and even after cleaning it the codes would reappear within a week. So I replaced it with the least expensive MAF I could find on eBay.

On the first off-road adventure the truck did great on washboard however once I hit my first obstacle the truck lost all power, just idled rough no matter how much gas I gave it. I was suspecting a couple things and with the engine running I jumped under the hood.

The MAF separated into two pieces. My made in China MAF was held loosely and was not glued like the ACDelco parts.

The air was not flowing through the airbox and across the MAF so no matter how much I depressed the throttle the vacuum was sucking in air from under the hood and the ECU was really confused.

At this point I was three miles into a 70mile one way trail and there was no way I was turning around, a little of gaffers tape and I was back in business. The rest of the trail the truck ran without any hesitation however the gaffers tape needed to be replaced with a better long term solution.

Airplanes and motorcycles use springs to keep exhaust pipes together so I decided to come up with a redneck cheap (something that costs nothing) solution that fits my application.

I always collect black bungee straps when I find them and have a whole bin of them in the garage. I cut the two pieces to the correct length and clamped them down with the existing hose clamps under slight tension.

Two rubber bungees was enough to hold the MAF together. Now when the motor moves under torque, the MAF separates slightly and comes back together as it should with no loss of power. This makes my MAF the only flexible joint in the air intake system from the snorkel to the throttle body.

Of course I took it out the next day on the trail and 50 miles later it held up perfectly, no loss of power and no check engine lights.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[CrazyDrei]

I really like your air system!

I did something similar on my jeep with a few differences. I set mine up to connect to all 4 tires at once (as you are working towards) and I can use my system for airing down as well. My setup is pump -> pressure regulator for 30 PSI (desired air-up pressure) -> valve (to prevent back flow when airing down) -> split with hoses to all 4 tires (with Lock-On Air Chuck), valve to outside air for airing down, and pressure gauge.

I actually have the whole system under the drivers seat and actually have one of the outlets from the splitter going to a splitter under the passenger's side where the other two hoses are connected and stored (coiled up under the seat), but thats probably more details than you need!

My original setup included a 10 (11?) gallon air tank I found from HF or Walmart. I found that even starting with 100 psi (pump max) it was faster to go without the tank than with on 35 inch tires, so this might be something to check. It will also depend on if you have time to recharge the tanks between the front and rear or if you do all 4 of them at once.

Yoggie,

Your setup is pretty much what I am ultimately aiming for in the Sub but with a 2gal air tank instead of the 10 for the reasons you stated above. I want to be able to air up and down all 4 tires at the same time to the same pressure so I am slowly working my way up to that.

I like that lock on air chuck, I also have locking air chucks, just went with the lever style.

On board air is a work in progress and I expect to tweak it several more times until it's dialed in as I like it. My eBay special air manifold leaks air no matter how much teflon tape I use, so I will be removing it and switching it out for a 3-way t connectors that do not leak in the near future.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[twodollars]

I've had good luck sealing up cheap air fitting with jb weld on the threads. Just make sure you don't want to take them apart later.