2002 Tahoe "Expedition" build

[Tiki]

Any updates?

 

[02TahoeMD]

Been a good while since I have had time to do an update, so many things have happened in my life it's hard to keep track. And then for whatever reason I could not log into this site using either I.E. nor Opera, today I downloaded Brave and was finally able to get back in.

So, I have moved to East Tennessee, not far from the North Carolina border. It's been a huge change in life for me but boy have I enjoyed being here. When I was checking the area and home shopping, I noticed my trans temps climbing up to what I considered to be unhealthy numbers, so when I got back home before the move, I upgraded the tiny transmission cooler to a Tru - Cool unit.

While I was busy and motivated to do maintenance. I also removed the throttle body and gave it a complete cleaning inside and out. And then spent about an hour with a Dremel tool and polishing bits with rouge and smoothed out and shined the intake itself. Seems to have given better throttle response, more of a seat of the pants sensation when stomping the gas from start.

So, after that bit of work I packed up and moved down to TN in late June of last year.

 

[02TahoeMD]

After arriving here in TN my beloved dog, my retired police K9 that had served with me at the end of my career, was diagnosed with a tumor in his sinus cavity. We attempted to fight the horrible disease with radiation but the cancer was too aggressive. Our oncologist veterinarian told me he only had one other dog in his career with such an aggressive cancer. We took a trip over to Roan Mountain just days before his health crashed and the end was arrived at. It was quite devastating, because part of my plan for moving here was for the two of us to go exploring the backroads and trails that were now at our fingertips. A dream dashed to tiny pieces.
Rest in Peace Diogi, you shall be missed forever.

 

[02TahoeMD]

So, on one of my trips back and forth to see family, I was returning to TN rolling down Interstate 81 when my " SECURITY " light came on. And my Scan Gauge 2 stopped showing any signal from the ECU. I pulled over to the first available rest stop, just a couple miles away and popped the hood. There was random popcorn sounds coming from the alternator, so I slammed the hood and rolled down to the next exit, again, just a short ride down the highway. I rolled over to the Auto Zone in Timberville, Virginia. They put a meter on the engine and found the alternator was dangerously over voltage. So, thankfully travelling for years now with my "overlanding" tool kit in my Tahoe, I went to work and fixed the alternator right there in the parking lot. New alternator, new belt, and was back under way in about 90 minutes total. Saved myself a lotta money too by doing it myself.

After getting back home I also built a new alternator cable, and as you can see in the photo, things were not going well for that poor wire

Was glad to have my tools with me, and so very grateful to have found a place to make repairs quickly.

 

[02TahoeMD]

At my hew home I finally have a garage! But the minor downside is that I had to remove my roof basket to make the Tahoe fit inside. Thankfully I still had leftover Yakima bars from my old car and they mounted up just fine to the factory rails so I can carry my kayak. So, if anyone is interested in a Defender roof rack basket, and live somewhere near East TN region, please drop me a PM. I have added a Wilson cell signal amplifier antenna to my Yakima bars, the booster really helps maintain a usable signal here in the mountains.

Here's some random photos from my explorations of the area.


Viking Mountain on the TN/NC border




Winter trip up Roan Mountain TN

 

[02TahoeMD]

After losing Diogi I was without a dog in my life for the first time in almost 25 years. So I rescued another German Shepherd, she is about 3 years old and she has been a great companion, adores travelling around in "HER" Tahoe and taking hikes with me on the innumerable trails in the Cherokee National Forest.







Maggie the Queen of her Domain, wherever she may be. In this case, Horse Creek. She is a pip.

So that's the latest and greatest, I appreciate everyone's continued interest in this project all these years later. Happy wheeling!

 

[Overlandtowater]

Glad to see the rig still on the road. Your Tahoe is the reason I decided to build mine.

 

[Wilbah]

Good to read your update. I've enjoyed seeing your improvements to the Tahoe, I think they are an oft overlooked platform for this type of vehicle.

Sorry to read about about Sabre, that's always hard. But I'm glad you have another you can ride the roads with. We lost our Shepherd that grew up with our kids four years ago and it was rough. But we now have a new girl who is wonderful. We don't deserve dogs.

 

[SS350]

Glad to see you still out in the Tahoe, I've been eyeballing your build for years. The LC100 ARB is still my fav bumper on a GMT800. I Finally leveled our 05 Yukon last fall. Looking to make some other improvements shory as well. My condolences on the passing of your dog but enjoy your new buddy!

 

[Overlandtowater]

Hey how are ya? Any thing new?

 

[02TahoeMD]

Hey how are ya? Any thing new?

Thanks for checking in! Nothing too dramatic to report. I now am a foster for the German Shepherd rescue where I got Maggie from. So helping out with the dogs (11 so far since I started ) keeps me very occupied. Also been very busy in the area doing odds and ends for folks, the Tahoe has been a sort of unofficial farm truck as I have been helping care for a nearby 60 acre former dairy farm. The truck has earned her keep, and then some. I had to replace my steering box the past week, the original just got worn out I guess from the large tires and off road conditions it has been put through. Next project I have to tackle is the air conditioning compressor. which went out a bit ago but my steering was of greater importance to fix. Just was a matter of me getting to schedule my own time to get things done.

Here's a few pics from last year:

Had to grab a photo of this austere moment. She's now at about 126K miles, not bad for a truck that is now 21 years old.


I also have done a lot of exploring of the area I live in, so much to see and I have just scratched the surface.
here is a spot known as Beauty Spot Gap, on the TN / NC border. The Appalachian Trail is about 20 feet to the left of the truck in this photo. Fantastic location!


And here is a random location in the Cherokee National Forest, near Houston Valley


As ever, i am grateful for everyone's continued interest in my rig.

 

[Todd780]

Love, Love, Love that you still have this truck. One of my fave builds on this site.
And I totally understand the odometer pic.
I might have veered off the road to stop and grab that pic before it changed, haha

 

[02TahoeMD]

Love, Love, Love that you still have this truck. One of my fave builds on this site.
And I totally understand the odometer pic.
I might have veered off the road to stop and grab that pic before it changed, haha

Thanks so much for the fandom! No way I can even think about replacing her, for one I can't even approach affording something new(er) , and I have too much of my own blood, sweat and (some) tears to consider letting it go. Invested a ton of sweat equity in the about 18 years I have owned it.

 

[Heavyhoe02]

love your rig, wish mine was green aswell, seen your rig from time to time and always gives me motivation to keep moding mine, curent front stainless steel bumper in the works

 

[lemitar]

I just picked up an 2002 tahoe base model with 127k on the odometer. Looking forward to incorporating some of the info I have gotten from this thread. Thanks