2007 Yukon XL K1500 low lift with 37"s

[CrazyDrei]

So apparently I really like 1/2 ton Suburbans and big tires. Found this 2007 Yukon XL 1500 with with 200k miles at a price that I really could not resist passing up.

My plan for the Yukon:
[DONE] Roof rack with cargo basket and ski box
[DONE] Front 1-2" level kit
[DONE] Bilstein 5100 shocks up front
[DONE] Bilstein 5100 rear shocks
[DONE] Moog 81069 HD rear coils
[DONE] Hardwired CB radio
Hardwire HAM radio
2 or 3" rear coil spacers
Front light bar
Side and rear auxiliary lights
Dual battery setup with isolator
4.56 gears
Detroit rear locker
3" body lift
12,000# front winch
35" spare tire mounted in factory location
Puma on board air compressor and tank
37" tires
AFM delete
Many miles and even more smiles

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * The day I picked her up! * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

SLT trim that has pretty much everything except navigation and back-up camera. LC9 Vortec 5300 with FlexFuel and Active Fuel Management. Leather seats. 60/40 split bench which is what I wanted. Sunroof, heated front and middle row seats, G80, GT4 (3.73 gears). Undercarriage has been coated every two years and has typical and age appropriate New England rust.

This is what it looked like when I first saw it.

Little bit of surface rust here and there but nothing too major.

I got her home. This is now the official picture before I do anything silly to it like slapping on those 37" tires.

My goal is to recreate my 2000 Suburban on a GMT900 platform.

My inspiration for this build.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[bigdogyj]

Sweet rig. Congrats. At 200k miles I assume they’ve either had motor work done or disabled the AFM. I’d be surprised if it hasn’t. Either way might be something to look into. I haven’t had any first hand experience but there’s a lot of people with reported trouble with AFM. Just something to look into with those early gmt900 rigs with the 5.3. Can’t wait to see how it all turns out.


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[al_burpe]

That front end would definitely look better with an Avalanche swap. Just saying.

 

[Todd780]

That front end would definitely look better with an Avalanche swap. Just saying.

So it would have the same front end as a GMT-900 Suburban?

 

[Mekcanix]

AWESOME!!!!!!!
I was really hoping that you were still going to be building something

 

[CrazyDrei]

Sweet rig. Congrats. At 200k miles I assume they’ve either had motor work done or disabled the AFM. I’d be surprised if it hasn’t. Either way might be something to look into. I haven’t had any first hand experience but there’s a lot of people with reported trouble with AFM. Just something to look into with those early gmt900 rigs with the 5.3. Can’t wait to see how it all turns out.


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bigdogyj,

AFM is not disabled. I am going to wait until something goes haywire with the motor before messing with the AFM. I am looking for a 6.0 with 4L80 to have at the ready for a swap in when either LC9 and or 4L60 goes. I am also very intrigued to see how this turns out.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[CrazyDrei]

That front end would definitely look better with an Avalanche swap. Just saying.

I do like the look of 00-06 Avalanches with the plastic cladding, unfortunately they did not make the plastic cladding on the newer 07-13 Avalanches. So I will most likely not be swapping the front end to Avalanche/Suburban.

So it would have the same front end as a GMT-900 Suburban?

Yep, it sure is exactly the same as a Suburban and I like GMC headlights better. I do like the Escalade fenders with the vents in them, might go that route eventually.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[CrazyDrei]

Airbag light is on, easy fix.

One of the reasons I was able to negotiate the price down with this truck is that it had several warning lights on. TPMS, Check Engine and airbag. Airbag faults are usually the easiest or most difficult to fix. In my case it was the B0084 code: Right front impact sensor.

I pulled the old sensor out to both get the part number as see if unplugging it and plugging it in would fix the error code, it didn't, but at least I got the correct replacement part number.

Found the correct sensor on eBay for $60 shipped, now it's time to install it.


Installation was very easy and straight forward, four 15mm bolts to remove the plastic splash guard, locate impact sensor, disconnect the retaining clip and pull main clip. Finally 10mm bolt to remove the sensor itself. Whole process took me less than 5 minutes and now the airbag light is no longer on.

Next light to be addressed will be the check engine light mostly because it's also a quick and easy fix and I am not sure what I actually want to do about the TPMS light just yet.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[CrazyDrei]

First official modification: ROOF RACK!

7 years ago I built a perfect roof rack for my Suburban. Low profile, cargo basket big enough to hold a twin size mattress or 2 37" spare tires, enclosed cargo box and strong enough to carry 800# on very long trips.

Factory roof rails
4 pairs of Yakima Rail Grabs
4 Yakima 66" cross bars
Rola Vortex Roof Cargo Basket 59504
2 Rola Vortex Roof Cargo Basket Extension 59505
Aluminum CB antenna mount above drivers door
Aluminum CB antenna mount in rear used for a dune buggy flag

Since the roof rack has already been built/assembled I only had to transfer it from one vehicle to another.

I took one of the bike fork attachments off last week and the second one later today mostly due to the fact that I have not used them in over 5 years.

Best part about the Yukon is that it has a sunroof and the roof rack does not interfere with sunroof operation!

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[toastyjosh]

Nice! What are you going to do with the old burb?

 

[CrazyDrei]

Nice! What are you going to do with the old burb?

toastyjosh,

No idea yet, most likely either a manual transmission or a 4L80 whenever I find a suitable donor truck. In the mean time I think I'm going to temporarily strip some parts off it and put it onto the Yukon.

There are too many things to make it reliable at the moment and It's much more cost efficient to spend a couple hundred and get the new truck to be just as capable but a little more reliable.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[CrazyDrei]

Found my old snorkel, should it go on the Yukon?

I was cleaning my garage and found the snorkel, of course I had to clamp it to the fender just to see how it looks and if there is a remote chance that it will be close enough to actually install.

Snorkel I had on my 2000 Suburban

I believe it's originally for a Series 80 Land Cruiser but it fits 00-06 Suburban windshield angle.

07-14 windshields are swept at a lower angle so I will have to bend the snorkel a little with a heat gun.

Surprisingly it fits the body lines of the Yukon really well with less gaps than I had on my 2000 Suburban.

Completely flush on top and bottom of the snorkel.

There is a less than 1/4" gap at the leading edge which I also had in the Suburban, it will be filled in with silicone and not noticeable.

So I might actually go ahead and bolt it up, which will require drilling at least 4 holes in the fender for the attachment bolts and one big one for the actual piping to supply the airbox with cooler and less dusty air.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[CrazyDrei]

Video of transferring over the roof rack.


Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[Panthers64]

Excited to watch another build of yours @CrazyDrei

 

[CrazyDrei]

Excited to watch another build of yours @CrazyDrei

Panthers64,

Thank you, me too.