My 2004 Yukon XL 2500HD LBZ

[bigdogyj]

Very nice build, man. Turning my 04 Suburban 6.0l into a Duramax is a dream of mine. I thought I had seen somewhere that Duraburb stopped doing conversions on 00-06 models? When did you have this done?

For the GMT-800 series he limited it to 03-06 for a while as it was simpler computer wise with the LBZ as that was really the best choice to swap in. We got in as one of the last ones he did for that generation. Aside from his busy schedule with all the other rigs he’s been working on (assumed govmt orders) and the fact that the mfg has been discontinuing parts that he uses to complete the conversion, which complicates acquiring parts, it made sense to limit it to GMT-900 and newer.

I know its not a hard project to do. There is a lot of information about it posted on various forums. Honestly from a mechanical and technical aspect I could have easily done this myself. However, it came down to 1. TIME, 2. Access to a lift, 3. General knowledge of what to do and how best to do it. It probably would have taken me several years to finish and honestly probably wouldn’t have been 100%. That’s why we decided to use Duraburb plus he was one of the first if not THE first one to pull this off many years ago and has been successful in making them fully CA emissions compliant which was a requirement for us as well.

Eric is brilliant guy and knows a lot of about these platforms. He’s also willing to help you out and provide knowledge when possible. Unless of course your GM ;-).

 

[Kaisen]

Nick at Duramax Specialties in Atlanta has done 250+ conversions on Suburbans. He's a good friend, we've done business together, he has my endorsement.

 

[Martinjmpr]

What kind of transmission does that have? I know it's an Allison but is it still a 4 speed? How does it compare to the factory 4L80?

 

[Kaisen]

What kind of transmission does that have? I know it's an Allison but is it still a 4 speed? How does it compare to the factory 4L80?

The Allison paired with a LBZ Duramax was a 6 speed Allison 1000. Deeper first, taller overdrive... more gear spread

 

[bigdogyj]

The Allison paired with a LBZ Duramax was a 6 speed Allison 1000. Deeper first, taller overdrive... more gear spread

Correct 6 speed Allison 1000. Same gear ratios as the earlier 5 speed Allison but the 6 speed has a double overdrive.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[bigdogyj]

I realized it's been quite a while since I started this thread. I haven't done much exploring per se more putting it to work towing trailers and family road trips.
I did do a little overlanding trip a couple years back...

Finally got the winch mounted (Warn M12000) Did an overland camping trip and unfortunately got some new pin-striping so I'll have to work on that, but truck did fantastic.



Then towed a buddies Jeep out to KOH


Picked up a 30' RV during covid then sold it.


The Truck has got quite a few upgrades over the years. Differential cover, Rear bumper reverse lights, onboard air compressor, battle born lithium battery to power the fridge and other accessories in the back (DC to DC charger) and upgraded a few interior things to add some features (cell phone bluetooth -- using a corvette Onstar box, escalade Bose LUX amp upgrade).

Finally made a trip with the jeep out to Utah to check out Moab and Kenab.




That gets us pretty caught up through 2023.

 

[bigdogyj]

After selling the RV the wife and I were trying to figure out what's next. We still like camping but I despise pitching a tent.
so naturally Roof Top tent became the next idea. Wife was onboard -- maybe more than me. So then the prep work began as well as some maintenance/repairs.

First up suspension refresh...
All new body mounts:


New Rear leaf springs (Atlas Suspension progressive Expedition +1" over stock):



New Bilstein 5160 shocks all around and braided stainless steel brake lines:


Also did a lot of fluid maintenance and lubrication.

 

[bigdogyj]

Now were getting to the fun stuff....

With a Roof top tent comes a bit of weight on the roof, which usually involves a better roof rack, and with the clear coat starting to peel its time to address that before it gets too bad.

First up:



color matched line-x with UV protectant on roof.

Then new roof rack from Baseline Overland:




Now we've got a solid platform, time for the tent:





This should keep the wife happy at least for now. we've got a lot of camping trips planned for this year including a week in Glacier NP.

 

[XJLI]

A duramax GMT800 Burb is always on my list of "things I should be daily driving".

Glad this thing is still treating you well.

 

[mrpeterclark]

Love it! Let’s see some pics from those trips!

 

[stubbspy]

I love the build! Do you have pics and details on where you mounted your lithium house battery and compressor? I’ve been thinking about both for my GMT900 but I need 3 rows for seating. I’m also wondering if I could put a belt driven air compressor on with the supercharger I keep dreaming about.

 

[bigdogyj]

Sorry life got busy. I'll try to bring you current.

Immediately after getting the roof top tent installed, we headed down the Oregon coast and got rained on the entire way back to CA.


Dried it out once we got home.


Took a trip to Lake Tahoe for our anniversary.....


Made it to the entrance of the Rubicon Trail... poser shot...


Messing around at my buddies shop.....
37's look good on this body style. keep in mind, its on a 2 post lift so this is with suspension fully drooped. haha.



Ended up using the tent while at my buddies and slept in the shop....



iKamper buddies in the parking lot. haha


Finally made it to Glacier NP:


Had another camping trip over Labor Day weekend last year but I didn't take any worthwhile pics of that. It definitely got used last year.
However, with a new baby arrival in July we decided carrying a baby up and down a ladder didn't sound fun so decided to sell the ikamper for now and look into buying one in a couple years when were ready to get back into one. We have a ground tent we'll continue to use for now. I kept the baseline rack as we'll absolutely continue to use that.

Im looking to mount a 270 degree awning, 100watts solar panel, cell booster antenna, starlink mini and a couple mounts for Milwaukee packout boxes that we can use when we go camping. that will give us some more space inside now with the additional baby stuff. I'll update this thread as I tackle getting those things mounted.

 

[bigdogyj]

Some other upgrades and maintenance over the past couple years......

New banks rear diff cover I won from a. raffle. Pretty slick unit.


Mounted some rear bumper reverse lights...


Gave it a good cleaning/waxing but this was 2 years ago. time to do it again. Looks pretty decent for 20 yrs old and ~400k miles on the body.


One of a number of trips putting in some work. this was a fun trip towing the jeep up to the sierras for a weekend run with the buddies...


Got my tools loaded in a packout toolbox with sits perfectly next to the arb fridge (and the cargo shade coves it all. pretty happy with the packout setup...


My first sketch brain dump of what I was trying to accomplish with the house electrical system...


Swapped in an Onstar VCIM from a 2010 Corvette to get bluetooth phone call functionality with the existing Onstar mic using the factory stereo since Onstar in this generation is now defunct.


Mounted an ARB Twin air compressor on a custom mounting plate using existing mounting studs for a heat shield that was only used with the gas engine exhaust (probably catalytic converter heat shield). This was under the driver side floor board.

 

[bigdogyj]

Ran air hose to both front and rear bumpers.


Ended up installing a RedArc 50amp DC to DC charger (BCDC50) to charge a 100ah BattleBorn Lithium battery. Used a Victron shunt and Battery Monitor (BMV) connected to a Victron GlobalLink 520 for cellular updates to monitor battery/charge status, etc. Excuse the someone messy appearing wiring. This is actually going to get updated next year and will finalize and cleanup the wiring better.

This is all mounted behind the plastic trim in the left rear cargo area where the early models had their factory sub box. In 03-06 they moved the sub box up front inside the center console so this area was left unused. I did have to trim the little storage cubby for the battery to fit and mounted the BMV control panel inside that cubby as well. Planning to 3d print a cover to enclose that area around the battery and seal that up so I can still use the remaining cubby space without losing anything down the gaps.,


The goal was to keep it basically entirely hidden from view so I can pull the fridge out and still have a full useable cargo area when needed.

pay no attention to the dirty plastic panels and scuffs. lets just say my truck gets used. not abused but used.
Another working trip to drop off some gear for a buddy.


Picked up another project that I haven't really figured out what all I want to do with it. but im sure I’ll figure something out.


Upgraded the cooling fan clutch to a socal diesel unit.


I think thats about all for now. Oh I did get some new tires earlier this year before a trip up to Washington and then out to Tennessee.
New baby born in July so laying low around home for now. might get back out on the road for a few shorter trips later this year. Also got a list of a few projects for the burb. I'll put that together soon and post up some updates as I work through that. Let me know if you have any questions. I still think this is one of the greatest full size domestic platforms made. Im also thrilled that some places are starting to realize the potential for these rigs (Baseline Overland). I hope that continues and gets us some more aftermarket support in the future.