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2004 Yukon XL 2500 LBZ

Looks like you got it nailed now. that's good vent temps. how is the rear unit working, are you getting the same vent temps? I assume your blowers were on max setting when taking pressure and temp readings.

your high side pressures are also doing well too. normally I see higher pressures but I'm also in a hotter humid climate too!

the amount you recovered on the first go-round turned into later charging with only gas and no liquid. using fresh you are charging with almost nothing but liquid. I have never figured it out but most recovery machines when using them to recharge has to have some amount of liquid in the tank before it works correctly.

Not saying this caused your high pressures though. I am sure there was a blockage causing that.
 
I was so busy with everything I forgot to post any updates about this one.
Made it through the rest of fall without melting. Made it up to Glacier NP in August and enjoyed two weeks up there.
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Made our way back home and about 3 weeks after getting home I lost a power steering hose about 1/2 mile from my parents house. puked all the fluid out by the time I got it there and the pump was screaming. What I can best determine occurred is when I did the body mounts several months prior, I must have overstretched the flex line from the pump (on the frame) to the hydro boost (on the firewall/body). it seems it pulled and either damaged the line where its crimps to the hard line along the frame or pulled it at the pump connected and damaged the o-ring. Eventually it failed and ruptured and lost all PS fluid. I've been running aftermarket ps lines from Driven Diesel and since this occurred on a Friday I waited til Monday and called local shop to see about getting new hoses made that I could swap in. Their hose guy was out on vacation for 2 weeks. So I caved and bought another full set of the Driven Diesel lines which showed up overnight thanks to Amazon. Got it back together and bled the lines, all seemed good.
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A bunch of other family stuff, another camping trip, bachelor/wedding trip, then did a bunch work on the 2013 Yukon XL project rig.

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about 2500 miles since the last time the line failed it fails again on my parents street as my wife is driving. I heard her coming down the street, as soon as she turned into the neighbors drive to turn around I heard the pump whining which caught my attention. then noticed she's not moving anymore and my phone rings. She can't turn the wheel at all and brakes are hard to push. I get over there and sure enough fluid puked all over the street just where she pulled in. I nursed/forced it to the side of the street and shut it down. It was extremely stiff steering. I ended up filling the reservoir to try to get it in the driveway but the steering was so stiff and nearly impossible to turn I was literally pulling myself up off the seat to turn the wheel and jacked up my elbow in the process. and it puked all the fluid out before I got it in the driveway.

This time the oring on the fitting at the pump is gone and the fitting is loose. WTF. ended up getting new orings and replaced both that end and the one at the hydro boost even though it seemed fine. I can't believe I overtorqued that fitting - it's kind of a doozy getting in there with anything but a short stubby open end wrench. Well got it back together and bled the lines again. but something has felt off since then. the steering has a weird pause when I pull the wheel to the left kind of quick (best way to explain it is when I pull into a parking lot and then quickly go to back into a parking space it kinda loses assist for a second then its fine. It's a bummer cuz I kinda went full tilt on the steering when I replaced everything 2 years ago (PSC pump, PSC extreme gear box, Driven Diesel AN lines, etc) and that stuff wasn't cheap.

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Regardless I have still driven it for a few shorter trips but I haven't fully trusted it yet. Been using the 2013 Yukon XL as much as I can but it doesn't like to tow anything. Towing this empty trailer (~1k #) the trans got to 230F on an 85F degree day! so just use that for people moving.
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Anyways. I have been driving it occasionally and watching the power steering line like a hawk as best I can since it's extremely difficult to see without pulling the boost pipe off the intercooler. Still occasionally has that pause in steering assist but generally it's fine otherwise. I just towed the 2000 Z71 3 hrs each way to my buddies shop and it was fine for that trip.

I'm leaving for Washington in a 2 weeks actually 2 weeks from today and hope it holds out for that trip. then headed back out to Texas and Tennessee in May/June. I'll definitely be carrying spare hoses, o-rings and fluid for these trips.
 
I’m wondering if there is a scratch in one of the ball bearings in the box and when it’s just the right spot it hangs up?

Power steering pumps are not supposed to self destruct from being empty but sometimes they do

I am thinking I would add one of those inline filters just incase something is floating around in there.
 
Drive it for a short trip working the steering hard, then do a flush into some clean clear jugs being careful not to let air get into the PS system. look at the old fluid real good for any evidence of contamination or metal. Ideally you need to install one of those filters with a magnet in them. I would be adventurous to use a clear plastic filter and wire tie a rare earth magnet to the side so to see what it collects and how fast it collects it. when the pump or box begin to let loose, it can glitter bomb the entire system in a hurry!

on my 95 shortly after I bought it the booster was leaking fluid into the cab. it also was leaking from the front between it and the MC. I didn't realize how bad it was leaking until I discovered the carpet under the floor mat was completely saturated with PS fluid. when I replaced the booster not once but twice over leaks, the pump 💩 the bed over how many times it had run empty. had to replace it too.

since it's replacement it does fine other than now after driving for more then 45 minutes to an hour in the summer the fluid gets extremely hot causing the steering and brake pedal to start stiffening up (not so much as to loose all function but enough to notice it's not right). I ended up cobbling in a trans cooler in the return from the gear box. this helped a lot with this but I have never figured out what is causing the fluid to get hot that quick. before I installed the cooler (yes it has a small one there from factory) you could start it up in the morning and within 5 minutes place your hand on the pressure line and feel it getting warm just sitting there idling.

If I can get my hands on a seal kit for the booster, I would be inclined to pull the pump and booster fully apart to see if there is something in there creating cavitation or restrictions and making heat.
 
Will L. said:
I’m wondering if there is a scratch in one of the ball bearings in the box and when it’s just the right spot it hangs up?

Power steering pumps are not supposed to self destruct from being empty but sometimes they do

I am thinking I would add one of those inline filters just incase something is floating around in there.
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Now that you mention it. I did install an inline filter on the return side but can’t remember if that was the dually or this one. I’ll go check later today. Thx.
 
dbrannon79 said:
Drive it for a short trip working the steering hard, then do a flush into some clean clear jugs being careful not to let air get into the PS system. look at the old fluid real good for any evidence of contamination or metal. Ideally you need to install one of those filters with a magnet in them. I would be adventurous to use a clear plastic filter and wire tie a rare earth magnet to the side so to see what it collects and how fast it collects it. when the pump or box begin to let loose, it can glitter bomb the entire system in a hurry!

on my 95 shortly after I bought it the booster was leaking fluid into the cab. it also was leaking from the front between it and the MC. I didn't realize how bad it was leaking until I discovered the carpet under the floor mat was completely saturated with PS fluid. when I replaced the booster not once but twice over leaks, the pump 💩 the bed over how many times it had run empty. had to replace it too.

since it's replacement it does fine other than now after driving for more then 45 minutes to an hour in the summer the fluid gets extremely hot causing the steering and brake pedal to start stiffening up (not so much as to loose all function but enough to notice it's not right). I ended up cobbling in a trans cooler in the return from the gear box. this helped a lot with this but I have never figured out what is causing the fluid to get hot that quick. before I installed the cooler (yes it has a small one there from factory) you could start it up in the morning and within 5 minutes place your hand on the pressure line and feel it getting warm just sitting there idling.

If I can get my hands on a seal kit for the booster, I would be inclined to pull the pump and booster fully apart to see if there is something in there creating cavitation or restrictions and making heat.
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thank you.
I’ll give that a try and confirm if I already installed the filter or not. If the pump is toast then that’s manageable. But that box was $$$. So hopefully it’s not already shot. It’s actually been the best feeling box I’ve had on any truck.
 
so I do have a filter on the return line but honestly I haven't pulled it apart in years to clean it. It's one of those aluminum body filter held together with a snap ring. so I think it's cleanable. I'll have to check that after this next trip unfortunately. for now it seems to be holding together. checked again yesterday and no more leaks. put the inner fender liner back in finally after 3 months. it feels ok, I have extra fluid and lines and o-rings with me in case it decides to fail on me again.

Cleaned up the windows and wipers and treated the glass with Cerakote Glass Coat. Usually I use Aquapel but saw this recently so decided to try this as I really like their plastic trim coating.

Next up I had a flat tire back around the time the power steering dumped on me the 2nd time. Got it patched at America's Tire probably a month ago, but it's still been leaking about 15-20 psi / week. Took it back to America's tire today and now they claim the puncture was too big for the plug and they don't have any bigger plug. I questioned about patching on the inside but they said it's still not enough without the plug ??? idk didn't make much sense to me. either way they were going to order a replacement tire since I purchased their tire replacement certificates when I bought the tires. but I wasn't thrilled with 1 new tire that wasn't the same as what I had (Michelin Defender LTX MS vs LTX / MS2) and I'd have 1 new tire and 3 with 43k miles. I asked about getting a 2nd tire replaced so id at least have 2 sets of 2 matching. no go. Asked about if I bought a new set of 4 of a different brand/size could they apply the cert to one of those -- he agreed. So given the short timeline before leaving town (this Friday am), I ended up with Toyo OpenCountry AT3 in 285/70R17. Oh and I also talked him into crediting a 2nd tire cert so I ended up with a set of 4 new tires and paid for 2. I was planning to change tires later this year, but this just moved up that plan. oh well.
I get them installed tomorrow so I'll get some pics then.

Side note: after driving the 2013 Yukon xl 1500 primarily for that last few months, I really like the way this rig drives, runs, feels, etc. it seems like a much better built rig. Quieter, more comfortable, feels more solid. Made me really appreciate it. I'm excited for the trip up to Washington this weekend.
 
It's a great feeling when you can appreciate the results of something you've put a lot of effort into - I think that's rare. A lot of my stuff still isn't where I think it should be and that becomes an annoyance when driving them, and sometimes I realize I've made the vehicle less enjoyable than it originally was. I've enjoyed this thread, thank you for the updates.
 
n8in8or said:
The Michelin LTX is a really nice tire overall, it will be interesting to hear how you like those Toyos in comparison.
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I really liked the michelins. My only gripe was I think I had too narrow of a tire for these H2's. I was running 265/70r17 and the outside edge of the tread was wearing faster than the inner. Usually that's an under inflation issue but I know that's not the case. Im on top of air pressures and always run no less than 60psi (80 in the rear when towing). so decided to upsize to 285's but the michelins weren't available in time before we left. I've been interested in these for a while so bit the bullet to try them out. Were headed out on a 2500 mile road trip tomorrow so I'm sure I'll have an initial opinion after this trip.
 
BigDogYJ said:
I really liked the michelins. My only gripe was I think I had too narrow of a tire for these H2's. I was running 265/70r17 and the outside edge of the tread was wearing faster than the inner. Usually that's an under inflation issue but I know that's not the case. Im on top of air pressures and always run no less than 60psi (80 in the rear when towing). so decided to upsize to 285's but the michelins weren't available in time before we left. I've been interested in these for a while so bit the bullet to try them out. Were headed out on a 2500 mile road trip tomorrow so I'm sure I'll have an initial opinion after this trip.
Click to expand...
For what it's worth, I haven't seen a Michelin LTX that didn't wear the outer tread prematurely. Seems like a chronic problem with that tire.
 
Maybe have one of the old ones mounted up for a spare. if one was bad, then use the worst of the three on the spare and keep the two better ones for a rainy day. store them indoors though
 
Yeah I was able to hold onto 2. They had to claim the other 2. My spare is a 16” wheel. But if I can find a 17” steel I might be able to squeeze a 265 under there. It’s a bit of a tight squeeze under a burb with a AAM 11.5 and a 5” exhaust. 😜
 
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