2004 Yukon XL 2500 LBZ

[BigDogYJ]

So I have had a whirlwind of a life status change over the past couple years. Its a long story and this is probably not the place to explain, but I am back on here after a long hiatus.

However, I will share the shortened version. I ended up buying a 2004 GMC Yukon XL 2500 with an 8.1 in fantastic condition. The interior/body looks like a rig with less than 50k on the odometer. However the 8.1 MPG is abysmal. I average 11MPG without a trailer over a several thousand mile road trip. Time for a change. As I found myself driving my dually less and less, and didn't have a real need for it after I sold my gooseneck and Lance cabover, I determined it was time to put it the truck to good use.

Fast forward to last December (2017):
I decided to pull the LBZ powertrain from the 06 Dually and stick it in the 04 Yukon.
I could have accomplished this myself but just did not have the time to do it. And if I did attempt it, it probably would have taken over 3 years. Insert Eric from DuraBurb.
I talked with DuraBurb and decided to have them do the work. I loaded up my trailer with the Yukon and towed it out to FL with the dually.

To be continued......

 

[BigDogYJ]

I realized I’m going to have to backup just a bit.
So after the call with Eric @ DuraBurb and getting on their build schedule, I began the process of carefully removing every modification / upgrade / improvement I ever made to the dually and decided which of those I would use on the Yukon. Keeping in mind that both trucks needed to be capable of driving across the country (I live in CA, DuraBurb is in FL). So I started disassembling the truck front suspension to swap over my tie rod ends, sway bar, cognito UCA’s and Pitman/Idler Support kit. Then pulled the front end apart on the Yukon so I could swap the parts. I ended up rebuilding both upper and lower control arms with new bushings and ball joints and basically any rubber piece in the front suspension.

Got it all buttoned up, then I started tackling the interior.

To be continued.......

 

[BigDogYJ]

So with nearly 180k miles on it, the interior looks extremely good (except for the wear on the driver seat).

I was not a huge fan of the all tan interior (coming from an all charcoal interior pickup), so I decided to change things up a bit....

Some of the early suburbans of this generation had a two tone color combo that I tried to mimic.

So I started with this.....

And ended up with this........

Of course I can't start pulling interior apart without pulling the carpet and padding to add more sound deadening material (especially considering this was a gas vehicle which will now have a diesel).....

Sorry for all the pics but what good is a writeup without pics?

More to come......

 

[ak diesel driver]

nice burb keep em coming

 

[BigDogYJ]

So now with the suspension and interior done, I had an opportunity to get some Denali 18" wheels with tires from a friend who bought a new 2017 Denali HD. Found Fred Goeske (or family rather) still making wheel adapters (which I ran on my dually for the last 7 years without issues) and they have an spacer/adapter which allows the new metric 8 on 180mm wheels to bolt to 8 on 6.5" axles. I tried them out and although they looked nice and the increase in tire size was nice, the fact that they stuck out more than the factory wheel/tire combo cause them to run the inner fender liner hard. So I decided to forget it and go stock. This will be why you see some pictures with the flashy 18" Denali wheels and others with the factory PY0 running BFG KO2's. The PY0 wheel design just fits this body style so well.

Here's a few pics installing the spacers/adapters and Denali wheels installed (NOTE: I ended up removing these and going back to stock):

The truck looked really good but I just couldn't bring myself to start cutting up fender well, etc on a rig that was so clean and straight.

Hang tight, the good stuff is coming....

 

[BIGR]

Very nice indeed, we like progress and pictures keep them coming.

Too bad the Denali wheels would not work, but sometimes in the end its best to keep some things stock.

 

[Jaryd]

It looks good man. I agree with the other guys, keep the pictures coming. It is definitely going to be a one of a kind. I like the attention to detail that you have on this rig.

 

[btfarm]

Great to see you back around BigDog

 

[BigDogYJ]

So now with the suspension taken care of, interior done and the wrong wheel/tire combo on there, I had to get the trailer worthy of the trip as well.
I was running out of time before we had to hit the road to get the FL (2800 miles) and fly back home before Christmas. So I got the trailer done (new brakes, bearings and tires) loaded the Yukon on the trailer and threw the stock PY0 wheels in the bed of the truck and headed to Apopka, FL.

Made a stop in West Monroe, LA:

And now we are dropping everything off with Eric @ DuraBurb in Apopka, FL:

I promise, the next post will have pics of the build process (just a few)...

 

[BigDogYJ]

So we made it to Florida without issue.
Eric and his crew got started in tearing down the dually and pulling the 8.1 out of the Yukon shortly after the new year.
First out came the LBZ:

Then out came the 8.1 to make room for the LBZ:

LBZ powertrain installed:

Had to come up with a creative mounting location for the Fass 150HD Lift pump/filter setup:

Decided to ditch the autoride completely and go with some nice shiny bilsteins:

Next up, finishing the install and getting it driveable....

 

[BigDogYJ]

And the LBZ fits like a glove. Almost like it was meant to be there:

All buttoned up, just waiting for upper bumper cover and a good detail:

Notice how the PY0 and BFG's just seem right at home...

This project is currently in progress, it just got to the point of being driveable over a week ago.
My wife and I fly back out to Florida on March 7th to go pick up the rig. We have a 4500 mile trip planned for our route home. That should be a good maiden voyage.

I'll try to post more pics after we pick it up and keep some updates going along the way.

 

[BIGR]

Very nice work and looking sharp, keep us posted.

 

[Will L.]

Way nice! Enjoy the trip and the rig.

 

[tanman_2006]

Sweet setup!

 

[DieselSlug]

Nice build up. I agree, for some reason I'm not a fan of the Denalis. They are like my RAM 20's. Too much chrome for me. I'm a fan of this style GM wheel (had them on my plow rig for summer use), would look great on that burb.

 

[BigDogYJ]

Those look nice. I've seen those before on the C/K bodies and they look great. I'll have to keep my eyes open for a set.

Nice build up. I agree, for some reason I'm not a fan of the Denalis. They are like my RAM 20's. Too much chrome for me. I'm a fan of this style GM wheel (had them on my plow rig for summer use), would look great on that burb.

 

[btfarm]

Can't go wrong with a set of clean PYOs or H2 rims

 

[Ed HD]

Looks awesome!!! Are you just going to let them scrap out the Dually? It's funny how I'd have thought they'd be in some big fancy shop in an industrial park, and they're in a pole shed out in the country lol.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

Looks awesome!!! Are you just going to let them scrap out the Dually? It's funny how I'd have thought they'd be in some big fancy shop in an industrial park, and they're in a pole shed out in the country lol.

He's in an industrial complex. It's quite a bit nicer than a pole shed. He did have to leave his big place in Orlando when he stopped doing Disney work and switchec to doing Duraburbs full time.

 

[BIGR]

He's in an industrial complex. It's quite a bit nicer than a pole shed. He did have to leave his big place in Orlando when he stopped doing Disney work and switchec to doing Duraburbs full time.

I checked out some of their YouTube videos, one showed where they put a Duramax in a late model (2017 ?) Suburban, that was sweet. I saw in the video that there was a complex in the back ground, they did a 0 to 100 mph test run down the street in the Suburban, it was no slouch.

Looks like those guys have their act together and know how to do some great work.