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My Suburban Renewal Project

As he said.

bobbiemartin said:
That is pretty much it except the ProVent replaces the CDR.
Info on the ProVent here
Click to expand...

from the manual, pdf page 2 ;

Integrated safety feature
against irregularly high
crankcase pressure

[This means there is a valve built in to replace the "tuna can".
The coalescing (filter) media needs to be replaced occaisionally, but what's the suggested interval?]

Dave
 
Got the AC line installed and the system charged. Still have a problem with the recirculate door, but hope to sort it soon. Engine is pretty much done, still a few minor things to tidy up and then fine tune the injection pump timing & turbo boost. I figure I'll wait until it has 1000 miles or so on it before I change too much. It runs pretty well where its at. Haven't really hammered it, going to wait until its broken in for that!


EngineMay4-5.jpg

Thanks to Burning Oil, I got my new filter minder installed

EngineMay4-1.jpg

I installed an Adel clamp to keep the ProVent return line away from the throttle linkage. I knew the tapped hole for the old boost sensor would come in handy one day!

EngineMay4-2.jpg

Hard to tell it didn't come from the factory with a DB2!

EngineMay4-3.jpg

Can't see much Alpine Green once everything is in there.

EngineMay4-4.jpg


I always worry for the first thousand miles or so on a new engine, so still a bit apprehensive, but so far I'm happy with everything.
 
One of the things I did was to install a new style water pump with the thread on fan clutch. After reading Heath's article on cooling, I looked through Hayden's catalog. I found that Hayden has a new fan clutch called a "Truck Fan Drive". The Truck Fan clutch is made for medium duty trucks, such as the Kodiak or Top Kick trucks. This is an upgrade from the normal Severe Duty fan clutch listed for our trucks. I had to do a little digging, but I found one that fits my water pump and bolts on the Duramax fan. I don't know if this is the one Heath sells, but that is what I installed. I'll find out this summer how it works.
Click to expand...


Bobby, what do you think of the Hayden "Truck" fan clutch.....Now that summer is here?
 
Brooklyn Tow said:
Bobby, what do you think of the Hayden "Truck" fan clutch.....Now that summer is here?
Click to expand...

Its been very hot here and the engine temp runs 185-190 best I can tell. The A/C works well, so I would say the fan & clutch works fine. Even in 95+ temps in traffic, the engine runs cool and the A/C puts out cold air. I have not done any towing, so I can't say how it would work there. All in all, I'm very happy with it. It moves a lot of air. I have never seen the water temp go above 190 and the trans temp runs about 170. In short :thumbsup:
 
I'm sure its been said a million times, but what a nice clean install you have there BM... nice work. I'm glad she's repaying you back well.
 
Its been a couple of months since I last posted on this. The Suburban is running great. I have had a couple of minor problems, but nothing too bad. First, I had a leaking hydroboost.

OldHydroboost3.jpg


You can see the fluid leaking here. I replaced it with a new unit.

The other problem was a minor engine oil leak, really more of a drip. It showed up on the LH exhaust manifold, right where the crossover bolted on.

Enginebottom.jpg


It turned out to be the valve cover. I used "The Right Stuff" sealer on them. Once I got it off, I found a very tiny - maybe 1/32" gap in the sealant right at the bottom back corner of the valve cover. Looks like the end of one bead and the start of the next and it didn't quite overlap enough. I knew getting the old valve cover off without bending it would be a trick, so I took the easy way out. I had a spare, so I cleaned it up and sent it to the powder coaters. Got another "Detroit Diesel" sticker and so I had a replacement ready to go back on. Made changing it a lot easier! Still had to remove the intake manifold and injection lines though, so not that easy, but it did stop the leak.

Engine9-14B.jpg


New valve cover matches the old one, just doesn't leak!

I have also done a few upgrades and spruced up some stuff. I had installed a K47 airbox some time ago. I never did like the way the small hose from the radiator overflow bottle up to the top of the radiator had to go around the airbox as it would catch on the hood hinge. I did some checking and GM changed the overflow bottle when they changed the airbox. On the newer bottles, the hose comes out straight instead of pointing up.

Overflowold.jpg


OverflowNew.jpg


I bought and installed a new overflow bottle. This allows the hose to go straight forward, under the airbox and more importantly, away from the hood hinge.

Engine9-14C.jpg


A small area of the paint at the leading edge of the hood had chipped and was rusting. I traded out some work with a guy I know that runs a body shop and he did a great job repainting the hood for me. So it looks a lot better now. Still has a few nicks and dings in the body, but for 15 year old original paint, its not too bad.

Grille.jpg


With the outside sorted out, I turned my attention to the interior. After 15 years of wear and tear, spilled drinks, etc., it needed some work. The carpet had some stains and was looking rough.

SubFlooroldCarpet2.jpg


As luck would have it, I found a new replacement carpet set for a Suburban on Craigslist and it was the right color. It was 100 miles away, but the price was right so I made the drive. I can tell you, replacing the carpet on a Suburban is not the easiest thing I have ever done.

SubFloor3.jpg

Removing all the seats, seat belts, console and the like takes some time.

SubFloor4.jpg


While I had everything out, I decided to install some extra sound deadening.

SubFloorVicor-1.jpg

Instead of Dynamat, I used Grace Ultra. I used this because it was immediately available and the price was right! Its a peal and stick material, very similar to Dynamat. I can tell you it sticks very well and REALLY likes to stick to itself. In fact, if you get the two sticky sides together, it will not come apart. You have to cut it and start over with a new piece.

SubFloorVicor-2.jpg


Once I had that done, I could install the new carpet. Of course, it needs to be trimmed to fit and there are no holes fro the seats or anything else for that matter. Its quite a bit of work getting it in place and cutting the holes for the seat bolts and various brackets.

SubFloorCarpet4.jpg


Here is the new carpet in the back seat. It does seem to be quieter, I think the road noise is reduced.

In addition to the dirty carpet, the drivers seat had some wear from getting in and out. I looked into getting the seat reupholstered, but its was very expensive. The passenger seat and second (back) seat were worn, but usable. So I looked around and found a good drivers seat. Its not great, but better than what I had. It looks much better and the price was not too bad.


SubFloorCarpet3.jpg


Here is the new seat and carpet. Old seat had worn through and the padding was showing. The interior looks much better now.

One of the things the Suburban gets used for is a safety vehicle for several local charity bicycle rides during the year. My wife has been a SAG (safety) driver for many years. Basically this involves driving slowly for two days assisting the cyclist and/or picking up anyone that may not be able to continue riding. She usually ends up driving between 300 and 400 miles in one weekend, mostly at speeds under 25 MPH.

SubSAG.jpg


Here she is on one of the rides earlier this year. The new AMG engine had only been running for about two weeks before this event. I was a little worried, but it ran flawlessly.

The usual routine is to run your emergency flashers while driving. However that has some drawbacks as the turn signals don't work and the flashers just don't seem to register with some drivers. A few of the other SAG drivers have strobe lights which work much better. I found a new strobe kit on Craigslist and installed them in the Suburban. These are hideaway strobes. I installed them in the front turn signals and the reverse lamps. They are entirely hidden until you turn them on. It would be hard to miss these! I'll try and get a video posted soon showing them.

For the most part, I guess the renewal is done. I still have a couple of minor projects to complete, but nothing major. It turned out as well as I had hoped. The engine runs great and the Sub looks better inside and out. Before the renewal, we only drove it when there was a need, especially my wife. Now its pretty much turned into her daily driver. In fact, we may sell what was her daily driver (Miata).

With these and the previous upgrades, I really like the finished product. With the AMG block, DB2 mechanical injection, new oil cooler and lines it should be reliable. The new radiator, late style water pump, truck duty fan clutch and Duramax fax keep the engine cool and the new air conditioning components keep the inside cool as well. The Cibie quartz halogen headlights allow you to see where you are going at night. Inside the new seat and carpeting really smarten up the appearance. Years ago I added a Delco 12 disc CD changer (its under the passenger seat) and a few years back I a friend gave me a Delco radio with a CD player (it came with a cassette deck). It might not stack up to a modern radio with an Ipod, but its good enough!

Was it worth it? The renewal cost were around $8000. Yes, that is probably more than the book value. But we are the original owners and I know where its been and what has been done to it. The other choice would have been a new vehicle. Compared to a new Sub at $40-50,000, the renewal cost are cheap and they are all gas powered now. So its worth it to us as the plan is to keep it indefinitely. Its approaching 190,000 miles and I certainly hope it makes 300,000.

Thanks for letting me share the journey. Hopefully it may help some others if they need to repair or upgrade their trucks.
 
ak diesel driver said:
We have "Grace" ice and water sheild around here I just don't think it's labeled Ultra. I'll have to check.
Click to expand...

Grace makes at least 5 different underlayments. Ice and Water contains rubberized asphalt, while Ultra is butyl rubber based. A while back I looked into Dynamat and while they make several different products, the main Dynamat is also butyl based. We had to special order the Ultra, it was speced on a job. I can't tell you for sure how the Ice and Water shield would work, but I would think most anything that dampens the sheet metal would do the trick. Some of the peal & stick stuff has an asphalt smell. The Ultra has no odor. I wouldn't want to use some of the asphalt based stuff a closed car.

http://www.na.graceconstruction.com/underlayments/download/UL-005Q.pdf

http://www.graceathome.com/pages/downloads/GIWS-060P.pdf
 
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