2002 Yukon, 140k miles, Fixing up over time

I got pissed off this winter dealing with snow. I drive a 420hp RWD Lexus ISF. Even with snow tires this thing is horrid in snow. God forbid I try to drive over a mound of the white stuff.

So I got this Yukon as a hobby and a solution to next winter. 2002 Yukon STL, 140k miles for $3700. I bought it from a BMW dealer that was about to ship it to an auction. It would not pass inspection as the suspension, brakes, tires, parking brake, seals... and many other things were simply crap. Engine and trans seemed ok. Similar Yukons here in better repair were about $6500, so I figured I have $3000 for parts and will end up with something I can trust and better yet know how to fix!

Body and interior are pretty good.



My car wrenching has been limited to 6 years ownership of a highly modified Subaru WRX STi. This Yukon is a whole new ball game. This sums up how I feel at times:


I have to buy a ton of larger tools.

First major issue was the passenger front axle seal flinging oil everywhere. What a mess. I had to pull off part of the front diff to replace the seal. I learned about anaerobic sealant.

Out with dirt in it. I should have cleaned the underside better. Ohh well.


Bad seal. Got a Timkin replacement from the 'zone.


Back together ready to be put back in after some gasket cleanup.


plenty more to come......

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Front rotors were toast. Pads worn. Calipers stuck. Did a rebuild with new parts.



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I thought I could squeak by inspection.

Nope. Stupid me I didn't realize the parking brake didn't work very well. So I tore into the passenger side and this is what I found:


Nothing. Everything removed. Are you kidding me?!


Turns out after getting all new parts that the screw hole to mount the brake shoes was filled with a snapped off screw from the prev owner. This is why all hardware was removed. Good god.

So I fixed everything.

Looks like your having some fun!!!

Nice work. Will you come fix my parking brake? I have zero ambition to dig into it any time soon.

Welcome. Thats a some good work going on. This is a great place for info if you get stuck on a project.

So part of the brake work was replacing the dust shield. I tore that piece of junk off.




But all for naught since to get that rear knuckle off, I had to take the rear axle off.. which meant I had to take the rear diff cover off to pull some pins out.. which means new gasket and new fluid. Soooo no wonder the prev owner said forget it.

Here is my G80 locking diff time bomb!

How can I tell if this sucker still works?


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jomulk56 said:

Nice work. Will you come fix my parking brake? I have zero ambition to dig into it any time soon.

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Ha! Sure drive over to VA.

Its actually pretty easy work. Whats wrong with yours?

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Oh and finished the drivers side. Lower/upper control arm, sway bar link, shock. Waiting for Amazon to get me the passenger side parts. I used Raybestos arms, moog link and Bilstein shocks.

The Raybestos ball joints were damn tight and didnt take much grease. I pumped hard and none came out of the boot. Once grease was in they moved nicely.



Oh and get a real tool to remove the torsion bars. Worth it.

jomulk56 said:

It's not engaging and just needs replaced when I do the brakes. You're doing some major work. All looks good tho man.

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I hear ya and thanks for the compliments. I literally have not done work like this on a car/truck ever. My prev experience was tuning, turbos, injectors etc, not so much suspension and manly parts.

Oh, hint. I'll be turboing this truck.

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And here is how you test a G80 to see if its still working. I'll do this when I slap in the new rear shocks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCwcr7Sj7Hw

Welcome.....DO WORK

Looking good so far.......

I'm an engineer and run the engineering at a software company. I'm so **** I poop only equilength turds ordered by color and fiber level. So I made a list of work done.

Yuuuuuup! Chuck Testa!



So you wanna remove the fuel filter of a 2002 or earlier truck. Get this OTC tool not the Autobros POS tool. This works. My hands look old.


Here is my rear axel.


The tires, they're round.


ISF with truck.


My floor used to be pristine.

Looks like you have hieroglyphs on your wall too.


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Looks like you're having fixing previous owner debachery LOL nice job so far!

Fuel filter and new Michelin LTX MS2 tires later..




Good news for me. The trans fluid is nice and red. Better news is that I found a dirt road to try the 4x4 and everything worked out great. The G80 diff seemed to work as well, I'm super happy about this.

We had a huuuge rainstorm! I found that the rear carpet was getting soaked. The trim seemed OK at the rear hatch. What I did find is that the gromet that holds the wire loom in place seemed old and loose. I used some clear silicon sealant to hopefully take care of the leak.




I also decided to replace the cabin filter. It seems that it has never been changed. 12 years of crap in the filter. All the crap on the ground and on the paper towel is only a part of the shit I found. Lesson here is to replace your cabin filter once in a while.

I had the same thing with my barn doors on mine and used the same fix. Cabin filters are fun aren't they?

jomulk56 said:

I had the same thing with my barn doors on mine and used the same fix. Cabin filters are fun aren't they?

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Kinda a pain but pales in comparison to what I've already done. I'm so shocked at how abused this truck was. I don't mind since I wanted a hobby car, but goddamn what a lazy ass that owned the truck before me. If the McDonalds wrappers are any indication and the huge ass groove in the drives seat I'm working out, I doubt a large and or muscular hard working man or woman had the truck before me. I'm leaning to some bloated lazy land manatee.

I had to rebuild the driver parking brake again tonight. Dumb me again. I left too much rust on the inner surface which ground to a fine lubricating powder. Soooo over time the parking brake started working worse and worse. A wire brush and grinder later and all is well.

I still need to do the front wheel bearings, but I've spent $$$$ lately and the wifey has started to notice.....

Haha I'm on a spending hold too, unless it's cheap, for the same reason


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jomulk56 said:

Haha I'm on a spending hold too, unless it's cheap, for the same reason


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Crap, look what Amazon is shipping me..... I feel good and bad at the same time.



2 new front wheel bearing assemblies from Timken. The current ones have 141k miles on them and sound like metal scraping at higher speeds.



Eaibach sway bar kit. This truck is a real butt clencher in the turns. I'm used to more stability. I hope this helps.


THEN I go on spending freeze... maybe after a stereo upgrade and some new leather for the front seats... and I need carpet, yes carpet and some nice floor mats.

Truck is coming out nice man. Funny how Amazon mysteriously ships parts to you..

tgui said:

THEN I go on spending freeze... maybe after a stereo upgrade and some new leather for the front seats... and I need carpet, yes carpet and some nice floor mats.

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It doesn't look like the "spending freeze" is going to happen. Looks like it's just getting started

yukondoit said:

Truck is coming out nice man. Funny how Amazon mysteriously ships parts to you..

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Thanks! Yeah, its the strangest thing

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07Burb said:

It doesn't look like the "spending freeze" is going to happen. Looks like it's just getting started

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It will peter off once I deem the truck road trip worthy. Wifey and I want to take it storm chasing soon.

Then next year starting in spring I'll be doing the 14SF rear end and 4L85E setup. Perhaps a total engine rebuild as well in preparation for a turbo setup.

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Oh and I forgot to comment on how awesome Amazon Prime is. I've saved $$ in shipping. Add to the fact that Amazon car parts are 50% the cost of local prices. I feel like a chump dumping money for my brake rebuild using Autozone. Live and learn.