shreksbrother
Full Access Member
Hello community!
New to this forum, but not to wrenching and not to Chevy trucks (used to have a '98 Tahoe).
Anyhow, I was in the market for an SUV, and found this one Craigslist on May 9th. 2003 Yukon 5.3 FFV SLT AWD with 151k miles on it.
It drove like the SS Minnow on its three hour tour (steering was AWFUL!), check engine light was on, and the 'service stability' message was present. Tires were so worn I was worried about driving it the 20 miles home. But it seemed to run well and shift well, so I thought I would give it a shot. I whittled the guy down to $2500 cash, which I felt was a steal despite the wear items I knew I would have to sink into it.
As it looked when I bought it:
It appeared to have had a leveling kit, which I saw as a bonus. Inside it had a single DIN JVC radio (originally a Bose car) and dark tinted windows. Beyond that, it largely seemed stock.
On my immediate to-do list:
- Replace front steering components (tie rods/ends/ball joints, sway bar end links)
- Replace tires
- Address check engine light
- Address 'Service Stability' message
On the immediate appearance mods:
- New headlights
- New taillights
- Remove side molding
- Black out chrome
The long distance list:
- Paint job to address fading on roof and hood
- Dent repair on lower front passenger door
- Replace rear bumper due to dent
- Replace front seat leather due to wear
So I ordered a bunch of parts, much to the chagrin of my bank account.
The first weekend (5/13/14):
- I replaced all of the worn front end components and added a steering dampener.
- I had an alignment (sprung for the lifetime)
- New headlights
- New taillights
- Check engine light ended up being P0178 and P0179 (flex fuel), so I found the http://www.pointaengineering.com/ sensor cheater and ordered it. I installed it (took about 1 minute) and reset the check engine light. Immediately I noticed it running better, and the aroma of unburnt fuel was gone. Yay!
- New tires - Instead of spending $500+ on new tires, I took to Craigslist determined to find some good used ones already mounted (I have found this to often be cheaper than buying new tires). I found a guy who had a set of 20" rims that were Plasti-dipped black with nearly new tires, so I picked them up.
- Removed side molding - This was a HUGE pain to do and took a good couple of hours with a heat gun and much cursing. The things just crumbled apart despite trying fishing line and all of that good stuff. Finally they were all off and residue was removed. I also removed the Yukon emblems and Plasti-dipped them before returning them to their original spots.
As it is now:
Anyhow, it is starting to be a labor of love, as it is nice being back in a GM truck. The steering is still not 100% where I want it. I may do the steering box adjustment (there feels like some play in it still) and then have it aligned again to see if that helps.
Until next time...
New to this forum, but not to wrenching and not to Chevy trucks (used to have a '98 Tahoe).
Anyhow, I was in the market for an SUV, and found this one Craigslist on May 9th. 2003 Yukon 5.3 FFV SLT AWD with 151k miles on it.
It drove like the SS Minnow on its three hour tour (steering was AWFUL!), check engine light was on, and the 'service stability' message was present. Tires were so worn I was worried about driving it the 20 miles home. But it seemed to run well and shift well, so I thought I would give it a shot. I whittled the guy down to $2500 cash, which I felt was a steal despite the wear items I knew I would have to sink into it.
As it looked when I bought it:
It appeared to have had a leveling kit, which I saw as a bonus. Inside it had a single DIN JVC radio (originally a Bose car) and dark tinted windows. Beyond that, it largely seemed stock.
On my immediate to-do list:
- Replace front steering components (tie rods/ends/ball joints, sway bar end links)
- Replace tires
- Address check engine light
- Address 'Service Stability' message
On the immediate appearance mods:
- New headlights
- New taillights
- Remove side molding
- Black out chrome
The long distance list:
- Paint job to address fading on roof and hood
- Dent repair on lower front passenger door
- Replace rear bumper due to dent
- Replace front seat leather due to wear
So I ordered a bunch of parts, much to the chagrin of my bank account.
The first weekend (5/13/14):
- I replaced all of the worn front end components and added a steering dampener.
- I had an alignment (sprung for the lifetime)
- New headlights
- New taillights
- Check engine light ended up being P0178 and P0179 (flex fuel), so I found the http://www.pointaengineering.com/ sensor cheater and ordered it. I installed it (took about 1 minute) and reset the check engine light. Immediately I noticed it running better, and the aroma of unburnt fuel was gone. Yay!
- New tires - Instead of spending $500+ on new tires, I took to Craigslist determined to find some good used ones already mounted (I have found this to often be cheaper than buying new tires). I found a guy who had a set of 20" rims that were Plasti-dipped black with nearly new tires, so I picked them up.
- Removed side molding - This was a HUGE pain to do and took a good couple of hours with a heat gun and much cursing. The things just crumbled apart despite trying fishing line and all of that good stuff. Finally they were all off and residue was removed. I also removed the Yukon emblems and Plasti-dipped them before returning them to their original spots.
As it is now:
Anyhow, it is starting to be a labor of love, as it is nice being back in a GM truck. The steering is still not 100% where I want it. I may do the steering box adjustment (there feels like some play in it still) and then have it aligned again to see if that helps.
Until next time...
