Rocket Man's 02 Denali Build Thread AKA "THE BEAST"

[Rocket Man]

I have to do an EGR delete so I started trying to remove the 2 bolts that were in the exhaust manifold. I knew they were going to break even though I hit them with PB Blaster for days prior. I bought an EGR bypass kit but all I need is the one oval cap and gasket. then after removing all the electrical connectors and a few hoses and misc stuff I got the intake manifold off.

 

[Rocket Man]

Here's a couple shots with the manifold off and you can see it's going to be easy to replace the oil pressure sender. There was a bracket with a bolt in the very back of the driver side head that was a real ***** to get off but Whipple said it had to go. It was all I could do to get it off. I figured out what the instructions said about the purge solenoid hose that goes to the evap tank. I couldn't see where the OE plastic hose went until I removed the intake manifold. There is a fitting behind the engine, down the firewall, that the quick connect snapped onto and that hose will go to the rear outlet on the purge solenoid. This was NOT clear in the instructions. And it was not visible even with an inspection mirror until the manifold was off. The belt tensioner is another item that won't be going back on.

 

[Tonyrodz]

I'm excited and it's not even mine!

 

[Fosscore]

^^This. Living vicariously. Can certainly appreciate your tenacity. Love the updates.

 

[Rocket Man]

I pulled the water pump. They supplied a new 07-12 Gates pump as an upgrade and an AC Delco 160 degree thermostat and housing as well as a Gates 07-12 upper radiator hose. I pulled the knock sensors and of course they were filled with water and junk. The pic shows the water level on the rear, almost 1/2" up the side of it. And here's how easy it is to replace an oil pressure sender with the manifold off! I cleaned the valley after pulling the cover.

 

[Rocket Man]

I'm excited and it's not even mine!

^^This. Living vicariously. Can certainly appreciate your tenacity. Love the updates.

Thanks guys. I was pretty nervous before I started this. It's been a long time since I've done anything even close to this, plus it's my only vehicle except Harleys and I don't think my work tools will fit on my bagger so this HAS to work!

 

[Tonyrodz]

Thanks guys. I was pretty nervous before I started this. It's been a long time since I've done anything even close to this, plus it's my only vehicle except Harleys and I don't think my work tools will fit on my bagger so this HAS to work!

I'm sure you'll have that baby purring like a kitten!

 

[Rocket Man]

With the valley cover off, I took a couple close-up shots of the cam and it looks great. I took a break to look at what a mess I had going on. This is only part of it, a lot of stuff has been removed from the area. I have now replaced the valley cover gasket, knock sensors, and oil pressure sending unit. Those knock sensors aren't going to leak now. I cleaned with denatured alcohol and then used a commercial grade of Dow Corning silicone that we use at work, made especially for bonding rubber or vinyl to metals. Take that, water!

 

[Rocket Man]

I want to do a shout-out to BlackBear Performance, the ones I trust with my cash and my truck. I purchased the Autocal as well as the Whipple from them. There's a reason I got the Whipple from these guys. Today I had no less than 3 email threads going on the same time from them as well as a PM thread and postings in my build thread from Jenna. Unbelievable support at a time when I was afraid Whipple had sent me some wrong parts and I was going to have to abort the project this weekend, and I had already scheduled next Monday off from work. That would have been very bad if I had to wait. So , yeah, a shout-out to everybody @BlackBearPerf !

 

[Tonyrodz]

With the valley cover off, I took a couple close-up shots of the cam and it looks great. I took a break to look at what a mess I had going on. This is only part of it, a lot of stuff has been removed from the area. I have now replaced the valley cover gasket, knock sensors, and oil pressure sending unit. Those knock sensors aren't going to leak now. I cleaned with denatured alcohol and then used a commercial grade of Dow Corning silicone that we use at work, made especially for bonding rubber or vinyl to metals. Take that, water!

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Is that ever gonna be able to come off if you need to get back in there?