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

[Rocket Man]

Then I decided to wash, clay bar, and wax with Tri Nova's Liquid Carnuba Wax. It really made it shine. I didn't get too much gunk off with the clay bar but that's probably because I've had so much paint work done and I think the body shop buffed the entire truck last year. Then while I was doing that, my AC belt tensioner showed up so I installed that. The old one was about half as strong as the new one. That should do it as far as belts since the AC belt, serpentine belt, and main tensioner are all new now as well.

 

[Sevenevez]

nice. paint looks great. my ac tensioner looked just as bad and was pretty weak too.

 

[Fosscore]

Never gets old seeing this sweet Denali. So much effort, sweat and accomplishment. Hats of to you man.

Look forward to hearing that cam lope along with the SC hopefully.

Just love the beastly power of this machine and it looks so good too.

Leaving people in the rear view has got to be the biggest rush when they realize the land yacht blew their doors off. Lol

 

[Rocket Man]

Never gets old seeing this sweet Denali. So much effort, sweat and accomplishment. Hats of to you man.

Look forward to hearing that cam lope along with the SC hopefully.

Just love the beastly power of this machine and it looks so good too.

Leaving people in the rear view has got to be the biggest rush when they realize the land yacht blew their doors off. Lol

So a week and a half ago I went to a shop for an estimate to install the cam, oil pump and timing chain. It was a shop that advertised performance upgrades and supposedly had their own dyno. Dude took my number and said he'd call with a price in a day or two. He never called so yesterday I called him and the a-hole said he'd "guess $1500-$1600 since it had a supercharger" even though I'd explained there's 2-3 ways to do the cam without pulling it. Not sure why he mentioned the SC except there is the intercooler to remove which takes 10 minutes. Plus he said he had no idea when he could get to it. So I guess he just didn't want to do it. Yesterday I went to a little shop that I've dealt with in the past and the owner actually wanted to see the blower and was interested in the beast. He said he'd be happy to work up an estimate with just doing the cam or with the cam and chain and oil pump. I think I'll be able to work with him , maybe do a little of it myself. Plus I just sold one of my Harley's yesterday so I have cash! It's taking forever to get my headers too. They said 7-10 business days and that time's about up.

 

[Rocket Man]

I just got a UPS notice- my headers will be here tomorrow! And I just got back from Harbor Freight with a new 3 ton low-profile floor jack that was on sale for $80, and a set of 3 ton jack stands to replace my old stuff. My other floor jack was a 1.5 ton aluminum one that worked OK for smaller jobs but was always weak and too short for the Denali. I would have to add 3 2x's on top and even then it would lift the truck just far enough to pull a wheel, plus it was maxed out on weight. Now this one lifts the wheel 3-4" off the ground without any 2x's needed. So much better!

 

[about20ninj45]

I have the same jack, 4 ton model, just used it to do my oil change yesterday. No complaints as of yet

 

[HiHoeSilver]

I just got a UPS notice- my headers will be here tomorrow! And I just got back from Harbor Freight with a new 3 ton low-profile floor jack that was on sale for $80, and a set of 3 ton jack stands to replace my old stuff. My other floor jack was a 1.5 ton aluminum one that worked OK for smaller jobs but was always weak and too short for the Denali. I would have to add 3 2x's on top and even then it would lift the truck just far enough to pull a wheel, plus it was maxed out on weight. Now this one lifts the wheel 3-4" off the ground without any 2x's needed. So much better!

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Same jack here. Love it. I had a coupon before for the 6 ton stands for $30, so I got those for fun.

 

[95escahoe]

X3 on that jack I've got the same one had it for 2 years no issues


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MadDogDelpho]

I used the non low-profile version for my lift and it did a great job, no issues.

 

[Rocket Man]

The headers came in today. Now I'm wondering if I should leave my AFR sensor like it is now- downstream of the cat on bank 1 with the downstream sensors tuned out. I feel like it's not very accurate but if I add a bung upstream on bank 1 then either I need to buy and install new downstream sensors and have them turned on in the tune or plug them. I have the plugs on hand. Any opinions?

 

[about20ninj45]

I'd you were to move the location, where would you put it?

 

[Rocket Man]

I'd you were to move the location, where would you put it?

There's room in front of the cat in the intermediate pipe.

 

[adventurenali92]

Paint looks awesome!

 

[Rocket Man]

Today it was near 100 degrees and on my commute home traffic was heavy. I noticed my temp starting to climb again so I pulled over and checked the e-fans and they weren't working again. Checked the relays for any signs of overheating but they looked good so I checked the harness fuses and both the 40 amp fuses were blown. Damn. There was an O'reilley's across the way so I replaced them and all was well. I just ordered a pair of 8-gauge 50-amp **** fuse holders and ring terminals so hopefully I can keep this from happening. Damn fans are drawing a lot of power when they're both running.

 

[Rocket Man]

I decided to go ahead and have a second upstream bung added on bank 1 of the headers for my wideband sensor so my AFR readings will be more accurate. Got that welded in today and I tested the exhaust manifold bolts that aren't broken to see if any more would break as I'm trying to remove them and surprisingly they all broke loose. I have 3 broken ones- 2 rear and one front. I have the Dorman clamps on hand to take care of that problem though so I won't need to extract the broken studs in the rear at least since there's no room unless I was to use the welding technique, since I don't weld. The front one I'll try to drill and use an extractor and if I fail I have the clamp. I crawled around under the truck today and measured for the headers and it looks like they'll clear the crossmember but it will be close. These don't have a Y-pipe, they have 2 separate 3" pipes that connect at the stock piece where they go into my double in, single out muffler. Just like the stock Denali system. So my plan is to install the headers tomorrow. I'm a bit nervous but after checking the exhaust bolts I feel better. I just don't want to get into a situation where the heads have to come off obviously, especially with the blower. As far as the downstream O2 sensors, I have 2 new ones ready to install if Blackbear ever gets back to me to say if they'll work ok.

 

[Tonyrodz]

I decided to go ahead and have a second upstream bung added on bank 1 of the headers for my wideband sensor so my AFR readings will be more accurate. Got that welded in today and I tested the exhaust manifold bolts that aren't broken to see if any more would break as I'm trying to remove them and surprisingly they all broke loose. I have 3 broken ones- 2 rear and one front. I have the Dorman clamps on hand to take care of that problem though so I won't need to extract the broken studs in the rear at least since there's no room unless I was to use the welding technique, since I don't weld. The front one I'll try to drill and use an extractor and if I fail I have the clamp. I crawled around under the truck today and measured for the headers and it looks like they'll clear the crossmember but it will be close. These don't have a Y-pipe, they have 2 separate 3" pipes that connect at the stock piece where they go into my double in, single out muffler. Just like the stock Denali system. So my plan is to install the headers tomorrow. I'm a bit nervous but after checking the exhaust bolts I feel better. I just don't want to get into a situation where the heads have to come off obviously, especially with the blower. As far as the downstream O2 sensors, I have 2 new ones ready to install if Blackbear ever gets back to me to say if they'll work ok.

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That's a really sweet setup on those headers. Will those Doorman clamps work on headers?

 

[Rocket Man]

That's a really sweet setup on those headers. Will those Doorman clamps work on headers?

Yep. They just mount into pre-existing bolt holes in the heads and then the ones that hold the flange to the head just thread through the clamps and onto the flange hole in the manifold or header. My header flanges are as thick as the oem ones. Just mount the clamps to the head and then crank down the other bolt until the header is tight.

 

[Rocket Man]

OK I need some advice. I was installing my headers today and of course shit happened as always. I had to remove the oil dipstick tube and of course the old one was rusted in place and broke when I was trying to remove it, leaving a piece in the block where it slides in. I fought like hell and got that rusted pos out and bought a Dorman replacement which didn't want to go in. As I was twisting it and trying to get it in, the end of THAT pos broke off in the hole. But now the headers are in place so it's a real ***** to get to, and as I was trying to use a long lag bolt to try to get ahold of it, it decided to disappear down the friggin' hole. My question is- isn't that piece now in the oil pan? (I drained the oil and tried putting a magnet into the pan through the drain hole but nothing) And if it's in the pan isn't it safe? The sump has a screen that will keep it from picking up something large like that, correct or not? I don't want to have to drop the pan if I don't have to, but if I need to I will. Thanks. I'll post pics of the header install when I'm done. They are installed, I just need to put everything else back together and figure out this damn dipstick. The headers are in the way of the damn thing and it's being a real *****.

 

[Rocket Man]

I decided to update progress so far. I removed the wheels and inner fender liners for access. Here's pics of the old midpipes, removing the old exhaust manifolds and trying to drill a broken bolt on the passenger side and failing. I tried an easy out called Grab-It and it was a failure. I actuallt had a different bolt starting to back out with a pair of vise-grips on the protruding stud but then it broke off. I had no luck at all removing the broken bolt studs so lucky that I prepared by getting the Dorman clamps. I did manage to get the broken dipstick tube out.

 

[Rocket Man]

here's some pics of the passenger header installed with the Dorman clamps in the front and rear which is where the bolts broke; the middle ones came out OK. The last shot is the clearance at the oil pan. These headers were actually pretty amazing to me as to how well they fit. I was nervous, and after measuring and checking I decided it was too close to call if I'd have any problems and decided to trust what ARH told me, that they would fit my Denali. They were right, they cleared everything (the dipstick tube has yet to be determined, I think I'll have to modify it) and both midpipes connected into the stock exhaust just like the originals and used the stock hangers.