Bringing a 2001 'Burb back from the Dead

[Tylus]

Paid $300 for a 2001 Suburban LT with 282,000 miles. Runs, drives, and has ice cold AC!

Previous guy had parked it due to blown brake line. And at some point he left the moonroof open due to it refusing to shut. So interior got super wet and mold/mildew set in.

It looks ugly inside and stinks. But every single widget/electronics work. This is to document the repairs and other stuff I do to it.

Comments/Suggestions are welcome.

Drivetrain:

1. Change fluids
2. Magnaflow #13259 Muffler
3. Leave alone otherwise
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Suspension:

1. Crank the torsion bars for about 1" up front
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Interior:

1. Maglite Mount
2. New(er) seats
​

Exterior:

1. 2014+ style tow mirrors
2. Bull Bar
3. Backup Lights
4. Foglights
5. Driving lights on Bull Bar
6. HD hood
​

Repairs:

1. Gut the interior and kill the mold - DONE
2. Pressure wash interior - DONE
3. Replace all the brake lines
4. Rust repair rear rockers and bedliner
5. Fix moonroof - DONE
​

More will occur to me. But for now that's a decent list.

 

[Tylus]

getting it home

 

[Tylus]

Interior Removal, and nastiness revealed. looks like someone had a dog

 

[05Single]

Damn , 300 well spent. super clean exterior, but that might be the worst looking I've ever seen in one of these trucks. Got some work ahead of ya.

 

[swathdiver]

You can probably buy a twin with a blown engine for about the same $$ and use its interior.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Great score.

 

[OneofFew]

For the brake lines I would recommend easybend Nicop lines. I would not mess with steel.

 

[Tylus]

Soaked carpet with Purple Power and then pressure washed everything. I'm happy with results

Cab looks like its brand new. Not 17yrs old!

I should be able to use all the seats even. Obviously a cover for the drivers until I get a replacement

 

[Tylus]

All seats are mold free now. This seat needs some love

 

[Tonyrodz]

Soaked carpet with Purple Power and then pressure washed everything. I'm happy with results

Cab looks like its brand new. Not 17yrs old!

I should be able to use all the seats even. Obviously a cover for the drivers until I get a replacement

View attachment 206582 View attachment 206583 View attachment 206584 View attachment 206585 View attachment 206586

Make sure you put some conditioner on the leather seats, if not they'll crack asap and get hard.

 

[Tylus]

For the brake lines I would recommend easybend Nicop lines. I would not mess with steel.

The prior owner gave me a full replacement set of stainless brake lines actually.

I normally custom bend my own from nicu lines, but these will do nicely since they're already prebent. have about 20' laying around from another project. So I'm prepared if need be lol. Excuse the mess, I moved last week and the garage hasn't recovered yet

 

[Tylus]

Making some progress. Interior is clean and smells good now. The carpets have permanent stains from 17yrs and dogs...but I dont feel the need for a bath now after touching them. My shop vac is utterly full of dog hair. Think German Shepherd

I am still going to get a seat cover for the drivers seat. Maybe. I found replacement seats for $100 each up front, and someone has middle buckets for $50

Cool fact, the carpet is backed with a waterproof membrane

 

[Tylus]

I am beyond angry at GM/Chevy at the moment. What moron decided to put the ABS module by the t-case?

Every single brake line on this rig is rotted out. Due to the lovely ABS module location, they were all equally exposed to salt and are all broken. EVERY SINGLE ONE, and at the same stinking stupid location!

Instead of simply routing new lines, I am having to fish out these idiotically, and utterly complicated old brake lines from the frame rails (passenger front is under radiator...WTF?). And then re-route the new stainless line to the damn module.


Good idea Chevy!

Giving serious though to relocating the ABS module to the drivers fender. Passenger Front is going to be ran across top of rad (but under plastic flashing). I refuse to pull all of that apart

 

[73impala]

Interested to see this finish.

 

[Tylus]

was fiddling with her today and had the AC running...and the compressor locked up. yay! Thought it had caught on fire at first. Guess sitting for a bit and the high miles was too much.

Think I'm going to re-attempt brake lines tomorrow while the storm rolls in. Weather is supposed to be a bit warmer

 

[Tylus]

Got the stainless steel brake lines installed. What a fight.

Did 2 things my own way.
1. Wasnt going to take rad out, so I routed the front right up and over (see pics)
2. I ended up fishing the rear main line along the frame rail like it's supposed to be. Someone in the past had run a NICU line over the gas tank.

I need to hardcore bleed the system. Pressurize the master with 5-10 lbs of air and have fun. Wish me luck, will attempt after the hurricane rains ease up

 

[Tylus]

hard and soft brake lines are all replaced. Went to bleed the brakes and I can't get a single bleeder to come loose. Both rear ones snapped flush with the caliper. Fronts are just tiny rusted remnants

I spent around 1 hr trying to weld build-up on the bleeder. I was able to weld a nut on 2x. But each time the weld material failed and the nut popped off. That bleeder is on there good.

To access the rear axle lines, I had to cut the spare tire out. it's the original Firestone from 2001...the one they were recalling. Wonder if Firestone will honor a warranty replacement of it? lol

per my usual shopping method, I got on Facebook Marketplace and found new front calipers, rotors, and brake pads for $100. They're Duralast, but it was 1/3 the price of buying from Autozone. Trying to find another good deal locally before I fork over $120 for new rear calipers

 

[Tylus]

My $100 score. Now to get lucky and find rears

 

[swathdiver]

Impressive! While GMs design on the ABS is driving you nuts, the interior materials and build quality are top notch. I think those GMT800s were built the best.

 

[Rocket Man]

That’s the worst seat Ive seen yet!