Growing up doesn't have to suck

[05Single]

Nice work . Did the same on my Tahoe. Then I used a pair for footwell lights for the 2nd row. So much better and convenient it’s crazy.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Did a little something today. A Jeep buddy sent me pics of some LEDs he bought to mount in the hatch of his wife's XJ. This reminded me of some similar projector LED pods I had left over from a project years ago. I figured I could put 'em to use as some downlights for the cargo hatch on the Tahoe.

I don't know the wattage, but I tested them prior and decided they'd be plenty bright enough for the purpose:

View attachment 232695

I mounted the lights and ran the wiring along the factory harness, taping it with 3M Super33+ every 6" or less:

View attachment 232698


I tucked about 12" of slack under the jute padding near each light so I'd have slack should I ever need to replace a light:

View attachment 232697


Soldered and heat-shrinked all connections:

View attachment 232696

Eagle Eyes?

 

[89Suburban]

I just did something like this but I used an extra boat stern light housing I had laying around with a bright ass LED in it. Mainly for lighting up the tow hitch area so I can hook my boat up at night. Nice in stall there sir.

 

[89Suburban]

Here is my redneck setup.

 

[Rocket Man]

View attachment 232796 View attachment 232797 View attachment 232798 Here is my redneck setup.

 

[iamdub]

Replaced the stock 80-lb. trash can of a muffler with an AP Exhaust XS1259.

Made some comparison vids. Slow rev to limiter (4,000 RPM, I think) then a few WOT blasts to limiter.

Before:

After:

Honestly, it's much less aggressive than what I wanted. With the muffler being about a 1/4 the size of the stock one and almost straight through, I expected it to be louder. My best description is that it's basically the stock note/tone, but with the volume turned up one or two clicks. Comparing the videos, the XS actually sounds quieter. It's definitely louder, but deeper. Very smooth and mellow. Maybe the camera recorded the sound differently? The sound it gives off seems to cancel out the growl from the MIT. When cruising, it sounds almost 100% stock and you can barely hear a deep rumble coming from behind you. It's definitely noticeable when you mash on it, but it's still not as aggressive as I was hoping for. I'm gonna run it and see if it changes it's tone with age. It may end up being perfect after the packing gets a little clogged and with catless long tubes. If not, I can easily switch to a chambered style like that Jones one @kbuskill has.

Made a "1 year and 23 minutes later" comparison video. I only listened to the two back-to-back one time, but I didn't detect much difference in the sound. It definitely started sounding better inside the cabin after a few hundred miles. As of this video, the muffler has just under 6,000 miles on it.

 

[adventurenali92]

Sounds great!

 

[Sam Harris]

Sounds great!

X2!

 

[Rocket Man]

Sounds great!

X3

 

[iamdub]

Sounds great!

X2!

X3

Thanks guys!

 

[Tonyrodz]

Made a "1 year and 23 minutes later" comparison video. I only listened to the two back-to-back one time, but I didn't detect much difference in the sound. It definitely started sounding better inside the cabin after a few hundred miles. As of this video, the muffler has just under 6,000 miles on it.

Still sounds good, and still loving the declads

 

[iamdub]

Still sounds good, and still loving the declads

Thank ya! I'm itching to lower it but I think I should wait until after I delete the AFM. I'm pretty sure the declads will be satin black really soon after it's lowered.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Thank ya! I'm itching to lower it but I think I should wait until after I delete the AFM. I'm pretty sure the declads will be satin black really soon after it's lowered.

Personally, I like the natural aluminum color. Gotta see them in satin black.

 

[iamdub]

Personally, I like the natural aluminum color. Gotta see them in satin black.

I do, too. But black would better fit the sporty/racey theme I'm picturing in my head, especially since I de-chromed it.

 

[Sam Harris]

Thank ya! I'm itching to lower it but I think I should wait until after I delete the AFM. I'm pretty sure the declads will be satin black really soon after it's lowered.

Noooooo!! They look perfect as is.

 

[Rocket Man]

I vote black on the declads.

 

[iamdub]

I vote black on the declads.

And when I'm ready to swing back a little towards classiness, I wanna step it up to 22" Denali reps in gloss black. Maybe you'll be tired of yours on The Beast around that time?

 

[iamdub]

Noooooo!! They look perfect as is.

I expect to get that, Derek.

 

[Rocket Man]

And when I'm ready to swing back a little towards classiness, I wanna step it up to 22" Denali reps in gloss black. Maybe you'll be tired of yours on The Beast around that time?

Who knows? They were originally meant to be my Winter rims. I wish Id just went with 24’s, a compromise.

 

[iamdub]

Did a full brake job.

The front pads were worn to the squealer tabs and rotors were worn so much they had a ridge about 2mm high around the outer edges. I'm really disappointed in the cryo-tempered StopTech rotors. Maybe the Hawk LTS pads are too aggressive for them? Oh well, I got 50K miles out of them. I kept my original front rotors so I just had them resurfaced since they had plenty left above the minimum thickness spec. The rear pads still had a decent amount of life left, but I wanted them all to be new and matching. I pulled the rear rotors Tuesday evening to drop them off Wednesday to get resurfaced. Behind both rotors, I found the brake dust caked and wet around the seals. It hadn't gotten to the emergency brake shoes. So I added new axle seals to the job, which also meant a rear diff fluid change. I bought new bearings, but didn't change them since I found the current ones had been replaced before with good, USA-made pieces ("National" brand, and the same as what I bought) and had no detectable slack. I returned them to save the $93. I flushed the system through all calipers until the fluid coming out was as clear as the fresh fluid in the reservoir. I also cleaned and re-greased the caliper slide pins and greased all moving contact points with synthetic brake grease.

I started on it all Wednesday night after work around 8:00 and finished around 4:30 Thursday morning. Parts list is as follows:

Front pads: ACDelco 14D1092CH Ceramic, with stainless retaining clips, $23.79 from Amazon

Rear pads: ACDelco 14D1194CH Ceramic, with stainless retaining clips, $25.77 from Amazon

Front rotors: Stock resurfaced, $28.00 at local mechanic shop

Rear rotors: Stock resurfaced, $28.00 at local mechanic shop

Front drag-reduction clips: ACDelco 18K1025SS, $12.70 from RockAuto

Rear drag-reduction clips: Raybestos H6027, $4.56 from Amazon

Brake fluid: Valvoline synthetic DOT 3 & 4, $7.25 (x2) at Advance Auto

Rear gear oil: Mobil1 Synthetic 75W-90, $14.29 (x2) at Advance Auto

Axle seals: National 4762N, $7.69 (x2) at O'Reilly Auto

Rear diff cover gasket: Fel-Pro RDS55031, $14.29 at O'Reilly Auto

Total: $208.76


I went for a drive Friday evening to bed in the brakes. I did a fluid flush during the last brake job 50K miles ago and the fluid coming out wasn't all that bad, so I didn't expect much difference in pedal feel other than what the ceramics would bring. I did notice slightly more response and, of course, no squealing and no shaking/bucking when stopping. It's no performance braking system, but it's all I was aiming for this time around to scratch an item off my to-do list. Actually, it scratches off two items since the rear diff oil got replaced.