Back from the dead 2007 Tahoe 2wd LT

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Leevon

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This is a thread to track progress on the resurrection of this worn out old 'hoe. I bought it for the challenge and because I can't stand to see a good Tahoe go to the graveyard. As long as it doesn't blow up my son will be driving it in a couple of months when he turns 16. It's a 2007 2wd LT with 258,000 miles. It had one owner for the first 250,000 miles and I'm sure they took care of it for awhile but stopped giving a rip at some point. I paid $5,000 and felt like that was high by at least $1,000 but I wanted it because 1) 2wd and 2) Bermuda Blue. On the test drive it was missing at idle, the whole dash was lit up and I could feel a bad motor mount and the shocks and struts were obviously worn out. It looked like it had not been washed in a year so I really couldn't see the paint condition. On the plus side, it's not rusty, the interior is fairly clean considering (no smoke, rips or tears and smells like a real Christmas tree). The tires and brakes were passable and it randomly has a sunroof option lol. Plus it's a Tahoe so everything is fixable. I am going to start with some photos, then go on to mechanical issues then clean-up of the interior and exterior.

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Leevon

Leevon

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Alright, so here's the mechanical list so far. After taking care of the big stuff it drove pretty nice. It doesn't hesitate or miss, transmission shifts nicely. Smooth at highway speeds up to 80mph, no vibrations or pulls. I have spent $636 in mechanical parts so far.

- Good news; Front end is tight and the ball joints have been replaced, tie rods are good and wheel bearings are tight and quiet (for now). The brakes are decent.

- Check engine light; P0300 random misfire, P0449 evap vent, P0522 engine oil pressure circuit, and a host of body control module codes. High mis-fire counts on cylinders #4 and #7 which are the primary DOD cylinders. We found the plugs and wires were ancient, new AC Delco sets took care of the misfire for now. Oily build-up on the plugs indicates she's an oil-burner we'll just have to watch and see how much she's consuming. Installed a new evap vent canister and conversion harness, someone had done this before and it was a hack job. Also replaced the gas cap which was came off in two pieces. I don't understand how someone would fail to address this, it's a $15 part and will keep the check engine light on for evap large leak. We found the oil pressure sending unit un-plugged, its bad but the engine has good oil pressure. So I'm going to drive it, make sure it's strong and then replace the sending unit then. Oil change was overdue. Engine air filter was filthy, replaced. Also did an air and fuel induction service which is like an injector and top end cleaning.

- Engine mount driver's side was bad, easy on a 2wd, done.

- SRS (airbag) light on, replaced left front impact sensor. Ouch that hurt $. OEM only here though!

-Transmission oil cooler lines were poorly repaired (spliced) and leaking so new AC Delco lines installed.

- Engine oil cooler block-off was leaking, replaced the gasket. Rear main seal and oil pan are likely leaking, but I will be monitoring them since the block-off gasket had everything wet. Valve cover gaskets have build-up but not dripping yet, may address soon.

- Fuel tank is seeping from the top. Hopefully it's the pump seal but it could be anything we'll have to drop the tank and see.

- Obviously we haven't gotten to do the preventative stuff yet like belts, hoses, fluids, etc. but I do plan on it. I want to make sure she'll live first. Baby steps.

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Leevon

Leevon

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I am going to strip the interior this weekend down to the bare floor. Anything that is dirty will be cleaned, anything worn or broken will be replaced. The big items are the steering wheel (nasty), driver's seat bottom and console lid. New steering wheels are the #1 way to make a vehicle feel new from the driver's seat for me. I bought the durofoam seat bottom replacement, and the cloth cover itself is nice enough to re-use. A new console cover came with the truck, but the foam underlay is bad so I had to order another lid to work with. I also bought a trim stapler to do this job as well as re-attaching the seat back pocket.

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Leevon

Leevon

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Here are some of the exterior parts I have ordered. The underbody shield is already on, the old one was shot. Short term; planning to remove the roof rack and door trim, replace headlights, door handles and front bowtie, plus a two-stage paint correction. The door handles are all peeling, but I found all four bermuda blue take-offs on Ebay. Oddly I also found a full set of bermuda blue door trim so I am considering replacing it maybe. Interestingly when I bought it I thought the wheels were roached. But when I got a closer look, they look like new painted silver reproduction 20's just with nasty old caps. So that's a bonus.

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Sparksalot

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Here are some of the exterior parts I have ordered. The underbody shield is already on, the old one was shot. Short term; planning to remove the roof rack and door trim, replace headlights, door handles and front bowtie, plus a two-stage paint correction. The door handles are all peeling, but I found all four bermuda blue take-offs on Ebay. Oddly I also found a full set of bermuda blue door trim so I am considering replacing it maybe. Interestingly when I bought it I thought the wheels were roached. But when I got a closer look, they look like new painted silver reproduction 20's just with nasty old caps. So that's a bonus.

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Is that the aluminum skid plate?
 
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Leevon

Leevon

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No, it's just thick plastic. It's not really a skid plate as much as a shield. I'm not sure about the z71 Tahoes but I think they're plastic too. They crack at the four bolts and mine was just barely hanging on.
 
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