Tonyrodz
Resident Resident
Very easy to do. The one I did came with very easy instructions. I have faith in you.
Kbuskill's 2008 Burb LTZ "MOD" Thread
- Thread starter kbuskill
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kbuskill
***CAUTION*** I do my own stunts!
I did not, probably should have, but they didn't look to be much different from the new ones.
They look really good though for nearly 100k miles and out of an engine with this many miles though, right? I was kind of surprised to be honest, although she runs great so I guess I shouldn't be... lol
I find it interesting the variance in the pre set gap from the manufacturers for the same engine. As an example...
The factory calls for .040" yet the Ruthenium plugs come pre gapped at .044" and some of the other plugs come gapped at .063".
I'm not sure why but I assume this wasn't just randomly chosen and there had to be some R&D involved.
***EDIT***
I just went back and looked at the pics on RA, the Bosch plugs showing the .063" gap are the +4 style plugs with 4 ground straps around the outside instead of the traditional style plug. That still doesn't explain the larger gap of the Ruthenium plugs though. Perhaps that is why they advertise them as "High Ignitability" due to the larger gap.
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kbuskill
***CAUTION*** I do my own stunts!
Not any thicker, it is a NOS (New Old Stock) wheel so OEM, it has just been sitting on a shelf somewhere collecting dust until now... lol
It does appear to be more of a flat looking leather without any sheen to it, which I assume is the way the original wheel was when new and the leather kind of got "polished" over the years from use.
Yeah tell me about it. It sucks but it happens.
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swathdiver
Full Access Member
Yes, they do look good. Noticed on mine that the gap had opened up after a couple of years. Maybe that's why GM changed the spec from .060 to .040? People have done dyno runs with different gaps and there's basically no difference or downfall that I remember if roughly within that range.
They say the gap is preset but we always verify and often have 1 or 2 that needs tweaking.
Tonyrodz
Resident Resident
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kbuskill
***CAUTION*** I do my own stunts!
My oldest son went and had a custom set of real deal old school neons made for the Burb, for Father's day, last year. Life has been busy but we finally got them put on the other night.
These run a 7.5K volt transformer.
We had installed LED Underglow a while back but evidently the manufacturers idea of "waterproof" and my idea of waterproof aren't the same. They were ok for a while but eventually they started giving me issues.
LEDs are very directional in the way the distribute light, whereas neon tubes shine a nice glow in every direction.
I think they turned out pretty well.
These first two pics were taken with some kind of "night" setting on my son's phone.
These last two are just regular pics and no fancy settings.
These run a 7.5K volt transformer.
We had installed LED Underglow a while back but evidently the manufacturers idea of "waterproof" and my idea of waterproof aren't the same. They were ok for a while but eventually they started giving me issues.
LEDs are very directional in the way the distribute light, whereas neon tubes shine a nice glow in every direction.
I think they turned out pretty well.
These first two pics were taken with some kind of "night" setting on my son's phone.
These last two are just regular pics and no fancy settings.
Tonyrodz
Resident Resident
Fancy. I remember when this was very popular. If done right the car actually looks like it's floating down the road.
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kbuskill
***CAUTION*** I do my own stunts!
I had new vinyl cut for my new metal door handles and got those put on today.
This mod makes the handles look more like the '15+ door handles.
I had it on the old handles but when I replaced them all recently they were back to plain chrome again.
This mod makes the handles look more like the '15+ door handles.
I had it on the old handles but when I replaced them all recently they were back to plain chrome again.
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kbuskill
***CAUTION*** I do my own stunts!
So the 305/40/22 Michelin Defenders finally wore down enough at 80k miles for me to replace them.
I was previously 4/6 dropped and running 285/40/22s with no rubbing issues to speak of.
When I installed the 305s they rubbed quite a bit so I lifted the truck back up to a 2/4 drop on TBSS air bags out back hooked to my auto leveling compressor, because I really enjoy having the auto leveling feature.
I went with the 305 Michelin for financial reasons. The closest size I could find to the 285/40 in a Michelin was a 295/40 but they were $462 each as opposed to the 305/40 at $231 each... which is why I went with the 305s, not thinking the extra width would be that much of an issue.
Well, this time I went with a 275/45/22 Michelin Defender LTX MS2, so I dropped the ol' girl back down to a 4/6.
I wanted to keep the auto leveling rear, as I always have, so I decided this time to figure out a way to install dual shocks in the rear so I could run the KYB Monomax shocks to keep the rebound in check while still keeping an air shock for the auto leveling compressor.
Now most of you are probably thinking, why not just get an air shock that is specific to a Suburban so the dampening and rebound valving would be commensurate to the weight of the truck, and you would be right if this were stock height or even slightly lowered. But we are talking about a 6 inch drop so I need shorter shocks.
The last time I ran Tony's (NorcalSS) 6" springs in the rear with an air shock that has the same extended/collapsed length as the Belltech drop shocks. The problem is the shocks that fit this criteria are for the back of a 1963 Lincoln Continental and while they ride fine under most conditions, they had a terrible time trying to keep a repetitive oscillating type bounce out of the rear end, like when I would go over a certain bridge around here. The ol' girl looked like a hoopty bouncing down the road and that is no Bueno.
So this time I decided two shocks, one for lift and one for the control.
I ended up running a KYB Monomax that is for the front of a Squarebody Suburban because it has the same dimensions as the Belltech drop shocks and then ran air shocks for the back end of a 1963 Corvette because they are the shortest air shock I am aware of. (As a side note I used these same air shocks on the back of my wife's motorcycle when I built her air ride)
Without further rambling here are a couple pics of the rear shocks setup now...
I bought rear shocks extenders for an '88-'98 Silverado and installed them up top to give me a second upper shock mount and then I used the original lower shock mount since my truck already has the extended lower shock mount from the lowering kit.
It seems to work OK, I was hoping I could rotate the upper mount up more but the body is pretty close to the frame and on the passenger side I had to maintain clearance on my rear A/C hard lines so I ended up clearancing the bracket a little on that side.
If I could have got more rotation upward on the upper bracket I would have had more selection for air shock length, but over all I am happy with the outcome.
I am currently waiting on some 6" drop springs to arrive. Right now I am riding on a set of stock springs, from a '90's model Chevy Lumina APV (minivan), that a buddy of mine found in his attic. I trimmed 1 of the small tight coils off the end and they provide about a 5"-5.5" drop on the Burb. The problem is I don't care for the ride quality as they are smaller diameter wire and when under the weight of the truck the coils only have about 3/4"- 1" between them so when you hit bumps it almost feels like you are bottoming out on your shocks or something.
I also installed a Yukon Gear differential cover because I like the idea of having a drain and fill plug. It is heavy duty since it is made of nodular iron. It does clear the aftermarket adjustable panhard bar but it is close.
Went ahead and serviced the rear end with Lucas Full synthetic 75W90 gear oil and sealed it up with a Lubelocker gasket.
I also purchased stainless braided brake hoses for the four corners but haven't installed those yet. I am still trying to find a resource for the two center brake hoses (truck has Stabilitrac) in stainless braided. Also bought new poly sway bar bushings for front bar to frame and rear bar to axle locations but haven't installed those yet either.
We did replace all the front upper and lower control arms and tie rod ends under Moogs lifetime warranty, not because I had any real issues but because it had been 5 years and 80k miles and I didn't want to chance wearing out new Michelin tires.
Out of all those parts, the lower ball joints were the only thing to really show signs of wear. No pics of the boring stuff... lol
I was previously 4/6 dropped and running 285/40/22s with no rubbing issues to speak of.
When I installed the 305s they rubbed quite a bit so I lifted the truck back up to a 2/4 drop on TBSS air bags out back hooked to my auto leveling compressor, because I really enjoy having the auto leveling feature.
I went with the 305 Michelin for financial reasons. The closest size I could find to the 285/40 in a Michelin was a 295/40 but they were $462 each as opposed to the 305/40 at $231 each... which is why I went with the 305s, not thinking the extra width would be that much of an issue.
Well, this time I went with a 275/45/22 Michelin Defender LTX MS2, so I dropped the ol' girl back down to a 4/6.
I wanted to keep the auto leveling rear, as I always have, so I decided this time to figure out a way to install dual shocks in the rear so I could run the KYB Monomax shocks to keep the rebound in check while still keeping an air shock for the auto leveling compressor.
Now most of you are probably thinking, why not just get an air shock that is specific to a Suburban so the dampening and rebound valving would be commensurate to the weight of the truck, and you would be right if this were stock height or even slightly lowered. But we are talking about a 6 inch drop so I need shorter shocks.
The last time I ran Tony's (NorcalSS) 6" springs in the rear with an air shock that has the same extended/collapsed length as the Belltech drop shocks. The problem is the shocks that fit this criteria are for the back of a 1963 Lincoln Continental and while they ride fine under most conditions, they had a terrible time trying to keep a repetitive oscillating type bounce out of the rear end, like when I would go over a certain bridge around here. The ol' girl looked like a hoopty bouncing down the road and that is no Bueno.
So this time I decided two shocks, one for lift and one for the control.
I ended up running a KYB Monomax that is for the front of a Squarebody Suburban because it has the same dimensions as the Belltech drop shocks and then ran air shocks for the back end of a 1963 Corvette because they are the shortest air shock I am aware of. (As a side note I used these same air shocks on the back of my wife's motorcycle when I built her air ride)
Without further rambling here are a couple pics of the rear shocks setup now...
I bought rear shocks extenders for an '88-'98 Silverado and installed them up top to give me a second upper shock mount and then I used the original lower shock mount since my truck already has the extended lower shock mount from the lowering kit.
It seems to work OK, I was hoping I could rotate the upper mount up more but the body is pretty close to the frame and on the passenger side I had to maintain clearance on my rear A/C hard lines so I ended up clearancing the bracket a little on that side.
If I could have got more rotation upward on the upper bracket I would have had more selection for air shock length, but over all I am happy with the outcome.
I am currently waiting on some 6" drop springs to arrive. Right now I am riding on a set of stock springs, from a '90's model Chevy Lumina APV (minivan), that a buddy of mine found in his attic. I trimmed 1 of the small tight coils off the end and they provide about a 5"-5.5" drop on the Burb. The problem is I don't care for the ride quality as they are smaller diameter wire and when under the weight of the truck the coils only have about 3/4"- 1" between them so when you hit bumps it almost feels like you are bottoming out on your shocks or something.
I also installed a Yukon Gear differential cover because I like the idea of having a drain and fill plug. It is heavy duty since it is made of nodular iron. It does clear the aftermarket adjustable panhard bar but it is close.
Went ahead and serviced the rear end with Lucas Full synthetic 75W90 gear oil and sealed it up with a Lubelocker gasket.
I also purchased stainless braided brake hoses for the four corners but haven't installed those yet. I am still trying to find a resource for the two center brake hoses (truck has Stabilitrac) in stainless braided. Also bought new poly sway bar bushings for front bar to frame and rear bar to axle locations but haven't installed those yet either.
We did replace all the front upper and lower control arms and tie rod ends under Moogs lifetime warranty, not because I had any real issues but because it had been 5 years and 80k miles and I didn't want to chance wearing out new Michelin tires.
Out of all those parts, the lower ball joints were the only thing to really show signs of wear. No pics of the boring stuff... lol
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guy from norcal
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Very nice, Love the rear diff cover. Might look into one myself.
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kbuskill
***CAUTION*** I do my own stunts!
Installed Stainless braided brake hoses at all 4 corners and flushed the old fluid out replaced by fresh DOT 4. Brakes definitely feel firmer than before.
I haven't been successful at finding the 2 frame to axle hoses in Stainless braided. My truck has 2 because it has Stabilitrac. I read on here where Goodrich makes some for the GMT800 but they appeared to leak when someone tried to install them on the GMT900.
If anyone know where to get those 2 hoses in SS please let me know.
Also installed poly bushing on the front and rear sway bars.
No pics because everyone has seen this stuff before... lol
I haven't been successful at finding the 2 frame to axle hoses in Stainless braided. My truck has 2 because it has Stabilitrac. I read on here where Goodrich makes some for the GMT800 but they appeared to leak when someone tried to install them on the GMT900.
If anyone know where to get those 2 hoses in SS please let me know.
Also installed poly bushing on the front and rear sway bars.
No pics because everyone has seen this stuff before... lol
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kbuskill
***CAUTION*** I do my own stunts!
Picked up a 2nd row center console at the U-pull it the other day for $27... it came out of a Tahoe so I hope it fits my Burb. These go for like $600 when you can find them on Ebay.
Also went to the exhaust shop the other day and had them move the tail pipe back out the side instead of straight out the back because we have a big trip coming up at the end of the year and I will have a hitch carrier with a couple 5 gallon cans of gas on it and I didn't want to take the chance of the exhaust being a problem.
Had them stick a dual tip on it this time.
I may take it back and get the tips rotated so they point more towards the ground... it was really hard to tell what they were going to look like when it was up on the lift. I like the tips though.
Also went to the exhaust shop the other day and had them move the tail pipe back out the side instead of straight out the back because we have a big trip coming up at the end of the year and I will have a hitch carrier with a couple 5 gallon cans of gas on it and I didn't want to take the chance of the exhaust being a problem.
Had them stick a dual tip on it this time.
I may take it back and get the tips rotated so they point more towards the ground... it was really hard to tell what they were going to look like when it was up on the lift. I like the tips though.
Fosscore
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Nice score on the center console.
I approve of the exhaust tips and placement. Looks great!
I approve of the exhaust tips and placement. Looks great!
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kbuskill
***CAUTION*** I do my own stunts!
Thanks, I'm not 100% sold on placement just yet... it seems to depend on the viewing angle. Some angles it looks great, other angles it seems to hang down too far.... I guess we shall see.
Fosscore
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Here are some pics when my tips were put on, while it was being welded on. Maybe give you some more comparison reference. And a few other pics attached too.
Fosscore's 2013 Suburban LTZ Build Thread
Had a dual slant exhaust tip welded on. Same style as I put on the NBS. Local shop had their veteran handle the job with zero effort for the old boy. He eyeballed the fit, cut it, hit it with the grinder, climbed up on the lift as we chatted about the exit and vertical angle to the quarter...
www.tahoeyukonforum.com
@kbuskill are those 1950s style blue dots in the tail lights?
Yes they are foss…. Kenny be old….
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kbuskill
***CAUTION*** I do my own stunts!
They are indeed, although I had to get creative since the tail lights have LED bulbs.
If you were to use the old school Blue dots with LED bulbs they wouldn't really work properly due to the red light being canceled by the blue lens. Blue dots work with standard incandescent bulbs because they block out all of the other light waves except the blue ones... obviously with a red LED there are no blue waves so all the light is canceled by the blue lens. If you used a "white" LED it would make the light coming through the red lens of the tail light very pink looking.
To get around all of this I installed Blue LED "penny lights" in the tail lights and wired them to some resistors and a diode to get a lower brightness with the parking/running lights and a high brightness when the brake lights are on, effectively creating a "dual filament" Blue dot.
Here is a video showing them in action...
I think the "purple haze" effect is a pretty good mimic of the original Blue dots.
I know that was a long answer just to say yes... lol
Also, I moved the turn signals up into the reverse light position and made the original turn signal position into additional brake lights.
The reverse lights are still fully functional as well.
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kbuskill
***CAUTION*** I do my own stunts!
Very true... when I was born I was 40... lolYes they are foss…. Kenny be old….
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kbuskill
***CAUTION*** I do my own stunts!
Went back to the exhaust shop today.
My 3 chamber Magnaflow muffler developed a rattle at certain RPMs, like when backing out of my driveway, a while ago.
It supposedly has a "Lifetime Warranty".
The problem is Magnaflow discontinued production of this muffler and basically told me I was out of luck... no offer of replacing with a different muffler or a discount or anything... pretty crappy in my opinion so needless to say I will not be spending my money with Magnaflow in the future... customer service sucks.
So after moving the muffler a little further forward to make room for the resonator that normally resides behind the exhaust tips the other day to make room for the new dual tip I had put on, the muffler now rattles more, especially when cold starting until the exhaust warms up.
So that forced my hand and I went back and had the Magnaflow 3 chamber muffler removed and installed two Flowmaster 40 series mufflers back to back/inline to try and mimic the sound of the 3 chamber muffler that was there before. I guess technically it is now like a 4 chamber muffler since each 40 series is a dual chamber muffler.
The sound is similar but I think it is a little deeper tone.
To clarify the exhaust consists of JBA shorty headers, no cats, then two 40 series Flowmaster mufflers and the factory resonator, then tailpipe and dual tips.
I also had them redo the tips to roll them down towards the ground a bit more as I felt like at certain angles they seemed to hang down too far.
My 3 chamber Magnaflow muffler developed a rattle at certain RPMs, like when backing out of my driveway, a while ago.
It supposedly has a "Lifetime Warranty".
The problem is Magnaflow discontinued production of this muffler and basically told me I was out of luck... no offer of replacing with a different muffler or a discount or anything... pretty crappy in my opinion so needless to say I will not be spending my money with Magnaflow in the future... customer service sucks.
So after moving the muffler a little further forward to make room for the resonator that normally resides behind the exhaust tips the other day to make room for the new dual tip I had put on, the muffler now rattles more, especially when cold starting until the exhaust warms up.
So that forced my hand and I went back and had the Magnaflow 3 chamber muffler removed and installed two Flowmaster 40 series mufflers back to back/inline to try and mimic the sound of the 3 chamber muffler that was there before. I guess technically it is now like a 4 chamber muffler since each 40 series is a dual chamber muffler.
The sound is similar but I think it is a little deeper tone.
To clarify the exhaust consists of JBA shorty headers, no cats, then two 40 series Flowmaster mufflers and the factory resonator, then tailpipe and dual tips.
I also had them redo the tips to roll them down towards the ground a bit more as I felt like at certain angles they seemed to hang down too far.
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