Pilot's '02 4x4 Tahoe build

[Tonyrodz]

Here's a video I put together of the before and after.

It's coming along nicely. Looks really good.

 

[73impala]

Looks good, I dig it.

 

[Rocket Man]

Seat covers arrived from The Seat Shop. While I don't have any problem with these covers per se, the reason I chose to go with The Seat Shop is because of their comparison video where they pointed out all of these issues with their competitor's covers.. well the covers they sent me look just like their competitor covers in the video! WTF?

I haven't installed the seat covers yet and they look fine, but I think Rocket Man might be right. The Seat Shop just seem to be dishonest. Don't think I'll order from them again. I'll try Richmond Auto Upholstery next time.

By the way, most of these upholstery shops only sell the driver's side replacement cushion, which I ordered. But I also ordered a replacement cushion for the passenger's side, which I had to get from gmpartsonline.net (the black cushion in the photos). The driver's side feels a little softer to the touch than the passenger's side, but I think they're going to feel about the same once installed. I'll update with photos after that's done, but here are the photos of just the cushions and covers.

Driver's side
View attachment 191848 View attachment 191849

Passenger's side
View attachment 191846
View attachment 191847

Covers
View attachment 191850

Man I’ve been dealing with Richmond lately and I’ve come to the conclusion they’re ALL dishonest. I replaced the driver side bottom last week with the free warranty replacement they sent me and discovered the center portion, what you sit on, on the one that failed was friggin vinyl. The cover they originally sold me only had 2 small parts that were leather, the pieces on the sides of the center. I called them and they said their ad stated that the leather for that color on the 02 Denali wasn’t available anymore and they used vinyl, but they have since started using “Ultra Leather” which is better than vinyl. I made them send me a free passenger side to match. I was pissed. Sorry to hijack your thread but thought you might want to know. Also, they offered to have me pull the driver side and they would replace the middle section with leather that was close but not quite a match, and build the other the same, but I declined to drive around on my foam for weeks plus it wouldn’t match.

 

[Pilot]

let me know if the key+fob combo works. I read a lot of reviews saying its too long and hits the shifter when coming out of park

OK so this is really embarrassing, but I started this build thread to document and share knowledge, so that's what I'm going to do, even if it reveals what a ******* I am.

This morning before leaving for work, I tried to make a video showing whether or not the key+fob combo blocks the shifter (I had not actually tried it before this). The result was the following video.

As you can see, the key fob clearly gets in the way of the shifter. However–and I'm going to blame this on the fact that it was 20º outside and I was in a hurry–you can't see it, but at the end of the video, I broke the key off in the ignition trying to shift the shifter back into park. (what an idiot)

So now I need help! How do I get the broken key out of the ignition?? I was in a hurry so I just left it like that and came to work. I'm sure there will be videos on YouTube that explain how to get it out, but I wanted to share my tale with you here first. I have a really busy day today so I probably won't be able to look into it until later tonight.

 

[Pilot]

It's coming along nicely. Looks really good.

Thanks Tony!

Looks good, I dig it.

Thanks man!

 

[Pilot]

Man I’ve been dealing with Richmond lately and I’ve come to the conclusion they’re ALL dishonest. I replaced the driver side bottom last week with the free warranty replacement they sent me and discovered the center portion, what you sit on, on the one that failed was friggin vinyl. The cover they originally sold me only had 2 small parts that were leather, the pieces on the sides of the center. I called them and they said their ad stated that the leather for that color on the 02 Denali wasn’t available anymore and they used vinyl, but they have since started using “Ultra Leather” which is better than vinyl. I made them send me a free passenger side to match. I was pissed. Sorry to hijack your thread but thought you might want to know. Also, they offered to have me pull the driver side and they would replace the middle section with leather that was close but not quite a match, and build the other the same, but I declined to drive around on my foam for weeks plus it wouldn’t match.

Damn, they snuck vinyl in there? So lame.. Someone told me once that you can test for leather by burning the edge with a lighter. If it melts, it's not leather. Might be hard to test all of the panels in these seat covers without damaging them..

Good info though–thanks for sharing. Not sure what I'll do in the future, but hopefully I won't need anymore upholstery any time soon. Brett at The Custom Shop says he has a solid source for upholstery. I'll ask him about that next week when I'm over there.

 

[Tonyrodz]

OK so this is really embarrassing, but I started this build thread to document and share knowledge, so that's what I'm going to do, even if it reveals what a ******* I am.

This morning before leaving for work, I tried to make a video showing whether or not the key+fob combo blocks the shifter (I had not actually tried it before this). The result was the following video.

As you can see, the key fob clearly gets in the way of the shifter. However–and I'm going to blame this on the fact that it was 20º outside and I was in a hurry–you can't see it, but at the end of the video, I broke the key off in the ignition trying to shift the shifter back into park. (what an idiot)

So now I need help! How do I get the broken key out of the ignition?? I was in a hurry so I just left it like that and came to work. I'm sure there will be videos on YouTube that explain how to get it out, but I wanted to share my tale with you here first. I have a really busy day today so I probably won't be able to look into it until later tonight.

That sux! I don't have an answer for you, but I hope you get it straightened out without too much heartache. Good thing is you're in NY, so if you can't do it, I'm sure you could find someone who can, without emptying your wallet. Good luck.

 

[Pilot]

That sux! I don't have an answer for you, but I hope you get it straightened out without too much heartache. Good thing is you're in NY, so if you can't do it, I'm sure you could find someone who can, without emptying your wallet. Good luck.

Thanks buddy! I just found this video which makes it look pretty easy. I'll give this a try when I get home.

Ok I'm really going to work now!

 

[Tonyrodz]

Seems

Thanks buddy! I just found this video which makes it look pretty easy. I'll give this a try when I get home.

Ok I'm really going to work now!

Seems very plausible. Did you break off that much of the key in the cylinder? Def worth a shot.

 

[Pilot]

Seems

Seems very plausible. Did you break off that much of the key in the cylinder? Def worth a shot.

I reuploaded the YouTube video adding a picture of the broken key at the end. Just over half of it broke off in the ignition.

 

[Pilot]

As if my day wasn't going badly enough as it is, the cops stopped me in Manhattan on my way home from work and f#@king impounded my e-bike. So I took the train the rest of the way home and when I got here I could not get the broken key out of the ignition. FML I need a drink

 

[Tonyrodz]

I saw they're illegal in the city, but it was never enforced. Just another way for the city to grab your money.

 

[Pilot]

I saw they're illegal in the city, but it was never enforced. Just another way for the city to grab your money.

Apparently the mayor stepped up enforcement in 2016 after outcry from dumbass pedestrians who like to walk in bike lanes. Technically they're only illegal if the bike has a throttle. Peddle assist e-bikes are not illegal. Unfortunately my bike has both a throttle as well as pedal assist. I guess I'll remove the throttle.. when–or if, I ever get it back.

 

[Tonyrodz]

Apparently the mayor stepped up enforcement in 2016 after outcry from dumbass pedestrians who like to walk in bike lanes. Technically they're only illegal if the bike has a throttle. Peddle assist e-bikes are not illegal. Unfortunately my bike has both a throttle as well as pedal assist. I guess I'll remove the throttle.. when–or if, I ever get it back.

Sorry buddy. I could never drive, forget about living, in the city.

 

[HiHoeSilver]

As if my day wasn't going badly enough as it is, the cops stopped me in Manhattan on my way home from work and f#@king impounded my e-bike. So I took the train the rest of the way home and when I got here I could not get the broken key out of the ignition. FML I need a drink

What kind of e bike is it? Enjoy that drink and then have another.

 

[Pilot]

What kind of e bike is it? Enjoy that drink and then have another.

It's a Green Bike GB500 Fat Tire. I love that thing.

 

[Pilot]

On the bright side, got some gear in today. Hoping I’ll have time to install it tomorrow.

 

[Tonyrodz]

On the bright side, got some gear in today. Hoping I’ll have time to install it tomorrow.

View attachment 191947

What we got there?

 

[Pilot]

What we got there?

Depo projector housings, Anzo bumper housings and Auxbeam F-16 LED high beams. My DDM tuning HID low beams are on the way so for now I just left the ****** halogen bulb that came with the housings in there.

The aftermarket grille is a real *************. I mean, it doesn't look too bad, but it's flimsy construction and none of the clips lined up like they're supposed to.. The whole thing is basically being held on just by the center bolt. I could modify it to make it fit better but this is just a temporary solution. Honestly, I can't really expect much more for the price (I think this grille was $70 on eBay), but I'm planning on making a custom grille a little later on. I definitely like this look better than stock though.

Also, my truck is still completely filthy because I still haven't had time to take it to the wash.. so I used some soapy warm water and paper towels to at least wash down the nose while I was swapping out all of these parts.

Before



Grille removed



Passenger's side swapped



Both side's swapped (with the crappy low beam bulbs)



Grille swapped

 

[Pilot]

After













By the way, if anyone wants the old stock headlights or bumper lights that I removed, you can have them–just let me know. Otherwise I'm throwing them away. I don't have room to store them in NYC.