Rocket Man's 02 Denali Build Thread AKA "THE BEAST"

[Rocket Man]

And I quote....

Oops forgot about the neighbor...

Is your daughter home? Can't she lock you in or something?

I'll tell you what- she's gonna kill me if I do anything else. She had to watch me crying and moaning like a baby for over an hour yesterday. It took three hits of dillotid to get me quiet. Worst. Pain. Ever. I never want to put her through that again.

 

[HiHoeSilver]

I'll tell you what- she's gonna kill me if I do anything else. She had to watch me crying and moaning like a baby for over an hour yesterday. It took three hits of dillotid to get me quiet. Worst. Pain. Ever. I never want to put her through that again.

Oh yeah, she's pissed at you for sure. Take it easy and get better, buddy!

 

[Tonyrodz]

I'll tell you what- she's gonna kill me if I do anything else. She had to watch me crying and moaning like a baby for over an hour yesterday. It took three hits of dillotid to get me quiet. Worst. Pain. Ever. I never want to put her through that again.

Red, there's no crying in modding! J/k buddy, get well soon!!

 

[Rocket Man]

The neighbor came by and finished filling the diff with oil and lowered it off the jack stands. The girdle project is finished. I still need to trim the RTV but that will have to wait.

 

[HiHoeSilver]

The neighbor came by and finished filling the diff with oil and lowered it off the jack stands. The girdle project is finished. I still need to trim the RTV but that will have to wait.

View attachment 182645

Don't trim it... It's RED! The more you have on there, the faster you'll go.

 

[Rocket Man]

Don't trim it... It's RED! The more you have on there, the faster you'll go.

Oh hell no, it's messy red. Must be clean-looking red. lol. The TA performance girdle looks good though even though I can't really see it with my rig lowered. But that's just like all the rest of the parts under there I crinkle-painted. I feel better with the braces that girdle has against the bearing caps in the differential, that's for sure. Plus there was no signs of wear inside the diff and no metal on the magnet.

 

[bottomline2000]

The neighbor came by and finished filling the diff with oil and lowered it off the jack stands. The girdle project is finished. I still need to trim the RTV but that will have to wait.

View attachment 182645

Looking good. Looks like you got a loose brake lines or something rubbing the exhaust. I see the clip it should go imto..no more mishaps on this build lol.

Off topic, Got a question on your wideband. Do you see any change in a/f as you drive in stop/go traffic as you get on and off the gas? Mine seems to just read around 14.6 while driving. It only drops down to 12.5 at WOT and goes full lean afterwards which is normal. If I put it in neutral and rev a little while rolling along the ratios change to rich like they should. Just wondering what your seeing. Mine is an AEM wideband but they should all be reading about the same.

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[Rocket Man]

Looking good. Looks like you got a loose brake lines or something rubbing the exhaust. I see the clip it should go imto..no more mishaps on this build lol.

Off topic, Got a question on your wideband. Do you see any change in a/f as you drive in stop/go traffic as you get on and off the gas? Mine seems to just read around 14.6 while driving. It only drops down to 12.5 at WOT and goes full lean afterwards which is normal. If I put it in neutral and rev a little while rolling along the ratios change to rich like they should. Just wondering what your seeing. Mine is an AEM wideband but they should all be reading about the same.

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I'll have to take a look at that line. My wideband is the AEM Failsafe. It reads upwards of 14 while driving and under WOT goes as low as 11.5 which Justin said is normal. It was going as low as 10 or a little under at WOT until he made an adjustment.
Edit: thanks for that heads-up @bottomline2000 - that was an e-brake line I believe and my neighbor clipped it in for me.

 

[Rocket Man]

I've become a bit obsessed with stopping since my MC accident even though there was no chance for me to stop in time. I've been looking into big brake kits for The Beast and my head is spinning. I knew they were expensive but didn't realize how much of a price spread there is. Brembo's are around $5200 just for the FRONTS. Wilwoods are around $4000 for front and rear in 16". Then there's several others but most don't offer anything much different other than the names aren't as familiar but prices are about the same as Wilwoods. I found another brand that interested me though- CEIKA. I can get something that seems better than Wilwoods, available in many anodized colors for the calipers and hats, for around the same price. I'm hoping someone has experience with them, they seem to have nearly all 5--star reviews and look like some great products. I could even get them in a color that nearly matches my truck. Here's a stock picture. Opinions?

 

[gat0r]

never heard of CEIKA before.

stoptech & wilwood are better then brembo though.


CEIKA are taiwan or hong kong, if that matters to you.
vette forums have a few unhappy campers, but then again... cant please everyone

 

[Rocket Man]

I've had an issue with my driver's side seat bottom for a few months now and it keeps getting worse. I originally replaced both front bottoms due to the usual problem of them being worn out and tearing, back in January of '15. I originally purchased the bottoms from Richmond Auto Upholstery but couldn't locate a receipt, plus I was sure they were out of any warranty they would have. I decided I didn't have anything to lose so I emailed them yesterday and let them know I had a build thread and had reported on their product favorably in the past but was unhappy that I was having this problem and I would report in my thread how they handled this issue ( which I was hoping they would just help me out with a cover at cost). They emailed me back with this:

"Hello Mark,

Thank you for your email, We appreciate all the support over the years! Unfortunately I have yet to see something like this happen to any of our covers! Feel free to send me your address so I can have our office mail you a new cover, I apologize for the inconvenience caused. I am also going to send you some jute padding with the new cover so you can repad/rebuild your foam cushion. This will prevent the wear on the new cover on the left side. My direct number is (281) 691-5028 for a faster response you may also text message it as well! "


Now that's great customer service. I'm sure having the power of the forum behind me didn't hurt, but still they went above and beyond. Here's what it looks like. I have no idea why this happened.

 

[95escahoe]

I've had an issue with my driver's side seat bottom for a few months now and it keeps getting worse. I originally replaced both front bottoms due to the usual problem of them being worn out and tearing, back in January of '15. I originally purchased the bottoms from Richmond Auto Upholstery but couldn't locate a receipt, plus I was sure they were out of any warranty they would have. I decided I didn't have anything to lose so I emailed them yesterday and let them know I had a build thread and had reported on their product favorably in the past but was unhappy that I was having this problem and I would report in my thread how they handled this issue ( which I was hoping they would just help me out with a cover at cost). They emailed me back with this:

"Hello Mark,

Thank you for your email, We appreciate all the support over the years! Unfortunately I have yet to see something like this happen to any of our covers! Feel free to send me your address so I can have our office mail you a new cover, I apologize for the inconvenience caused. I am also going to send you some jute padding with the new cover so you can repad/rebuild your foam cushion. This will prevent the wear on the new cover on the left side. My direct number is (281) 691-5028 for a faster response you may also text message it as well! "


Now that's great customer service. I'm sure having the power of the forum behind me didn't hurt, but still they went above and beyond. Here's what it looks like. I have no idea why this happened.

View attachment 182947 View attachment 182948

That's good to hear I need a new seat bottom too gonna look into that place can't beat that kinda service


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[gat0r]

nice cust serv report.

that is an odd wear spot

 

[Rocket Man]

never heard of CEIKA before.

stoptech & wilwood are better then brembo though.


CEIKA are taiwan or hong kong, if that matters to you.
vette forums have a few unhappy campers, but then again... cant please everyone

I'm leaning toward a proven brand, probably going with Willwoods after I get cashed out for my bike. Still trying to come to an agreement with my ins. co about how much of the stuff they'll let me pull off before it goes away. They said they'll let me remove parts that are aftermarket that aren't being paid for by them because my additional parts coverage is only $1000 but I don't think they were ready for the $19,000 in receipts I sent them. If I remove all of them there will only be a frame and engine left. That's what I left original when I built the bike and it was nearly new at the time.

 

[Rocket Man]

Well shit my daughter totaled her 2015 Cruze yesterday. At least I think it's totaled; she rear ended a POS Toyota being driven by Mexican dude who was probably illegal since he wanted nothing to do with leaving info like his name or insurance. Damn bad luck here lately. All her air bags deployed and the electrical started on fire so I think it's done. So no Wilwoods for me, I'll use that cash to help her out with a new car. She hit him at 30 but it looks like she was going 90.

 

[Rocket Man]

Damn man at least the car did the job of keeping her safe. [emoji106]


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Exactly. We don't need both of us in this house busted up. She said she didn't even hardly move when she hit due to all the air bags.

 

[sumo]

Daym man! Glad she walked away from that

 

[Rocket Man]

The member formerly known as Red Rocket is about to have a name change lol. I've decided to make the change to Rocket Man. I think it's more fitting since I feel like I drive a rocket and it's not red.

 

[cmc76]

The new you

 

[Rocket Man]

lol