The War Pig. Restoring a 2006 Tahoe US Border Patrol Vehicle to a Sh!tbox Fresh state.

[War_Pig]

Behold! My 4WD shitbox! This has been an adventure with a vehicle that has seen some adventures, complete with patched bullet holes. The US Border Patrol service history was obscured juuuust enough to sucker an unwitting buyer on a used car lot. That sucker would be me after 27 surgeries and a stroke needing a comfortable daily in 2016.

What to know, if you find one of these, is that it's an LT or LS body with Z71 underpinnings and likely a police interceptor anti-swaybar package. It handles tight on road tires, but is all wrong with a lift and offroad tires. I'll highlight the chassis tuning adventures here, too.

Far too much money has been spent. That's the price you pay without a house or a lift when someone else does the work. They did a good job. I have no complaints about the work or the parts. This was more of a rebuild than a "bUiLd". Tuning it correctly took some effort and I hope to highlight some of those efforts here. I wanted something comfy and reliable for long trips that can do camping duty. It has good bones but needed a lot of TLC and attention to details. Some patina and battle scars

Work to date:

Suspension:
New 2.5in Torch lift Kit
New Z71 rear springs 81069 Moog
New upper and lower front control arms.
Stock Replacement front torsion bars with keys for levelling (any model is fine).
New Bilstein 5100 extended shocks.
No anti-sway bars.
New Road one stock size tires (Cheap and prone to cupping. Beware. Likes lower pressure settings, below 40psi).
New upper + lower steering shafts

Driveline:
New 4wd motor + actuator
New 4.10 posi rear end
New rotors + pads all around
New Engine + transmission mounts
New front axles
All new fluids
Bonus round! Already had a factory transmission cooler.

Body:
New Amazon grill (better airflow)
New Head lights (properly adjusted)
New 3rd brake light
New brake switch
New door + rear latch handles
New rear window struts
Repaired rear defroster.

Engine:
5lbs of partially chewed walnuts removed from a neurotic squirrel. Improved airflow.
New rear main seal
New oil pan gasket
New high output alternator
HP Tuners "chair massage" tune (Fans, shift points, traction control, timing, fuel, etc)
Moosun Chinesium intake
Magnaflow Muffler (stock mufflers do go bad and kill power.)
8 new coil packs
New plugs
New Wires
New Oil pressure sensor

Interior:
New 4wd switch
New headlamp switch



Planned:
Corvette shift servo
4L65 update
Speed Engineering headers + re-engineered cat section.
Catch can
Chopacobra cam

 

[Marky Dissod]

Was it originally a PPV or a SSV? Guessing, 6XM & 7XM torsion bars? FF6 & FF7 spring adjusters?

 

[War_Pig]

Chassis tuning

I admit "Tahoe" and "chassis tuning" are NOT the first words to come to mind with a comfy daily. I was just looking to freshen things up and make it comfortable offroad. Out here in the sticks you can get stuck very easily in driveways and private roads. "Built" trucks still get stuck here because they have a huge lift, big wheels, and low profile street tires. This is not that.

This is a budget offroad buiild. No crazy lift or tires. No squat BS. No personnel carrier axles. No 1,500lbs of gear for overlanding, either. It's meant to pack light for weekend trips and maybe bag a deer now and then.

I spent about $500 on:
1. 5100 shocks
2. replacement Z71 rear springs
3. A 2.5in block lift with keys.

The end result from all of this is like driving a happy cow with the zoomies.

That's it. No frills. The bonus was that I ended up getting more for my money with it, too. It's hard to judge what the end result lift height will be until you just get it done. This is about 5 inches over a base model Tahoe, but only about 2in over a Z71. It was almost sorta the same height as a Z71 stock, but without the fancier trim and no badges. That's the odd part. No one really clarifies this. I dug forever for this info and just had to find out after flying blind. So here you go .

This vehicle was re-worked to pass for stock before I got a hold of it. Parts were thrown at it along with worn out components and I had to sort all that to get it to handle decent. It drives straight and the frame isn't bent. The torsion bars were shot along with the rear springs and most of the suspension parts. That made the lift harder to judge, too. If it was going to get new parts, then I wanted to put the right ones on it. The problem was that I was flying blind and trying to save money where I could. This wasn't a "sponsorship" build with a tax writeoff for marketing.

This "happy cow" character began to show itself as the lift and rebuild progressed. It just didn't feel well sorted until I took off the anti-sway bars. That let's it be more of a truck than an "SUV". The axles work more like an ankle instead of a pencil. It's also fantastic on sheet ice and potholes! I do admit that smaller bars might be a better fit, but no bars doesn't feel like it's going to kill me. Yes, it leans. No, you can't take a sharp corner at 50mph like it unnaturally does with those heavy bars. It can flip either way. You either do it at 25mph or 50mph. It does soak up dips and bumps very well and doesn't get out of sorts on dirt or rutted trails. Being able to immediately go into the dirt and rocks comfortably is the tradeoff for an actual offroad tuned suspension with decent tires. The really nice thing is that this didn't break the bank, the truck, or me.

Police interceptor swaybars are about 31mm. That with a suspension lift and street tires actually handles really well. Offroad tires change things with a soft sidewall and blocky pattern. Stiff bars and blocky tires feels very waggly in the middle of a turn, like a stock car with bad suspension settings. I first pulled the front bar, and that honestly handled the best. The weird part was that it felt like 2 different vehicles in the front and rear. With no bars and correct PSI in the tires, it tracks through any corner without being upset or really leaning that much. The trick is to brake early and set the chassis up for the turn. Get the suspension motion out of the way for the pending change of direction. If you just yank the wheel, you roll. Tap the brakes, yank the wheel, and get ready to countersteer. That's the trick.

Stiff bars beat you and the truck to death with a lift. They're more advisable on a stock or lowered truck. 5,000lbs was not meant to handle like a go kart. You may get sharper handling out of it, but at the expense of the bushings, mounts, tires, axles, etc. I wanted things to last. It's not chasing them Duke boys. It's getting my old ass up a rutted road for camping, quite comfortably.

 

[War_Pig]

Was it originally a PPV or a SSV? Guessing, 6XM & 7XM torsion bars? FF6 & FF7 spring adjusters?

I want to say SSV because of the 4.10 gears, factory transmission + PS coolers, and Z71 springs. They set those up for towing which is kind of what this looked like.

The problem with sorting things was that all the parts were different colors of sand and dirt. Some were clean. Others were dirty. It was very obvious that someone was under there before me. I had to sort all that weirdness and someone buying one will very likely have the same headaches.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Very interesting resto project. I'm glad that you are getting it to where you want it to be, without breaking the bank.

 

[War_Pig]

Very interesting resto project. I'm glad that you are getting it to where you want it to be, without breaking the bank.

Thank you. It's been an interesting experience. The stress of building a daily I don't recommend as you age. It takes it's toll. I shrink all the jobs or projects to short intervals or steps.

I am trying to figure out why the cruise control quit working. It worked until I did the steering shafts. Everything is plugged in and there's a new brake switch, bulbs, and 3rd brake light.

It also has body controller issues with 4WD and stability. The ABS light would come on with a hard enough jolt.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Thank you. It's been an interesting experience. The stress of building a daily I don't recommend as you age. It takes it's toll. I shrink all the jobs or projects to short intervals or steps.

I am trying to figure out why the cruise control quit working. It worked until I did the steering shafts. Everything is plugged in and there's a new brake switch, bulbs, and 3rd brake light.

It also has body controller issues with 4WD and stability. The ABS light would come on with a hard enough jolt.

Do you have, or have access to, a quality bi-directional scanner? If not, I recommend that you get yourself a quality bi-directional scanner to add to your tool box. Then, you will be able to read ALL trouble codes, along with a brief explanation/pointer to the source of your issue. You can test many of the truck's electronic functions with the scanner, in order to determine the source of an issue. You will also be able to reset/delete trouble codes, after taking corrective action. You will literally save thousands of dollars in diagnostic and repair costs over the life of your truck, and you will most likely recoup the cost of the scanner within 1 year.

 

[War_Pig]

Do you have, or have access to, a quality bi-directional scanner? If not, I recommend that you get yourself a quality bi-directional scanner to add to your tool box. Then, you will be able to read ALL trouble codes, along with a brief explanation/pointer to the source of your issue. You can test many of the truck's electronic functions with the scanner, in order to determine the source of an issue. You will also be able to reset/delete trouble codes, after taking corrective action. You will literally save thousands of dollars in diagnostic and repair costs over the life of your truck, and you will most likely recoup the cost of the scanner within 1 year.

Do you have a link? My old Innovate has done the trick for 20 years but it doesn't see a BCM.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Do you have a link? My old Innovate has done the trick for 20 years but it doesn't see a BCM.

You can purchase a Tech 2 for your year truck, the same device that GM Mechanics used at the dealership. Try eBay or other online vendors like below:

https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...O3Dnc6NAxWYkokEHUVtG8sQ9aACKAB6BAgKEBs&adurl=

https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...O3Dnc6NAxWYkokEHUVtG8sQ9aACKAB6BAgKECU&adurl=

https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...O3Dnc6NAxWYkokEHUVtG8sQ9aACKAB6BAgKEC8&adurl=

Make sure that your purchase includes the CANBus module and the latest software card for GM vehicles (not for Opel or Saab or Suzuki) - version 33.004. The only drawback to purchasing a Tech 2 is that they are only good for GM trucks up through the 2013 model year, before they changed the bus system, requiring a different type of bi-directional scanner.

If you want to cover yourself, so that you can also use your newly purchased scanner on newer model GM trucks than 2013, then you would probably want to invest in an Autel scanner. Autel makes several models of bi-directional scanners, and @Doubeleive should be able to give you a model number for the Autel scanner that he uses.

 

[War_Pig]

You can purchase a Tech 2 for your year truck, the same device that GM Mechanics used at the dealership. Try eBay or other online vendors like below:

https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...O3Dnc6NAxWYkokEHUVtG8sQ9aACKAB6BAgKEBs&adurl=

https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...O3Dnc6NAxWYkokEHUVtG8sQ9aACKAB6BAgKECU&adurl=

https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...O3Dnc6NAxWYkokEHUVtG8sQ9aACKAB6BAgKEC8&adurl=

Make sure that your purchase includes the CANBus module and the latest software card for GM vehicles (not for Opel or Saab or Suzuki) - version 33.004. The only drawback to purchasing a Tech 2 is that they are only good for GM trucks up through the 2013 model year, before they changed the bus system, requiring a different type of bi-directional scanner.

If you want to cover yourself, so that you can also use your newly purchased scanner on newer model GM trucks than 2013, then you would probably want to invest in an Autel scanner. Autel makes several models of bi-directional scanners, and @Doubeleive should be able to give you a model number for the Autel scanner that he uses.

Cool. Thank you. HP Tuners doesn't have any stored codes. Google-fu says it can see the TCM and BCM.