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Duramax Suburban - IFS Rebuild

And now, it's leaking oil. Left a few healthy stains in the snow, although snow tends to make it look worse.

Snow also removes any motivation I have to slide under there. It'll have to wait until after thanksgiving. Hope it's something easy.

Other than changing the oil, I've barely looked under this truck.
 
Very cool rig. Since you said you changed the oil are you sure every thing was snuggled back up? Might be something stupid.
 
dhcomp said:
And now, it's leaking oil. Left a few healthy stains in the snow, although snow tends to make it look worse.

Snow also removes any motivation I have to slide under there. It'll have to wait until after thanksgiving. Hope it's something easy.

Other than changing the oil, I've barely looked under this truck.
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Drain plug gasket is probably leaking, make sure to replace it every second or third oil change.
 
bigblock72 said:
Drain plug gasket is probably leaking, make sure to replace it every second or third oil change.
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I'd always heard that, but never have on a truck. The Bmw filters come with a new brass washer each time.

Hope it is something this easy! First peak under there, that's where it's dripping from. Need to verify that it's not coming from higher up somewhere
 
Another thing to think about, they make quarter turn drain valves where you basically install it in place of the drain plug and then it's just a finger turn every time. Not actually removing the drain plug anymore.
 
I have a 07 cc 4x4 dirty max with CAI 4" straight exhaust and a diesel domination programmer 285/75/16 373 gears and get 22-23 on the highway. I have had zero issues with the engine! I did Crack the transfer case once from a little towing abuse lol.
 
Did some research (internet is a more comfortable place to troubleshoot than laying on the ground in the snow:D) and the plug gasket seems to be really common.

This looked to be where i was leaking from, just want to verify that it isn't just the lowest point that its dripping from.

Between these gaskets being hard to find, the high torque of the drain plug, and the oil draining all over the skid plate problem these trucks have, I decided to step up to the Fumoto drain value. Seems to solve all the problems.

Yes, someone can crawl under there and drain your oil on you.....but this is only slightly easier than if it had a normal plug. I don't expect it to be a problem.

I HATE issues like this that aren't convenient to look at, when you let them fester in your mind, and you start to imagine major issues. Hopefully its a quick fix. I'll try and put an eye on it tonight.

I'll let you guys know what i find.
 
Don't you love buying 3 gallons of oil every oil change. I change mine every year despite only putting 1500 or so miles on it. Fuel filters as well. Delco filters are 65 a piece. I need to just buy the nictane adapter so I can buy the cheaper filters.
 
So, the rig is doing well, but is far from being as loyal as the 91. At least not yet!

Dug it out of a foot plus of snow. 91 started with a click of the remote. Dmax wouldn't start on a jump, and finally started after about 10 min on the 50A start mode of my charger.

Installed the futomo drain valve. Quality piece. Looks like that what where was leaking.

This beast needs tires bad. The 245's suck in the snow.

But besides needing HVAC actuators, and the rear defroster fixed, truck is doing well. Soooo much power. Lots of winter drifting.....

Also think I found someone to swap 2nd row seats with! He is supposed to be coming up tmr for a beer and pizza seat trading party. Can't wait to have a bench seat!
 
No more stupid buckets! I can finally keep cargo in the back from coming through the middle, and I have a nice wide double section to fold down and sleep on. stoked.

Will do a bit more cleanup when the leather cleaner won't freeze on the seats, but happy overall! image.jpeg
 
So, the burb has mostly been holding down the driveway.

But, when i've needed to drive it to work, or do a last minute highway trip to pickup some cargo, it has been flawless. Diving into the HVAC actuators today, and need to sort out a taillight short.

Overall, the thing is an absolute beast. I drove one of the 2014 1500 suburban's from work for a few days, and I can't believe how gutless those are in stock form.

As much as it will be a few months until i can swing the cost, i'm trying to make a decision on tires.

If you remember, thing thing has a 2" reverse rake body lift on it, so the front is 2" higher than stock. Most tire size issues are in the front, so i'm not worried about the stockish rear clearing tires.

Easy solution is 285's on stock wheels, but as much as i love the stock PYO alcoa wheels, they are only 6.5 or so wide. Can't go wider than 285's.

Will be looking for a deal on some newer 17" stock wheels, but the question really comes down to tire size. Will probably end up with a 17x7 or 17x8 wheel.

My 91 has 16.5x9.75's with 33x12.50's on it. Love that look, but will NOT put a 10" wide wheel on IFS.

The question of the day is what can you run on a 2" body lift?

Can I clear 305's on an 8" wheel? 305's basically come out to a 33x12.50, but with a narrower wheel, i think i may have a fighting chance of clearing them.

Thoughts?

At some point, i'll toss the 91's wheels on the 03, and see how far they are from clearing, but that is a ways off.

Wish H2's were still so easy to find! A set of H2's would look great with chevy center caps

Thanks for the feedback!
 
Hit up a local Keystone Automotive. They have new H2's available. You can then cut the factory GM cap down to fit the wheel.

Ask @thatK30guy to post up some pictures of what they look like.
 
GWeakland620 said:
Hit up a local Keystone Automotive. They have new H2's available. You can then cut the factory GM cap down to fit the wheel.

Ask @thatK30guy to post up some pictures of what they look like.
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I will get pics soon.

I bought Gregs old hauler, an '01 K2500HD crew and its on 2" front leveling and 275's on H2's with the newer center caps as he stated. I'd like to go slightly larger but not really wanting to affect the shift points with towing and the Allison tranny. That and I've been reading up online that 275's are about as big as recommended for the H2 wheels.

Let me work on a pic or two...
 
And from what I've seen almost all over the internet, H2's sell on average for $200 a set before taxes and shipping fees. Just got to get lucky and find them. I've seen them on the local online classifieds before for $300 and 35 miles away but when I contacted the seller about them he had just sold them.
 
Smokinthehippies said:
That's weird considering the h2 comes stock with a 315?
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I hear ya on that one, too, but mine was in reference towards being able to tow and haul with the Allison tranny. Had nothing to do with tire diameter size. Has to do with tranny performance.
 
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