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Duramax Suburban - IFS Rebuild

Looks Good! :cool:

My sons rubbed on the inner plastic fender wells, a zip tie to pull them back some fixed that.

What is with all your guys snow! You and Skunked got some cool pics!
 
Stopped by a used work truck place to pick out a truck for the office. Ended up getting a matching size 17" spare and brand new firestone mt for $75. Now I've got a matched size spare.

Was surprised to find a 265 under there instead of a 245, so upsize wasn't totally needed. But nice to know the size is matched.

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Threw in the towel on my small fuel leak. Haven't been able to make time to fix it, and want to get it fixed before it causes an issue. Been working tons of hrs, prepping for the wedding, and getting ready to do a bit of traveling for work, so I decided to take it to a shop.

They are dropping the tank as we speak. Hopefully it's an easy fix. So tempting to get an exhaust kit put on while it's there, but trying to save the money for now.
 
Every once in a while, letting the professionals do things is the right call.

This shop dropped the tank, pressure fogged it, found all the odd little (and big) leaks, called me twice this morning, and are buttoning it up. The main culprit was an old sending unit tank seal, but a few odd hoses weren't plugged well from the conversion. Should be good to go! Trying to celebrate the victory before I get the bill.....
 
Wow, can't believe it's been so long since I updated this.

Truck is doing well. Doesn't get driven a ton.

Got a 12v guy battery isolator. New batteries.

Figured out the drivers door switch that tells the truck it is open is broken, hence some of the battery drain from not during off all accessories.

Have a first kid coming in august, so trying to get through some deferred truck projects.

Dropped and prepped the headliner, hopefully taking it to a shop for recover soon.

Ordered parts to rebuild the whole front end. Tons of play in steering and suspension, assuming original. At 210k ish on the chassis, it's time.

Mostly going with stock delco professional parts, but added the cognito pitman/idler braces, and some tie rod sleeves.

Know doing it right once will set it up for a long life from here on out.

Other than a few items like that, truck has been earning it's keep. The 91 gasser gets most of the winter use, but the 2003 is the go-to for pulling the boat.

Excited to get the front end back in good shape!
 
I found one of my sway bar links completely broken on one side! Couldn't believe it! I've done a lot of front end work, bearings, ball joints, sway bar links, Idler arm, Control arm bumper and pitman arm. I also discovered no steering stabilizer (but there are tabs there for one).

I'm at 179k now....04' 2500 Yukon XL. Drives really nice now.

Also, I replaced the intermediate steering shaft bushing and it did help a little, but still have a rattle up front. Will replace the steering intermediate shaft soon.

I found the AC Delco Professional version was better/thicker than the Moogs.
 
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I found one of my sway bar links completely broken on one side! Couldn't believe it!

I'm on my 3rd set of end links. Last two were aftermarket energy suspension with poly bushings.

I also used AC Delco Professional BJ's, inner/outer tie rods, pitman arms, idler arm etc. After all of that I still needed a new steering box because the truck felt tighter but it wandered because of the slop in the box.
 
I'm on my 3rd set of end links. Last two were aftermarket energy suspension with poly bushings.

I also used AC Delco Professional BJ's, inner/outer tie rods, pitman arms, idler arm etc. After all of that I still needed a new steering box because the truck felt tighter but it wandered because of the slop in the box.

I put in a Redhead Steering box a year or two ago. Still going strong and tight.
 
Stripped the suspension last night. Ready for new parts.

Torsion bar unloading with the tool was super easy. Thought it was going to be way scarier, but was no big deal.

Diesel exhaust was in the way of the unload tool on the passenger side, but was able to pry it far enough out of the way.

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My experience is that it'll be easier to pull the steering box to pull the pitman arm.
 
Just need to loosen the box, no need to remove it.

This comment saved my butt. Couldn’t get a low clearance pulled fast enough ( plus it’s 3x the cost), and got the normal style to work with this tip.

Thanks a lot!
 
My experience is that it'll be easier to pull the steering box to pull the pitman arm.


Most guys I've seen at shops use a cutoff wheel to slice the pitman arm close to the splines ,then a quick blast with an air chisel to finish the "split" and it drops off pretty easily..seeing there is no room for a puller,this is their way to cheat and save time & labor..

I guess some trucks though,dont have enough clearance to get the arm off the box splines and it has to be loosened or removed to get it off and install the new one..
 

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