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One Piece at a Time: My 1985 Diesel Suburban

Going through the Google photo album to pull some premium snaps, and this gets an immediate nod.

I wish @blazinzuk was there to coach us on the full-size friendly line. I feel like I had it, but Kurt and I agreed to be conservative, and pulled cable.
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Meanwhile, I started sorting through the gear bomb, and I’m making some tough decisions on inventoried parts.

Look for a For Sale listing from me. I’m going to part with the 38” MTRs, the TE06H turbo, some miscellaneous Banks turbo junk, and probably my 1.9L LSA supercharger. I’ll post it all here, first.

David
 
Look for a For Sale listing from me. I’m going to part with the 38” MTRs, the TE06H turbo, some miscellaneous Banks turbo junk, and probably my 1.9L LSA supercharger. I’ll post it all here, first.

David

What's the reason to part with the lsa super?
I'm mildly interested in that, not sure I can afford it. But interested.
 
What's the reason to part with the lsa super?
I'm mildly interested in that, not sure I can afford it. But interested.
I had originally intended to use it on the Charger’s 6.0 LS, but after spending a week with some knowledgeable folks at HP Tuners who have taken an interest in the Charger, and subsequently talking further with the Procharger people at SEMA, I’m headed in a more weight/power efficient direction on that power plant.

Still forced induction. Still 700rwhp. Still LS. Just not from a 1.9L Eaton TVS.

I got it relatively cheap, and I’m not looking to make a buck. I’ll take photos and post it.

David
 
Glad you got the trans repair squared away without having to go the rebuild route. That Pulp Fiction themed saga was EPIC!
Thank you for your guidance early in the process. I learned a lot about how solenoids A and B operate, and the output drivers that control them.

David
 
Catching up, if slightly out of order. Rocky Gap was our last trail day before we scattered to setup for SEMA. Fortunately, we had an experienced guide. F641C45B-6B95-4422-95F2-7626D3BFAC91.jpeg

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Kris’ stretched jeep did particularly well. He’s a very good driver, and works his line carefully.
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Bleepin Matt worked the wee out of this line, and ultimately backed down and followed Scott.
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Ian attempted the same line, and used a good bit of woopow before jockeying over and following Scott and Kris.
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I didn’t take any hard lines, preferring to watch the action that day. There are many easy obstacles and segments, a few truly tough ones, and very few in between. I played it conservatively, because the wife was at the Waldorf, and we had dinner plans.
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Last air-up of the trip with our friend, Scott. @muddysub
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Another great day.

David
 
Again, I’m sorting through what I’ve not yet posted. Here’s a few from day 4, our second one in Sand Hollow.

Heading up an obstacle, I started hearing a distinct squeak from the rear driveline. We suspected the u-joint, and winched.
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Yep. Two cracked caps and a bent cross. I guess wheeling an 8500lb rig hard and in double low for 3 days will do that.
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Onward. I did not take this line. 4870A64B-46D1-46BA-AEEF-10021ED910C1.jpeg

I took this one 0E428B93-B458-4AFD-B843-67C2251470DF.jpeg

Jason rotated his rear 44 housing on the last bump on this 40* incline.
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I backstayed him as he descended. Notice how far he was able to drag the truck in the soft sand.
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Posing. This place is beautiful, and I want to go back.
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Bumps are stuffing nicely in the rear, but I need to space the fronts more aggressively. Another 1/2”-3/4” should do it.
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JL tries to follow the hard line, applies way too much woopow, fully sends, starves engine for oil, flops on its side, panics and shuts off while still in 1st, computer poos itself, jeep is dead and bricked.54A2A44B-C370-445F-B2A8-9C727A5E88E2.jpeg

Pretty cool for Milt to lead us down Milt’s Mile (and a half). Nice guy.
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And guess who tows the bricked JL?
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The big girl getting her 15 minutes.
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There were a few drones that got some great photography.
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Cart races that night at Dixie.
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This is the least chronological trail report, ever.

David
 
I have wheeled nearly every Mall parking lot in three counties and I have never damaged a u-joint cap like that. Great pics and some beautiful country, thanks for taking us along on the ride.
It’s gorgeous out there. We can’t wait to go back.

Related to the u-joint, I’ve never hashed one quite that bad, either. I think working the truck hard up the slick rock on Pritchett took its toll, as well as cycling the suspension fully through a few whoops in Sand Hollow.
Looks like an awesome trip was had by all.
I think that’s accurate. The first episode will come out December 12th, and we’ll get to relive it all over again and share it with y’all.

David
 
Chronological or not it's still pretty dang cool. Pretty odd to have the JL brick itself like that by shutting off in 1st. Any word after what the story was?
 
The JL remains a paperweight. Last update was that they flashed the ECU, TCM, and BCM, and have concluded that somehow the starter has failed. There are no spare starters in North America, says FCA.

I love my squarebody.

David
 
The JL remains a paperweight. Last update was that they flashed the ECU, TCM, and BCM, and have concluded that somehow the starter has failed. There are no spare starters in North America, says FCA.

I love my squarebody.

David


That's insane. I know new product launches sometimes have a lag for service replacement parts but the JL has been out for almost a year now.

First JL frames dropping track bar brackets and no starters available. Jeeps going to fall into the Fix It Again Tony routine I guess.
 
The JL remains a paperweight. Last update was that they flashed the ECU, TCM, and BCM, and have concluded that somehow the starter has failed. There are no spare starters in North America, says FCA.

I love my squarebody.

David

That’s crazy. I was just thinking as you were dropping those acronyms that I’m sure glad I don’t have all that electrical stuff in my truck. Even with as much work as my truck has required, at least the parts have been a plenty.
 
That's insane. I know new product launches sometimes have a lag for service replacement parts but the JL has been out for almost a year now.

First JL frames dropping track bar brackets and no starters available. Jeeps going to fall into the Fix It Again Tony routine I guess.
Sounds like typical, traditional Chrysler build quality. In 2012 when the JK’s got the 3.6 V6 they had production quality issues with the heads. I remember a lot of guys having known issues and Chrysler not being able to get the heads away from the production lines to fix customer vehicles.
 
The JL remains a paperweight. Last update was that they flashed the ECU, TCM, and BCM, and have concluded that somehow the starter has failed. There are no spare starters in North America, says FCA.

I love my squarebody.

David
We are amazed when we go to the parts department for a part and it’s not on intergalactic back order.
 
This truck needs a sweet vinyl wrap. Like a big rolling billboard for your business. Plus it would cover up all the scratches in the paint.
 
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