Not mine, but this is what I've been working on since the end of last year (as time permits).
It's been sitting for quite a while, which as you all know does wonders for sheet metal. It got parked probably around 2015, don't exactly recall, and eventually it got some new front end fenders (accident damage) and stuff and was on it's way to being repaired when it sprung a major fuel leak somewhere in the middle on the driver side. It wasn't exactly high on the priority list to fix, and at some point it ended up sitting at my house next to a travel trailer until I could get to it.
Last fall, after realizing one of the other car projects was not going to happen, I pulled it into the garage and pulled the tank. Well, you can probably guess what I found...
Fuel lines were 90% fine, the rust was focused where the joints to the rubber lines are and on the main tank sending unit. All the frame metal and fuel lines within spray distance of the rotted sending unit lines were also rotted out, as were the brake lines. So we decided it was time to replace major section of the steel lines with nylon, which meant I had to make my own tool for nylon line fittings, and all the brake lines with a stainless steel line kit.
And then the real fun started: I started finding more, and more problems...
And then I learned it needed to be able to pass a vehicle inspection in PA. Which meant that a lot of stuff I wasn't expecting needed to be replaced as well. Things like the horn that wasn't working only when using the horn button on the wheel - dealer had diagnosed that in like 2006 as a faulty multifunction switch which they wanted some absurd amount of moneys to fix. Turns out, they were right. The copper spring inside that pushes the plunger to make electrical contact with the plastic thingy that lets it rotate, was goofed.
The copper spring got so hot it shrank and welded itself together. I replaced it with a higher gauge of copper wire coiled up inside a steel spring.
Then the fuse box under the hood was falling apart from rust, several relays were not being retained properly and fuses were breaking off in the oxidized sockets:
So I replaced it and coated everything with di-electric grease:
Rebuilding the parking brakes, replacing axle seals:
Obligatory box of happy new and rebuilt parts all cleaned up and ready for install:
Stripped all the surface rust I could from the underbody, cleaned and painted and oil sprayed everything. Replaced bump stops, brake hoses, brake cables, basically anything that would not pass an inspection. All the new front brakes going on:
Had to replace the outside mirrors - they were flopping around off the mount to the doors. I ended up using the old mirror housings from my truck, swapped out the glass and harness and painted covers, added the puddle lamps. Then welded the hole in the rear quarter panel shut after pulling out as much of the big dent (same accident as the front end damage that was fixed) as I could, was able to get the new tail lights to fit almost perfect despite the remaining denting. There were a bunch of light bulbs out, mostly needed to clean out oxidation from the contacts on the harnesses. Had to replace the rear bumper, the rear hitch receiver, the engine belts, two idler pulleys, and a bunch of miscellaneous odds and ends. Donated the original wheels and tires from my '04 to get by since the tires on it were completely dry rotted. I had to do a lot of tweaking to the front end new fenders and hood to get them to fit right, needed a new hood latch for that, and had to completely disassemble every switch in the doors and the hood light to clean out the oxydation on the contacts internally to get them all to work again.
Then I partially stripped the interior to give it a deep cleaning - it had been smelling quite moldy inside the entire time I was working on it.
Ryan assisted with the polishing:
Then I loaded it onto the trailer for this last holiday weekend. As it was going on the trailer, it started spewing gas everywhere... Turns out, the auxiliary tank sending unit was also rotted out! So I got to fix that too.
And then, I got to tow this big ol' truck through the mountains. I will say, it's a little un-nerving watching the Duramax spin up to 4500rpm while engine braking in tow/haul mode, at one point going up a mountain road it kicked in the cooling fan at max speed and downshifted to run closer to the redline under power (sounds like a tornado) But there were zero issues towing, the truck never went over the thermostat rated temperature, the trans stayed nice and cool, and I got 14mpg towing. Oh, the irony, fuel economy towing the 8.1 Yukon is better than just driving an 8.1 Yukon
There will probably be more to come on this Yukon in the next few years here, stay tuned!
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