2001 Suburban K2500 - Summer Camping & Winter Commuting

[snowblind]

The only reservation I have about the new projector housings is that our roads here are garbage. I'm driving the Burb as my DD and I hit rim-rocking potholes all the time, and I'm worried about the shake and the build quality of the new housings. I don't mind spending the money. I mind spending it twice.

Are you DD-ing yours, and dealing with winter's leftover gifts like me?

I work in the Utah mountains and DD mine in gnarly snow all winter and 100+ heat in the summers. They hold up fine.

I really don't think it's a big deal in the way you think it is. You can brace the shake out with pinp-pong balls if it bugs you. I just left mine as is.

The durability issues are with the adjusters not the housings. You just have to be really gentle adjusting them. Mine broke because they were treated roughly by the dealership after they raised the front end.


Matt

 

[utherjorge]

Once again, this is a very helpful post. Thanks so much. If it's just the adjusters, that worries me less.

I do believe that I'm going to get that light bar I posted about earlier...but paint it to match the truck in Pewter. I'll post here as that gets done to see what it looks like. I hate automotive wiring....

 

[snowblind]

Wiring for LED headlight, LED bumper lights and PIAA Horn

I decided to install a new passenger side horn. I've never really liked the stock horns and PIAA makes a 330 Hz horn that is a good bit deeper than stock and I decided to give it a try.

The PIAA horn requires new wiring so I decided to mount the horn in a new location. Here it is with the ballasts for the LED headlights and LED bumper lights. Everything is just zip tied in place for now but I will be adding permanent mounts this summer.

Visible plugs here are LED headlight and high-beam.



This shows the two ballasts and the new horn. Everything tucks in behind the headlight. There is very little room between the back of the headlight and the horn but it does clear.



The horn sounds great combined with the stock horn. I would have replaced both horns but the driver's side horn is tucked in a little tighter and I didn't want to mess with it today.


Matt

 

[snowblind]

Electric fans, air conditioning, wheel bearings, brakes hoses and more!

Been super busy this summer moving houses, kids, workg, etc, etc, and hadn't done much to the Sub. That all changed over the last few weeks.

A/C compressor, belts, tensioners, etc:
My A/C compressor began to fail this spring. A/C would still blow cold on the highway but not at slow speeds. Compressor made a nasty TICK-TICK-TICK when it was running. My mechanic verified that the system was full of refrigerant and that the compressor was indeed failing. Since my truck has 107,000 miles I decided to also replace the A/C drive belt, A/C tensioner and the serpentine belt, tensioner and idler. After installation we also found a leak that required replacing one of the upper A/C hoses.

Flex-a-lite 284 Electric Fans:
The mechanical fan on the 8.1 engine has always bummed me out. It may be the ultimate fan for keeping cool when towing 12,000lbs but it is total overkill for me 99% of the time and total underkill for keeping the A/C cool at a stoplight. The Flex-a-lite Duramax fan kit was a really poor fit so I ended up fabbing a custom rad shroud to mount the fans. I'll post up some photos soon.

Brakes and stainless lines:
My rear brakes hit metal a few weeks ago. Apparently one of the pads wasn't centering properly and wore out prematurely. Metal on metal puts a LOT of heat into the braking system. The rotor on that side had discolored and a piece had broken off! :Wow1::Wow1: I needed rotors and pads but decided to also replace the calipers and hoses just because everything had been so hot. I went with Russell Stainless brake hoses. I had never run stainless hoses before and they are SO MUCH BETTER! The brake pedal is the same until the brakes start to engage and then it is FIRM!

Front Hubs:
My front wheel bearings have been wearing out for a while now. They never made any big noises or anything but we checked them and all of a sudden they had a bunch of play. I replaced the hubs with OE Timken @ $160/per from Amazon. This made a BIG difference to the way the truck steers and handles. The steering is much tighter and hitting bumps mid-turn doesn't create instabilities and wiggles like before. Bumps and potholes also don't send as many shudders through the body as before.

Cognito PISK:
I added these steering support brackets just last night. They are designed to eliminate fore/aft movement at the pitman and idler arms. I installed these myself and can confirm that the design makes sense and will limit this fore/aft movement. Many users have reported noticeable improvements in steering feel, etc. I added the PISK after I did the hub replacement and I did not notice much/any improvement in steering. I believe this is due to already having steering components in very good condition.

Tie Rods:
Found a torn inner tie rod boot when installing the PISK. Time to replace those too I guess.



Pics and more details to follow in a couple of days.





Matt

 

[noJeepshere]

Nice to see you still have the sub and are using it.

cent frum a smaert fone

 

[snowblind]

Flex-a-lite 284 Electric Fans

The mechanical fan on the 8.1 engine has always bummed me out. It may be the ultimate fan for keeping cool when towing 12,000lbs but it is total overkill for me 99% of the time and total underkill for keeping the A/C cool at a stoplight. I have used electric fans in a variety of high performance applications with good results so I decided to go this route with the Suburban.

I bought a Flex-a-lite Duramax fan kit that ended up being a really poor fit and required fabbing a radiator shroud.

Here is the radiator minus the shroud and fan.


Here is a cardboard template. Made using the stock plastic shrouds.


Fans + template.


Compared to stock fan.


Compared to stock shroud.


Checking the template fit.


Checking the fan fit.




More to come.






Matt

 

[snowblind]

Flex-a-lite 284 Electric Fans Part Two

Found a local metal shop that would make what I wanted.

A few hours later.






Mounted and wired.





Fan control is through a Flex-a-lite Variable Speed Controller. It measures coolant temperature exiting the engine block and turns the fans on accordingly. I set the fans to come on at approximately 200º according to the stock coolant gauge. This is 10º above the stock 190º thermostat and 10º below the stock 220º fan clutch.

It's amazing how little the 8.1 engine needs the fan in everyday driving. It takes a loooooooong time to warm up all that coolant and the fans rarely come on. In contrast, the A/C activates both fans the moment you turn it on. This results in VERY COLD A/C in stop and go traffic.

One thing I don't like is that the controller doesn't have the option to operate just one fan. I think it does two at 60% but that is still very loud.

On the plus side the engine is much quieter and feels less labored and there is a definite increase in performance off the line.


Matt

 

[Bojak]

Any voltage issues running the electric fans off a single battery and stock alternator? I ask because I am having some problems running my twins. Crank it up and as I drive away radio gets louder as my juice build up. I think it is just crap work done by the guy who installed it. Maybe not , that is why I am asking.

 

[Littlehouse]

Why block some of the backside of the radiator? Wouldnt small brackets holding he fans be more efficient?

 

[snowblind]

Any voltage issues running the electric fans off a single battery and stock alternator? I ask because I am having some problems running my twins. Crank it up and as I drive away radio gets louder as my juice build up. I think it is just crap work done by the guy who installed it. Maybe not , that is why I am asking.

Hey Bojak.

There shouldn't be any issues with a properly functioning electrical system but with the big fans there is definitely less margin for error. The stock chevy v8s have all used electric fans for decades now so it's not like it's not normal. However... any problems with connections, corrosion, bad ground, etc, etc will cause you problems.



Matt

 

[snowblind]

Why block some of the backside of the radiator? Wouldnt small brackets holding he fans be more efficient?

Hey Littlehouse.

The radiator is not blocked. The flat sheetmetal shroud sits about 1/2" off the back of the radiator so air flows thru the radiator and then thru the fans. This is the same as stock except the stock shroud is more like 2" deep. My original design had the radiator shroud bulge out in the middle to move the fans a little further away from the radiator and smooth airflow. However, that type of fabrication was beyond the skills of the shop I used.

In the real world I have found that the increased suction (ie airflow) at lower speeds is more important than unimpeded airflow at highway speed. I have not found any problems with cooling with the new setup. I could drill holes in the shroud if I felt there was a benefit to more airflow at speed but so far I have not found this to be the case.



Matt

 

[Littlehouse]

Thanks for the explanation Matt. Looking to do something like this on the family sub.

 

[Bojak]

Hey Bojak.

There shouldn't be any issues with a properly functioning electrical system but with the big fans there is definitely less margin for error. The stock chevy v8s have all used electric fans for decades now so it's not like it's not normal. However... any problems with connections, corrosion, bad ground, etc, etc will cause you problems.



Matt

Thanks for the reply. I suspected that the issue was created more than revealed but wanted to ask. I wish I knew of a GOOD mechanic around the Atlanta area but so far i am 0 for 4. Thanks for the info.

 

[RoyJ]

Hey Littlehouse.

The radiator is not blocked. The flat sheetmetal shroud sits about 1/2" off the back of the radiator so air flows thru the radiator and then thru the fans. This is the same as stock except the stock shroud is more like 2" deep. My original design had the radiator shroud bulge out in the middle to move the fans a little further away from the radiator and smooth airflow. However, that type of fabrication was beyond the skills of the shop I used.

In the real world I have found that the increased suction (ie airflow) at lower speeds is more important than unimpeded airflow at highway speed. I have not found any problems with cooling with the new setup. I could drill holes in the shroud if I felt there was a benefit to more airflow at speed but so far I have not found this to be the case.



Matt

I wouldn't drill any holes, as that would defeat the purpose of the shroud at low speeds... You can try what GM does with the C7 Vette - have hinged flap doors on the shroud so they open up at highway speeds, but stay closed (like reed valves) when the fans are on at lower speeds.

Just curious, did you ever think about using OEM fans off a post 2006 GM half ton? Their shape is very close to your rad, and I bet you can score them for $100 at the junker. Just food for though if you ever need to replace your fans.

I enjoy seeing e-fans. I have two sets of OEM Altima fans, mounted on a 7.3 Power Stroke rad, cooling by 27,000 lbs Detroit Diesel bus!

 

[snowblind]

Thanks for the explanation Matt. Looking to do something like this on the family sub.

Many ways to mount electric fans. With little ones you can even stick skewers through the radiator to mount them. My fans where VERY heavy and needed a strong mount.

In the kit supplied by Flex-a-lite the fans are mounted with "wings" that attach to the edges of the radiator and the fan shroud has a thick rubber weatherstrip that seals directly to the radiator fins surface. Since I had to fabricate new mounts I just went with a complete shroud.

Is your suburban a 2500? If not there may be junkyard fans you could grab.



Matt