2002 Tahoe "Expedition" build

Overlandtowater

Well-known member
by far the best GMT800 IMO.......hope to set up my burban the same. thanks for the tread. I have the at3s in the 265 flavor as of now and they are pretty good for my use in SEMO and the Ozarks. I did get into some mud on the Mississippi river that I couldn't sling out. But for my get me to and from remote fishing spots they do great. I hope to put a set of 285 or 305 at3xlt's the extra side wall should help keep me from slicing the side wall on these Ozark rocks.
 

Halligan

Adventurer
Great Z71 build. Way back in 2003 I bought a brand new Z71 Tahoe for my wife. She drove it for 12 years and now my father has it. Super reliable vehicle that owes my family nothing.
 

Tahoebooger

New member
Your Tahoe is exactly what I want to do to mine. Some differences of course. I have an 02 the same color. Slowly but surely i will have it set up.

Thank you for sharing your adventures in the build .
 

Overlandtowater

Well-known member
02 Tahoe how did you convert DRL to Fogs? I couldn't find it any where. Did you use foglight bulbs or did you just swap the wires to the fog light wires?
 

Lykos

Super Trucker
How well do you like that front bumper? I know it's awesome and doing such a conversion is on my mind. But, it's the juice worth the squeeze over a good, solid pushbar and hidden winch mount? If you had it to do over would you do it again?
 
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02TahoeMD

Explorer
Thanks everyone for their continued interest in my old gal, and for their kind words. I am amazed that she still draws interest and I am humbled. A couple updates to add from this past couple of months...

First - to answer some questions:
02 Tahoe how did you convert DRL to Fogs? I couldn't find it any where. Did you use foglight bulbs or did you just swap the wires to the fog light wires?
This was one of my very first mods. I cut out the backs of the factory square style fog lights and epoxied them to the back of the DRL housings so they could hold the fog light bulbs. I did have to re-epoxy them about 18 months ago. Otherwise they have held up fine. If you need more details, here is my original post from way back in Nov 2005 on Z71T-S.

How well do you like that front bumper? I know it's awesome and doing such a conversion is on my mind. But, it's the juice worth the squeeze over a good, sand hidden winch mount? If you had it to do over would you do it again?
Love the bumper. I hit a yearling deer with it about 3 years ago. Ran right in front of me on a suicide mission. I heard a "tink" sound and the thing was sent flying across the road deader than a doornail. Not a scratch on the bumper. At a minimum, without the bumper, I would have needed a new grille, and possibly a headlight and turn signal assembly. I would keep the bumper simply because I like the design and appearance of it. Is it an absolutely must- have item? Nope. But I am glad I did it.

A mod I didn't get any good photos of - I added a peel and stick heat pad for the oil pan. It was about 5" x 7" in size and I routed the power cable up to sit beside the electrical distribution box. I had a chance to try it out this past week when the temps plummeted into single digits. On an 8 degree night (sadly I do not have a garage) I came out in the morning and got the temperature of the oil pan with my IR thermometer. The oil pan was reading 50 degrees which would make for a much easier start and warmup for the engine on such a bitter morning. Successful mod in my book,and I would only bother to plug in the truck on nights with sub zero temps like we got hit with.

Second, and much more costly, was the replacement of my alternator. I was still running the original alternator but could observe the actual voltage output on my Scangauge jumping by an entire volt, sometimes a bit more, while driving. Then my Ham radio started turning itself on, and off, all by itself. Lastly, one day I started the truck and heard a peculiar sort of moaning coming from the engine. I popped the hood and, to my ear, it sounded like the alternator was making the noise. So, I ordered a Mechman 240 amp which should be more than adequate for my electrical needs. It took a few weeks to arrive and I had to install a grounding wire for it, which added a few minutes to the project. It comes with a 2 year warranty and so far seems to be working great. The sound went away, the ham radio stopped acting possessed, and the Scanguage shows a steady output of about 14.4 volts.


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So, that is the latest and greatest, no trips to report at the moment. Still love my Tahoe and have no plans on replacing it.
 

Overlandtowater

Well-known member
Why the DRL to fog light and not just add fog lights? I am just curious.
I plan on a high clearance......pre runner style bumper...with just a tube that runs under the plastic top cap of the bumper...like the pic below, and it will do away with those pesky DRL....
 

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XJLI

Adventurer
I think the full lower turn signal/running light mod is a good one also. Looks more like the older trucks.

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Love your rear bumper setup but the reviews from the company you purchased all those years ago are pretty sketchy. Now i'm looking at the Roadmaster 2" hitch spare tire carrier. $600 price tag is tough to eat but looks like what I want to easily move the spare out of the way to access the hatch.
 

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