New guy alert. 01 Yukon XL 2500

Bronze

New member
Was directed here from another board. Guys there said the people here really know what they are talking about. I've got a '01 Yukon XL 2500 and am planning on turning it into a expedition/bug out rig. I do a lot of prospecting/mining that has me up in the hills and hunting the back country. Also used a lot for family camping. I'm going to do everything I can to keep this from being a "BroDozer". No moster energy drink stickers, no shiny wheels, no triple remote reservoir shocks.

Plans are putting a "4 lift, "17-"18 steel wheel on at least a "33 tire, lockers, big bumper with winch mount, roof basket, light bar on the front and corner lighting, dual batteries, snorkel (for fording the creeks instead of having to get out and hike the rest of the way in), swing arm on the back to mount a couple jerry cans and a few other small items. Eventually, I plan on giving it a matte black paint job.

Iwill also being going through the engine and trans. It currently has the 6.0 vortec and the 4L60E. Bore and stroke, tune, headers and a few other things. Engines arent an issue for me. Ive been building LS based stuff for years and can do it in my sleep.

The hardest part for me is going to be finding parts for the yukon. Searching for different parts for a full size either ends up on ebay chicom garbage, or custom one off items.

Where is a good place that provides parts for the 2500 full size rigs?
 

legendaryandrew

Adventurer
Welcome! Unfortunately, you were misdirected. This is the home of the BroDozer, and we love XD Monster wheels. Especially 22" wheels with 33" tires. 75" light bars, color matched powder coating on our suspension control arms, and pocket dogs....

Riiiiiiight haha well what kinds of parts are you looking for? There is a large percentage of Suburban/Yukon owners here, so with that you're in luck. I personally run Cognito (I really should get paid for how often I've recommended their gear...) suspension, and for the last year and a half I've loved it. Beyond that you have a decent amount of options for lockers and gears. AAM makes an electric locker for the front 9.25" diff (they make one for the rear as well), as well as ARB for front and rear. I'm pretty sure any 01-02 Sierra bumper can be made to fit your rig pretty easily, though I have not looked into it, most places don't list them as compatible.
 

Bronze

New member
Welcome! Unfortunately, you were misdirected. This is the home of the BroDozer, and we love XD Monster wheels. Especially 22" wheels with 33" tires. 75" light bars, color matched powder coating on our suspension control arms, and pocket dogs....

Riiiiiiight haha well what kinds of parts are you looking for? There is a large percentage of Suburban/Yukon owners here, so with that you're in luck. I personally run Cognito (I really should get paid for how often I've recommended their gear...) suspension, and for the last year and a half I've loved it. Beyond that you have a decent amount of options for lockers and gears. AAM makes an electric locker for the front 9.25" diff (they make one for the rear as well), as well as ARB for front and rear. I'm pretty sure any 01-02 Sierra bumper can be made to fit your rig pretty easily, though I have not looked into it, most places don't list them as compatible.

Man, you had me sweating there for a second. LOL!

I figured the Sierra stuff would fit. If I remember correctly, the Yukon and the Sierra models share the same frame. So I'll be making some calls on it. Wife came home about an hour ago and said the brakes are metal to metal....took it around the block to confirm and ugh.....emergency trip to Les Schwab tomorrow.

Biggest stuff right out of the gate I am going to want is a "4 lift but I want to find a kit that makes up for the steering geometry. In race cars that run over 200 mph steering geometry and pinion angle were big concerns, so I am guessing when you lift a rig you run into the same issues.

Then its wheels and tires. Right now its got 275/65 18 that are "31. I wouldnt mind dropping to a smaller diameter wheel for more sidewall but at the same time I still have to be able to tow. Nothing heavy but a small pop up trailer at most. I am thinking maybe a "35 tire at most. I dont think anything more than that would fit and I really dont feel like doing gear swaps.

I think I mentioned the motor/trans will be out this summer for a bore/stroke/tune. Want to get this to about 400-450hp with oodles of tq. Wont be an issue on this platform. I've built LSx/LQ4 well over those #'s. Right now I am just deciding if I want to put some type of power adder to it.
 
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rayra

Expedition Leader
GMC Yukon XL = Chevy Suburban, same-same. Searching the same year suburban should get you everything you want in terms of parts, either factory or aftermarket.

I'd double check that trans too, I'm surprised to read of a 6.0 and 2500 with a 4l60e, I'd expect it to be a 4L80E


LMCtruck.com has a good range of factory parts and their prices are reasonable overall. There should also be a lot of overlap in drivetrain, running gear, interior, dash, and bodywork with similar years of both the GMC and Chevy pickups. Lot of parts in common
 

Bronze

New member
Can't believe I said 4L60......it is the 4L80. So used to corvettes I will probably get stuff mixed up.
 

98dango

Expedition Leader
You have a good start there. My only question is why so much HP ( I know Unmanly ?). But the ifs front is marginal at best with 35s and that much hp and Tq along with a lift angles and stress will *** a tin of stress and chance of broken parts where you don't want them to break.
 

boll_rig

Adventurer
Welcome Bronze. Lets see a photo of the soon to be ready for anything Yukon! Im in your boat with a newer suburban. Im interested on what route you would go with for the all black matte paint job.
 

legendaryandrew

Adventurer
You have a good start there. My only question is why so much HP ( I know Unmanly ?). But the ifs front is marginal at best with 35s and that much hp and Tq along with a lift angles and stress will *** a tin of stress and chance of broken parts where you don't want them to break.

Mines living with 35"s and about 500ftlbs right now :ylsmoke: #thatbigblocklife
 

Bronze

New member
So here is the base line rig. The steps will be coming off for better ground clearance. As far as the paint, I am going with the full "murder". All matte black. I dont know what type of paint, I just told my paint guy, "I want this thing murdered out". He smiled and said "its gonna look SICK". But paint will be one of the last things as I have a little body work that needs to be done. The wife unit has used the rear quarters as post feelers at our old apartment.

As far as power, its not uncommon to see LS based trucks over the 400hp mark. Its REAL easy to do relatively speaking. Due to the mileage on this motor, it will have to be stripped and bored. The 99-02 LS and LQ motors had a "piston slap" issue because the cylinders were not perfect from the factory. So boring will fix that and add cubes. Then I am going to throw a slightly larger crank for more stroke and even more cubes. Medium cam dialed in for low to mid range TQ, intake and a tune....Boom, 400+hp and oodles of TQ. More than likely wont even have to mess with the fuel system as I wont be trying to spin it like my old Silver State Classic Challenge/NORC Camaro.

I think the "35's will look good on it. Right now it looks like "18 is as small as can find on a 8 lug steel wheel but on a "35 it still has a lot of sidewall. My only concern is the tire height artificially changing the gear ratio. I need to look into what the factory ratio is as I dont have a clue.

20160118_163242_resized_zpsqwvmo3vn.jpg
 

legendaryandrew

Adventurer
Probably .373's. They were the most common gearing AFAIK. If you want 35's, you'll pretty much need to do 6" of lift, unless you do a super non-aggressive offset wheel. Mine still rubs, and I trimmed everything as much as I could. If you want to keep the project as a whole a bit more reasonable, stick with 33's and a 2.5-4" lift. No need to regear, no need to modify your front diff and do a drop bracket.
 

Bronze

New member
Heard all the bros are painting their trucks matte black.

I've heard that also. But I will be doing mine for a reason and it will actually get dirty. I might even go with a matte OD green as it hides better in my neck of the woods. Us prospectors dont like people knowing where we are digging. :)

EDIT: Had a minor set back today. Front brakes went completely south on us while the wife unit was driving it last night. Sooooooo, $626.50 later the brakes have been replaced but that was a nice dent in parts funding. And the Les Schwab guy said the brake booster is leaking to.....ugh.
 
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legendaryandrew

Adventurer
Off topic thread post:

So uh, how does one become a professional prospector, and how lucrative is it, really? I worked with a guy here in WA that claimed he worked for a mining operation before it cleaned out the mine, and he made 160k a year or more.
 

Bronze

New member
Off topic thread post:

So uh, how does one become a professional prospector, and how lucrative is it, really? I worked with a guy here in WA that claimed he worked for a mining operation before it cleaned out the mine, and he made 160k a year or more.

In all honesty, there really is no such thing as a "professional" prospector, only professional "miners". A prospector is someone looking for something. A miner has already found it and digging for profit. Anyone "mining" is actually making money digging for what ever mineral they are looking for.

Here is what I will tell you. Anyone that says they made "X", unless they own their own mine, is telling you a fish story. I make no bones about what I do. This is my hobby, it gets me in the outdoors and gives me great exercise. My absolute best day out here gave me 2 grams. Think about that for a second.....I spent 10 hours, digging for all I was worth, one minute freezing to death, next second sweating profusely. This is a hobby, but I love it......once you get "the fever", it never leaves you. When you see gold in that pan and it hits you, its almost like a drug. I love hunting it, chasing it, digging for it and just being in god's country.

Here is my best day ever, which just happened to be last week. Just about 2 grams on 18 full buckets of material. I found whats called a "pocket".

biggold_zpse22dhmq0.jpg
 

legendaryandrew

Adventurer
Thats so awesome haha tbh, I would love something like that, I've always thought being a treasure hunter would be about the best 'job' ever. Thanks for sharing!
 

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