'99 Tahoe - Expedition Build!

[Spargman]

A few quick updates for everyone following.

Finished prepping and POR'ing the 14bsf - now I'm waiting for my Wagner severe duty shoes and I'll rebuild the drums and bend up some new brake lines.

before

after


Replaced the Compressor, drier and orifice tube...



After installing the new system, evacuating and filling with refrigerant...the high pressure relief valve went south...and I had to do it all over again!

I also installed a new idler pulley today and fixed my hi beam HIDs!

[Spargman]

i finally was able to upload some more progress photos...so here we go!!

Can anyone guess what may go in here? (i cut and grinded the heck out of it...came out pretty clean IMO)


On to the venerable 14 bolt and Alcan springs.

If you are going to replace your springs, plan on dropping your tank. I decided in my infinite wisdom that if I cut all the old bolts, it would piece of cake...wrong!

There is one bolt that butts up against the gas tank that once you cut the head off, it falls in between the frame and gas tank. The head of the bolt is bigger then the opening in the frame, so you can't simply grab a magnet and pull it out...also, these are grade 8 bolts, so unless you want to spend hours with a Sawzall, grab a grinder and go to town

- 10bolt stripped and ready to come out
- got it out nice and easy! I had new ubolts, so this part was actually pretty simple

This is where it gets painful...spring removal...it took me over a day to get these out b/c I didn't drop the tank and had to run to home depot twice for bigger cutting blades

- i did this at about 11p when I saw it was going to take hours of squirming to cut the bolt

New springs in - really easy - I installed with the head of bolt facing out


14 bolt in - POR'd it and with that ridiculous thick BlueFab diff cover, this thing is beefy


The RCX shocks are in the rear (white in the photo) as I wait for a bracket for my rear 5150's...sadly, the front 5150's are no valved heavy enough for this truck, so i'm ordering 5100's tonight

The driveshaft is also in, tomorrow is some buttoning up and then I go to pick up my new rear bumper!

[Spargman]

The venerable 14bolt is in and so far so good!! I only ran the truck on jack stands, but tomorrow it's road tested.



The 14bsf mod is a piece of cake if you are retaining the stock springs...but i definitely was slowed down by mine.

This thing looks awesome under the truck! I POR'd it (dont mind the spots i missed) and it looks really clean under the truck.

I also painted the drums and any visible rust on the frame... (this photo was taken before I touched up all the rust)

This mod I'm actually pretty excited about and recommend to folks that if they wheel, copy this!




This is my 100% Cycle Duty VIAIR 450H. If you want to run a tank, they make a pump with an auto shutoff...the "H" is not designed for use with tanks, but with a little ingenuity, it easily could.

We essentially purchased two brackets from Home Depot and with self taping screws, drilled into the body. To reduce vibration when this thing is on, rubber sealing material (roofers use it - see the shiny material on the fender), was placed on parts that have metal to metal contact. You will also see there are rubber grommets on the screws that mount the pump to the black mounting plate.

I also purchased the mounting bracket specifically for this pump and it made installation a piece of cake. You can tug on the pump and it doesn't budge.

From a wiring perspective, this will be wired directly to a relayed switch in our center console. The air line will run from the pump to a quick disconnect that will be mounted on the custom rear bumper.

Also, b/c this rig will go through water, I siliconed the heck out of the parts of the screws that went through the metal interior to the outside.

[chilliwak]

Thanks for posting up Sparq! Looks like your conversion went well and I am sure the truck is going to 4by4 very nicely now! I look forward to seeing pics of you out in the bush with your rig....

[Spargman]

Thanks for posting up Sparq! Looks like your conversion went well and I am sure the truck is going to 4by4 very nicely now! I look forward to seeing pics of you out in the bush with your rig....

Thanks! Truck is almost done, can't wait to leave!

[BurbanAZ]

looks awesome (like i said on the other forum lol) really like the air tank, i usually dont see them mounted inside. Is it pretty quiet when running?

[Spargman]

looks awesome (like i said on the other forum lol) really like the air tank, i usually dont see them mounted inside. Is it pretty quiet when running?

We still haven't tested it running inside that cavity...but i don't think it will be too bad. It's my first Viair, but i've heard great things about them,

[BurbanAZ]

thats a good use for the space for the spare, i may have to steal that idea after i finish my roof rack and move my spare lol

[Spargman]

for my spare (33"), I had a tire carrier incorporated into a bumper i had made.

I was told a tire on top can drag 0.5 - 1.0mpg off your average, so I put it on the back...i also think it looks cool

i just mounted the bumper but don't have pics yet...i'll get them up within the next few days.

[fasteddy47]

Nice Build!!!! Subscribed