"The Wombat" 04 GMC Sierra Z71

mizeide

Michael - Owner Wanderlust Overland
Thanks BradyD!

Got a few more things done to her before I headed out for Mexico on a house-building mission trip.




Heavy Duty Idler Arm Pivot to replace the wornout stock one.



Rare Parts Heavy Duty Tie-Rods to replace box store lifetime warranty rods that lasted less than 20k
 

mizeide

Michael - Owner Wanderlust Overland
Some pics from the Mexico Trip



The Wombat loaded down with tools in the bed and the camp "pantry" towed behind. The trailer had dry goods to sustain 50 people for 5 days and about 200 gallons of water. Glad I had the new brakes!



First day there had miserable winds that thoroughly thrashed the camp. Lost a few tents and a large canopy but no one was hurt.
 

ckupq

Observer
I never saw a good review for those tie rods. I saw plenty of articles on them, but no reviews. Why did you go with those over a cognito kit?
 

mizeide

Michael - Owner Wanderlust Overland
I never saw a good review for those tie rods. I saw plenty of articles on them, but no reviews. Why did you go with those over a cognito kit?

I went over the cognito tie rods because of Rare Parts using actual tie rod ends rather than heim joints. For some reason cognito makes both the tie rod end and heim joint versions for the heavy duty trucks but not the 1500. In my experience the heim joints get squeaky and are more susceptible to wear and tear from the elements such as sand and salt. There is not really any good way to keep heim joints lubed and clean. So far in just the install they are nice and beefy and seem to be high quality. Time will tell how they wear. If I can get 50k out of them I will call them worth it.
 

Larry

Bigassgas Explorer
Nice work. You have pretty much addressed all the idiosyncrasies of this generation GM truck. Getting rid of the electric shift transfercase is the absolute best upgrade for sure. The only thing that would nicely top that is using a Posi-Lok cable to operate the front axle disconnect. The Posi-Lok function is similar to locking hubs plus it allows for use of 2wd low range. Sometimes it is handy to have 2wd low range when backing up trailers, etc. The people at Posi-Lok will tell you their kit won't work on a GMT800 but it will, especially now that you ditched the AutoCrap transfercase.

Also glad to see the body lift removed. That is the best kind of body lift….one that is removed and thrown in the trash. Too bad you couldn't have found a 9.5” 14 bolt axle from a GMT800 as it would have been a direct bolt in although only the early ones had rear disk brakes. The 9.5” was only found in 1500 series extended cab long beds and all VortecMAX trucks, both are pretty rare to find in bone yards. All other 1500 series trucks used the 8.5” 10 bolt.

Nice work! Those Level 8 wheels look great on a silverbirch and pewter trucks too!
 
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mizeide

Michael - Owner Wanderlust Overland
I've looked into the posi locks but like you referenced they said they don't work with GMT800. Good to know that they will actually work with these trucks. The way I have the new transfer case wired, I actually wired in a switch that opens the circuit when activated to allow 2wd low range. I have not had issues with the electric actuator yet but will definitely look into swapping to a posi-lock in the near future. After all the work I did to the 9.5" out of the obs I probably could have come close to breaking even $ wise on the 9.5" from a nbs (when time is factored in). I found some locally but they were wanting $1200-$1600 for them. And at that price point I was still looking at probably re-gearing, rebuilding and re-braking a newer axle anyway. I don't like putting new to me items on my truck without thoroughly going through them first so I can "set it and forget it" Given I only paid $250 for the axle I have, I was a lot of $ ahead even with the extra work. Frustrating as it was, it was a great learning experience and could do it in probably 1/3 the time and headache if I were to do it again.
I love the way those Level 8s look with my truck. It's a different look that you don't see with everyone elses truck. My truck happens to be Paint code 929L "Cashmere" not exactly a manly truck name but it is one of my favorites. Also seems to be on the rarer side slightly different than the silverbirch and pewter. Have to have touchup paint custom mixed as it is not a color that is normally stocked in the touchup paint grab and go's.
 

mizeide

Michael - Owner Wanderlust Overland
Testing out the new locker while out camping for my brother's bachelor party.






Breakover angle killed progress pretty solidly. Oh well, it's not a rockcrawler! :smiley_drive:
 

mizeide

Michael - Owner Wanderlust Overland
Thank you! I wish there was more pictures and more adventures but I'm in the work hard portion so some day I can play harder.
 

ckupq

Observer
I went over the cognito tie rods because of Rare Parts using actual tie rod ends rather than heim joints. For some reason cognito makes both the tie rod end and heim joint versions for the heavy duty trucks but not the 1500. In my experience the heim joints get squeaky and are more susceptible to wear and tear from the elements such as sand and salt. There is not really any good way to keep heim joints lubed and clean. So far in just the install they are nice and beefy and seem to be high quality. Time will tell how they wear. If I can get 50k out of them I will call them worth it.

How these holding up so far? I need to pull the trigger on the front end and I'm most likely going to pick these up.
 

mizeide

Michael - Owner Wanderlust Overland
They are holding up great so far. Have stayed nice and tight. Not enough miles on them to say they are going to last forever but I am pleased with them so far and no longer worry about knocking my toe out of alignment like I used to with the wimpy stock ones.
 

superbuickguy

Explorer
10 bolt axles are pretty strong, in stock form - what tends to be the biggest killer of them is either overloading them (which causes deflection in the case and tubes), or jumping them (same result, just instantaneous). Put a truss either under or over the axle (top trusses are nice because they don't reduce ground clearance) and you'll make the current differential last a lot longer.
 

mizeide

Michael - Owner Wanderlust Overland
10 bolts don't like loaded down beds for mission trips to build houses off of Mexican roads.
 

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