New guy / Super project/ Intro/ 1,000 questions

Start this off right. My name is josh. Im new to this board. Pretty much whats going on here is Im looking to do alot of work on my gmc yukon, only thing is, Im in Iraq, and Im trying to get it all done before I get home in about 7 months. So Im basiclly looking for websites and what not and tech advice so I can order parts, and just have them put on back home. Where my truck is right now, a small town in East Texas, there isnt any kind of off road truck shop near by. Here is what she's got so far...

37x13.50 Toyo Open country M/T
6in Procomp susp.
3in body lift
Traction bars
dual mx6's all around
10bolt gm
yadda yadda

Now what I'm GOING to be doing...
And have several questions


bumpers from blazenoffroad.com - Im looking for tubular off road bumpers, IM trying to get rid of all the chrome and have more capable bumpers while getting rid of some of the massive weight of my truck. Anyone know somewhere else I might be able to find tubular bumpers similar to those made for GMC with IFS?

Im wanting to swap the 10 bolt for a 14 bolt ff....Where would be a good place to find one? Preferably one with the shock mounts and spring plates already relocated..

Along with that, the drive shaft? Where could I order a shaft that is going to work with the new 14 bolt?

What kind of issues will I have running a 14bolt with a detroit locker and 17in iroks? This is my daily driver as well..is it do-able?

Now the tranny...Pretty much stock in the 97 yukon...Is it going to be able to handle pushing the 14bolt? Will I need to get a diffrent one?I doubt it but I am curious.


Where can I find heavy duty u-joints/tie-rods for IFS?
I know I should make the solid front axle swap, but its a little too expensive and I have yet to break one cv joint yet. And Ive ran through some tough stuff. I beat the crap out of my yukon.


I currently have 4.56 gears in the 10bolt. Would it be best to stick with 4.56 for 37s?


Fenderflares - I cant find any. Anywhere. I want the bushwacker style rivit on ones, but am yet to find any that are made for a 4 door yukom. Where do I look?

Is a 12,000lb winch going to do the trick? or is it overkill? What lbs would you guys reccomend for a big ol yukon 4door?

paint- This is a big MAYBE for me..About how much would one spend on a good black paint job on a big 4 door? Is there anything that helps even a little in the scratch proofing aspect?


Im pretty much only going to have about 12,000$ to work with over the next 7 months. Any and all Ideas, suggestions, reccomendations are welcome! Im needing all the tech advice and personal experience I can get here. Im going to try to keep this thread going untill Im done Im done. Posting updates and I am going to have SEVERAL more questions. Thanks ahead of time for yall's help.


Posting up a couple pics so you get the general idea of what Im working with.









 

four wheel parts wholesalers has internal searches for parts to fit tha Yuke. nice ride btw. thanks for the service over there!  

i agree with the man above, thanks for your hard work over and im amazed you havent broken an axle yet  
s10extreme

Thanks   got a 14 bolt and 6" leaf springs on the way..Gonna have them put on in a couple days  

post pics when it gets done i want to see that  
s10extreme

Yah so today I totally ripped the ass end of my truck out....Axle, springs everything....And I was about to put it back together and hmmmmm seems the leaf springs I bought are too big....Thats *** wonderfull..Now I have to mail them back and wait for new ones...While my truck sits in the driveway torn into peices...yah whatever, just hadda vent  

You have one sick ride!!! I like it!!! I've been there before when parts ordered aren't the right ones. That sucks! I am in the process of installing a solid axle in my 91 C2500 and I'm learning real fast that my patience is being tested every minute. I have had problems with speed sensors in the 4L80E not working and I finally found out that there was some leak in the case itself so I scored on a 2004 4L80E that I've just installed after a thorough rebuild. Next I get the 241 T-case put in and I'm at a standstill....I have to fabricate a crossmember. Its the joys of build-ups that keeps me building them I guess. Good luck on your build-up and hope all is well  

Question about that. You said you had issues with the speed sensor? Im about to stick a dana60 in the front, Will I have that issue? Any tips/advise would be awesome  

budlightguy1980:
Start this off right. My name is josh. Im new to this board. Pretty much whats going on here is Im looking to do alot of work on my gmc yukon, only thing is, Im in Iraq, and Im trying to get it all done before I get home in about 7 months. So Im basiclly looking for websites and what not and tech advice so I can order parts, and just have them put on back home. Where my truck is right now, a small town in East Texas, there isnt any kind of off road truck shop near by. Here is what she's got so far...

37x13.50 Toyo Open country M/T
6in Procomp susp.
3in body lift
Traction bars
dual mx6's all around
10bolt gm
yadda yadda

Now what I'm GOING to be doing...
And have several questions


bumpers from blazenoffroad.com - Im looking for tubular off road bumpers, IM trying to get rid of all the chrome and have more capable bumpers while getting rid of some of the massive weight of my truck. Anyone know somewhere else I might be able to find tubular bumpers similar to those made for GMC with IFS?

Im wanting to swap the 10 bolt for a 14 bolt ff....Where would be a good place to find one? Preferably one with the shock mounts and spring plates already relocated..

Along with that, the drive shaft? Where could I order a shaft that is going to work with the new 14 bolt?

What kind of issues will I have running a 14bolt with a detroit locker and 17in iroks? This is my daily driver as well..is it do-able?

Now the tranny...Pretty much stock in the 97 yukon...Is it going to be able to handle pushing the 14bolt? Will I need to get a diffrent one?I doubt it but I am curious.


Where can I find heavy duty u-joints/tie-rods for IFS?
I know I should make the solid front axle swap, but its a little too expensive and I have yet to break one cv joint yet. And Ive ran through some tough stuff. I beat the crap out of my yukon.


I currently have 4.56 gears in the 10bolt. Would it be best to stick with 4.56 for 37s?


Fenderflares - I cant find any. Anywhere. I want the bushwacker style rivit on ones, but am yet to find any that are made for a 4 door yukom. Where do I look?

Is a 12,000lb winch going to do the trick? or is it overkill? What lbs would you guys reccomend for a big ol yukon 4door?

paint- This is a big MAYBE for me..About how much would one spend on a good black paint job on a big 4 door? Is there anything that helps even a little in the scratch proofing aspect?


Im pretty much only going to have about 12,000$ to work with over the next 7 months. Any and all Ideas, suggestions, reccomendations are welcome! Im needing all the tech advice and personal experience I can get here. Im going to try to keep this thread going untill Im done Im done. Posting updates and I am going to have SEVERAL more questions. Thanks ahead of time for yall's help.


Posting up a couple pics so you get the general idea of what Im working with.











Ok, I'll try to start at the beginning.  For a front bumper, I'd look at Ruenel.  They are AWESOME.  Located in Marysville, CA but they ship everywhere.  www.ruenel.com .  Rear bumper, I'd just find a good machine shop that can fabricate a bumper/swingout spare tire carrier/storage rack for you.  It'd be 1 off custom and really set your rig apart.  For a rear end, just source a 14 bolt from a 3/4 ton Suburban or Yukon (XL?).  IT will be set up exactly like your 1/2 ton unit you are running now as far as spring pad locations and shock mounting locations.  For your front suspension, if your not swapping a solid axle into it, then the next best thing you could do is change your front end suspension stuff over to 1 ton stuff from a pickup of the same vintage.  It will be much stronger than your 1/2 ton stuff you are running now.  For gears, I would step up to a 4.88 minimum, maybe even 5.13.  It will make your truck feel like a different machine for sure.  As stated in an earlier post, you probably want a 4L80E.  It's basically a computer controlled turbo 400 with an overdrive.  Talk to a PERFORMANCE tranny shop and they should be able to set you up with everything you need to make it work in your rig.  You could get away with using the stock unit, but I would def have it overhauled.  Have a shift kit put in it and have oil passages drilled out and maybe have the drum machined to accept another clutch, things like that.  Again, a performance tranny shop will know exactly what to do here.  Oh, you won't have any problems with the 14 bolt and 37" tires at all.  It's a strong unit.  Just put a Detroit locker in it and forget about it.  Def go for the 12K winch.  In my opinion, you can never go too big when it comes to winches.  For paint, that's your call.  Have never worried about paying someone to paint my rigs.  If it were me, and I was worried about scratches, then I think I'd honestly look into getting the lower part of the rig coated with a colored truck bed liner like Line-X or something similar.  Have them print you out the combo they used for the color and keep it on file.  This way if you do get scrathes and what not, they can easily touch them up for you.  Sounds and looks like a fun rig, and it is only going to get better with the mods you are talking about making to it.  Take your time, don't rush the job and half ass it.  It will come back to bite you if you do.  Also, don't be afraid to ask ANYONE for a military discount.  For what you guys have done for us and had to go through over there, it's the least anyone can do to show a little appreciation for our troops.  Good luck, and thank you for your service.  

Here she is now. Almost done...

1997 GMC Yukon

ORU 36.5 SAS Kit
ORU Crossover Steering
Dana 60 front w/4.56
GM 14Bolt 10.5 FF w/ 4.56 and Detroit rear
6' srings up front
8' springs w/2' blocks rear
3' Bodylift
37x12.50 r16 Super Swamper Iroks.

Its not done yet hah.









 

Very nice indeed