2000 Suburban K1500 budget low lift with 37"s

twodollars

Active member
The oiled gauze filters do allow more particulate to pass than a paper filter. That's why they can offer more air flow. The only way to inprove paper filter flow capaity is to add more surface area. Paper is a better filter but more restrictive.
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
The oiled gauze filters do allow more particulate to pass than a paper filter. That's why they can offer more air flow. The only way to inprove paper filter flow capaity is to add more surface area. Paper is a better filter but more restrictive.

Twodollarrs,

You are absolutely correct; paper filter filters more than foam but is more restrictive thus it requires more surface area. Ideally I want to keep the paper filter however every time I run the paper filter my check engine light lights up. I have P0102, P0200 and P0302 codes consistently showing up. I am in the process of troubleshooting the ignition and fuel system to find out whats the cause. So far I replaced the spark plugs, plug wires, fuel filter and ran 2 tanks of fuel injector cleaner however I still have a rough idle and misfiring in cylinder 2. Next step is to replace the fuel injectors, ignition coils and ignition coil harness. When I run a K&N cone or this K&N look alike filter for factory airbox I do not see any check engine codes.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 

twodollars

Active member
Drei, I was just agreeing, in your previous post you already acknowedged the extra dirt that passed through. Not sure why I posted, maybe just startling refreshed that someone else realises that there's a trade off for more air from the same air box. Hey, rock on, I dig reading your posts. I still have not committed to the change to 37s on my burb, but I am thinking about it. Keep up the shenanigans, love the thread!
 

mekcanix

Camper
Twodollarrs,

You are absolutely correct; paper filter filters more than foam but is more restrictive thus it requires more surface area. Ideally I want to keep the paper filter however every time I run the paper filter my check engine light lights up. I have P0102, P0200 and P0302 codes consistently showing up. I am in the process of troubleshooting the ignition and fuel system to find out whats the cause. So far I replaced the spark plugs, plug wires, fuel filter and ran 2 tanks of fuel injector cleaner however I still have a rough idle and misfiring in cylinder 2. Next step is to replace the fuel injectors, ignition coils and ignition coil harness. When I run a K&N cone or this K&N look alike filter for factory airbox I do not see any check engine codes.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!


Funny I get the check engine light on mine since I switched to the spectre cold air intake? I get the rich bank 1 and bank 2. I get these codes every month or so, I pull the MAF and clean it and reinstall and clear codes and go for a month or so. its a GMT900 so not sure how similar the systems are, wheres Rayra when I need him. That man and CrazyDrei seem to know more about GM's then the actual GM tech I know LOL

I have said this once already, I really enjoy this thread and have found it very informative. So thank you and keep up the awesome work
 

yoggie

Member
I had a 2500 Avalanche with the 8.1L engine and I was getting several trouble codes. I dont remember what they were but sound similar to what you are getting. I cleaned the MAF and the codes went away. The story I head at the time was the oil from K&N type filters gets on the MAF and it gums them up. The higher flowing filters mask the issue until you switch back to paper filters and it starts throwing codes.
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
I had a 2500 Avalanche with the 8.1L engine and I was getting several trouble codes. I dont remember what they were but sound similar to what you are getting. I cleaned the MAF and the codes went away. The story I head at the time was the oil from K&N type filters gets on the MAF and it gums them up. The higher flowing filters mask the issue until you switch back to paper filters and it starts throwing codes.

Yoggie,

I replaced the MAF sensor last week and the truck ran much better. Looks like the old MAF had so much oil on it from the K&N that no mater how much I cleaned it the dust got on it and threw it off.

Engine ran the same with paper and foam filters before I replaced the MAF. Last week I ran the foam filter and the truck ran much better, this week I'm running the paper filter to see how it runs.

Stay tuned to more shenanigans!
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Viewer discretion advised!

The following post is for mature audiences only. No FoMoCo vehicles were harmed in the making of this post.

PRESS Ctrl F5 to reload the page if the images do not load the first time around.

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I have beat up, chopped up and trashed my front bumper to the point that it's so crooked that it looks like it's barely hanging on. I always wanted a new cool looking bumper however all the aftermarket bumpers are ginormous and heavy, even 80 series Land Cruiser market did not have anything tasteful to offer, and then I saw a find of the century on craigslist: Ford Raptor front bumper. For $40 I was sold and could not take it off the seller's hands quick enough. I even forgot to negotiate on the price.

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2009-2015 Ford Raptor came with a flat top lip front bumper. The bumper itself is more curved than the Suburban bumper and it's also 2" wider. With the larger fender flares the bumper is still slightly wider than what I started out with but manageable and can be trimmed later.

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I had to remove the factory bumper that's attached with 4 bolts in front of the grill and two that hold up the sides. Front hitch is completely hidden inside the factory bumper however it is completely exposed with the Raptor bumper.

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Then came the long and tedious process of trimming and adjusting the Raptor bumper to line up with the Suburban frame and bumper mounts. I had to remove the body lift bumper brackets since the new bumper will not be using them.

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Once I had the position more or less dialed in, the bumper was attached with grade 10 hardware. Light bar came with the bumper and will be wired in eventually, unless I decide to fill that spot with a hidden winch...

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I have not used the front hitch in several months so I removed it and gained extra ground clearance and increased my approach angle. I spent the entire day playing with this project. I don't think I like the transition between the Raptor bumper and GM chrome grill and headlights. I will think about what I want to do with that space and play with it at a later day.

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Finally the GM factory (plastic) skid plate was bolted up. I will eventually find and bolt up the Raptor skid plate since it bolts directly to the bumper and it will continue into the GM factory aluminum differential skid plate.

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Don't mind the canoe straps. I have stainless steel hood pins laying around somewhere in the garage and will go on as soon as I get a new front drivers side fender. At that point I will probably replace the sun withered head light assemblies and put in LED head lights.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 

bigdogyj

Member
I agree with some of the responses here. Having been down the 1/2 ton road. You’d be better off cleaning that thing up and selling it for as much as you can and look for a similar vintage 3/4 ton that might need some cleanup and polish it and work from there.
Your half ton axles will NOT like those tires nor a lot of other components. Your steering is gonna be very unhappy. If it’s a mud truck... good luck. If it’s a true overlanding expedition truck, I’d consider the 3/4 route.

Just my $0.02 from my experiences.

Also I have an 04 with ~200k miles on it. Did a motor swap and expect another 200k out of it. My last 89 was a 3/4 ton and lasted 440k miles on original running gear and trans. Motor got a new set of head gaskets along the way. A 3/4 ton burb is a great platform.

Good luck with whatever route you choose. Should be fun or at least fun to watch.


ON EDIT: I realized there’s a lot more to this thread than the little I read at the beginning. That’s why happens when you come across a thread on a small screen phone. It looks like you got quite the project going. I apologize for jumping the gun. Glad you get to get out there and enjoy it. Good luck.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Last edited:

NevadaLover

Forking Icehole
Don't listen to the naysayers, you have done more and seen more than probably 95% of them, taken the kids and the pretty half to places most of them will never see, had breakdowns and repairs most couldn't handle without a tow truck, and enjoyed life like most of them will never understand! You are what this site is about and I applaud you drei!

You should be proud of what you have accomplished and should continue to follow the path you chose, proving to these guys what one determined man can do with the tools at hand!

Keep up the shenanigans, your kids will learn what it means to be tough in this world that is so lacking in that department!
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Drei, I was just agreeing, in your previous post you already acknowedged the extra dirt that passed through. Not sure why I posted, maybe just startling refreshed that someone else realises that there's a trade off for more air from the same air box. Hey, rock on, I dig reading your posts. I still have not committed to the change to 37s on my burb, but I am thinking about it. Keep up the shenanigans, love the thread!

Twodollars,

37s are a big commitment. Once you put them on the off-road capability will amaze you even if you don't have a G80 or other type of rear locker. Play it safe, keep your current rims and tires and look for a set of 37s and rims to play with. Let me know when you make that leap!
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
Crazy, keep us updated on how well that filter works. I’ve heard some people say that the K&N lets too much dust through and the oil can contaminate the air flow sensors. I don’t have first hand experience with this and know you will definitely put it to the test!
The oiled gauze filters do allow more particulate to pass than a paper filter. That's why they can offer more air flow. The only way to inprove paper filter flow capaity is to add more surface area. Paper is a better filter but more restrictive.
Funny I get the check engine light on mine since I switched to the spectre cold air intake? I get the rich bank 1 and bank 2. I get these codes every month or so, I pull the MAF and clean it and reinstall and clear codes and go for a month or so.
I cleaned the MAF and the codes went away. The story I head at the time was the oil from K&N type filters gets on the MAF and it gums them up.

To all that had issues with the snorkel, paper air filters or going to a oiled K&N.

My sub has 250k miles. MAF is original. 150k miles on an oiled K&N cone before I installed a snorkel, put back the factory airbox and paper filter. Misfire codes started coming up non stop. I cleaned the MAF and the codes would go away for a couple days then return. I switched the paper airbox filter with a K&N looking foam filter and same story, misfire codes after a couple days.

I thought that the snorkel was restricting airflow too much, but other snorkel owners did not have that issue.

I replaced the MAF with a new one and a month later still no check engine codes or misfires.

It sounds like 150k miles with an oiled K&N fouled up the MAF so much that cleaning it was only a temporary solution that lasted a day or two. Parts are cheap for these trucks, brand new MAF cost me $11.99 shipped on eBay.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
On Board Air, Complete write-up.

PRESS Ctrl F5 to reload the page if the images do not load the first time around.

This is the start to finish complete write-up of installing an on board air system in the back of a 00-06 Suburban. I did remove the factory sub-woofer which did not work to begin with and divorced a Puma air 12-volt air compressor. I also accepted a generous donation of a 2gal Viair tank which I used instead of the 1.5gal tank that came with the Puma. Total cost of the build was just under $275, $40 of which was for miscellaneous air connections, circuit breaker and two 36" air hoses.

Enjoy.

CBbLIwv.jpg


Puma 12 volt 3/4hp, oil-less 100% duty cycle, 1.5gal tank, 3.4CFM continuous air flow or 1.5CFM at 90psi. Different sources have different specs.

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Puma divorced from the 1.5gal tank.

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Old sub-woofer and jack and wheel chocks storage area. On a side note I had a lot of food and random supplies stuffed in that area among them was a set of iridium spark plugs and 8.0mm spark plug wires. It's been 2 years and over 50k miles since the last time I changed the plugs and wires so I used this as an excuse to to a free spark plug change.

Ak9zdpQ.jpg


I used old bed frames to make the bracket for the compressor. I started welding but the grinding off the paint took too long so I drilled and bolted the rest with 1/4" bots. Puma is an oil-less compressor so mounting it upside-down should not be an issue.

KG3KfLo.jpg


I used a 3ft long 4ga wire to run from the battery junction box to a power block.

HoEopAx.jpg


I mounted the power block to the plastic panel that is just towards the back of the vehicle fro the fuse box. Main power wire is coming in from the right. 6ga 16ft wire that I snagged from one of my old jumper cables is running to the compressor and the black and red little wires are running to the CB and light bar. I have 2 more expansion slots for whatever I want to wire in later.

qsus16S.jpg


Inside the breadbox. Circuit breaker on the right side and pressure switch and regulator on the left.

0X9g1ay.jpg


I really need a solenoid that will not let me run the pump unless the ignition is in but that's something I can wire in later. I chose a 40amp circuit breaker for the compressor due to the 38.5amps that the compressor requires at start. $6.50 shipped on eBay and way cheaper and easier than switching out fuses.

ikLcoHd.jpg


Initially I wanted to have front and rear outside air hose access, however I did not have enough air hose laying around nor could I figure out exactly where I wanted the front air outlet to be so I only installed the rear outlet at this time. There is about 3" of space between the outer and inner sheet metal skins. I used the shell from an old broken lawn sprinkler that I had laying around as well as a 90 degree elbow between the air line and the quick connect.

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Weather proof outlet cover to house the air coupler.

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There is enough room for the coupler to move in and out to make connecting easy. Since installing the Detroit locker I found out that it is imperative that both rear tires have identical tire pressure on the road, even 0.5psi difference makes the rear end of the truck pull slightly to the side. This rear port lets me inflate both rear tires at the same time to the same pressure.

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2 gallon Viair tank was donated to me by a friend who upgraded to a 5gal tank for his air-horns. I squeezed the tank up as high as I could in the space where the factory air compressor resides in trucks with Autoride suspension. The tank is exposed here in the picture however once I got the inner fenders in, it is completely protected from the splashing and the mud slung by the tires. And hidden out of sight.

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Once again I used an old bed frame to make extension brackets to mount the tank out of the way. I have an endless supply of 1/4 bolts so I drilled a couple holes in the frame and attached the brackets to the frame using nutserts or threaded insert rivets. If you have never used nutserts you are missing out and once you get the tool from Harbor Freight and steel nutserts from Amazon your world will completely change.

Harbor Freight nutsert tool
Amazon: 120 piece Zinc Plated Carbon Steel nutserts

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Another view looking straight up at the 2gal tank, black air lines go to compressor and pressure switch.

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I tinkered around with different breadbox control configurations, so much so that I went through two rolls of teflon tape. Left gauge tells me air pressure in the tank. Blue distribution block as $1.99 shipped from China on eBay. Left most quick connector is not used right now but is for the future front tire connection. Quick connect on the right is for rear tire outside air connection. Both of these are running directly from the tank at the pressure that is in the tank (no more than 135psi.) Air from the tank goes into the regulator at the silver looking nut in the middle of the picture. To the right is a pressure regulator and a quick connect for air tools that require a specific pressure.

What I did not take the pictures of due to close quarters is the original puma heatsinked metal line from the compressor cylinder to the 3-way valve that sends air to the tank and a separate air line to the pressure switch inside the Puma regulator. I used as much of the original Puma parts as I could to save on the costs of the system. Cutting of the breadbox was minimal for the front and rear air out on the floor of the breadbox as well as a small incision in the top rear of the breadbox for the pressure switch that turns off the compressor at 135psi.

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I use the rest of the breadbox for my air lines: dual rear and an extension for the front. Green box has a tire deflator even though I prefer the automatic deflators since they are preset to 18psi and are completely hands free. Air flow through the sub woofer vent is acceptable and both front and rear tires inflated just fine without taking the jack tray out to create more airflow.

From this summer's adventures the Puma is a solid compressor that will outperform every single 12-volt short of the ARB twin, but then again for 1/2 the price I can run a twin Puma setup which would put the ARB twin to shame in every aspect but the size.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 

yoggie

Member
I really like your air system!

I did something similar on my jeep with a few differences. I set mine up to connect to all 4 tires at once (as you are working towards) and I can use my system for airing down as well. My setup is pump -> pressure regulator for 30 PSI (desired air-up pressure) -> valve (to prevent back flow when airing down) -> split with hoses to all 4 tires (with Lock-On Air Chuck), valve to outside air for airing down, and pressure gauge.

I actually have the whole system under the drivers seat and actually have one of the outlets from the splitter going to a splitter under the passenger's side where the other two hoses are connected and stored (coiled up under the seat), but thats probably more details than you need!

My original setup included a 10 (11?) gallon air tank I found from HF or Walmart. I found that even starting with 100 psi (pump max) it was faster to go without the tank than with on 35 inch tires, so this might be something to check. It will also depend on if you have time to recharge the tanks between the front and rear or if you do all 4 of them at once.
 

CrazyDrei

Space Monkey
I agree with some of the responses here. Having been down the 1/2 ton road. You’d be better off cleaning that thing up and selling it for as much as you can and look for a similar vintage 3/4 ton that might need some cleanup and polish it and work from there.

Your half ton axles will NOT like those tires nor a lot of other components. Your steering is gonna be very unhappy. If it’s a mud truck... good luck. If it’s a true overlanding expedition truck, I’d consider the 3/4 route.

Just my $0.02 from my experiences.

Also I have an 04 with ~200k miles on it. Did a motor swap and expect another 200k out of it. My last 89 was a 3/4 ton and lasted 440k miles on original running gear and trans. Motor got a new set of head gaskets along the way. A 3/4 ton burb is a great platform.

Good luck with whatever route you choose. Should be fun or at least fun to watch.

ON EDIT: I realized there’s a lot more to this thread than the little I read at the beginning. That’s why happens when you come across a thread on a small screen phone. It looks like you got quite the project going. I apologize for jumping the gun. Glad you get to get out there and enjoy it. Good luck.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Bigdogyj,

First and foremost, thank you for taking the time out of your day to read some of the shenanigans of this thread.

Looks like you had a chance to glance over some of my adventures that I have had and proved many disbelievers wrong.

As far as 3/4 burbs go: they are exceptionally great trucks on the road with a ginormous trailer in tow and that's about it. They are not practical on the trail and I will leave it at that.

Once again thank you for taking the time to read my build and adventures which there will be many more once the weather cools down a little, but in the mean time it doesn't matter what you drive it's getting out there and exploring in whatever you have that is most important.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!
 

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