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Nice project......just one question; what capacity is shown on the placard of that 2500 suspension on the Burb?
Sorry your question got lost in the posts. Better late than never.

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Glad you guys made it home safe!!

I got 20.5 in our 05 one day cruising 60 MPH on 2 lane roads, and that's the best it's ever done. Seems like the 5 speeds prefer 60-65, and the 6 speeds bump that another 10 mph or so. I definitely would have gotten an 06 if we'd have known...
 
So I tore into the brakes this weekend and got all new pads and rotors installed. Rotors were definitely heat scorched and contaminated with oil of some kind. Got that all swapped and hooked up a Snap-on scanner to run the ABS automated Bleed. Ran that a few times and pumped through almost 2 quarts of brake fluid. No more air and the brakes actually feel like I remember them. Glad that’s all fixed up. They should get a little better as the pads bed to the rotor.
Bosch Quietcast rotors and pads.
I have these on my daily driver corolla and they have been great.


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If anybody is interested, your engine, trans, transfer case, harness's, pedal, pcm, and tac module are for sale on facebook marketplace for a STEAL! He's got it all up for $1700.

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/256476121556922

That’s a pretty good deal. That engine and trans was damn near flawless. Aside from the 11 mpg and a slight oil leak at the rear main seal. Solid motor for whoever ends up with it.


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So I tore into the brakes this weekend and got all new pads and rotors installed. Rotors were definitely heat scorched and contaminated with oil of some kind. Got that all swapped and hooked up a Snap-on scanner to run the ABS automated Bleed. Ran that a few times and pumped through almost 2 quarts of brake fluid. No more air and the brakes actually feel like I remember them. Glad that’s all fixed up. They should get a little better as the pads bed to the rotor.
Bosch Quietcast rotors and pads.


So small update. The pads now have a couple hundred miles on them and feel great. They’ve got some bite and are super smooth and quiet. I’m happy with them.
 
Other than that I’ve been cleaning up a few things here and there. Swapped the head unit for a Sony aftermarket unit and realized how much I hate non OEM controls. I love the features of aftermarket units and connection to my cell phone etc, but hate how they integrate into the factory wiring etc. I’m one of the few that continue to keep OnStar active ( I know.... I know... but when I wrecked the 06 GMC my cell phone ended up somewhere up under the dash and there was no way I was able to find it in a situation like that.) and it just drives me nuts when stuff doesn’t work the way it should. Example. I hit the OnStar button and the head unit shuts down and the only controls for OnStar volume are the steering wheel buttons not the volume knob on the head unit. I like volume knobs over buttons.

So I think the Sony is coming out. Going Back to oem. I can get an aux input adapter to get audio from my phone and maybe do the LUX amp upgrade since parts for these are getting really cheap nowadays.

Lubed up the rear driveline splines to get rid of the bump slip annoyance. I’ve used different greases over the years and usually have to redo it every 10k or so. I used the GM stuff this time around (man is that expensive) but we’ll see how long it lasts. Then I’ll know if it was worth the price.

I also had to get a new emissions control label as my stock one was on the factory air box and when the motor got swapped they put in an S&B air box. The smog ref here wanted to see the original emissions label for the engine so I ordered one from the local Chevy dealer as it’s VIN specific. I went to pick it up and a service guy noticed the badge on the Yukon and that started up a conversation. Good times.
I am almost ready to reschedule my ref appointment and get this thing signed off to make it legal. That was the last thing needed

I’ve got a 800 mile trip coming up this weekend. So we’ll see how she does for mileage now that I won’t be running winter blend. So far I’ve done about 700 miles around town and avg 17.7mpg. Mostly city with a few short highway runs (and only filled up once [emoji38] ) I’ll update on mpg after I get back next week.
 
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FM modulators have drawbacks like ground loop induced noise that you hear as alternator whine (or electronic controlled injector firing) when playing music. Do you want Bluetooth connectivity with your OEM head unit or to just plug in a cable into a 3.5mm stereo jack and then into the headphone jack of your phone?

Check out these alternatives:
With Bluetooth: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/151883299992
With pigtail 3.5mm jack: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/151832995226
They have other Factory options available (Single CD, cassette, CD/cassette, etc.) that are converted. I used this vendor back in 2011 to replace my factory cassette/CD unit in my '98 K2500 Burb. I have the pigtail input (Bluetooth wasn't available back then as an option) with a pair of post-fader/balance RCA pre-amp outputs they installed for aftermarket amplifiers, as well as being able to use the internal amplifier and the one under the seat for the rear door speakers. The pigtail/Bluetooth input uses the CD setting for signal. The neat thing is that I can have my phone plugged into the pigtail while listening to CDs, and if I have Google Navigation going on my phone it will cut the CD to make navigation announcements (like 'Merge Right onto Exit 397 in one half Mile') then the music returns. They do quality work.
 
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Thanks Husker! I have seen oem stereos like these before with the aux input and never knew how good they were. I also never found the ones for my generation of truck 03-06. Thanks for the links. I might go this route. going back to the stock non touch screen deck makes it less of a target for thieves too.

Thanks for the info.

Side note. 800 mile round trip last weekend netted 22.3mpg avg 70-75mpg. I'm happy with that.
I'll be headed back to Florida next week. I'll keep updating along that trip as well.
 
The built-in "Oh, it's just an OEM head unit and not worth breaking into to steal it." factor was also a big plus in my decision to go that route, too. Personally, if I would to do it all over again today, I would still go with the 3.5mm jack instead of the Bluetooth option because I am using the Audio Out jack on the DVD deck/11" 16:9 LCD fold down overhead screen with a Male-Male 3.5mm audio cable to plug the audio into the Burb's OEM head unit.

Long ago I replaced all the fried OEM paper speakers with a pair of Pioneer triaxial 4x10's in the far rear overhead location, Pioneer 6 1/4 triaxials in the rear doors, Kenwood 6 1/4 triaxials in the front doors and a pair of old classic Jensen stand-alone piezoelectric 2-way mid/high driver surface mount pods from the 1980's (VERY efficient at 98dB/1W/1M) mounted at the front corners of the dash reflecting off the windshield for some excellent stereo staging.

While I have decent low end response with four 6 1/4 and two 4x10 woofers, I think I am going to use the pair of RCA Out jacks with a pair of outboard amps in bridged mode so they're mono out and crossed over at 120Hz to fill out the bottom two octaves for front and rear subs. Not for annoying "rattle the neighbors' dishes a block away bass, but to fill out the bass guitar and kick drum in music and add some punch to movie sound tracks and FX. For the front, an 8" Bazooka Bass Tube fits nicely in the bottom of my custom center console. For the rear, I'm using an extra ElectroVoice (EV) 12" low frequency driver out of an old wedge stage monitor from one of my old PA systems. The debate is whether to install it in one of the rear cargo doors or in the panel covering the rear driverside wheel well. I'm leaning towards the wheel well location for a couple of reasons.
 
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Have a couple of FM modulators. Both of them result in a signal loss where the audio is clearly not as robust as a direct signal.


Toward aftermarket audio systems in the GM. I had looked but never found any that allowed for speed inputs and decided to stick with OE.
 
Have a couple of FM modulators. Both of them result in a signal loss where the audio is clearly not as robust as a direct signal.


Toward aftermarket audio systems in the GM. I had looked but never found any that allowed for speed inputs and decided to stick with OE.
FM modulators (just like FM broadcast) compresses the signal so you loose both frequency range (very lowest and highest pitched sounds) and dynamic range (loudness) compared to a direct from source input. You also can get background alternator whine/ignition static/switch 'pop' from FM modulators due to ground loop induced noise, not to mention "walk over" from a strong FM station adjacent to the modulator frequency(s) or a weak/distant station on the modulator frequency(s).

OEM integration with VSS/anti-theft security as well as the "Stock Stealth" (and their four decade long OEM repair reputation) factor is why I went with the vendor from eBay whose links I provided. Whether Bluetooth or 3.5mm jack, both are direct-wired into the preamp circuit pre-faders so you retain Front-Back, Left-Right, Tone and Volume functions with an uninterupted signal path.
 
Aftermarket units don't quite get the dim the f#ck down at night. Even 'screen off' would pop it back on forgetting seeing the road is more important than 'can't connect to a phone'. Like having a good bright flashlight turn on in the cab...

Big easy button to change the stations are a trademark of OEM units.

In the late 90's I had a 6 disc Pioneer changer with an FM modulator for the 1993 head unit remote amp mess. When it wasn't broken: It would turn some passages of Fleetwood Mac into static every time. Programmed all my CD's favorite songs and would loose that for every repair. They finally replaced it with something else that didn't break. At the end of the day the FM modulator off a CD was 1000x better than the compressed data loss Krap Sirius XM is beaming down - of course that's on par with compressed MP3's that are popular... Pop in a CD and realize what you are missing.
 
CDs can be cumbersome to lug around. When I'm in few/no station territory with what I want to listen to (Notheastern Colorado), I plug my phone in and go with my Pandora app. That doesn't work on I-70 across central Utah, not only is there no radio stations (well, ONE FM and two AM at each end of the dial that are the same broadcast), but there is no cell phone service, either! It is a dead zone for two hours from just west of Green River to just before the I-15 junction for radio and cell service.
 
Exactly. I was tired of the aftermarket unit being full bright or 60%. No variation. And even st 60% was really blinding and annoying at night.
As for bluetooth it’s convenient when it works but most phones aren’t perfect about reconnecting etc. I do like Bluetooth for a headset when on a call. But for music I prefer something plugged in.
And yes a CD always sounds 100 times better than any compressed digital audio file. Don’t get me started on XM and Sirius.

So I am going back to the factory 6 disc in dash non-nav headunit with a hardware aux in cable. No weird blinding display at night. No target for thieves and decent sound quality when plugged in or good ole cd’s. Thanks again for the links Husker!!
 
You're welcome, @BigDogYJ ! That's half the point of this forum. My '98 is the AM/FM Cassette head unit with the separate factory single CD player in the cubby slot position in the dash below. I love the sound listening to Pandora (it is uncompressed) through the jack (I set my phone in the in-dash pop out drink holder) as well as listening to movie soundtracks from the DVD player!
 
Do they also offer pre-amp outs for hooking up outboard aftermarket amps for your head unit? You may find someday you might want to add sub(s) or just better, higher powered amps than what's in the OEM factory head unit.
 
I have the kenwood dpx502bt. (Came in the truck)
I would have to say I'm pretty happy with it. Great at automatically connecting.
Haven't really found any downsides yet.
Although, touchscreen is nice. (More of a bells and whistles though)
Oh, I use Google play music 99% of the time I connect with the radio. I have music downloaded from there. (Included in my Google play/YouTube red membership. Unlimited downloads. Lol)

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Do they also offer pre-amp outs for hooking up outboard aftermarket amps for your head unit? You may find someday you might want to add sub(s) or just better, higher powered amps than what's in the OEM factory head unit.
I didn’t see an option for one with pre outs. But it currently has a decent bose system. I might attempt the lux upgrade as I got a hold of a lux amp a while back. Apparently the stock headunit can be reprogrammed to work with the lux bose amp and that is a very nice sounding system.


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