ORVietVet 2005 Tahoe Z71 Build Thread from T/Y Forum

[ORVietVet]

So much of what I have done to my 2005 Tahoe Z71, transfers over to pickup trucks. I have gone thru this Tahoe with 90% Genuine GM parts. The latest posting on it is the driver's seat cushion removal for my retired upholstery shop owner friend to recover with a new cover from The Seat Shop in Texas. Removing the seat cushion was actually very easily done.

I think someone told me, at one time, that they could not access a link from that forum. You can be there and look at that link or actual "Build Thread" "Under Construction" thread as a visitor. That forum is owned by the same owners here.

OR VietVet Is Still Throwing $$$ at 2005 Z71

I have been reminded that I should do all this here so I guess I should start a thread about it. I am not going to be doing anything radical but will get this rig to a baseline maintenance wise and repair ANYTHING that is needed over time and get the body back to primo shape. This is what it...

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

 

[ORVietVet]

Finished it up and back together.

 

[stutaeng]

Wow, that turned out great!

 

[99Sierra2500]

Yup, looks awesome.

 

[ORVietVet]

All works great. Removing the seat was easier than I thought. Reinstall was easy too.

Trick. When you remove the two nuts that bolt the bottom front of seat, tilt the front up and I used a bungee attached at front edge and stretched back to post of head rest. Gives you room to reach in to unplug all connections. Where the hook body rubs front of seat, I used a folded rag for protection.

 

[Cadillacmak]

Very nice!

 

[ORVietVet]

For a whole other reason, I recorded my oil pressure readings, on my 2005 Tahoe Z71 5.3, on my Foxwell NT710 GM Only scanner.

Tahoe oil pressure readings

Oil pressure readings

rumble.com

 

[ORVietVet]

I was surprised that the scanner gave me actual pressures. I was expecting voltage readings that would change with RPM and those would represent pressures.

 

[ORVietVet]

So, recently I had my battery go dead with no warning at all. It was exactly 5 years old Interstate 78 series AGM battery and I replaced, via a service call from a guy named Kanyon and big enough to earn it, it is an Interstate 5 year non AGM battery. The alternator that is on the Tahoe is also 5 years old and was a new GM 15128978. Cannot get a new GM battery at RA any more. I did some research and a guy at Automotive Parts Specialists wholesale warehouse in town, named James, did me a solid and researched and found a new GM alternator number 19338659, 160 amp and does show in the application guide at Summit but strangely enough not at RA. I can get it at RA but it was not in the NEW application at RA. I had a $116 credit and paid $85 difference, including shipping. Installed today and is solidly working great. The old one was still working but had very slight front bearing noise and could hear it with my mechanic's stethoscope and also, faintly on the bench. I am preparing to install a new second battery and will wire in with disconnects, as per a recommendation by @Joseph Garcia, and wanted a new alternator for the whole process and with the pending credit, I pulled the trigger. Will sell the old one here locally. here is some pics of the install and I did a throttle body cleaning while in there.

I am sure most know of this but in the 6th pic you can see the little ears the attaching bolts slide thru to mount the alternator. When remove the bolts, grab the top back of alternator and pull hard to tilt forward and that will put pressure on those ears to move forward and help create space to lift the old alternator out of the cradle. When alternator is out, then take a small tick hammer or dead blow hammer and tap the ears forward from the back side. That will create new alternator install space and when you install and tighten the bolts back in, the bolt pressure will move the ears toward the alternator and tighten down the clearance space.

 

[ORVietVet]