'97 Chevy Tahoe (2dr/2wd) mild custom

[likaroc13]

Here's one of the three 5/64" hex bolts that attached the billet grille to the grille shell. This is the only one from the top that was successfully removed without complete butchering.



This is the hole in which the above bolt was removed from:




Below is a pic of the billet grille. You can see the long bars/rods which allow for attaching to the grille shell. The ends of these are threaded both top & bottom. Three of those 5/64" bolts were used to attach the billet to the top of the grille shell.




This is a pic of one unused threaded bar which was originally located towards the bottom of the grille shell. The upper end of this bar had to be hacked off, which resulted in me losing the threaded portion. Since the bolt is still stuck in the piece I cut off, I will now have to cut a matching portion from the bottom end of this bar & reattach to the top. This is the only way I can continue to utilize the mounting of the billet via the top of the grille shell.



And this is the end I hacked off. As you can see, it's not threaded this far down.

[likaroc13]

Here's what I'm dealing with in order to remove the chrome trim ring around the grille opening. You can see one of the larger tabs, while one of the smaller ones resides above.



Another pic of the tabs along the back side of the grille opening. I'm having to use the Dremel to remove excess from the smaller tabs. Many of these are in tight quarters as well, so I have to be careful not to butcher the holes in which the tabs reside, as well as the surrounding plastic. Once all the smaller tabs have been trimmed, it should allow the chrome trim ring to be removed relatively easily.

[Cashed]

I had to change the blower fan and the blend door actuator in my Tahoe a few weeks ago. It was a very simple,straight forward job. I just pulled the door, dismounted the old fan and reinstalled the new. Spent maybe 15 minutes on the fan and a total of 5 on the acuator. Time and money well invested. No more random blend door opening/closing and no more squeeky fan.

[Cashed]

I want a GMC grill for mine. I have been looking for a few years for one in pewter and so far, nothing. They look very nice with a billet insert.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by Cashed

I had to change the blower fan and the blend door actuator in my Tahoe a few weeks ago. It was a very simple,straight forward job. I just pulled the door, dismounted the old fan and reinstalled the new. Spent maybe 15 minutes on the fan and a total of 5 on the acuator. Time and money well invested. No more random blend door opening/closing and no more squeeky fan.

Yeah the process for mine was pretty simple too. Just had some aggravation with removing/reinstalling that insulator/cover on the blower motor & that one bolt that was in a tight spot. The bolt would've been much easier if I had the right wrench size, but I was trying to tackle it with the ratchet. Ended up using needle nose pliers too, just because that's all I had on hand that would fit in there to grip the bolt head.

Originally Posted by Cashed

I want a GMC grill for mine. I have been looking for a few years for one in pewter and so far, nothing. They look very nice with a billet insert.

I like many '88-98 grilles in various custom configurations, but this GMC one is definitely one of my favorites. Hopefully you'll come across one. Guess you just don't want to repaint one?

[Cashed]

Ratchet wrenches are a good investment...they were very helpful on the fan swap.

I prefer to not paint a grill.

[Blue97]

The GMC grills I like , I have one hanging in my garage just waiting to go on.... But im waiting for someone to do a write up on installing the 31 bar grill...


So I don't screw it up haha

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by Cashed

Ratchet wrenches are a good investment...they were very helpful on the fan swap.

I prefer to not paint a grill.

Yeah, I'm really lacking in the tools department. Maybe in the near future I'll have a house with a shop with lots of room for tools. And I'm sure it'll be hard to find a factory painted grille that hasn't been abused by the elements.

Originally Posted by Blue97

The GMC grills I like , I have one hanging in my garage just waiting to go on.... But im waiting for someone to do a write up on installing the 31 bar grill...

So I don't screw it up haha

Never done one of those, but I think you cut out the entire plastic portion that holds the chrome trim ring.

[likaroc13]

Btw, I took the Hoe in this morning for diagnosis on the A/C. Turns out I have a leak in the upper right corner of the condenser. So now I have to go about replacing that. Can't win for losing! He did go ahead & evaporate the system. Once I get the condenser replaced, he said he'd recharge the system for free. So that's a positive at least.

[Blue97]

Originally Posted by likaroc13

Never done one of those, but I think you cut out the entire plastic portion that holds the chrome trim ring.

Yeah, my chrome ring has a broken clip otherwise I would keep it.. I kinda like the chrome ring on there.....

[likaroc13]

Finally got the chrome trim ring removed. Also got the new ACDelco condenser & another new orifice tube. Taking it in for installation & recharge tomorrow.


back side of removed grille trim ring:




front side of removed grille trim ring:




couple rear views of grille shell with trim ring removed:






couple front views of grille shell with trim ring removed:

[likaroc13]

I also got the cut portions of rod from the bottom end rods of the billet JB Welded into place on the top ends. It doesn't look pretty, but nobody will ever see them. The billet insert is now ready for the powder coater. Once the A/C work is complete, I'll also remove the front bumper for powder coating as well.


Couple pics of threaded rods from bottom of billet grille reattached in place of portion removed from the top:






Front view of billet grille with reattached rods at the top:

[Hankster]

Well hurry up and get it on there! lol

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by Hankster

Well hurry up and get it on there! lol

lol, patience grasshopper! Gotta fix the screw holes in top of the grille shell, & then it's getting repainted. Gonna wait until I get my new wheels so that I can have them painted at the same time. Still waiting to get my vintage grille emblem back from the chrome shop as well. I'd like to install it onto the billet before reinstalling the whole grille.

[Cashed]

Coming along nicely.

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by Cashed

Coming along nicely.

Thanks man. Slowly but surely getting there.


Well, if it weren't for bad luck, I wouldn't have any at all. The manifold line & condenser tube fittings that connect together, both got screwed up during installation. I was told this happens alot, even on Toyotas that the shop deals with. Problem is one fitting is brass while the other is aluminum. So, they had to pay for a new Delco condenser, & I'm buying a new manifold line. That's another $85 I'm out. I think altogether I'm almost $600 into A/C work that I never intended!

The only good news is that I temporarily have good, cold air. They were gonna just remove everything so that I could bring the Tahoe home, but the mechanic somehow managed to get the lines connected (not correctly). So for now it's holding. They had the A/C going full blast when I left the shop, & it would freeze you out. It was cold enough that the driver's side window was frosted. So, I have something to look forward to.

[Hankster]

I wasn't rushing ya, i was just joking! Can't wait to see it on there though!

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by Hankster

I wasn't rushing ya, i was just joking! Can't wait to see it on there though!

Haha, yeah I knew you were. Sometimes it takes me a little while to get things accomplished. As my wife would say, I'm just sloooow.

I got my new wheels ordered from Summit Racing yesterday. I went with the Wheel Vintiques 12 Series Smoothie in 15x7 for the front & 15x8 for the rear. Since they have to be custom made to the backspacing specs I wanted, it'll take 4-6 weeks before I get them.

[Hankster]

cool, I don't quite remember what wheel that is, I'm gonna go look it up real quick.

They outta look good!

[likaroc13]

Originally Posted by Hankster

cool, I don't quite remember what wheel that is, I'm gonna go look it up real quick.

They outta look good!

Here's a pic, although I have different center caps & trim rings:

[likaroc13]

I got the front bumper removed yesterday, & I took it & the billet grille to get powder coated this morning. I also discovered what may have been causing the mystery chirp that drove me nuts late last year. After removing the bumper, I noticed some dampness/liquid on the bottom of the lower fan shroud. I could also see splatter on some of the pulleys. The other day when I came home from getting the A/C repair, I noticed that something smelled funny. At first I thought it may just be the new wearing off from the condenser. Not exactly sure just yet, but I'm leaning towards either the water or power steering pump. The chirping had gone away for several months until I briefly heard it again one day last week.

Snapped a pic of the front as it sits now. Gonna try to clean up some surface rust & spray a little paint to make it look nice again.

Untitled by likaroc13, on Flickr

[likaroc13]

Well, things have been crazy this month. I was back in my hometown for 3 weeks helping with my dad after major surgery. After waiting for biopsy results, we just found out this week that he has an uncommon form of bone cancer, Ewing's Sarcoma, normally found in children & adolescents. Unfortunately they caught it in the later stages. He is currently undergoing treatments. Please keep him and our family in your prayers.



Just before I left earlier this month, I got the front frame rails/bumper brackets cleaned up. Here's an "After" pic:

Untitled by likaroc13, on Flickr

Just after I got back into town this week, I was also able to pick up the newly powder coated front bumper & billet grille. Unfortunately, those tabs I had JB Welded came off during the blasting process. So I'll have to reattach them before installing it back into the grille shell. While they're not great, here are a couple pics:

Untitled by likaroc13, on Flickr

Untitled by likaroc13, on Flickr

About a week or so before I left to go help with dad, he mailed me the newly chromed GMC emblem. I still have to get the letters painted. I had planned to have the pinstriper do that at Goodguys Charlotte, however I wasn't able to make the show due to my dad's circumstances. I'll catch up with him at another time though. Two pics below:

Untitled by likaroc13, on Flickr

Those are not blemishes or rust on the top but rather a reflection of the ceiling.
Untitled by likaroc13, on Flickr

My new wheels also finally came in a couple days ago. It took the full 6 weeks to receive them. Next step will be test fitting the fronts & trimming the lower control arms as necessary. Then I'll see about having them painted before new tires. Pic below:

Untitled by likaroc13, on Flickr

[Longmire85]

How are you going to go about re-attaching the trim ring to the grille? Adhesive? I considered doing that to my grille when I painted it, but was a little nervous about destroying the tabs and how I would re-attach it. I didn't consider using a Dremmel, which is a great idea btw. I really need to buy me a nice one as it would be handy as hell. My grille turned out ok for now, just had to do a ton of taping. But, this would be nice to do when I get the whole truck re-painted and show worthy.

[Cashed]

Dang Phillip, sorry to hear about your dad.

The emblem looks great! I can't wait to see the finished product once the grille is complete.

[killthewabbit]

Sorry to read that about your dad, man.

Tahoe's looking great. That bumper came out nice. Can't wait to see the smoothies on it. Didn't you have smoothies on your old stepside for a while?