Polar Bear Suburban

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by MalibuSSwagon

Outstanding Larry, looks great!

I got my 2002 8.1L dually on the road this weekend, it surprised me how quick that big beast can pickup speed.

Thanks! Congrats on your new beast

Originally Posted by mud.man.rj

Such a clean engine install looks like it came factory.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by ryanroo

if you ever decide to get out of the truck game, call me. i love this burb!

They'll probably have to cut me in half to bury half of me in the K10 and the other half in the Suburban but I'll keep you in mind.

Originally Posted by Zoomad75

What the hell is going on with that trans? I'm lost on this one. I'll let you break it to Harlan. I'll do some research at work and see if there is something we all missed.

Can't wait to check out the beast. Can't wait to get the goodies from Carbondale either!

I dunno either dude. Right now it is kind of a pisser and a huge waste of money. I even tried the burnish thing Dean was talking about by forcing it into 5th over and over and over. 4th to 5th, 4th to 5th, 4th to 5th, 4th to 5th, 4th to 5th, 4th to 5th….. It will only go in with high speed. It has the same odd feeling the old F body cars did where it made you skip shift. That is how this feels when it rejects 5th. It’s like pushing up against a wall…just won’t go until you speed up. The K10 will go into 5th at 20 MPH if you want. I’ll say this though, the trans in the Burb is as quiet as a church mouse which I can’t say that for the K10 although I attribute much of the noise in the K10 to the 205.

[Dieselwrencher]

It looks nice and I'm glad you got it running better and you can drive it and enjoy it. The K10 still looks nice. The console lid looks great too. My brother has the duratracs on his dually. His only complaint is the life expectancy isn't what they claim. Other than that, he loves them.

[ryanroo]

i would bet a fifty on the fact that the life expectancy has more trouble with his driving than anything...

[argonaut]

Larry,
what are you running for front springs and dampers in the polar bear and the pickup? And how do you like each of them?

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by ryanroo

i would bet a fifty on the fact that the life expectancy has more trouble with his driving than anything...

I bet you’re right. My bro-in-law is working in the oil boom up industry in ND and runs Duratracs on his 2010 RAM 3500 crew cab long bed. He claims his last set of dirtytracs lasted 52,000 miles on a heavy Cummins truck albeit the last few months they were definitely onion skins. 50K on a heavy diesel truck running 50% dirt roads is pretty good in my opinion. He is anal about rotations so that probably helps.

I was happy (and surprised) how well the Fierce Attitudes have lasted given the fact the K10 has a Detroit locker in the back and eats tires like crazy. Those tires made one trip to California, two trips to Arizona and 2 trips around Utah and they still look practically like new. I would guess they have close to 10K on them. Very minimal wear and zero cupping.

Originally Posted by argonaut

Larry,
what are you running for front springs and dampers in the polar bear and the pickup? And how do you like each of them?

Well, it’s quite funny actually. Both are running the ORD front HD shackles, ORD sway bar disconnects, el cheapo Superlift 6” lift shocks but the K10 has a set of Superlift 6” soft ride springs while the Burb has a set of 4” Rancho springs that were actually on the K10 when I bought it back in 1996. The funny thing is they are about the same height even though one has 4” springs and the other has 6” springs. The K10 with the 6” Superlift springs rides so much better and flexes like crazy. The burb is pretty stiff and doesn’t flex very well although the newly added weight of the 8.1L did help the ride quality on the burb quite a bit. Also helped with the wondering issue at road speed it has had since I installed the lift springs. The K10 is in dire need of new shocks badly. On the desert trips these shock heat up within the first 20 minutes of off-roading then are like not having shocks at all after that but I blew my whad on the Burb’s engine swap and new tires for the K10 so new shocks for the K10 won’t happen for a while.

Of the two I like the Superlift Softride springs the best. Not sure about shocks but I’ll have a better idea once I start shopping for a set for the K10 later this summer. The Superlift shocks are just nice because they are cheap and work fine for the lighter burb but with the weight of the K10 and type of off-roading it sees, they are not enough shock.

[capone550]

Larry can you tell me exactly which plug you used for the ESC hole in the firewall?

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by capone550

Larry can you tell me exactly which plug you used for the ESC hole in the firewall?

Here you go. 9600K527

[capone550]

Originally Posted by DirtyLarry

Here you go. 9600K527

Thanks a bunch Larry. Order a few of them.

[HammyJ]

Larry, sorry to but in here. I joined the forum just to gather info on your 78. Id like to pretty much mimic it. Hats off to you, sir for an excellent truck. I'm building a 79. Did you change the lift from before the fender flares to after? Besides the zero raTe? It looks taller. I'm shooting for the set up you have without the flares. Thanks in advance.
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[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by HammyJ

Larry, sorry to but in here. I joined the forum just to gather info on your 78. Id like to pretty much mimic it. Hats off to you, sir for an excellent truck. I'm building a 79. Did you change the lift from before the fender flares to after? Besides the zero raTe? It looks taller. I'm shooting for the set up you have without the flares. Thanks in advance.
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Welcome Hammy!

Well, the Suburban has had the same lift springs since it got lifted. What may make the heights look different are the tires as I’ve posted pictures of it with 4 different tires and wheels, 3 of which have been since it was lifted. The front springs on the Suburban are the old springs that used to be on my K10 from when I bought it in 1996 up until around 2005 or so.

The blue K10 height has changed a few times in the course of 19 years of ownership of pictures floating around. It used to have the 4” springs that are on the Burb now (Rancho’s I think) then I installed Superlift 6” Softrides about 10 years ago. The flares were on the truck then. Oddly enough, the K10 did not increase any height going from 4” Rancho’s to 6” Superlift Softrides but it did grow another 1” when it was treated to a Dana 60 front axle swap a few years ago. I did have to add a 1” zero rate to the back of the K10 to make it set level again after the Dana 60 swap.

Hope that answers your question.

[HammyJ]

Thank you. I have a picture of it sitting the way I like but don't know how to post it. I'm hoping to figure it out so I can maybe get specifics from you. I am planning the 8.1 swap also. Thank you for your time.
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[fun in dirt]

I just love rigs that have lots of mods that are so cleanly done that the average person doesn't even notice them. But we're not average around here & do notice! I can only imagine the hours of planning & labor that has gone into both your builds. Much respect to you for 2 super nice rides!!!

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by fun in dirt

I just love rigs that have lots of mods that are so cleanly done that the average person doesn't even notice them. But we're not average around here & do notice! I can only imagine the hours of planning & labor that has gone into both your builds. Much respect to you for 2 super nice rides!!!

Wow! Thanks for the kind words

[DirtyLarry]

Little update on the Polar Bear…. Now that work travel and vacations have passed I finally had time to run it up to a Dyno Tuner in Colorado Springs to sort out the ECM tuning to accommodate the RayLar cam. I tell ya, what a difference having a live dyno tune done by someone that knows what they’re doing makes. The big bear runs sooooo much better now. No more cam lope either! She idles smooth like a Cadillac.

The dyno results came in at 301HP/386 torque at the wheels. Not too shabby considering the original TBI 5.7L probably laid down around 110-130 HP to the ground and this shop claims most Jeeps that come through their shop rolling on 35” tires with LS engines are putting down barely 280 lb ft of torque to the ground. He also claims the 4x4 drivetrain and tire loss is around 25 to 30% so with that, I was pretty happy with 301/386. Next project is to get busy making the A/C lines now that the weather is heating up.

For best audio pleasure use earphones and a second set of earphones up your nose to smell the exhaust
https://youtu.be/Qn1ys5u42aE?t=29s

[bilfman]

One day soon planning an 8.1 I'm sure I'll ask for some guidance.

[Average Joe]

Glad to hear ya got her dialed in! That torque curve is a 'beaut.

[HammyJ]

Larry, is there any way I could pm you please? I don't want to fill up your burb thread, but I'm dying to get a few more answers from you on the k10.

[capone550]

Larry do you have to run a spacer between the throttle body and manifold when you use the L29 throttle body?

[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by capone550

Larry do you have to run a spacer between the throttle body and manifold when you use the L29 throttle body?

Yep, otherwise the geometry of the cable won't pull the throttle plate all the way open.

[capone550]

Originally Posted by DirtyLarry

Yep, otherwise the geometry of the cable won't pull the throttle plate all the way open.

Awesome. Thanks a ton Larry. When I get it done I will take a cruise to pueblo so you can critique it!
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[DirtyLarry]

Sounds good!

[capone550]

Larry can you tell me if these are the correct part numbers for mounting bolts for the G-van/workhorse brackets? I have searched and I can't seem to find the length of these part numbers. I am shocked at the difference in size compared to the truck brackets.
Here is what I came up with

5X 11516367
4X 11516360
2X 11517115 (bolts for alternator)

Blake just sent me his parts list and he has the same numbers. Just double checking now.

[jbclassix]

Did you ever get the oily brakes ok K10 dilemma sorted out? If you did I missed it
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[DirtyLarry]

Originally Posted by jbclassix

Did you ever get the oily brakes ok K10 dilemma sorted out? If you did I missed it
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It seems to be cured. I basically replaced every single bearing, race and seal in the damn thing. Last month we went on our annual Desert Trip and turned 1,100 miles on it with no issue. So far so good

[ScottsdaleK5]

Hey Larry, I just finished reading through this thread and your attention to detail is immaculate..! I wish I had the patience to do the same; I'm always too eager to get it in and get it going! However, someday when things slow down I'd like to do the same.. The 'Burb looks great and you got a great deal on it! I'm quite jealous!

On to my questions, I have an '89 K5 Blazer that I plan on doing an NV4500 swap on.. It came stock with a 700r4 but after three of those I replaced it with a th350 adapted to my NP241. Now from what I understand it needs a 32 spline input shaft to work with a NV4500. I was wondering if your case already had the 32 splice shaft or if you put one in.. Is it best to find a case that has the 32 spline shaft or just buy a new one?

Thanks for the help! My Blazer will probably end up with an LQ4 for now but would really love to have an 8.1L in it.. they're just so damned expensive!