I love the stock wheels. They have the nostalgia factor for me. I'd love to find a set of 17" reps so I can run bigger brakes up front, but that doesn't seem to be a thing. I'm sure i could get some made that would cost more than the truck is worth

I'd also consider doing Tahoe Limited wheels but they only come in 5 lug.

I finally had some time to get back to the wiring. The harness isn't as neat as I'd like, but all of the necessary wires are extended and loomed. I may come back at some point and try to clean up the octopus of wires for the AC, throttle body, and coolant sensor on the drivers side. Engine fired up after putting the wiring back together and my tach is working now that I added a resistor to its signal wire. Unfortunately, my oil pressure gauge isn't working so the intake has to come off again to see if I have a bad sending unit or a short in the wire. For anyone doing a major wiring project, the set of $10 split loom tools on amazon are well worth it. Makes it so much faster to run loom.

Next steps are to finally get the front accessories mounted and move the battery. I've have a pile of other parts to go on too (upper control arms/lower ball joints, tie rod ends, GMT-800 knuckles/front brakes, NBS master cylinder, rear disc conversion, replacement Bilstein 4600s, etc). Trying to get the engine stuff tied up before tearing other pieces down.

I plan on replacing the plug wires with something shorter. Not a fan of how far they loop out. The unloomed wires are for my ethanol sensor. Still figuring out how I want to mount it to the firewall.

Slow progress being made. Every time I start the next steps I'm finding more parts I want to replace, things I need, etc. Those 2-5 day Prime/ebay delays are killer to a schedule.

Completed the NBS spindle swap on the front upgrading to the larger NBS dual piston calipers and 12" rotors. This also gives me the ability to upgrade to the newer calipers and 13" rotors if I decide to go to a 17" wheel in the future. I'm a bit concerned about the brake lines rubbing on the caliper bracket and may have some longer lines made or slip a piece of hydraulic hose friction sleeve over the hose. I'll have to see after I get a few test drives in.

I didn't notice the used spindle/brake assemblies I bought had the ABS sensor wires cut so I had to replace the hub/bearings with new Timkin units. Also replaced the upper control arms, lower ball joints, tie rods/idler arm and bracket, and new brake hoses/pads. Debating on whether to replace the pitman arm so all of the steering components will be new. BTW - Moog tie rods for this platform are complete garbage. I couldn't believe how crap they were compared to the 200k mile Delcos I removed. I ended up buying Delcos unfortunately after the return period for the Moog ones.

Stayed with the used rotors from the parts Tahoe. They seemed to be in good shape still, and even the Delco Pro rotors had bad reviews so I decided to take a chance. Easy enough to change in the future if they're warped. I did hit them with a red roloc after I took the pic just to get some of the rust off. I was really tempted to paint the front of the frame while I had everything a part but knew that was going to turn into some serious scope creep.

Shocks were garbage so I went with OE replacement Bilstein 4600HD shocks all around.

Next steps are rear disc brake conversion, installing the front accessories on the engine, and a test drive. Then on to getting exhaust fabbed up and interior work.



Swapped out the tail lights with something a bit more modern and a larger backup light area along with LED backup lamps. These new lights get rid of the terrible circuit board design GM used on the OBS tail lights.



I think they update the look but keep with the original style unlike a lot of aftermarket tail lights.

A month has gone by without a ton of progress.

Rear drums are gone and discs are in their place. Had to play part roulette to get the right calipers/rotors. Guy who makes the brackets spec'd a 1990 k1500 front rotor caliper which didn't fit. Come to find out, my original 99 front rotors and calipers fit perfectly. Would have been nice to know to save some $$$.

So all in for the brakes was 2004 Tahoe front calipers/rotors, 1999 Tahoe front calipers/rotors for the rear, a 2004 master cylinder set up for dual disc, topped off by an "automated" bleeding with a Tech 2. Prior to the swap the pedal was extremely squishy and went to the floor. It's fairly firm now, and i can feel the brakes engage sooner. I hope it'll feel just as good once it gets on the road.



I still need to figure out how I'm going to secure the rear brake lines. The caliper mounts didn't come with a hose bracket. I'm considering using zip ties for now. Also need to decide what to do with the parking brake cables. They'll likely get zip tied in place too.





Most of the front accessories are now on including my AC/alternator relocation brackets. I had intended to use the stock NBS air box and relocate the battery, but it doesn't fit with the high mount alternator on the passenger side. I have a cheap ebay CAI installed until I come up with a better solution. I'd like to use the Tahoe's original airbox so I may go with an air raid u build it kit to see if I can get it adapted. So far, all sensors, tach, etc works with the exception of my gas gauge. Appears I need a segment swap in my tune to fix that.



Found the local JY had 2 two door Tahoes on the lot. I was hoping to get a couple specific trim pieces I needed, but some other ass had broken rare mint passenger side B pillar to pull out the rear cargo panels. I bought the broken trim panel and plan to try and plastic weld the good parts of it to the bad parts of mine. Also scored some Yukon Denali door panels for $15. Not a huge fan of the embroidery since I have neither a Yukon nor a Denali, but they look better than my factory panels. I plan to head back and get the front/rear seats so I can steal the seat heater components.



I'm thinking I may be able to go for a first test drive this weekend. Fingers crossed the weather doesn't slow down progress.

First test drive is in the books, but it didn't go well.

Trying to figure out how the hell this happened... I had the rubbing from the upper BJ bolts on both sides. The roughed up rim managed to cut the brake hose on the driver's side.

With the wheels on the ground under the truck, the bolts aren't touching the wheel. What suspension parts would be moving while driving that would cause the bolts to rub? New upper control arms, lower BJs, hubs, etc. I know the hubs are tight. Lug nuts seemed tight. Haven't checked the BJ or control arm bolts yet.

That's a weird one - good luck! I really like seeing old vehicles get resurrected and used again.

Got to think its related to the oversized knuckles. Maybe contacting the inner bolt on the tie rod or the bolt on the lower shock mount when you're turning? Time for some 17's or 18's.

wow. did the brakes fail while you were driving?

TSJ said:

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Got to think its related to the oversized knuckles. Maybe contacting the inner bolt on the tie rod or the bolt on the lower shock mount when you're turning? Time for some 17's or 18's.

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It actually was rubbing on the bolts for the upper ball joints. You can see all the metal shavings wrapped around the top of the bolts.

That and possibly a little on the caliper is the only signs of rubbing I saw. I already bought a set of refubished factory 16s. I'm going to try a spacer first but I really want to figure out the geometry issue. Plenty of people have done this swap and I haven't seen anyone else report the same issues

sts7049 said:

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wow. did the brakes fail while you were driving?

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They did... Rears were still working poorly. I only do test drives on my low traffic county road. Luckily I was able to stop, turn around, and baby it home. I could feel the brake fade before they really got hard to use

Can those bolts on the upper ball joints be flipped over and the heads on top and nuts below? If not, cutoff saw time and trim - it looks like the bolts are just a bit long right there. I know aftermarket calipers usually come with a "check for rubbing" and unofficially "grind as necessary" implication - but that's not your problem here.

ETA - even though I know it's not what you're doing - welcome to the world of dropped spindles, air ride, tubular control arms, and slammed trucks. I know now why the first word they teach you when you talk modified stance is "wheel offset". TSJ is right, time for some HOOOPS!

Centerpole90 said:

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Can those bolts on the upper ball joints be flipped over and the heads on top and nuts below? If not, cutoff saw time and trim - it looks like the bolts are just a bit long right there. I know aftermarket calipers usually come with a "check for rubbing" and unofficially "grind as necessary" implication - but that's not your problem here.

ETA - even though I know it's not what you're doing - welcome to the world of dropped spindles, air ride, tubular control arms, and slammed trucks. I know now why the first word they teach you when you talk modified stance is "wheel offset". TSJ is right, time for some HOOOPS!

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That was my thought on the bolts. There is a "bung" of sorts on top of the UCA where the nuts rest. I looked at it this afternoon and don't know if it'll make much difference flipping them. Unfortunately, I'm out of town for work the rest of the week and won't get to test it until the weekend.

That's the first thing to test. I also bought a set of 1/2" spacers. If flipping the bolts doesn't work I'll try those.

What's weird is that wheel spun just fine in the air. No hint that there was any rubbing. When I started to back it up for the first time, I couldn't go anywhere. I thought one of the calipers was locked up. Found the front passenger side wheel completely locked up, but it spun fine when the wheel wasn't tightened down. I figured out it was binding on the caliper bracket and ground the bracket down. After that, everything spun fine in the air, but the UCA gouged the wheel on that side too. I feel like something must be allowing the control arm/upper ball joint to move in the spindle once the wheel is on the ground.

I've dealt with wheel offset on both my Bronco and GTO. It's just strange that no one in a 23+ page thread on the OBS forums ever mentioned an issue doing this NBS brake swap while running stock 16" rims. Makes me think I did something wrong, but maybe I'm the only idiot doing an upgrade and running stock pizza cutters.

txyaloo said:

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but maybe I'm the only idiot doing an upgrade and running stock pizza cutters.

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You aren't, but I'd know the feeling, I had similar issues using stock 15" steelies with drop spindles.

When you get home check and see if the wheels are rubbing when they're turned. It looks to me like maybe the bolts are worn at an angle on top like they interfere when the wheels are turned... or maybe when the suspension loads... funny' things happen when the weight is applied versus when we examine it static in the shop. It's going to just that much more satisfying when you get it all done!

Where update

silverado_lover said:

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Where update

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She's been parked for a few months...

The 4l60 gave out after ~30 miles on the swap. 2 rebuilds and 130 miles later and it's out again. Lost TCC lockup, smoke out the trans dipstick, and burnt fluid. I'm hoping it didn't cook my Yank converter. Trans was supposed to be "built" but the trans shop completely ****ed it up with big ****ups twice.

For anyone in Central Texas, stay far away from Gossett Transmission in Gatesville.

I got pretty frustrated at that point and have let her sit since November working on my Bronco instead. I've started looking for a shop between Temple/Austin to get the trans rebuilt again if anyone has suggestions.

To wrap up the last issue I posted - I added a 1/4" wheel spacer to the front and rear which fixed the rubbing issue. Picked up a set of refurb stock wheels that look mint when clean.

I've done a bit of interior work (cluster, OHC/DIC, headliner, carpet, radio,etc) and have a bunch of parts still to put on. I'll post some pics tomorrow.

Not 2dr Tahoe related, but I'm pretty happy with the way my Bronco interior turned out. Like driving a new car w/o the new car price.

07 SD wheel w/working steering wheel controls/cruise
05 expy console w/built in 550w inverter, extra USB, etc
Custom aux fuse/relay center and switch panel with weatherpak bulkhead
03 Cobra seats w/power drivers seat from a "conversion" OBS truck
360 camera
Fresh Tint

Still have a new front bumper and side steps to install.

Damn, I like that Bronco.

Is it a LT or LS style transmission? If LT, there may have been some particular tuning done for the lockup to work properly and quite frankly, an LS trans would be stronger/more reliable.

Do you have a close up of your transmission pump prior to TC install?

silverado_lover said:

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Is it a LT or LS style transmission? If LT, there may have been some particular tuning done for the lockup to work properly and quite frankly, an LS trans would be stronger/more reliable.

Do you have a close up of your transmission pump prior to TC install?

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It's a 99LT w/2 piece bell housing. It "should" have been the same internals as that era LS. I had Yank make the converter for the LT input shaft with the LS flexplate spacing.

I saw the pump when I first did the swap and it looked fine. I initially used a cheap converter from ebay which I assumed was bad. I never saw the pump when the trans shop had it.

I may see if Yank can rework the converter and go to an LS style, but I know others that have run the later LTs without many issues. I was setting a P1870 code and had lockup shudder. Lockup wasn't predictable or it'd lock/unlock rapidly while driving. I adjusted the lockup PWM settings in the tune which fixed that for ~100 miles (mostly tuning runs) until I lost lockup entirely and then lost OD. If I go LS style, I'd probably try and get an 4l65 or 4l70. I haven't had any issues with the 4l65 in my GTO, but it has low miles.

It may be cheaper just to buy another TC. The TC out of a I6/60e Trailblazer is 278mm and has a stall speed of about 2600 RPM. Cost is about $220 from a part store without a core.

If you try the LT trans again, you need to have the Yank cut open and cleaned.

Wildmen03 said:

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Damn, I like that Bronco.

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It's been a lot of work. Bought it for $1200 w/130k miles. Already had the lift, 4.88 gears, and some really wide MT Classic II wheels. My original intent was to restore it to stock, but all 4 fenders were cut for I'm assuming 37s or 40s and I didn't want to spend the money to get those fixed and painted. I decided to bedliner it myself with Raptor liner since it was built as an off road rig.

Cosmetically, the interior was completely gutted, paint was roached, top and front bumper were painted safety orange. Mechanically, it had tons of issues too. It's ~95% done which is where my projects tend to die for a while before I get back to them. I'm looking at either getting a PiMPxShift or doing a MAF conversion next. It may get a cam and some aluminum heads at that point.

Mostly show with a little go. Edelbrock 3881 upper/lower and shorties.



Aux wiring is clean and looks nearly stock. There's a small aux fuse box tucked next to the stock one. It's also reversible since that clutch plate can be replaced. I'm not a fan of drilling extra holes in visible areas.



OE Projector retrofit on the front and OE looking led bars on the rear. The truck had ugly 1 piece headlights when I got it and chrome Alteza tail lights.

silverado_lover said:

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It may be cheaper just to buy another TC. The TC out of a I6/60e Trailblazer is 278mm and has a stall speed of about 2600 RPM. Cost is about $220 from a part store without a core.

If you try the LT trans again, you need to have the Yank cut open and cleaned.

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I was planning on sending it back to Yank to be rework. When the pump broke, I was really concerned it was roached. I asked the trans shop to take a look at it, but I'm fairly positive they didn't. I talked to Yank last year and I think the warranty will cover it other than the freight to get it to them. They've been great to work with. I had a ton of issues with the vendor I bought the converter from.

Finally getting back around to this project after letting the car sit the last 2 years from being pissed off about 3 blown up transmissions in 200 miles. I warn again - stay far away from Gossett Transmission in Gatesville. They suck

I picked up a 4l65 out of an 04 H2 w/100k miles. Also grabbed a Circle D 3000 rpm stall, new HD2 **** kit, reman valve body, and an NP246 rebuild kit. (Trans shop said they rebuilt it, but they never touched it).

Hopefully I'll be able to get it all installed in the next 2 weeks. I'll be sending the Yank converter back for a rebuild to go into my GTO. I probably should have bought a 4l80. That's the next step if this one blows.



Not sure if any body guys made it in here, but does anyone have any suggestions on fixing these doors? Left door closes great. Right door hangs up ~.5" before closing. If you slam the door, it'll shut, but you can see the door rides high



This is the right body gap. Significantly tighter than the left. I've done a little persuasion with a wood block and hammer on the lower hinge trying to open the gap up, but not much changed. I've also pulled on the top outside of the door to try and close that upper gap but no changes. Unfortunately the GMT400 hinges are welded on so there's no adjustment.



Left/driver side gap

You should at least know your way around a 4L60e now

silverado_lover said:

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You should at least know your way around a 4L60e now

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Not really the knowledge I wanted

I am considering rebuilding the ****** I pull out. Replace the LT stuff with an LS bell housing and input shaft and put all the sonnax stuff in, but my gut tells me the VB or case has a problem with it. It's one reason I went with a reman VB this time.

I'm half tempted to just swap VBs first. The problem this time is the trans gets super hot with a few mins of conservative driving. Converter was having lockup issues, and I was still getting 1870 TCC codes after the rebuilds which makes me think the shop didn't install the Transgo TCC valve during the overhaul. I disabled PWM in the tune which helped a bit but I eventually lost 3-4 and the fluid was burnt to a crisp. I'm have a feeling it'll be a waste of $50 in fluid to try

I'd cut your losses on the LT trans and just sell it as a core. Those transmissions are too plentiful to keep rebuilding the same unit. Stick to the LS 60e or 80e swap.

I suspect you poke around on the "LSX OBS" FB page, don't listen to those dummies if you're looking for 80e swap info.

silverado_lover said:

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I'd cut your losses on the LT trans and just sell it as a core. Those transmissions are too plentiful to keep rebuilding the same unit. Stick to the LS 60e or 80e swap.

I suspect you poke around on the "LSX OBS" FB page, don't listen to those dummies if you're looking for 80e swap info.

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It's actually a 99 LT trans. From my understanding, they're the same as a 99 LS other than a smaller bell housing and different input shaft. I've tried to keep all the original parts from the truck just in case I ever want to put it back to stock or if I sell. Thankfully I have plenty of space for storage, but you're probably right about just pulling it.

LOL I haven't been on that group in a few years. The idiots and people wanting to be spoon fed info were driving me crazy. From my understanding of the 80e swap, I'd need the ******, a new input shaft for my xfer case, wiring harness adapters, and then the tuning changes. My challenge is I'm running a very odd OS on my PCM so I have flex fuel on a 411 computer. Last time I looked, there wasn't a similar OS with a 4l80 that I could segment swap the ****** stuff over.

I figured the 4l65 in my GTO has been solid with me hooning it for nearly 15 years maybe one will hold up in the tahoe too, but I know the H2s and similar blew them up too

txyaloo said:

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silverado_lover said:

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I'd cut your losses on the LT trans and just sell it as a core. Those transmissions are too plentiful to keep rebuilding the same unit. Stick to the LS 60e or 80e swap.

I suspect you poke around on the "LSX OBS" FB page, don't listen to those dummies if you're looking for 80e swap info.

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I pulled the pan on the "new" trans this weekend to install the HD2. Found more material in the pan than I expected for the miles. The magnet was pretty caked. I'm on the fence about getting this one rebuilt first... Fluid was slightly dark but didn't smell burnt. I pulled prob a half dollar glob of material off the magnet. The only build up of material I found was on the back side of the pillow switch. Thoughts?



The case looked pretty good once I got the VB out. Separator plate was clean with no check balls bulging thru.

I don't know the internals of transmissions that well. That being said, I'd still cut losses on that particular transmission

Did a quick Craigslist rebuild on the 4l65 and installed it a few weeks ago. Shifts are night and day different from my busted 4l60. Circle D converter stalls ~400rpm lower than the Yank but it may still need to be broken in.



It only looked this good for ~5 minutes until it fell off the pallet as I was lowering the loader. Par for the course.

"New" transmission got me interested in finishing the build again so I also installed some longtubes and an offroad Y while the trans was out. Replaced the front pinion yoke, cleaned up 25yrs of oil/grease on the front end, painted the trans cross member, and cleaned up the transfer case in the parts washer.

Stage 2 has now begun...



Hoping for 600ish all wheel HP running E85, an NP149, and smaller pulley.

Your 7th 4L60e when a blower shows up

silverado_lover said:

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Your 7th 4L60e when a blower shows up

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that's why I just sent it.

I've been looking into 6l89/90 swaps maybe for stage 3. Need to do a lot more research

Bid on a two door 97 Tahoe on BAT. Made me think of this thread. Can't decide if I'm disappointed or relieved I didn't get it.