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2012 yukon denali, full interior, front rear hvac, 4 capts, 3rd row, rear entertainment, weighs about 5900lbs with me in it
Dart 427 "Eliminator" built by Thompson Motorsports - on the way
Rossler Terminator 5 4l80 w/transbrake and 40k cooler
CircleD 258mm triple disc converter
BW-4485 full time, single speed, transfer case
GM 14bolt 9.5SF rear
GM 9.25ifs front
4.10 gears
QA-1 double adjustable coilovers in front with atomic mounts
QA-1 double adjustable shocks in rear with belltech drop spring
Spohn adjustable 5 link bars (upper/lower arms and panhard)
Eibach swaybars front/rear
Trickturbo T6 hotside/4"dp all ceramic coated, cast S480/96 1.32ar
Trickturbo cold side w/4" intercooler
stock flex fuel system in place with magnafuel 4303 sumped on hobbs switch, flex sensor installed
fuel injector clinic 1200cc
holley high ram
Hydroboost conversion
hptuners E38/T42
The backstory - bought it used with about 40k miles. AFM/DOD wrecked the engine, dealer replaced entire long block under factory powertrain warranty a month before it was up. I took it back out about 5k miles later and threw a texas speed vvt cam in it, ls9 gaskets, head studs, ls3 valves, pac springs, speed eng headers, circle d converter. drove it around like that for about a year/30k miles had lots of fun, but it was time for more.
I'll post a few pics along the way of the progression but at the moment its waiting on the engine to go back together - hoping it laughs at the turbo/fuel system i have for a while until im ready to throw more at it.
Told myself if it had to run 12s NA before I turbo'd it. ran it cam'd/bolt on for over a year with little problems, tried to get to that goal, went full 4" exhaust, changed to 4.10 gears, better tires - didnt change much I had a suspicion that the converter was just beat. I got it as fast as I could like that and ended up just ordering a new circle d 258mm triple disc converter with the intent of going turbo at some point so it was a little overkill at the time. new converter dropped 1/4 mile down over .5 sec and ran pretty consistent 12.9s.
so i started ordering stuff
since putting the turbo on i had problems getting the 6l80 to shift WOT. along the way had a little oopsie with a manual boost controller - 25psi at 4k rpm, inadequate fuel...reshaped a rod nicely...tore it back down. At the time i really wanted to swap the trans so i just slammed another rod/bearing in it and got it back together. figured it would be a good time to get fuel system in.
Beans Diesel sump has two 8orb ports - has a small baffle to prioritize one feed and one return, both can be used as feed if needed.
Used 1 8orb and stepped it up to -10an PTFE.... stays that size up to the rails. pre-filter > pump > post filter > check valve > Y-block to 8an rails. after rails 8an to magnafuel 4 port boost reg.
stock fuel line runs up to under the hood > flex fuel sensor > check valve > to top side of regulator.
-8an PTFE return back to sump
Ordered the 4l80, while i was waiting on that i rebuilt the transfer case (bearings/seals), did the hydroboost conversion, cleaned up the wiring some, and sent the hot side out to get coated.
While doing the wiring, i wanted to ditch the stock manifold so i went ahead and just ordered the high ram so i didnt have to re-do the wiring again later down the road. and i had time to waste. the ceramic coating is applied via the plasma spray i was interested in it since i came across zircotec out of the UK, but shipping internationally made it very cost prohibitive. not that it isnt common here, but wanted a company that was familiar with it for auto applications. found a company here that worked out good.
That pretty much catches us up and currently i have killed the 6.2, guessing my ghetto rebuild failed after a few months and 15+psi. cyls 7/8 rods broke, jammed into cam, broke cam bolt, bent a few valves, couple holes in the block. sat undecided for a while on what to do. came down to junkyard/low mileage iron 6.0 or f-it 6bolt build.
axle situation:
rear 14bolt from a 2wd excalade bolted right in place of stock 10bolt.
front 9.25ifs: my stock 8.25ifs after swapping gears kinda seized up. numerically the the 14bolt uses a 4.10, the 8.25 is a 4.11 normally no big deal but with full time AWD maybe at 90+mph its off a few rotations? dunno or installer error. either way it was messed up. i bought the cheapest 9.25ifs i could find from a 2010+ 3500 truck (with 4.10s) measurement wise it was all close so i gave it a shot. had to adapt the cv axles using inner 2010+cup to the older 33spline outer (pre 2010 3/4 and 1ton trucks) and some spacers by cognito. cut a tab off the front pumpkin and shorten driveshaft about 2" - which when iswapped to a 4l80 i had to go back to stock length
No kidding. Can't wait to see how the 9.25 holds up. Didn't realize how that part of the swap was so apparently straight forward. If it works well OP (9.25 swap specifically), please make sure you have included all of the details. Thanks.
thanks guys,
figured the axles was going to be the least interesting part of this build! (on ls1tech atleast) . it has been in for a while, maybe a year or so no issues with it had it triple digits pretty often, no vibrations
the stock 8.25 had the clamshell design but the mounting points are different than the previous models, they use a "hanger" on either side with rubber bushings that mount to the frame. mine being awd never had center axle disconnect (CAD). the 9.25ifs for 2010+ years use a center pumpkin with a stub shaft on one side and the leg off the other, no version of it is awd so it has CAD. mounting the 9.25 to the 1500 hangers lined up perfect, just had to cut an ear off the housing and use shorter hardware (one of the mounting bolts doesnt thread through just needs to be shorter)
measurement wise from 1500 set up to 2500 set up, axle mount to axle mount, was about 2" wider on the 2500, but the mounting locations are only off about 1/2". with the rubber bushings i just loosely assembled it all and i tightened it all up it just goes where its goes and works fine.
axles- mentioned above i frankensteined some up. i already knew the older gmt800-2500s used the same 33spline as my newer gmt900-1500. however the newer 2010+ k2500 9.25ifs uses an 8-bolt inner, pre2010 uses a 6bolt. so i grabbed axle from pre2010, axle from 2010+ swapped the inner cup. and they were a little short - called around just trying to find the axle spacer from lift kit companies, mostly not really helpful. Cognito was great though knew exactly what i needed and had 3 different thicknesses .8", 1.2", and 1.8". i think i ended up with .1.2" on both sides i would have to go back and check to be sure though. they are just cheap cardone(?) axles though i wanted to find some that that worked without spending a lot of money and had to buy several different ones. i dont use much angle on them, have had some issues with the boots puking grease because i also have lowering spindles and re-banding the boots as tight as they come is a pain.
havent found a cost effective solution to ditching the frankenstein axles and spacers, RCV looks promising and should be able to make the conversion axle but starting at $2500/pr i need to make damn sure i need them.
the CAD - i was messing around with the plunger one day and managed to extend it out and couldnt get it back in, so i just screwed it back in and it is always engaged. theres a company that makes (or made i should say) a CAD delete for tractor pulling trucks Fleece? i think, but it was $1k when they did sell it. there is available a billet collar that goes in the tube that i'll grab if i ever need to rebuild it.
i think i paid like $300/shipped for the complete ifs, about $200/shipped in cheap axles, had front driveshaft shortened/balanced/u-joints for $75 locally.
Awesome build, it's fun to see a brick like that hurt some feelings. And you know when you drop the kids off at school. They can pretty much say (my dad's truck is faster than your dad's truck!). Any way that's a cool project.
Man this is a cool build. Hows the beans sump working out for you? I'm gonna be putting one on my silverado with a 4303 this winter, havn't seen many people do it that way on gas trucks.
I have used a sump alot like that made out of the top of an ebay wastegate. Wotks great and never have had an issue with fuel starvation to my secondary 4303. The beans sump is better looking by far and can be installed from outside. Mine i had to drop the tank but it was free so there is that.
Awesome build, it's fun to see a brick like that hurt some feelings. And you know when you drop the kids off at school. They can pretty much say (my dad's truck is faster than your dad's truck!). Any way that's a cool project.
o yea, school car line - rest of the parents love the chop
Originally Posted by settlemoore
Man this is a cool build. Hows the beans sump working out for you? I'm gonna be putting one on my silverado with a 4303 this winter, havn't seen many people do it that way on gas trucks.
Originally Posted by jordoza
I have used a sump alot like that made out of the top of an ebay wastegate. Wotks great and never have had an issue with fuel starvation to my secondary 4303. The beans sump is better looking by far and can be installed from outside. Mine i had to drop the tank but it was free so there is that.
beans sump has worked good, install was simple - and yes no dropping the tank. i did just barely miss the stock basket so watch for that, drilling a 3" hole in the tank is a little nerve racking. I emailed them to make sure the oring seal to the tank was e85 compatible, on my pic up there where it looks wet around it i just cleaned the hell out of it and smeared some petroleum jelly where the oring sits so it seated smooth, tank has a rough surface
so what i need to decide pretty soon is:
heads - clean up my 823s or grab some 6 bolt heads? how much more will i love 6 bolt heads? If my 823s can even be shaved/cleaned up one chamber a may need a little work, couple intake valves replaced/maybe guides, new springs couldnt hurt (pac 1219x on them have 40k+ miles) and i think spec'd cam needs more lift. or have @thompson close it up with their frankenstein ls3 heads?
in the near future -
engine management - try and integrate a holley with most of the stock gauges
turbo - if hot side will all still work, thinking sending the s480 back to jose/FI for billet wheel and race cover would be the easiest/cheapest way to get a little more out of it without changing much
08-20-2019 | 08:32 AM
'12 yukon denali, dart 427, 4l80/AWD, GTX55 
