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The Hoe

Real4WD

Well-Known Member
Messages
288
Location
Wherever the Army Sends Me
Back in May of 2024 I rescued a 2003 Chevrolet Tahoe that was collecting dust in a forgotten corner of Fort Riley, Kansas for a little under $1,000 that had a little over 300,000 miles. It did not run and had a multitude of issues. I thought it would be a fun project to work on as a daily driver as the H3 and H3T are nearly complete. Here is a picture of The Hoe when I first bought it.

Hoe May 2024.jpg
 

Real4WD

Well-Known Member
Messages
288
Location
Wherever the Army Sends Me
The first order of business was a deep clean. The interior was horrendous. I stripped the entire interior down to the sheet metal (dash, carpets, headliner, etc) and gave it a compound polish on the exterior to knock off a lot of hard water spots, carbon build up, scratches and clear coat oxidation. There are some spots on the hood that are beyond saving with a good detail but I did the best I could.

Hoe Interior Nasty.jpg


Hoe Interior Nasty 2.jpg

Hoe Interior Clean.jpg

Hoe Hood.jpg
 

Real4WD

Well-Known Member
Messages
288
Location
Wherever the Army Sends Me
Next up was getting the truck running. I replaced the throttle body and the truck sputtered to life. I found out in short order (in true GM fashion), every system that could leak was leaking. Here's a list of mechanical and small cosmetic repairs I made over the following months.

-Replaced engine throttle body (defective)
-Replaced Front/rear wipers (worn)
-Replaced all exterior light bulbs (burnt out/dying).
-Replaced rear bumper license plate lamp housing (both)
-Replaced driver door master switch (water damaged)
-Replaced left rear door window regulator/motor assembly (broken)
-Replaced all four shocks (worn)
-Replaced all four jounce bumpers (worn)
-Replaced both front hub assemblies (bad bearings on both)
-Replaced rear differential pinion seal (leaking)
-Replaced rear differential cover gasket (leaking)
-Changed rear differential oil (old)
-Replaced transmission tail shaft seal (leaking)
-Replaced dashboard (broken/cracked)
-Replaced rear main engine cover (leaking)
-Replaced engine oil pan gasket (leaking)
-Replaced engine valve covers (both, leaking)
-Replaced transmission oil dipstick tube grommet (leaking)
-Changed engine oil/filter (dirty)
-Replaced engine air filter (dirty)
-Replaced liftgate struts (broken)
-Replaced liftgate glass struts (broken)
-Replaced (all 3 firewall) plastic heater core coolant hose connectors (leaking)
-Replaced water pump to heater core hoses (dry rotted)
-Replaced rear differential pinion seal (both inner and outer) and yolk (leaking...again)
-Replaced parking brake shoes and hardware (worn)
-Replaced front/rear pads/rotors (worn)
-Replaced both catalytic converters and all 4 O2 sensors IOT remove CEL (code P0420)
-Replaced left rear door reflector / courtesy lamp
-Replaced center console cigarette lighter (broken/corroded)
-Replaced center console 12v outlet (broken)
-Replaced both outlet covers / retainers (missing / broken)
-Replaced damaged front chrome bumper (dented / bent)
-Replaced rear seat (60 split, outer cable) release cable (broken)
-

Rear Main.jpg

Transmisison Hoe.jpg
 

Real4WD

Well-Known Member
Messages
288
Location
Wherever the Army Sends Me
Continued:

-Replaced panhard bar (worn)
-Replaced both rear upper control arms (worn)
-Replaced both rear lower control arms (worn)
-Replaced both coil springs [Used Dorman Springs With 35% Springover Rate Above Stock)
-Replaced all four coil spring insulators (worn)
-Replaced both rear sway bar bushings (worn)
-Replaced both rear sway bar end links (worn)
-Flushed old brake fluid and replaced with Prestone DOT3
-Replaced front windshield (cracked) and wipers (worn)
-Repaired broken section of rear wiper fluid line, and cleared clogged rear wiper fluid nozzle
-Restored and installed OEM tow recovery hooks on the front end of the frame [Left (GM#15709129) and right (GM#15709128)].
-Changed engine / oil filter (maint)
-Replaced engine oil drain plug (washer worn)
-Changed rear differential oil (replaced wih RP 75w90)
-Replaced high mounted center stop lamp (broken)
-Replaced front bumper fog lights (broken)

.....phew that was a lot!

Hoe rear suspension.jpg
 

Real4WD

Well-Known Member
Messages
288
Location
Wherever the Army Sends Me
I also upgraded the rear bumper to a RanchHand steel pipe bumper, and installed a matching RanchHand brush guard. This brand of bumper has been battle tested on my 1999 Silverado. Money well spent!

Hoe Stock Bumper.jpg


Hoe RanchHand Rear.jpg


Hoe RanchHand Front.jpg
 
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