FNG here

[DocMjolnir]

Sup dudes, decided to join this community because yall seem to be a cadre of beer powered offroad engineers, and who could refuse to join that!?

I've got an 06 LS, 4.2/3.73/G80 that's otherwise stock at the moment.

Near future plans are to catch up on all the maintenance items that got neglected during its daily driver role. New plugs, idler pulleys (squeak squeak squeak), etc.

After I get all that banged out, it's time for some mad scientist stuff. I'll probably be doing most of this in one go, as I don't want to just add tires without upgrading suspension components!

Lift meister 3" suspension kit.
Zone offroad 2" body kit.
New OEM front struts.
BDS fox shocks in the rear.
Maybe do z71 springs, I'll see if I need them. Might just do bags for when I'm hauling stuff.
Suspensionmaxx sway bar links.
Adjustable panhard/trailing arms.
1.5" lift meister spacers.
305/70/16 grabber AT2s on 16x8 pro comp wheels.

That's after a weekend of obsessive research, probably annoyed my wife, heh.

Originally planned for 35" tires, but from what I've read, the transmission really doesn't like tires of that size on highways.

End goal is a family / dog hauling rig that's capable of handling almost anything we throw at it, while still usable as a daily driver.

Glad to be here, look forward to starting my build thread soon!

[moose1]

welcome, sounds like a good starting plan. you will want to look into adapters instead of spacers for the pro comps. good luck

[Cable810]

Welcome!!

[DocMjolnir]

Thanks for the welcome.

Was wondering about my maintenance plans. I should probably replace the front hub unit bearings while I'm down there. I've already had to replace one of them twice, and the other one is still stock after 130k miles. What brand should I use? Looking at rockauto, the timken bearings are the most expensive, by quite a margin. Are they worth the cost, or would a different brand be better?

[moose1]

I have been debating the the bearing question myself. It's between timken or moog. there is a lot riding on this critical part.

[ErikSS]

I'm a fan of Moog as a brand. I know of at least one early failure of the TB wheel bearing though. I've never heard of a Timken early failure.

[HARDTRAILZ]

I been swapping wheel hubs as yearly maintenance for several years with cheap ebay ones and am still money ahead of buying timkens. I do not think Moog are any better than what I get cheaper on ebay.

[moose1]

I'm sure there are many cheaper alternatives that would work up to snuff. I just look for supporting American companies whenever I can or it makes sense. not saying one is better or worse but when I spend my money I want to at least feel like i'm helping neighbors.

[HARDTRAILZ]

A portion of Timken bearings are owned by a Japan company now. They closed 3 of their Ohio plants. Not all Timken branded stuff is American these days. Same with Moog, as they manufacture bearings overseas partially as well. Federal Mogul that owns them has facilities everywhere. Only way to really know is to look for Made in America on the actual bearing or hub these days. The box may say it, but the bearing may still be Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese.

[moose1]

gr8t day.what the hell is this world coming to.

[HARDTRAILZ]

I would love to only buy American , but it is not really possible. I do support the truly local though with farmers markets and artisans or different services or non-chain restaurants. A fewe extra dollars local is worth more to me than spending on something supposedly American, but is made or owned overseas.

[DocMjolnir]

Had an obnoxious time replacing my belt and pulleys today. Did the tensioner pulley first, replacing only the pulley and not the entire tensioner.

After getting the new pulley on there, and the tensioner bolted back on to the block, the pulley wouldn't clear the block! It just ground away. Okay... out the old one back on, same thing. Wtf? Ended up having to use a socket to bash the bearing deeper, so it'd mount closer to the tensioner. Had to file off a small tab on the tensioner that rubbed on the ID of the pulley now that it was so close. Victory! No grinding.

Old belt we never replaced in over 90,000 miles looks nearly pristine. Old pulleys were spinning pretty freely too. So I'm not so sure what was causing that under hood squeaking... not really present today, or now. Guess I'll find out as I gradually repair and replace the other belt driven accessories.

Tomorrow... spark plugs! Which have also been going strong for 90,000+

[KingBird]

I had an annoying squeak. I changed out the entire tensioner, added a dummy pulley in place of my busted a/C compressor, and greased the smooth dummy pulley above it, I still had an annoying squeak.

I went mudding in some thick black clay and the squeak is gone.