Taylor, you can convert the front of these trucks to 19-24 Silverado 4 piston calipers. It’s a pretty cheap upgrade and upgrades the rotor to a 13.5 in rotor as well
2021 ppv tahoe works too, 16" rotors, and 6 piston calipers, but i think you have to swap to hydroboost brakes or run a different master cylinder...you can also get the same brake setup off of the front of a tahoe or yukon with the duramax in it too, only downside is its only the fronts, haven't really heard of anything "factory" for the rear except the 99-06 tahoe/yukon 2 piston calipers
You can also do the 2004ish suburban rear brakes. It's a slightly larger rotor and twin piston calipers. I got loaded calipers & bracket and rotors from rock auto for 220. Huge upgrade.
@trevormckeehen2010 on the older brake setup mentioned yes, the 21-up, im pretty sure only 20" factory wheels and up clear those and ive heard some wheels dont bc of spoke design, etc
What I usually do for undoing the ball joint is loosen the castle nut so the top of the nut is flush with the top of the ball joint shaft. Then hammer away on the knuckle which typically breaks the connection between the two and the shaft pops free but the castle nut catches it. That "usually" works.
I tried that before resorting to other methods. That method almost never works for me. But it could be because I assume it’s not going to work. I don’t give it a fair shot. Lol
@@Taylordrifts All I'll say is that some friends and I were doing a lift on an 07 Xterra (just a spacer lift so it was fast). I took the passenger side front and 2 or 3 guys took the drivers side front. By the time I was done, they were still trying to break the upper ball joint loose using one of those forks (which almost always wrecks the ball joint boot). It also helps to do the ball joint first and keep everything else tight since you're gonna be hammering on it and you want all the force of the hammer focused on the ball joint and not moving the assembly around. I know this is moot since you're done already but just what has worked for me. Love your content dude!
@@fubar1217 next time I’ll try to give that method more of a chance. Lol I don’t care to wreck the booth in this scenario since it’s getting replaced. I even tried the pickle fork wedged. While hitting that side spot of the knuckle. And nothing. Didn’t budge.
When your doing ball joints hit the knuckle where the shaft goes in, if you shock it where the taper is they fall right apart. Just a tip from a rust belt mechanic who’s done countless gmt800 front end rebuilds, otherwise great work love the turbo truck I’ve missed it!
@@TaylordriftsIn the video it looks like you were air hammering the shaft itself. I hit the knuckle itself perpendicular to the shaft. Also not saying you didn’t do what I recommended just hard to really tell on video lol
He's right if u get a baby sludge hammer hit the side of the ballpoint and put a little elbow grease into it and it pops right out .can't noodle arm it and can't use a thin hammer either
@@Taylordrifts I myself had issue hitting the side of the spindle with a hammer and getting it to bust loose in the past, but my father jumped in right behind me with a tad bigger hammer and alot more motivation and showed me you really have to give it the business but it will eventually give in. Similar with removing old stuck wheel bearings, or removing pressed ball joints without the tool.
@@MondayGarage I know. That was after I tried the normal method. I know that method. It’s common knowledge. In the early days I didn’t know that. But I’ve been doing this a long time now. Rualdo and Josue literally part out cars. We’re all very familiar with the standard methods. That one just rarely works for me. I should probably try harder with it. But I just write it off as not going to work after a couple wacks
As an owner of a turbo rcsb the best piece of advice I would like to give you is get some kind of traction bars and do a crush sleeve eliminator kit on the rear end to save you having to rebuild/replace that rear axle
@@MegaDysart i mean i went 9s cutting 1.6 1.7 60s on mine and it never broke until i accidentally left off of 15psi on the break and the rear end hopped 2inch of the ground snapped the pinion in 2
There are several trucks running in the 9s on a 10 bolt. I’m not that fast but have had no issues on a built TT 6.0 making arguably more than Taylor is currently at
I do frame repairs on trucks on the east coast for a living, I felt for you when you were fighting those bolts hitting the tank and stuck in the bushings. Made me laugh but wanna cry thinking about it all the same 😂
@@Taylordrifts The Oxy-acetylene torch is my favorite tool in the shop. The squeak a red hot tie rod nut makes when it breaks loose, and then the sizzle of spraying it to cool is like asmr.
Since your using the djm kit I would recommend getting a bump steer kit. The tie rod is super close to to hitting the sway bar with factory tie rods. Also if you end deciding to change the djm shocks belltech makes a better quality shock in my opinion just make sure you use a factory size shock in the front since the djm kit uses the factory spring
The front brakes on the drum brake version of these trucks are 13” rotors. Also you can push the bedsides out to get clearance on the tires. I have an 06 on bags. It has 13” rotors.
Just an opinion, I would tuck the tail pipe up higher behind the rear axle and have it bend down instead of coming out under the bumper. Think it would look cleaner. Been a follower for a few years now and really enjoy your videos and the progress you've made.
I just got my 1990 with this same basic setup finally able to rip. I don't want to invest money into the stock rear end, so I welded the spider gears 2 nights ago. I love this truck. My first turbo LS. Gen 4 5.3 with a 98/88 turbo. Snake Eater 1000cc injectors. BTR stage 4 truck cam. Dual 450LPH pumps, for E85. 4L80. It's by far the fastest thing that I've owned. A big jump from my 1981 El Camino with a 10.5 to 1 compression 350. I'm about to assemble a 9 inch with a universal 4 link
My personal favorite ball joint removal technique is tie rod and pitman arm puller + ugga dugga. Removed entirely too many tie rods and ball joints on my Tacoma, and that is by far the fastest, most reliable way to remove them.
Idk how to say this as kindly as possible. Please let us catch a breath, you go from talking first person explaining as you're doing, to immediately explaining in 3rd person. Always get it done , which I highly admire man. Keep it up.
I ended up lowering my truck 3/4. I used a 1” ,factory spring rate, and a 2” dropped spindle. It looked good and many people said it looked right. The lowering shop just cut the spring, NOT, hence my use of a 2” dropped spindle. The truck drove great and didn’t drag while traveling the freeway.
I usually just swat the knuckle to do ball joints so I don't tear the boot. When they are really stuck I will drive the pickle for in or load up the ball joint remover then give the knuckle a good whack. Always does the trick.
Remove ball joint nut, screw it back on a couple threads, Grab 3lb hammer, swing horizontally at the knuckle where the ball joint stud goes through. I'm a certified tech of 15 years and work in rusty ole Canada, this works 100% of the time
Im so glad you finally replaced those headlights. Lol they were bothering me so bad. Love this build. This is my third favorite build of yours behind the vette and cifero
its so fun watching people work on gm stuff, im a gm tech and we have actual recalls of the bolts being seized in bushings, the 13 malibu toe link recall is fucking ridiculous and always have to cut and heat them up to get them out its stupid
Taylor, as an old grimy mechanic, from the UK, where every single thing rusts in no time flat.😂 If you're struggling with a balljoint, take a ball pein hammer and rest it against the component that houses the balljoint in question, next take either a 4 or 7lb lump hammer, and smack 10 bells out of the end of the 1st hammer, between 5 to 10 heavy blows will release the taper. Try it next time. Tips from the aged can sometimes come in handy. 😂 Trucks lookin good brother. ✌️
Seafoam deep creep works wonders. I put a long arm lift on a Jeep XJ from Pennsylvania with tons of rust. From now on whenever I work on a vehicle I presoak it because I’m just over fighting with it. When all else fails heat it up and then spray it with the deep creep. Tighten before loosening. Once tightened then hit with BFH. There are other ways, this works for me.
I've built a bunch of these trucks... and I had a 5/7 drop on my this last truck before I bagged it and I ran 255 40 20's on a 2016 ltz wheel.. perfect sized tire.. no rubbing anywhere, u could get away with a 275 40 in the rear but 255 is as wide as u can get comfortably without cutting up the inner fender
In case you missed it, thereis a super easy way to get ball joints separated. Loosen the nut, hit the steering knuckle right where the ball joint is and hit it hard. Pops right apart.
I worked for GM service for a while and worked on GM vehicles for 30 years. On any of the ball joints just using a 20 oz hammer hitting the pick up point for the ball joint will make it release with out a pickle fork or heat.
Man the 17” 07 Sierra wheels look SO good on slammed single cabs if you’re wanting to stick with a stock wheel. If you’re looking for something aftermarket, I vote Cosmis XT-206R!
I like it dropped better then I thought it would. Good call on doing the shackles, tomorrow you will thank you. When you do the paint, don't forget to strip the bed, and put a new liner in. It's interesting what it looks like after you had the trays trapping the moisture back there for a few years.
Also, if your driver side is lower than the passenger thats common on these trucks. You have to put a spacer ontop of the drivers front spring. I used a 1" one.
Put pressure on the ball joint with a jack or press depending weather you’re on or off the vehicle and hit the side of the knuckle with a big hammer and it will pop right off. Works every time
Stick will get in the top.. just bend the end of the rod to give you the angle you need for a good weld.. You only get about 2-3 inches of usable rod per run before you have to stop and re-bend but works great for those tight spots Small tig torch with steel rod can be better than mig too if you prefere vs stick. So feakin Great to hear someone saying to drill steel SLOWLY.. decent force, but slow.. Heat is how you anneal (remove hardening by heat treatment) your bits to become nearly as soft as what your cutting. Same if sharpening bits / saws / knives.. No Heat.. if grinding, slow grind and v light/no pressure
I prefer drop spindles to modified control arms but some rigs don't have them available. Also, using urethane bushings loosens up a suspension by removing the twist in the stock rubber bushings and serrated sleeves the factory uses. It does not tighten it up. Does make a more responsive system but not a tighter one.
There is less deflection in poly than rubber. Thereby tightening the responsiveness and handling. The plus side of rubber is that the attachment points don't move and wear ovals into the bushing like poly dose. Rubber is also softer on the mounts and transfers less road noise since there is some deflection. On my lifted Jeep, I use all Rubber bushings. The ride is smother, and flexing the suspension doesn't twist the mounts off.
Yessss bro way way better…I love aftermarket wheels but Chevy does have a 20 and 22 inch factory snowflake wheel that looks really good in black on those trucks..
Change that notch out to an underbed. Them bolt ins are worthless and prone to cracking. Underbed and helper bags still allow you to pull a trailer if you wanted. Twisted images makes a good one. Throw it on some welds and it’ll be sick. Big brake upgrade up front. Roll fenders. Just suggestions of course track bars are helpful to keep wheel hop at bay when you get it on a sticky tire I’ve put together 1 of these trucks and an obs
Love this truck! Dude you don't need a pickle fork ever for ball joints you just hit the spindle with a BFH and they will pop every single time. Done thousands of them as a mechanic my whole life. Try it next time!
Cool cool cool! The truck cleaned right up. One thing I noticed is the sound, you use a stereo mic which is really nice for the truck walk-around where we can hear the exhaust coming from one direction and the engine from the other, but less nice when listening to you speak. Or at least, when using headphones it is. Maybe you can make your voice mono in post 👍 keep up the good work as always
Whenever dropping the rear unbokt everything on the rear end and you can slide it too the other side and pull the leaf spring around the axle so you don't have to mess with the tank
A cheap brake up grade for the front is the 2020 Silverado brakes, the calipers bolt right up with just under a 4mm spacer and the newer trucks have bigger rotors too. I'm sure you'll go with something fancier but definitely a worth it cheaper alternative not many people know about
I think you’d find Formula one engineers would disagree. The stock wheels look great. In my opinion It’s pretty silly when people build sleeper builds then put stupid low profile tires on them. Not a fan of putting low profile tires on trucks at all. They literally have every trait you don’t want on a truck
@@DMSparky I didn’t say low profile. I just said lower profiles. I dropped my truck too and the stock tires rubbed like hell. Went from 31” to 29” and it’s so much better
The reason they have a bolt-on kit is the welds need to be temperature controlled or the chassis has a high risk of cracking next to the weld. Bolts alone would be more reliable than the weld added. Heavy diesel mechanic trained in truck chassis repair and modification.
Man what a perfect drop like it literally took it from normal ass truck, to nice low mean street truck 👌👌👌 I can not wait to see this thing get the wheels and body work it deserves
Mid video comment, so it may get addressed by the end. If so, good stuff. You are going to want to cut the bed crossmember above the diff, at a 7 inch rear drop it will hit. Scalping the exhaust will also be necessary I’m sure. I love the truck man, full-size GMs are kind of my thing lol. I daily a bagged and bodied 06 crew cab, the toy is a bagged 96 single cab.
I HATE THAT I LIKE THIS SO MUCH SLAMMED ON STOCKS! Do you drive it in the rain? I would think having no fender liners would be tough - would be a cool custom project for the channel. I know in the northeast between gravel driveways and normal road grime it would cake everything. Love the progress it’s given me so much motivation to get a RCSB
Hammer on the knuckle itself right where the balljoint goes into it. I also would’ve just pulled the knuckle itself right out to start. Pop the top joint and then the bottom super easy!
Trucks looking good. Don't mind the meaty tires on it but it'll look and handle better with a new wheel and tire set-up. Look forward to seeing what you go with.
As a Canadian mechanic whos familiar with rusty pieces of s***, i would highly recommended investing in a acetylene torch, will get stuff way hotter then you ever would be able to with a propane torch and is often the difference for me spending hours on a job or a few minutes
Btw the 2019+ front calipers are a bolt on big brake upgrade for 99-06 trucks. Need to space the caliper out 4mm with washers behind the ears. that’s it. Also obviously need the rotors and pads for 19+. ALSO. The 05-06 suburban rear calipers are dual piston and also a big brake upgrade for the rear but also need the rotors and pads.
See if you can find a set of OEM headlights and strip the brackets off of them. You will have to modify the aftermarket headlight housings slightly to make the brackets work with then but the end result is worth it. The headlight housings will not be all crooked.
In case someone else is in the same boat the in order to avoid dropping the tank if your working on jack-stands with half the suspension out already if you have a pull a part near you with another GMT truck you can just go get the passenger side bolt and then you can pull the nut off that bolt that hits the tank and then drive it loose and sawzall it in 2 pieces you can remove it and when re-installing put it in from the outside. .
I think the truck would be a lot more of a sleeper if the exhaust tip was angled more behind the wheel like a stock truck. The Rear single exit looks sick though
Wheels are always the hardest part 20 in front 22 in rear offset lip machine grey crome lip get the bat out to roll the fenders and now a roll pan instead of the bumper
Drill bits there’s a proper calculation for speed for optimal cutting for steel in metric is is 300 x 30 divided by the size of the drill = the rpm required this will keep drills sharp and cutting well
That front leaf spring bolt by the gas tank on my truck just got cut off, then replaced with a new bolt going from the outside in. Saved a bit of time.
Taylor.... Buddy... I've been watching you for years. But you just blew my mind trying to use a pickle fork on a ball joint knowing you used to work for a suspension company. You should already know they're useless. Apply tension to the ball joint in the direction you want it to come out (Even just a piece of wood, not even a prybar would work), then just hit the side of the knuckle with a BFH. Done. All day everyday. In the rust belt you might have to heat the knuckle a bit, but vibration on the knuckle side of the ball joint will knock it out, every time. Edit: (Oh boy here come the edits as I watch) The C notch process..... Pulling the bed sounds like a time consumer, it is absolutely NOT. Same thing goes for doing fuel pumps, screw dropping the tank. Unbolt the bed and you and a buddy can lift it right off. Drill out of the bolt holes and bolt it after welding.... Why? Just do plug welds in the bolt holes. (Reference Fab Rats and Matt's Off Road Recovery, guys that build stout demolition derby cars) And if you pull the bed... You get to weld the top of the C-notch anyways. Win, win. Doesn't sound like it at first, until you do it and see how much easier your work goes.
I vote some Chevy 22” snowflakes. I know it’s extremely popular but they just look so good. Especially in chrome on this truck with the bumpers would look spicy
This truck is lowkey my favorite build of Taylor’s
Mine is the black super duty cause I really want one lol
I was expecting a angle kit for the front , but yesss … this trucks sick af!!
Lowkey - posts on internet
2010 called and wants the word lowkey back.
Lowkey agree with OP
Taylor, you can convert the front of these trucks to 19-24 Silverado 4 piston calipers. It’s a pretty cheap upgrade and upgrades the rotor to a 13.5 in rotor as well
2021 ppv tahoe works too, 16" rotors, and 6 piston calipers, but i think you have to swap to hydroboost brakes or run a different master cylinder...you can also get the same brake setup off of the front of a tahoe or yukon with the duramax in it too, only downside is its only the fronts, haven't really heard of anything "factory" for the rear except the 99-06 tahoe/yukon 2 piston calipers
Swapped to these on my 2001 yukon, stops so much better
You can also do the 2004ish suburban rear brakes. It's a slightly larger rotor and twin piston calipers. I got loaded calipers & bracket and rotors from rock auto for 220. Huge upgrade.
Do the factory wheels clear?
@trevormckeehen2010 on the older brake setup mentioned yes, the 21-up, im pretty sure only 20" factory wheels and up clear those and ive heard some wheels dont bc of spoke design, etc
What I usually do for undoing the ball joint is loosen the castle nut so the top of the nut is flush with the top of the ball joint shaft. Then hammer away on the knuckle which typically breaks the connection between the two and the shaft pops free but the castle nut catches it. That "usually" works.
^ at least for me in the rust belt ball joints are the easy part the camber caster bolts are where the danger lies
If it doesn’t work, get a bigger hammer
I tried that before resorting to other methods. That method almost never works for me. But it could be because I assume it’s not going to work. I don’t give it a fair shot. Lol
@@Taylordrifts All I'll say is that some friends and I were doing a lift on an 07 Xterra (just a spacer lift so it was fast). I took the passenger side front and 2 or 3 guys took the drivers side front. By the time I was done, they were still trying to break the upper ball joint loose using one of those forks (which almost always wrecks the ball joint boot). It also helps to do the ball joint first and keep everything else tight since you're gonna be hammering on it and you want all the force of the hammer focused on the ball joint and not moving the assembly around. I know this is moot since you're done already but just what has worked for me. Love your content dude!
@@fubar1217 next time I’ll try to give that method more of a chance. Lol I don’t care to wreck the booth in this scenario since it’s getting replaced. I even tried the pickle fork wedged. While hitting that side spot of the knuckle. And nothing. Didn’t budge.
When your doing ball joints hit the knuckle where the shaft goes in, if you shock it where the taper is they fall right apart. Just a tip from a rust belt mechanic who’s done countless gmt800 front end rebuilds, otherwise great work love the turbo truck I’ve missed it!
I tried that. That rarely works for me. I even hit it there with the air hammer.
@@TaylordriftsIn the video it looks like you were air hammering the shaft itself. I hit the knuckle itself perpendicular to the shaft.
Also not saying you didn’t do what I recommended just hard to really tell on video lol
He's right if u get a baby sludge hammer hit the side of the ballpoint and put a little elbow grease into it and it pops right out .can't noodle arm it and can't use a thin hammer either
@@Taylordrifts I myself had issue hitting the side of the spindle with a hammer and getting it to bust loose in the past, but my father jumped in right behind me with a tad bigger hammer and alot more motivation and showed me you really have to give it the business but it will eventually give in. Similar with removing old stuck wheel bearings, or removing pressed ball joints without the tool.
@@MondayGarage I know. That was after I tried the normal method. I know that method. It’s common knowledge. In the early days I didn’t know that. But I’ve been doing this a long time now. Rualdo and Josue literally part out cars. We’re all very familiar with the standard methods. That one just rarely works for me. I should probably try harder with it. But I just write it off as not going to work after a couple wacks
Check the u bolts after you drive it for a bit. They always stretch and will be loose. On both my djm trucks they stretched a ton.
As an owner of a turbo rcsb the best piece of advice I would like to give you is get some kind of traction bars and do a crush sleeve eliminator kit on the rear end to save you having to rebuild/replace that rear axle
crush sleeve eliminator aint gonna save a 10 bolt from a 4000 lb truck powered by a built lq4 and a wuhan war whistle lmao
@@MegaDysart i mean i went 9s cutting 1.6 1.7 60s on mine and it never broke until i accidentally left off of 15psi on the break and the rear end hopped 2inch of the ground snapped the pinion in 2
There are several trucks running in the 9s on a 10 bolt. I’m not that fast but have had no issues on a built TT 6.0 making arguably more than Taylor is currently at
@@morgan2678 i try to tell people 🤷🏻♂️
I do frame repairs on trucks on the east coast for a living, I felt for you when you were fighting those bolts hitting the tank and stuck in the bushings. Made me laugh but wanna cry thinking about it all the same 😂
😂
I have some drop brackets for my 07 2500... freaking same deal. Hitch in the way and the bolts come out where stuff is at. WTF Chevy 😂😭
I don’t know how you guys work on rusty stuff regularly. I couldn’t handle it. Lol
@@Taylordrifts The Oxy-acetylene torch is my favorite tool in the shop. The squeak a red hot tie rod nut makes when it breaks loose, and then the sizzle of spraying it to cool is like asmr.
Since your using the djm kit I would recommend getting a bump steer kit. The tie rod is super close to to hitting the sway bar with factory tie rods. Also if you end deciding to change the djm shocks belltech makes a better quality shock in my opinion just make sure you use a factory size shock in the front since the djm kit uses the factory spring
I second the swapping the djm shocks for belltech. I did on my slammed ranger and it’s night and day difference on the ride quality.
Third the BElltechs.
I hated my DJM shocks.
And ya, a bumpsteer kit would do wonders
Yess. I always wanted to slam that truck when I had it. Glad i sold it to you!
The front brakes on the drum brake version of these trucks are 13” rotors. Also you can push the bedsides out to get clearance on the tires.
I have an 06 on bags. It has 13” rotors.
I naturally love the truck build because I’m a big truck guy but as many have said I could watch Taylor do calculus and be entertained.
Ball joint tips. Take a hammer or a air hammer to the side of the knukle around the ball joint, give it a few smacks and it will come out every time.
Just an opinion, I would tuck the tail pipe up higher behind the rear axle and have it bend down instead of coming out under the bumper. Think it would look cleaner. Been a follower for a few years now and really enjoy your videos and the progress you've made.
It can’t go any higher. It’s touching the bed on the top. I tucked it as high as I could without notching the bed.
I just got my 1990 with this same basic setup finally able to rip. I don't want to invest money into the stock rear end, so I welded the spider gears 2 nights ago. I love this truck. My first turbo LS. Gen 4 5.3 with a 98/88 turbo. Snake Eater 1000cc injectors. BTR stage 4 truck cam. Dual 450LPH pumps, for E85. 4L80. It's by far the fastest thing that I've owned. A big jump from my 1981 El Camino with a 10.5 to 1 compression 350. I'm about to assemble a 9 inch with a universal 4 link
Man I LOVE that table. I can hardly pay attention to any of the work you are doing. That thing came out so sick.
My personal favorite ball joint removal technique is tie rod and pitman arm puller + ugga dugga.
Removed entirely too many tie rods and ball joints on my Tacoma, and that is by far the fastest, most reliable way to remove them.
Idk how to say this as kindly as possible. Please let us catch a breath, you go from talking first person explaining as you're doing, to immediately explaining in 3rd person.
Always get it done , which I highly admire man. Keep it up.
Now you got to wrap it to match the vette. That would be sick
cut knuckles drift truck, should be more common
Harbor freight ball joint tool. It's a winner. Pickle fork is now replaced. Turbo truck is fun. Nice to see it back in the game.
I ended up lowering my truck 3/4. I used a 1” ,factory spring rate, and a 2” dropped spindle. It looked good and many people said it looked right. The lowering shop just cut the spring, NOT, hence my use of a 2” dropped spindle. The truck drove great and didn’t drag while traveling the freeway.
Ball Joints, I always use my favorite tool...the 2 lb Sledge Hammer...Smack the spindle HARD, and it will pop right out 2-3 whacks!
I usually just swat the knuckle to do ball joints so I don't tear the boot. When they are really stuck I will drive the pickle for in or load up the ball joint remover then give the knuckle a good whack. Always does the trick.
this is exactly what i thought this build was going to be when you started the build. love where its going. excited to see whats next!
Remove ball joint nut, screw it back on a couple threads, Grab 3lb hammer, swing horizontally at the knuckle where the ball joint stud goes through. I'm a certified tech of 15 years and work in rusty ole Canada, this works 100% of the time
The ride height is soooooo much better now. Also glad you finally got rid of the yellow headlight housings and that broken tail!
Im so glad you finally replaced those headlights. Lol they were bothering me so bad. Love this build. This is my third favorite build of yours behind the vette and cifero
its so fun watching people work on gm stuff, im a gm tech and we have actual recalls of the bolts being seized in bushings, the 13 malibu toe link recall is fucking ridiculous and always have to cut and heat them up to get them out its stupid
Taylor, as an old grimy mechanic, from the UK, where every single thing rusts in no time flat.😂 If you're struggling with a balljoint, take a ball pein hammer and rest it against the component that houses the balljoint in question, next take either a 4 or 7lb lump hammer, and smack 10 bells out of the end of the 1st hammer, between 5 to 10 heavy blows will release the taper. Try it next time. Tips from the aged can sometimes come in handy. 😂 Trucks lookin good brother. ✌️
Seafoam deep creep works wonders. I put a long arm lift on a Jeep XJ from Pennsylvania with tons of rust. From now on whenever I work on a vehicle I presoak it because I’m just over fighting with it. When all else fails heat it up and then spray it with the deep creep. Tighten before loosening. Once tightened then hit with BFH. There are other ways, this works for me.
Wheels tires, raptor bed liner, body paint, interior head liner, that thing will be looking clean! Love these little upgrades here and there
I've built a bunch of these trucks... and I had a 5/7 drop on my this last truck before I bagged it and I ran 255 40 20's on a 2016 ltz wheel.. perfect sized tire.. no rubbing anywhere, u could get away with a 275 40 in the rear but 255 is as wide as u can get comfortably without cutting up the inner fender
In case you missed it, thereis a super easy way to get ball joints separated. Loosen the nut, hit the steering knuckle right where the ball joint is and hit it hard. Pops right apart.
18:37 good to know Taylor has my sense of humor. Just made him so much better to watch
The moment I see Tay Ray turbo LS street truck, I instantly click that video. Then I hit that like button, on sight. I love fast street trucks!
13:43 felt that in my soul
This is literally my favorite build on this page, i LOVE chevy trucks so this hits home real good glad to see it finally lowered
Lowering anything always makes it look better!
I worked for GM service for a while and worked on GM vehicles for 30 years. On any of the ball joints just using a 20 oz hammer hitting the pick up point for the ball joint will make it release with out a pickle fork or heat.
Ive got a 2003 Extended cab. I wasnt sure how much i wanted to drop it but you answered it for me!!
Man the 17” 07 Sierra wheels look SO good on slammed single cabs if you’re wanting to stick with a stock wheel. If you’re looking for something aftermarket, I vote Cosmis XT-206R!
I like it dropped better then I thought it would. Good call on doing the shackles, tomorrow you will thank you. When you do the paint, don't forget to strip the bed, and put a new liner in. It's interesting what it looks like after you had the trays trapping the moisture back there for a few years.
Also, if your driver side is lower than the passenger thats common on these trucks. You have to put a spacer ontop of the drivers front spring. I used a 1" one.
Put pressure on the ball joint with a jack or press depending weather you’re on or off the vehicle and hit the side of the knuckle with a big hammer and it will pop right off. Works every time
Pickle fork + heat + air hammer all together. Works every time even here in the rust belt!
You’re the one that has gotten me into wanting one of these, they’re so clean. And I finally found one I’m going to check out this weekend
Stick will get in the top.. just bend the end of the rod to give you the angle you need for a good weld..
You only get about 2-3 inches of usable rod per run before you have to stop and re-bend but works great for those tight spots
Small tig torch with steel rod can be better than mig too if you prefere vs stick.
So feakin Great to hear someone saying to drill steel SLOWLY.. decent force, but slow..
Heat is how you anneal (remove hardening by heat treatment) your bits to become nearly as soft as what your cutting.
Same if sharpening bits / saws / knives.. No Heat.. if grinding, slow grind and v light/no pressure
I prefer drop spindles to modified control arms but some rigs don't have them available.
Also, using urethane bushings loosens up a suspension by removing the twist in the stock rubber bushings and serrated sleeves the factory uses. It does not tighten it up. Does make a more responsive system but not a tighter one.
There is less deflection in poly than rubber. Thereby tightening the responsiveness and handling.
The plus side of rubber is that the attachment points don't move and wear ovals into the bushing like poly dose. Rubber is also softer on the mounts and transfers less road noise since there is some deflection.
On my lifted Jeep, I use all Rubber bushings. The ride is smother, and flexing the suspension doesn't twist the mounts off.
That expansion tank/oil catch can combo is still amazing.
Yessss bro way way better…I love aftermarket wheels but Chevy does have a 20 and 22 inch factory snowflake wheel that looks really good in black on those trucks..
Change that notch out to an underbed. Them bolt ins are worthless and prone to cracking. Underbed and helper bags still allow you to pull a trailer if you wanted. Twisted images makes a good one.
Throw it on some welds and it’ll be sick. Big brake upgrade up front. Roll fenders. Just suggestions of course track bars are helpful to keep wheel hop at bay when you get it on a sticky tire
I’ve put together 1 of these trucks and an obs
The welds that you had done probably would have been more than enough. For extra you could have just plug welded the holes but bolts work too.
The stock brakes off a 07+ will bolt right up and it gives you a bigger rotor and caliber combo. Cheap simple upgrade.
Love this truck! Dude you don't need a pickle fork ever for ball joints you just hit the spindle with a BFH and they will pop every single time. Done thousands of them as a mechanic my whole life. Try it next time!
If you remove the 4 bed bolts from one side and loosen the 4 on the other side you can lift the one side of the bed a foot or more to work under it.
The 5/7 looks great but the 4/6 is more gooderer for driving alot.
Weld wheels would look amazing on it
Cool cool cool! The truck cleaned right up. One thing I noticed is the sound, you use a stereo mic which is really nice for the truck walk-around where we can hear the exhaust coming from one direction and the engine from the other, but less nice when listening to you speak. Or at least, when using headphones it is. Maybe you can make your voice mono in post 👍 keep up the good work as always
Absolutely love this thing, wish my 04 was that beautiful green color.
Hit the KNUCKLE with a 2# sledge right where the balljoint goes through. The jarring will let the ball joint pop right out. I do it all the time
Whenever dropping the rear unbokt everything on the rear end and you can slide it too the other side and pull the leaf spring around the axle so you don't have to mess with the tank
A cheap brake up grade for the front is the 2020 Silverado brakes, the calipers bolt right up with just under a 4mm spacer and the newer trucks have bigger rotors too. I'm sure you'll go with something fancier but definitely a worth it cheaper alternative not many people know about
The wheels are actually fairly light. All you need is a tire with like 40% less sidewall.
I think you’d find Formula one engineers would disagree. The stock wheels look great. In my opinion It’s pretty silly when people build sleeper builds then put stupid low profile tires on them. Not a fan of putting low profile tires on trucks at all. They literally have every trait you don’t want on a truck
@@DMSparky I didn’t say low profile. I just said lower profiles. I dropped my truck too and the stock tires rubbed like hell. Went from 31” to 29” and it’s so much better
Hands down my favorite build of yours. Keeps me motivated on making my Turbo single cab the way I really want it.
I have a single cab myself, so i love to see the truck content.
The reason they have a bolt-on kit is the welds need to be temperature controlled or the chassis has a high risk of cracking next to the weld. Bolts alone would be more reliable than the weld added.
Heavy diesel mechanic trained in truck chassis repair and modification.
"If anything, It will self clearance" that one had me rolling
2019+ front breaks and rear Denali dual calipers rears and rotors is a perfect break upgrade
Lucky you got the lower control arm bolts out. That was real fun with a metabo and sawzall
Man what a perfect drop like it literally took it from normal ass truck, to nice low mean street truck 👌👌👌 I can not wait to see this thing get the wheels and body work it deserves
Sleeper factor is what makes this truck cool af in my opinion
Mid video comment, so it may get addressed by the end. If so, good stuff. You are going to want to cut the bed crossmember above the diff, at a 7 inch rear drop it will hit. Scalping the exhaust will also be necessary I’m sure. I love the truck man, full-size GMs are kind of my thing lol. I daily a bagged and bodied 06 crew cab, the toy is a bagged 96 single cab.
the aftermarket headlight housings only take about a year of sitting outside to start yellowing if you don't give them a good 2K clearcoat.
I HATE THAT I LIKE THIS SO MUCH SLAMMED ON STOCKS!
Do you drive it in the rain? I would think having no fender liners would be tough - would be a cool custom project for the channel. I know in the northeast between gravel driveways and normal road grime it would cake everything. Love the progress it’s given me so much motivation to get a RCSB
Now you have to say, “PURO TROKIANDO CUHH!” 🙌🏽🤣 love this build Ray and team💪🏽
Hammer on the knuckle itself right where the balljoint goes into it. I also would’ve just pulled the knuckle itself right out to start. Pop the top joint and then the bottom super easy!
Trucks looking good. Don't mind the meaty tires on it but it'll look and handle better with a new wheel and tire set-up. Look forward to seeing what you go with.
agree but do you do weld wheels for drag or something turn-y stop-y 🤷♂🤔
Might pay to seam seal the top of the C notch.
I was on the keep it sleeper team but it’s looking sweet 👍
I’ve recently lowered my car similar to this and the feeling of seeing it low is unrivalled, excellent execution 🤙🏻
Taylor ray is an official cuhhh now. Love this build..
As a Canadian mechanic whos familiar with rusty pieces of s***, i would highly recommended investing in a acetylene torch, will get stuff way hotter then you ever would be able to with a propane torch and is often the difference for me spending hours on a job or a few minutes
Ball joint tip of the day hit the knuckle with a bfh and they pop right out. I haven't touched my picked fork in years.
Absolutely transformed this build again 🔥🔥🔥
Btw the 2019+ front calipers are a bolt on big brake upgrade for 99-06 trucks. Need to space the caliper out 4mm with washers behind the ears. that’s it. Also obviously need the rotors and pads for 19+. ALSO. The 05-06 suburban rear calipers are dual piston and also a big brake upgrade for the rear but also need the rotors and pads.
See if you can find a set of OEM headlights and strip the brackets off of them. You will have to modify the aftermarket headlight housings slightly to make the brackets work with then but the end result is worth it. The headlight housings will not be all crooked.
Nothing beats the GMT800 I’ve had 6 of them. Love them.
i suggest a 3-4” drop up front so it’s not too low and still looks nice, also an HD front end makes these trucks look 10x better
A Midwest boy watching a Florida boy talking about rusted bolts. Lolol this is fun! Love ya Taylor…just teasing ya with some jibber jabber…..
That was a fun binge watch! I enjoyed these videos for hours now....🍻
Nice cowl hood, color matched etc
In case someone else is in the same boat the in order to avoid dropping the tank if your working on jack-stands with half the suspension out already if you have a pull a part near you with another GMT truck you can just go get the passenger side bolt and then you can pull the nut off that bolt that hits the tank and then drive it loose and sawzall it in 2 pieces you can remove it and when re-installing put it in from the outside. .
I think the truck would be a lot more of a sleeper if the exhaust tip was angled more behind the wheel like a stock truck. The Rear single exit looks sick though
Wheels are always the hardest part 20 in front 22 in rear offset lip machine grey crome lip get the bat out to roll the fenders and now a roll pan instead of the bumper
Truck is looking and sounding great I can't wait to see where this thing goes in the future
Rule number one with ball joints, straight from Eric the Car Guy: HIT WHAT IT GOES THROUGH!
The 99-01. 2500 hd grill and hood really give these body style half times a 👌👌look
Drill bits there’s a proper calculation for speed for optimal cutting for steel in metric is is 300 x 30 divided by the size of the drill = the rpm required this will keep drills sharp and cutting well
That front leaf spring bolt by the gas tank on my truck just got cut off, then replaced with a new bolt going from the outside in. Saved a bit of time.
Taylor.... Buddy... I've been watching you for years.
But you just blew my mind trying to use a pickle fork on a ball joint knowing you used to work for a suspension company. You should already know they're useless.
Apply tension to the ball joint in the direction you want it to come out (Even just a piece of wood, not even a prybar would work), then just hit the side of the knuckle with a BFH. Done. All day everyday. In the rust belt you might have to heat the knuckle a bit, but vibration on the knuckle side of the ball joint will knock it out, every time.
Edit: (Oh boy here come the edits as I watch) The C notch process..... Pulling the bed sounds like a time consumer, it is absolutely NOT. Same thing goes for doing fuel pumps, screw dropping the tank. Unbolt the bed and you and a buddy can lift it right off. Drill out of the bolt holes and bolt it after welding.... Why? Just do plug welds in the bolt holes. (Reference Fab Rats and Matt's Off Road Recovery, guys that build stout demolition derby cars) And if you pull the bed... You get to weld the top of the C-notch anyways. Win, win. Doesn't sound like it at first, until you do it and see how much easier your work goes.
I vote some Chevy 22” snowflakes. I know it’s extremely popular but they just look so good. Especially in chrome on this truck with the bumpers would look spicy
Generally not a huge fan of lowered trucks, but this thing looks way better low! Keep up the good work Taylor all your videos are awesome!
I must say i really didn't like that truck too much but now its lowered its growing on me. Great video