The Hoe

[Real4WD]

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.

 

[Real4WD]

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.

 

[Real4WD]

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)
-

 

[Real4WD]

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!

 

[Real4WD]

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!

 

[Real4WD]

This weekend I color corrected, compound polished and waxed the Tahoe. She's looking a little more respectable now.

Lots of swirls in the clear coat.

Post color correction

 

[Real4WD]

20250502

Replaced:
-Water pump
-Thermostat
-Upper radiator hose
-Lower radiator hose
-Throttle body to head hose
-Radiator to throttle body hose.
-Refilled and purged cooling system with Dex-Cool 50/50 mix.
-Cleaned the front face of the engine (front cover, cylinder heads, power steering bracket).

Also found a nifty smiley face etched into the body of the water pump!

 

[Real4WD]

20250503

Replaced:
-Intake manifold gaskets
-Engine valley plate gaskets
-Knock sensors
-Cleaned the top end of the engine (air intake manifold, heads, valley plate cover, around the oil pressure sensor).

 

[alrock]

Is that all??? Wow, that Tahoe has kept you busy! How's it running now with all the repairs and the 300K miles? Looks great.

 

[H3Hummer]

Wow, tons of work done, nice job

 

[Real4WD]

Is that all??? Wow, that Tahoe has kept you busy! How's it running now with all the repairs and the 300K miles? Looks great.

Runs great! I drive the Tahoe to work every day. Recently drove it from KS to SC and back. Did just fine. I'm going to rebuild the front suspension and steering this weekend. It will be helping me move from KS to GA here soon by either towing a vehicle or trailer lol.

 

[Real4WD]

Current mileage: 325,411

This weekend I replaced the.......

-gear selector boot (torn)
-hood insulator (trashed)
-coolant reservoir (plastic was starting to crumble)
-passenger side PCV hose (dry rotted)
-pitman arm (worn)
-idler arm (worn)
-inner tie rods (worn)
-outer tie rods (worn)
-sway bar end links (worn)
-sway bar bushings (worn)
-driver side UCA
-driver side lower ball joint

-Next weekend I'll hit the passenger side UCA and ball joint. Throw in a torsion key crank and alignment for funsies.