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Papajon1000's 2007.5 CCSB

899 views 5 replies 2 participants last post by  papajon1000 
#1 ·
Hi all,

I always like sharing what I do with my vehicles. I am not planning to get too crazy with this duramax but it will get a few modifications.

A little background:
I have wanted a duramax for a long time but other things have taken priority. I live in MN and rust is a large concern for me. As the truck will be a third vehicle, the budget wasn't real high. I have been looking for a ccsb 2500 with 4x4 and a G80. A 6 speed truck was a plus. My step dad has a LB7 and we both agree that it would be nice to have another OD gear. Between those constraints my options were fairly limited. Well after some discussion and some help from a friend we have finally found the one!

It is a white 2007.5 CCSB LT LMM 4x4 with a G80. It has higher miles (332k) but it seems to have been maintained fairly well. The guy we bought it from was the second owner and only had the truck for 6k miles. Between him going through a divorce and some needed maintenance he was ready to get out of it. I was able to pick the truck up for 9500. The best part of the truck is that it lived its life in Texas for 326k. This thing is CLEAN! It was a fleet truck and it has the typical wear and tear on the inside as well as some minor cosmetic issues on the exterior but I think it was maintained very well over its life.

(see first picture at night)

I have a nice roadkill-ish cardboard list that I will try and get a picture of it. They are all the issues I know and want to address.

First things that were addressed were the add-on mirrors, fender flares that highlight the 245 tires, and the grille guard.

I threw the mirror extensions in the garbage, and the other 2 items on c-list.


I will continue to update this first post with info further down the list.




Thanks for taking the time to look this build thread!

Jon
 

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#2 ·
I have been pretty busy with since I got it. I averaged about 17 on the first tank with mixed towing of an enclosed trailer. Pretty happy with it currently.


I knew only a couple of speakers were working in the truck so I replaced all 4 in the doors. Turns out only 1 was working with the tweeters and the passenger front speaker wasn't even in the door!

While I was in there, I cleaned up the terminals on the locks, windows and mirror buttons. The door locks were pretty weak and my multimeter only read 11 volts. After cleaning them I was getting around 12 v with the truck off. The door locks seem to work better now. I am going to go back through on the drivers side some more and clean them up a bit more yet.

After pulling off the mirror extensions I discovered the stock mirrors were cracked. Good enough reason to pick up a set of towing mirrors. I just got a pair on amaz(ing)on. We will see how long they last. First impressions were good but time will tell.


More updates to come.

I still have many things to fix.

The first will be fluid changes.

The biggest thing right now is the steering box and pitman arm. Too much play for me. I have heard good things about the red head steering box, is that still the preferred one? It will probably need an alignment after that. The last owner had all the ball joints, idler arm and the inner tie rods replaced and I doubt an alignment was completed at that time. The outer tie rods were replaced at some point as well.

Then I will tackle the transmission cooler lines. Anyone have a good source for ones that are superior to the GM ones that always seem to leak?

After that will be interior things-Peeling steering wheel cover, center console lid and latch, buttons that have no images and the cracked dash. Anyone have any solutions for the steering wheel and cracked dash?
 

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#3 ·
Check out Merchants Transmission lines. They are braided hydraulic line. Im putting a set on my LB7 now along with Driven Diesel power steering lines. Also check into Idler arm and pitman arm braces. Cognito Motorsports sells some along with PPE and just about every other company now days.
 
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#5 ·
Well, this didn't go quite as I planned but I have fixed a lot of issues on the truck so far. However it seems that each time I complete something 2 more things arise. Such is life with an older vehicle I suppose.

July:
First thing I tackled was the steering issue. I was anticipating needing a new steering box but on further investigation it turned out that the pitman arm was not properly torqued to the steering gear box :eyes: I changed the pitman arm, note I had a 3 groove one which it typical, ( I spent a bit of time verifying this online before the purchase and thought I would share) and retorqued it and it is much better now. While I was doing that I also replaced the steering stabilizer (ac delco pn 509-25) as the stock one was toast. During that I discovered the hydroboost line to the power steering pump was leaking (36-358980). I replaced that and flushed the system. I also replaced the mirror switch (pn 22883768) as the stock one no longer functioned either. The headlights were polished and I hope to get another year out of them as they were pretty bad.

I then tackled some larger projects. I added an edge CTS which is very nice. I get why so many people have them. I still would like to add an EGT sensor. At the same time I addressed the PCV system :). The exhaust hangers needed to be replaced. I used Walker 35229 when I had the exhaust disconnected. :) The rear shocks were toast after 332000 miles so I replaced them with ac delco 540-528. That helped the ride tremendously.

I left the truck alone until the end of September.
I tackled the rear tailgate issues. The strikers were worn out and the handle was busted. The TPMS sensors were all dead so they were replaced. Unfortunately after calibration the truck tells me to check every tire on the DIC. Not sure what to do about it. Any thought? I also replaced a leaky downpipe. I advise anyone having to service the downpipe to make sure you really want to. It took me 4 nights after work to accomplish. If I were to do it again I would cut the heat shield around the turbine of the turbo. I can confirm that it is not necessary to cut, but highly inadvisable. I had to undo the body mounts on the cab to get it high enough to get access to the v band clamp, remove the glow plug control module and the glow plug control module bracket. Again, do your self a favor and cut the heat shield. After battling with that I had to reinstall and torque the EGR cooler gasket :). The only plus side of that job was having room with the downpipe out of the way. The bad thing was that I had to take the trans dipstick out. It is a PITA to get back in. I like a lot of people had to cut the end of the tube down by 3/8 inch. That worked like a charm.

Those last 2 items were the least enjoyable vehicle installation things I have done in a long time. I would gladly replace spark plugs on turbo Subaru's over this everyday of the week.

October:
I replaced both diff fluids and transfer case.
I then replaced both power port covers (20983936), the cabin temperature sensor (22834330) and one dead power port (25774623).
I noticed recently as the temp has dropped, the truck doesn't run over 160. I was planning on replacing the coolant anyways, so I guess I will replace the thermostats at the same time.
I also got a code for "service trailer brake controller" yay...not

Still left to complete:
Trans go jr that is sitting on my work bench.
Trans flush
trans filters
The trans line (20835127) is still dripping. I got one cheap so I will go that route right now.
Install the Hankook dynapros that have been here for a month
Replace the fuel filter that I have on my bench as well
Mud flaps
Figure out the airbag trouble B0012
Enable the turbo brake function in the computer
The rear rotors will be replaced this winter or next spring

Wishes:
Lift pump. Not sure what I want to do yet.
Undercoating. Being in Minnesota-any rocks chips can start the rusting :/
The rear locks only work sporadically. Probably need to replace them.
Updated rear cab mounts

I am sure this list will continue to grow. Any help on some of my issues would be greatly appreciated.

Have a great day!
Jon
 

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#6 ·
Another bit of an update.

November.
I replaced the 2 thermostats and replaced the coolant in early november. I also found a front grille cover on ebay. The thermostats really helped with the temp issues in the truck. It was a bit better on fuel as well. I also threw some HIDS in the low beams and re aimed the lights. I was able to get out in the garage and trace all of the Trailer brake wires. I found out that there was power going into the relay but none coming out. I replaced that and that seemed to have fixed the service trailer brakes message. I also installed some mud flaps. Later in November I installed the trans go jr. That was my first experience with valve bodies and I had to re read the instructions 5 times to make sure I was doing it correctly. I also changed the fluid and both the internal and external filters. I found out the magnet was missing on the external filter so I purchased a new one online as well. The trans cooler line was also replaced at that time.

In early December I was driving home and while exiting a roundabout the steering got really heavy. As I pulled off to the side of the road, the truck gave me a no charging message. I just it off and found the belt had been shredded. Luckily I had a spare in the back and was able to get home with that. After looking at everything I determined that the tensioner needed to be replaced. I also replaced the idlers while I was in there. I have been inspecting the belt after every trip to see if the issue is fixed or if there is an alignment issue. When I am comfortable with the fix, I plan to put on the better belt I bought for it. I replaced the tires with new 265 dynapros. They look much better than the 245s that were on there and I have no rubbing. I tried recalibrating the tpms sensors again but still get the message to check the all the tires. The only other thing I bought for it were tow hooks as the truck did not have them, which still need to be installed.

I still have a few things left to do but I am waiting for a bit warmer temps before I tackle much more.

Still left to complete:
Rotors
time for a new fuel filter and oil change
figure out the airbag light

Wish list:
still want to add a lift pump. Kind of tapped out right now so hopefully this spring or summer
updated rear cab mounts

Happy holidays everyone!
Jon
 
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