SEJohnson

I appreciate the offer!! This is still a ways out (if I go this route) Was your chassis a long or short box? How well did the wheel base line up with wheel wells? And alignment of the shift towers in the suburban cab to the chassis?

You got a build thread or more details on your Suburban build? I'm kicking around the idea of dropping a 2002 drivetrain into one of these, and curious on the success of your approach of putting the suburban body on a 2001 chassis.

I ran the same (no tailpipe) for quite some time, and had the same experience as you. Installed the tailpipe and it made a world of difference (quieting) in the truck. Eventually went to 5" Diamond Eye w/muffler and reduction of noise in cab got even better. Still sounds killer too.

I put a Thuren 3rd Gen on my 2002, with the adapter bracket. That was at ~100K, and I'm at 224K now. No issues with it. I really like it. I have 2.5" leveling kit spacers and run 315/70R17s..Truck is stable, steering is tight. I grease the frame side joint during regular greasing intervals. At the axle end, the use of the heim joint required displacing the steering dampener bolt to the front of the bracket (can get a pic if you want) which I didn't really like..But appears to be holding up. I was cheap at the time and got the uncoated/unpainted bar and installed it as such. If I did it again, I'd get it coated or paint it before installing.

Do you park your truck on flat ground, facing uphill, downhill? I had a similar problem only when I parked facing uphill. It also manifested on a very slight incline (1-3 degrees maybe) of the driveway. I'd face downhill overnight, no starting problems. Flat ground, intermittent problem. Subsequent events led me to never identifying the problem, but somehow fixing it in the process, as it went away: I dropped my fuel tank to replace the feed lines to the AD and IP, and when dropping the fuel tank I kinked the hard plastic return (from engine) fuel line. It did not kink all the way, but maybe reduced the flow area by 1/2, so I thought it would work out. I buttoned it back up and ran the truck, and had fuel in the oil shortly after. Lots of fuel.... Measured an extra gallon of lube 'solution' after 3 days of driving. Figured the return line was restricted enough to pop the o-rings on the injector bodies and pump fuel to the oil. I pulled the valve cover and watched 4 of the 6 injectors leaking fuel to the top of the head. Needless to say, replaced all the injector body o-rings and never had an issue since. I also replaced the kinked return tube with some nicely routed rubber hose How long have you been running like this? Long enough to find fuel in the oil, even with a minor leak? Have you pressure checked your fuel overflow valve for proper operation? If it's low on opening pressure, it can cause fuel drain when it shouldn't, contributing to a hard start.

Cool, thanks for all the help, Rick. I appreciate it. I got my system closer to finished this weekend. Had to trim the tailpipe pieces to get it over the axle and free of the spare... So now I need to fine tune the angles of the pipe and elbows so the tip can fit on the pipe.. Then tighten all the clamps, touch up the paint and that's it. I'll post my pics when finished. I ended up putting my expansion joint just after the support hanger that attaches to the transmission.. I would not have had enough room (without doing some fabbing of electrical and hangers) for the 5" pipe running over the cross member. Bummer.

Awesome.. .Thanks! I'll have to get under there this week and see what I can do. That helps, surely. About that pipe up front.. Did you get it past the crossmember? I'd like to use my expansion joint as far forward as possible.. But not sure if it can fit through the cross member opening. Looks like it might, but it'd be tight (especially with that sensor that sticks off the back passenger side of the transmission housing). Sam

Sounds good... Thanks Rick. While you're at it... How far forward do you run the 5"? It looks like you got it through the t-case cross member.

Hey Rick... I got my 5" D.E. exhaust kit last week and was working on it last night.. Ran into some issues during the fitting...In one of those pics you sent me (PM), I saw your hanger downstream of the muffler is on the angled part of your over-the-axle pipe.. How's that working for you? Has it slipped at all. My hanger, when vertical, if right on the bend of that pipe.. So I'm contemplating on moving it to where you did.. Or trying to grab the last horizontal bit of that pipe, just before the elbow. Also, did you have a hanger on your tailpipe? DE sent one hanger bracket that I think is for the tailipe.. But the hanger rod is about 4 inches too short to reach the rubber isolator. This piece... Any other readers first hand opinions are definitely appreciated. Right now.. It looks like I'll be having issues fitting the over-the-axle piece with my spare tire in place, So I'm thinking about trimming this pipe on the muffler end. What do you guys think about this? Sam

I see. That's a good point about damaging the injection pump before it totally fails. Yet boosting the lift pressure and the symptoms improving. Recalling the papers in my glovebox that came with the truck, there were service records for a clutch replacement... But nothing that I remember about fuel system work. So thinking about that, I know someone played with a fueling box on the truck (I had mentioned before the pump wire is tapped and old velcro on the fuse box)...But who knows if the box went on before the AirDog was installed. And thus, who knows if the pump got damaged, or has had a full supply of fuel from day 1. I've monitored boost levels while this jerking was happening. If I crreeeeepppp up on the throttle into 2000+ rpm with boost 20-25 psi... I can get by without jerking. But if I run up fast, the jerking comes on strong and is worse at high boost... But that is also highest load (so again... clutch or fuel flow?). I've seen it do it at 7 psi at 1400 RPM though too. It's never been 100% consistent at coming on at one engine point. I've never heard of the '24V timing shutter' that BlkRam1 speaks of... So I'll have to look into that as well... (the list is growing). But it would be an interesting data point if an IAT fooler makes it go away. After your story though, that IAT fooler make me a bit leary about covering up an issue.

Hmmm hmmm hmm... So I did a search as suggested and found one thread in particular... Very interesting. Got me thinking about when this jerking started... And I can say it DOES happen during winter time.. But I CANNOT say if it happens in warmer weather. I can't remember if I noticed it last summer...And it did happen in the fall. That Blue Chip explanation seems pretty close too. Thanks for the link.. I'd seen a Blue Chip VP44 diagnosis article, but it was apparently a different one. Anyways... This threads seems VERY close to what I'm experiencing. (http://www.newenglandturbodieselpower.com/Forums/archive/index.php/t-923.html) So luckily, I've got a high idle mod harness on my desk at home right now... With an added switch for IAT fooling (MPG fooler, thanks Mike for the idea and wiring diagrams for the high idle mod!!) I'll be adding this to the truck soon, and will check of the MPG fooler helps the jerking. Dave, when you replaced your VP... Did your jerking cease?

Awesome! Thanks Rick. I guess I've spaced it until now.. Do you have a long bed or short?

I checked the codes last night with the on-board reader... This was with the truck not moving, engine not on. PCU:0500 - No vehicle speed sensor signal1694 - No Bus message received from companion moduleECU1693 - DTC detected in companion moduleYes I do have a fuel pressure gauge. It's tapped into the feed line from the AirDog to the VP, just before the fuel enters the VP. Idle ~ 17 psi. WOT ~ 14 psi. During the jerks while driving, I have checked the fuel pressure gauge... And there is no noticeable drop that coincides with a jerk. But... I had found air in this gauge line before, so I'll check that again and see if we're getting air in the gauge system that could dampen the response to the fuel gauge. Using the truck today to do some yard chores.. So I'll see if I can get some instigate some jerks and see if codes change.

Under load. Every time. No jerking when engaging. When it first showed up, it would jerk/buck/lurch in 6th at WOT only. It seems to have gotten worse to where it will jerk at non-WOT points in 5th and 6th. Sometime it will lightly jerk while cruising at 1400 RPM. So far, the only time I can MAKE it happen on command is WOT, just after shifting into 6th.

Not lately, no. The truck gets driven about once a week, so I haven't REALLY focused on the problem yet. In the meantime, had been digging in websites and forums looking for my symptom. I can surely check for codes, though. I'll take it out extra this weekend and play footsie with the pedal. Did you throw any when you had your engine/injector pump issue, dripley? Out of curiosity so I can keep my eye out. This truck has a tapped pump wire and velcro on the fuse box, and hitch marks for a 5th wheel in the bed. I do not know the previous owner(s) or past of the truck. It was a trade-in at the dealer I bought from. So who knows what the clutch has been thru. I found some threads on the rear main seal, so will check out those, too.