Electrical, Steering, Cooling, and All that Jazz

One thing a project like this needs is a good electrical system.  Since the Yukon's engine is managed by a computer and all the electrical is there in order to run the engine and transmission, I was able to pull the parts i needed such as the Electrical harness, and fuse block from the Yukon and install it into the 86'  This fit nicely on the drives side fender well along with the battery.

One thing i almost forgot was the ability to use stock fender wells with the new suspension set up with minor cutting.  So once the fenders are back on, you wont really be able to tell its a different suspension.   Kind of cool I think.

With the Fenders and radiator support in place, I began painstakingly trying to figure out how to get the electrical, plumbing, and linkages to fit and work as they should.  Even though there's quite a bit of room under the hood, there a lot of stuff that has to be tied together. 

I decided to fit the lights one the one side to see if they still worked and to help hold the harness in place.  Ill fix them soon enough. 

Among some of the things I had to wire for include: Fuel Pump (Bosch 044), Electric Cool fans, Gauges for Oil, Water, Electrical, etc, the OBDII port, sensors, Cruise Control, Brake controls and a few others. Its taken some time so don't think this is just a overnight project.  It take some time. 

One thing I would recommend doing is waiting to get the PCM flashed.  I waited till I was almost done with the Electrical to get the PCM flashed, I think they helped me keep from trying to start it with out everything being ready. Thus saving myself some heart ache and potentially skipping some all important steps.  I took my PCM to Premier Complete Auto Care in West Jordan, UT.  They did a great job and were convenient in that I didn't have to ship my PCM anywhere.

Steering:

This was challenging for sure.  Since I had placed a big ol' Coilover shock right in the way of the stock steering shaft, Enter Double-U  U-joints.  Something I had never seen before, but am grateful for.

On the left is the stock shaft,  From there it goes into a U joint, Then to a double U joint, followed by a support,  around the coilover, to another Double U joint, then through another support,  on the other side of the Coilover, then to a final U joint and into the steering box. 

Here is a better view of the final shaft bending around the coil-over. 

*Note:  I had to move the steering box forward roughly 2 inches to help clear the pan-hard bad mount for my steering to work.  I hope it still works. 

Not the easiest to see, but down in there is the tie into the steering box.

Cooling system:

I was able to use the Stock radiator from the 86' along with the coolant tank.  I did learn something about how these systems work.  In the original engine, the cooling system works by filling hte radiator and engine block at the same time when you fill up the radiator as the thermostat is on the top of the block.  With the LS based engines such as the 5.3, the thermostat is located on the low side of the block,  I filled the radiator and started the motor, hoping to see a drop in coolant level, i ran the motor a little and saw the temperature rise. This concerned me to the point I almost too the system apart as i thought i had a sticky thermostat.  NOT GOOD... 

After doing a parts run and trying again, I had epiphany that maybe i needed to try and pour coolant into the top of the motor via the coolant hose.  Upon doing so, which took almost a gallon itself, I hear a distinct click noise and soon coolant began flowing through the system and upon starting the engine,I could see it begin to cycle.  Much to my amazement, the cooling system works perfectly, even the electrical fans i installed work really well too.  Its an awesome feeling knowing that something you did is finally coming to life and getting close to the finish.