Installation tips for new accessories

fred2002 · Sep 17, 2008

I am a new & proud chevy owner. I finally received my 08 tahoe LTZ 3 days ago from dealer. It is black with ebony interior. I believe it is the utmost SUV in the market, and i have done a lot of research before deciding on this model. One of its most appealing features is that it can be customized in so many styles that can fit every taste.

Today i bought my first set of accessories:

1. GM chrome oval side assist steps.
2. GM black & chrome brush Guard.
3. Black molded mud guards for rear & front.

Now that i totally drained my bank account with price of tahoe & these, i am thinking about installing everything myself. Can u pls help with tips for installation & some pics that would make this an easier task.
Thanks.

73shark · Sep 17, 2008

Not sure about the grill guard (yuk) and steps, but the flaps come w/ easy to follow inst. w/ pics as do the GM Perf. Exhaust, tip, and CAI.

fred2002 · Sep 19, 2008

I noticed that brush gurads are not popular among guys in this forum..
I believe the GM part has same contour lines as tahoe & it will fit perfectly around grill & head lights.. anyway, i will post pictures as soon as i do the installation...
Regarding side steps, any tips for removing original plastic ones?
Thx

jeep450 · Sep 19, 2008

fred2002 said:
Regarding side steps, any tips for removing original plastic ones?
Thx

Crawl under and you can see where the factory ones bolt to the body. The new ones mount up to the factory holes.

You will need to reuse the tow hook bolts for the grill guard, if you don't have them you will need to buy them first. Looks like it mounts at the factory hook mounts.

fred2002 · Sep 20, 2008

well i finished installing the chrome assist steps and i can honestly say that the GM guidance papers were useless. There were some pretty serious points to watch out for that the guidance neglected. The whole thing took 3 hours using basic tools.
The result is just as i imagined it will be: Beautiful...
I will post detailed pics of installation after i download them.

KC8RXQ · Oct 20, 2008

Factory mud guards

FRED2000,

Take inventory of what is in the kit for the mud guards. I purchased a set of factory GMC mud guards, for my 07 Yukon, from the dealership and had them install them before we left for a long trip. (I had just gotten out of the hospital a week earlier and didn't want to push things too soon.) During the trip I kept hearing a "rattling" noise from the front-left area of the vehicle but couldn't locate the source. I thought it might be a loose wire loom in the engine compartment or one of the dreaded assembly curses where someone on the factory floor decides to play a trick and leave a present inside the fender or some other obscure place. Anyway, I finally got tired of listening to the noise and took it to the dealership. A trusted mechanic took it on a test drive and located the problem. The left front mud guard was installed incorrectly and was rubbing against the plastic running board/step. You could actually see the rub marks on the step. Now for the the good part - the technician pulled the mudgard away from the body and saw where the mud guard had rubbed the paint to bare metal! A check of all four locations revealed the same problem. There evidently wasn't a clear vinyl/plastic body protector with the kit to protect the paint/body. I know it's been done in the past since my 1999 Yukon had the plastic strips. I've got GM's Customer Service and the dealership working on a solution and hopefully they will acknowledge that it's a design/installation problem and take care of the repairs. Given GM's present financial situation I don't know if they will do the right thing but I'm hoping they will.

Regards and enjoy that ride!

08 Yukon · Oct 21, 2008

I installed front & rear ones on my 08 Yukon. Neither of those came with anything to protect the paint. I can tell you they vibrate at high speeds, and that is what wears away the clearcoat and paint. If I didn't have those I would have a lot more rock chips, so I prefer the splash guards.

DiabolicalR1 · Nov 5, 2008

08 Yukon said:
I installed front & rear ones on my 08 Yukon. Neither of those came with anything to protect the paint. I can tell you they vibrate at high speeds, and that is what wears away the clearcoat and paint. If I didn't have those I would have a lot more rock chips, so I prefer the splash guards.

Which splash guards did you go with? looking for some for my '07 Tahoe.

thanks.

fred2002 · Dec 25, 2008

KC8RXQ said:
FRED2000,

Take inventory of what is in the kit for the mud guards. I purchased a set of factory GMC mud guards, for my 07 Yukon, from the dealership and had them install them before we left for a long trip. (I had just gotten out of the hospital a week earlier and didn't want to push things too soon.) During the trip I kept hearing a "rattling" noise from the front-left area of the vehicle but couldn't locate the source. I thought it might be a loose wire loom in the engine compartment or one of the dreaded assembly curses where someone on the factory floor decides to play a trick and leave a present inside the fender or some other obscure place. Anyway, I finally got tired of listening to the noise and took it to the dealership. A trusted mechanic took it on a test drive and located the problem. The left front mud guard was installed incorrectly and was rubbing against the plastic running board/step. You could actually see the rub marks on the step. Now for the the good part - the technician pulled the mudgard away from the body and saw where the mud guard had rubbed the paint to bare metal! A check of all four locations revealed the same problem. There evidently wasn't a clear vinyl/plastic body protector with the kit to protect the paint/body. I know it's been done in the past since my 1999 Yukon had the plastic strips. I've got GM's Customer Service and the dealership working on a solution and hopefully they will acknowledge that it's a design/installation problem and take care of the repairs. Given GM's present financial situation I don't know if they will do the right thing but I'm hoping they will.

Regards and enjoy that ride!

Please excuse the delay as I was away for work....

The good part is that I bought the mud guards but was too busy to install them. You are right they will just rub on the paint. I found a solution for the front ones but waiting to find a shop that sells this 3M paint protection tape for the rears. I used a strip of double sided tape that i peeled from one side only & stuck it on the mud guard then fixed it in place on fender. It has been on for couple of weeks & its working fine.

Installation tips for new accessories

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