Help Needed on 2005 Chevy LSSV Chevy Duramax PU

[KsHusker]

Hi all - back in 2012 I bought this truck not really knowing what it was, simply finding a good deal on a duramax 4x4 with decent mileage - (had 92k miles on it)

Found it at a dealer in Wyoming who bought it at a govt auction in Denver. Bought it site unseen and had it shipped to KS.




Best I can tell is it spent it's life around Colorado Springs - not sure if it was a truck for the Forest Service, Military or what govt arm had it...could tell it'd been used off road a lot. Truck has the EMP (Enhanced Mobility Package) - and is Forest Green with clear coat paint - came with the beadlocks which I hated and soon got rid of - spare tire mount/batteries in the bed - undercarriage armour, big steel full replacement bumper etc.

Love the truck


Anyways on Halloween last year I had the truck hooked up to a 16' cargo trailer loaded to capacity and was moving my family out of town when someone ran a red light and turned in front of me - it was a glancing blow and the lt corner of the bumper and lt tire took the brunt of the hit - literally destroyed the lt frt of the van that pulled in frt of me and Thank God for the bumper.

I am connected and worked around the body shop industry in my hometown for years so had connections to get temp repairs done and get the truck driveable again in a day so we could finish our move. Now I'm ready to get it in the body shop. However before I take it in I need to find the parts for the suspension...specifically the part numbers for the bilstein shocks and dampers - I'm sure they are an off the shelf part Bilstein still sells, however I dont know how to come up with some bilstein part numbers or model numbers.

Sadly I'm going to have to part with the front bumper since it was bent back into my left fender - however I did get the insurance company to pay for an Iron Bull bumper (Look them up) I'm going to get the lock and load model (under the extreme grille guard section) - I have hail damage I sustained on the truck in 2012 so will probably have that straightened out at the same time and then plan on having Line X spray the entire truck with their Line X Body Armour - shop in Wichita is pretty good so feel confident they can pull it off.

Will then get seats recovered and center jump seat replaced with one that has a console and folds down. Will be a brand new truck - have around 125k miles on it now - is my hunting/work truck for now.

Anyways - thanks for listening to my introduction and thanks in advance for any help with the Shock part numbers - Would love to buy another one of these someday - would LOVE to have a Tahoe or Suburban with the EMP Enhanced Mobility package -- assuming there was some Border Patrol vehicles or Military vehicles made with it but have never seen one for sale.

 

[sneekyeye]

Honestly I would just punch the info into rockauto and see if they have bilstein shocks available on their list. That should get you part numbers you can price shop with.

 

[cucvrus]

Seems a GM dealer would be able to get you parts if you supply the full VIN. But 13 years old may make it difficult. Have you tried that approach?

 

[KsHusker]

Seems a GM dealer would be able to get you parts if you supply the full VIN. But 13 years old may make it difficult. Have you tried that approach?

Yes I have - some of the parts - (specifically) suspension and a few others were specific to the LSSV vehicles only and GM dealers have no record of what you need. I've found the GM site where you can order parts for this truck but naturally since as far I Know GM is not making these anymore - all the parts say discontinued or dont have a part number etc.

An oddball one was I was missing the hood bumper that mounts to the radiator support - it had a GM part # on the other side that was still attached to the truck and was different than the factory trucks ...the body shop tried to order that part and could not come up with it - said no matter how hard the dealers parts guys looked they could not find a part that matched it - one of the body shop guys had the same series duramax and his hood bumper was different and much smaller - so they rigged something up. (Had it in the body shop immediately after I bought the truck as it had a quarter sized hole in the roof for wiring - assuming there was a light bar or some sort of light up there at one point or antenna - couldnt tell.)


Anyways - I may try again now that you mention it but am 99% certain I'll hit a dead end - all they'll be able to look up for me is what would have came "stock" on the truck not what was actually on it - the Vin# even when you decode it only decodes a generic gm vehicle - however it picks up on the duramax motor - Something I've noticed with govt vehicles - usually their vins do that - even in the body shop/estimating software we used would be the same way - vin decoders online etc.

 

[cucvrus]

I had GM literature on these back in the day. I painted a couple of the front bumpers on the trucks and some of the 1999 Tahoe/blazer USAF gasoline models. But I got the parts from the dealer at the time. he supplied them and I painted them. They knew I sprayed CARC and they didn't know how. Great find. But nothing special about the main cab and under the hood. the bumpers maybe. But it is GM defense parts. The dealer I worked with was a dealer for FITG. They are gone now out of business.

 

[Jozseph]

Attached is the parts manual for the Enhanced Mobility Package -2003


View attachment Enhanced Mobility Package - 2003.pdf

If you have the "Jounce Shocks" they where made by Light Racing, see URL:

http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/suspension-brakes/129-0601-2005-gmc-duramax-jounce-shocks

They may be able to assist you with parts;

Light Racing-Div. of Specialty Products Company

www.lightracing.com


I been looking for the LSSV Bumper Assembly never located who was the manufacture.



Regards

Joseph

 

[KsHusker]

Not sure how many LSSV owners will get to read this post but I kind of nerded out today - was actually able to speak to the fella who was the former owner of Light Racing and was primary in the design/testing of the suspension on the LSSV vehicles - he has his own company now as he sold Light Racing and may have some spare parts around - I've got to take some photos of my truck and email him and he'll see what he has sitting on the shelf -

Off of memory he was stating the shocks should have been an off the shelf Bilstein product but it likely had special valving for the Border patrol trucks (this is what the EMP package was developed for, along with skid plates etc -- I believe he developed the skid plates too - says he still has a few samples around in his shop)

His company specifically developed/manufactured the jounce shock - I'm praying he can rebuild mine or will offer to -

I couldnt praise him enough on how awesome I thought the suspension was on these pickups - I havent had a chance to tear the **** out of it as I keep it as my work/hunting vehicle and put a lot of road miles driving to hunting spots but have driven in our dry river beds and had some fun - was amazing how well the truck handled - didnt do great in the sand but I maybe didnt have the tires aired down enough.

The engineer was telling me about how he "Preran" a desert race with one of the border patrol trucks outfitted with the prisoner box on it all painted white for testing purposes so it was a sleeper truck - he was outrunning lots of other folks in far more advanced rigs due to the suspension - Told another story of going to the Military's off road proving grounds and out performing hummvees in the same tests.

Anyways was a great conversation and I told him about this forum - hope he joins up and can share some of his experiences and what he has planned for the future -- just an awesome guy -- sounds like GM may be getting back into the military game and developing some vehicles again.