Thanks for the responses. We didn't end up doing Lippincott and just hit Saline Valley from South Pass to North Pass. The passes were cool and a lot of fun, but the washboard through Saline Valley was so bad I almost forgot why I actually like four wheeling. I've been on washboard before, and while it can be annoying typically it's manageable. This, on the other hand, was more like consecutive speed bumps. I swear the washboard was like 3" deep at places. I actually felt like I needed to apologize to my friends for suggesting the route it sucked so bad. 84 miles took us about 6 hours with a lunch break stop. We didn't take Steel Pass/Dedeckera Canyon because I've been through there in my 4R, and I didn't want to run the risk of messing up my Duramax any more than it already was, since it sounded like it was going to rattle apart in Saline Valley. After North Pass we went back to Eureka Dunes from the north and had a great night, so it all worked out in the end.
On a side note, I would suggest checking out Jail Canyon in Panamint Valley for anyone still planning a trip. It's ~5.5 of pretty slow crawling up an alluvial fan and into a canyon that anyone stock 4R can do. My Sierra 2500HD(crew cab/short bed) made it pretty easily and it's only suspension mod is a leveling kit and 33" Duratracs (stopped before the end though cuz it does get a bit gnarly, but my 5th gen would have been fine). You end up at one of the infamous cabins that's actually nice enough to sleep in, but as you pass that if leads up a narrow canyon with tons of mining equipment and structures to check out. Plus it has a spring/creek and lots of trees and plants, which is a pretty rare sight for Death Valley. If you want more info PM me and I can give you directions.
