suburban research

I am starting to look for a 1995 - 2000 suburban I will not go older than a

95 because I want the new body style and interior. Probably 8K - 10K price, and definatly 4x4. It will mostly be used for around town and highway driving, and will occasionally trailer a jeep. With that in mind I am leaning towards the 3/4 ton, but I think a 1/2 will still tow fine for my occasional tow. Anyone have any suggestions of items to look for and/or items to stay away from? Talk to me about transmissions. What do I need to look for with transmissions, I have seen many with less that 100K miles get new transmissions already. Educate me.
Reply to
Fletcher
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RE/

My 4L60E required a new valve body approximately every 30k until I had it bored and sleeved.

Various threads in this NG suggest that the problem has been endemic to that transmission over a number of years. Hard to believe that GM never fixed such an obvious problem - so maybe it's just a fluke....OTOH......

Reply to
(Pete Cresswell)

listed problems?

95' Transfer case snap ring, fixed in model year 96 96' intake manifold coolant leak, on going. ??' Dextrol introduced Interior cabin leaks, check under carpet. Metripak connector failures. ignition switch failure, check to see if key can pull out

Im sure I missed some.

Cheers

Reply to
Martin Riddle

"Fletcher" wrote

Go with the 1996 and up Suburbans with the 6.5 Turbo Diesel. Even the 1/2 tons have in the Diesel version the much better 4L80 transmission, HD springs, wheels etc. My 1996 with 213 K miles had the injection pump replaced under warranty at 45 K ( the new pumps come with an 11 year warranty that transfers when car is sold), wiper board at 89 K (warranty) and 8 glow plugs at 150 K. Thats it , no other repairs except scheduled maintenance. Brake pads last about 100K. I don't pull heavy trailers since my boat weighs only 2500lb and change the oil every 3000 miles (Shell Rotella T 15-40) The engine has used oil since new - about 1 qt every 2500 miles, but the amount has remained unchanged since new and I'm not worried.

Reply to
Sam14

Let me get this straight. The 4L60E came in the 1/2 tons, and the 4L80 came in the 3/4's? is that right? Sam14 pointed out that anything diesel came with the 4L80, are there any other exceptions? How serious ( and costly ) is the new valve body in the 4L60E? Also with the intake manifold leaks, what does that take to fix? Is the problem a bad design or does it just need a better gasket than factory to prevent it from happening again? Also what year did they cut over to IFS? Were there any 1996-2000 models that stayed solid? That is not a make it or break it question more out of curiosity.

Reply to
Fletcher

ifs occurred in 1992

Reply to
alasatian

I thought IFS was in 95? Or was that just the switch to torsion bars.

Cheers

Reply to
Martin Riddle

Unless I am mistaken Rotella is a synth? Have you used it for the entire life of the engine? That might explain why it burns oil....

-The Lonely Grease Monkey

1985' K5 305CUI TH700R4 NP208 KJ's successor

"Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, then he who believes what is a wrong." - Thomas Jefferson

Reply to
Lonely G-Monkey

Any trucks or suburbans that are non IFS after 92? I am going off topic on my own topic here, but were 1 tons solid? Has there ever been a 1 ton suburban? any planned in the future?

Reply to
fletcher

GM did not produce ANY vehicle with a solid front axle after the '91 MY.

no the 3500's also were IFS

I'm pretty sure there were 3500 'burbs, just not currently.

I have no idea.

HTH, Bret

Reply to
Bret Chase

to be more accurate, the 4L60E is used in trucks w/ a GVWR of less than 8500 lbs, the 4L80E is used in 8501#+ trucks. in the MY's in question ('95-00) all diesels got the '80E

How serious ( and costly )

dunno exactly, I got a new valve body in my trans when I got the

700r-4 rebuilt. (not exactly the same, I know)

Also with the intake manifold leaks,

don't know exactly, ask Doc or Ian.

'91 MY was the absolute last of the solid front axle in a GM, anything later than that was an aftermarket conversion.

HTH, Bret

Reply to
Bret Chase

RE/

When I got it fixed right (i.e. bored and sleeved), it was $532.60.

The intake manifold (another apparently-endemic problem) was $335.54.

The water pump was $435.93, but I think that included some other work too.

The latest of the three alternators was about $230 and I'm assuming the other two were similarly-priced although they went while the thing was still under warranty.

I think the wiper control board was about fifty bucks - a do-in-yourself swap even for the likes of me.

The radio button lights...I dunno...starting to sound like the light bulb is integrated into the radio pretty tightly...maybe it'll be a new radio/cd player...

Reply to
(Pete Cresswell)

The Burb was never offered in 1 ton form from the factory from '73- Current. Maybe prior to '73, but for sure not since then. 1/2 & 3/4 only.

Reply to
Demon

"Lonely G-Monkey" wrote in and I'm not worried.

- Thomas Jefferson

Well, according to your above Thomas Jefferson quotation, you are further from the truth then if you were plain ignorant :-)) Shell Rotella T 15-40 is a regular, non-synthetic "Dino" oil and is used by most big Diesel trucks you see on the highways. Shell does sell a synthetic oil for Diesel engines under the designation Rotella T W5-40. I tried this oil once throughout a cold Toledo, OH winter, without reducing the oil consumption. It does improve cold-starting though!

Reply to
Sam14

Ah, I just remember it coming up in a synth oil conversation. I also know that synth from the start can impeed proper ring seating. Can't really chevy that doesn't eat a quart every 3k thought. (Don't bother telling me your truck doesn't, I know there must be some out there[not to anyone specific])

-The Lonely Grease Monkey

1985' K5 305CUI TH700R4 NP208 KJ's successor

"Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, then he who believes what is a wrong." - Thomas Jefferson

Reply to
Lonely G-Monkey

I'll second the choice of a K2500 with the 6.5l turbodiesel. I just got a 99 burb with the 6.5l td, and I'm amazingly happy with it.

I will say one thing because it seems to be coming up at the sites i frequent regarding the injector pump failures. A lot of the injector pump problems tend to occur as a result of a failure of the gas tank cap (Stant/GM misdesign or mis-installation or who knows why they put the WRONG CAPS on almost all the trucks) to vent a vacuum that forms in the tank which stresses the lift and injector pumps. It also causes air to get sucked into the lines causing all sorts of problems from cavitation erosion by bubbles to rough running.

The correct cap doesnt even seem to be available from GM as their stupid beancounters seem to not know the difference between the 2 caps. So either order the correct one from Stant directly or do as I and many others have done, drill a VERY small hole in the valve in the tank cap, it will allow the vacuum to be relieved, but will prevent fuel from coming out in turns.

Other than glow plugs and a brake job, I've had nothing but joy from this truck.

-Daniel

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Reply to
Daniel Abranko

This has been a good thread, it is the type of info I wanted to see. Can anyone tell me why I am not seeing very many diesel suburbans out there? I live in Utah, and in the autotrader, local papers, etc I am not seeing ANY diesel suburbans. Did they have delivery problems? not popular back in the early-mid 90's?

Reply to
fletcher

if the seat runner is anything like the one in my 88 K2500... one of the staked studs that held the runner to the seat frame broke off and allowed the seat to rock. I fixed it by removing the seat from the truck, removing the seat frame and welding the runner permenantly to the frame. it's been that way for over 2 years now.

-Bret

Reply to
Bret Chase

diesels weren't popular to anyone other than hardcore towing enthusiasts up until the very late 90's. I think the turning point was when the Ford SuperDuty was introduced.

-Bret

Reply to
Bret Chase

Reply to
Harpman

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