I have a 98 Tahoe that I tow a 28 Baja Sportfish with. It tows the boat just fine, but I am exceeding the GVWR. I bought a 1989 2500 thinking this would be better. It is not. Can anyone explain why? The truck doesn,t have enough power . Is the 98 Vortech engine the difference. Could I install a Vortech 5.7 in the 89 pickup without to many problems? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks, Dan

You have two problems. The 89 motor and the extra weight of the 2500. If its a 2 wheel drive you might get away with changing the gear ratio. You can put a vortech motor in it but you will have to change the ECM. And you would be better off using a "stand alone one" like the street rod people use because you don't have an electronic shift transmission or OBD-2 on the 89. A friend of mine has the same truck. I put a set of vortech heads and 4 barrel intake (all bought new from GM) and it wasn't to much money. He's happy with the truck now. Just something to think about. The vortech heads are a cheap HP bolt on thing. I'm sure your happy with the better brakes now. Good Luck.

Thanks for the info, it is a 4wd, do you get rid of the throttle body in lue of the 4 barrel? Will the truck tow better with some bolt on upgrades?

Yes, we put a Holley on it with a fuel regulator. See what gears are in it. His still had a TH400 tranny so he didn't want anymore gear. I put some low gears in a late model 4X4 (OD tranny) and only changed the RPM a couple 100 at highway speeds. But had a ton of more bottom end power. Good Luck.