Suburban
 

Looking at a Suburban 1994....has 154,139 miles on it.....is that a good thing or a bad thing? What should be checked by a mechanic if I decide to look into buying it?
Thanks

Sam

Check the body for rust... We had a 93 with 350k and the winters here killed it.

Good point, thanks!

What color and trim is it? It's not going to be good on gas... 15 mpg if you're lucky

350? 454?,6.5 diesel?, 2wd? 4wd? 1500? 2500???????????????????????

I have a 98 2500 4x4 22x,xxx with the 454 and 4l80 trans. It's a beast but horrid on gas. My trans is starting to go (I rebuilt it but must've messed up something. Good truck though

The one I am looking at is a 1500 with 4 wheel drive...8 cyl auto..

http://www.lemonfree.com/car/Chevrol...FK16K0RJ333090

Not too far from me, either

fixx
 

mines a 92 454 4x4 2500 c6p 1 ton pkg....465000 and still rocking on the oe NEVER opened engine(knock on wood) i have a chip,bumped the timing 2* and have a msd box...373 locker rear end with 285-75-16 tires..9-11 around town and 14 on the highway if i keep it at 72 mph..

same here tho the salt is killing it..

that mileage would not bother me as long as the oil was changed often, remove the oil fill cap and look for sludge,mine is clean and the rocker still look new..i also have run mobile one since 94 and it had 64000 miles on it..the guy b4 me change it every 2500-3000 miles and had the receipts to prove it..

You want a 96 or later. They switched to Vortec heads and fuel injection vs. throttle body on the generation you are looking at. That generation tends to be a bit underpowered.

X 2 What Sydways said.

They also updated the interior/dash in 95 and it's alot nicer. Stay away from leather on the old ones, it shows wear much worse than the cloth.

Are you planning to pull with it or just move people?

If pulling you must know that getting a 3/4 ton chassis is the only way to go. Bigger motor, trans, brakes and rear end are really worth the extra trouble of hunting around for a while till you find a nice one. The ride difference between 1/2 and 3/4 in Subs is not noticeable.

Brakes are very weak on that generation if you are going to tow much.

Make sure that you check the tires. They are important and that is a lot of miles!!!

I had a '94 1/2 ton 4WD 'Burb with the 350 TBI motor. As long as you are towing no more than 5K - 6K it will be just an OK tow vehicle. As others have stated, the '96 and up models have the better motor and interior. The two mechanical problems I ran into on my truck was a carrier bearing in the front axle (very common, you'll hear it if it is going out) and the intake gaskets leaking oil around the intake bolts. Also make sure the trasfer case pump hasn't worn a hole in the transfer case.

Thanks for the input guys. Towing a 23' Chris Craft Stinger about 3-4k lbs and MAYBE a 31' Formula in the future....not long distance or anything, mainly NY/CT....and also to take a trip or two with friends + gear.
The vehicle history report seems good too, paid $1 to download it.

The 3/4 is the 2500 model right?

I'll be putting mine for sale in the next week or so. If anyone is interested I will pass on the link once I get it back to my house and listed.

i beg to differ,,i pulled my friends 99 backwards all the way around my building,,he could not believe that my 2v throttle body had more torque down low..@1900 rpm's i have 410 ft lbs of tq and his is like 315..yes once you get then side by side ill get him out of the hole by a few trucks but in abourt a block he pass's me but not by much..and the dash is the only thing that is nicer on the 95's and up..the searts suck! my seats blow the 95-2000 away in comfort..my seats are about 4'' longer and gives more support between your azz and knee's

Id say for $2k its a deal. Looks like its a solid truck in the pics.

Yes 2500 is 3/4 ton and they made 2 versions of them. A reg duty and a heavy duty. If you get a diesel one or a big block it will likely be the HD 3/4ton.


Was this Apples to Apples or did you have BB vs SM, 3/4 vs 1/2ton or 3/4 HD package w(4.10 option) vs 3.73 gearing.

I had a 94 2500HD 4x4 diesel Sub. I loved it but, I always wanted a 99 for the interior and motor upgrades. Diesels got better cooling and a little more power in 97. If I was shopping and had to have that body style, I'd look at 97 to 99.

I have a 95 GMC Suburban 2500 4x4 454. The truck has been an awesome truck, however I wish it was an obd2 truck which is 96 and up. Throttle Body Injection is prehistoric and is not as efficient or as a powerful as the vortec 454s. Late 96 they added 2 air bags not that is a big deal.

2500 series Suburbans are tanks they tow great, the brakes are fair but get the job done. If you are picking up any 4x4 truck for 2 grand its a steal if it is as listed imo. Good luck with it and if you have any questions just ask. Here's a pic of my Burb.

https://fbcdn-photos-a.akamaihd.net/..._2142820_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-photos-a.akamaihd.net/..._1815782_n.jpg

Mine for sale if anyone wants it (waiting to take pics later). It's the two tone dark blue/tan accents with tan cloth interior.

1998 Chevy Suburban 2500 LS 4x4
223,xxx miles
$1800 obo (would take $1,500)
Cash Only

the good
strong 454ci/7.4L
runs smooth
8 pass seating
new inner and outer tie rod ends
new steering box
new front shocks
new front brake pads
new upper and lower ball joints
new control arm bushings
new driver/passenger rear parking cables
tires are about 80%
4.10 gear ratio
limited slip diff
clearance lights
vhs/7" drop down TV

the bad
trans is starting to go again (fixed a little over a year ago)
needs a/c compressor (leaks freon)
needs passenger cat (it's there but gutted because it broke up internally)
needs front parking brake cable (has a new one but its too short by 2")
pass high beam out (bulb)
carpets could use cleaning (used as a spare truck)

572 Burb
 

Here are a few pics of my Burb. It is a 91. It has a full floating 14 bolt 1 ton rear end and Dana 60 Front end with upgraded shafts. 4:56 gears front and back. Detroit locker in the rear and a power lock in the front. It has custom built shafts, slip yoke elimnator, full built 4l80e with billet input, output and intermediate shafts. It has a custom 6 pinion planetary with lower 1st and 2nd gears. The tranny runs on a standalone ecm. I built a 572 that makes almost 700 ft/lb of torque and 650hp. Throse numbers were on the dyno driving all accessories. It idles great. Makes plenty of vacuum for the brakes and delivers peak power by 5500 rpm and peak torque at 4200. The torque curve is like a diesel. It actually has a billett converter made for a diesel because it doesn't need any stall. It has 38" tires 9" of lift and will run over 140 mph. It will pull anything you put behind it. We drive it everywhere and it is not for sale! :-)

fixx
 

he had the exact same truck,apples to apples,,but he had a vortec and mine is a tbi but i did some performance work to mine..i hate my dash but love my seats..the newer from 95-99 the seats feel like pillows and with my fat azz i feel like im falling off them..

That is awesome, nice ride!

Thanks man. I also cut the dash up and installed all autometer monster gauges. I have oil temp, pressure, water temp and fuel pressure on the dash along with the speedo and tach. On the tunnel I have fuel level, tranny temp and volts. All gauges have offset bezels. They point toward the driver. In the pic, they look like they are point all over the place but they are all symmetrically pointed toward the driver. I had a custom built Becool radiator good for a 1000hp and separate thermostatically fan controlled coolers for engine oil and tranny oil mounted under the truck. I rewired the entire vehicle. Everything has its own weatherproof relay if it draws any kind of load.

What a fun project. I imagine it's a real head turner pulling that Skater too.

Thanks man. I have an unbelievable amount of time tied up in it. It also looks cool towing the OL. : D

Sure does.

94 was the last year with the old style dash, the kooky radio and no airbags also. 95 had the rounded dash and the standard Delco radio. 96 got the 50 HP bump with the Vortec motors.

Considering the budget you (Sam) usually follow, do yourself a favor and buy the tbi (throttle body injected) the intake gasket leaks, leaking fuel delivery lines, fuel pressure regulator, clogged poppets, and extra cats/obd 2 emission woes are out weighed in my book by the fact you can throw a cheap crane compucam and hypertech chip in the other and have the same power. What lets go on a tbi truck??? Not much and if it does it's dirt cheap. Fuel pump assembly for a vortec is about $400.

Oh and a big block throttle body helps a little bit to ;)

Thanks for all the input....LOVE the 91 Suburban pulling the outerlimits! Saw a video of it up here a long time ago, and the engine sounded mean!

Many people are saying the 94 is great, and then the other years are better. I love the red velour interior and old style dash...im a fan of older trucks.
After I get my boat all finished up in the summer, and If I have that truck, I will be learning about upgrades and slowly upgrade it on a budget.
All I need to do now is go over and take a look in person (pictures dont always help) and have it checked out by a mechanic. I also have knowledge of auto body and I also know how to assemble/disassemble certain parts.
Then comes insurance, then comes down to the final decision.

That injection system is very basic, one step above a carburetor! I'm positive that with the work you've performed on your boat and the mini hawk you can fix just about anything on those trucks with a little guidance, the vortec trucks I'd advise youd find some help lol

fixx
 

and no matter which one you buy both engines the oil cooler lines seep or leak..

Lol all gm cooler lines leak!

I ordered a '99 brand new, gmc 2500 hd 4wd. I believe last year for 7.4. It towed my 38 footer like a dream. Good part was it still got almost 9 mpg towing but bad part was only 11 or so not towing. I was very happy with it and great family truck.

Well the '94is out of discussion. My parents say that as long as I am staying in their house, I need to get a truck with an airbag....so guess I wont be buying an 89 or 94 for awhile. Found a nice '95 with air bag near me, might go check that one out!

Pure badazz.....

Really? So they're obviously alive and well how did they find vehicles in the 70's and 80's with airbags? Sorry just something's make me say wtf??? You can have a go fast style boat but can't have a car without airbags?

To me that's like the Rhode Island seatbelt law. Everyone has to wear one, you can get pulled over and given a ticket if your not, but no helmet required if your on a motorcycle!
Good luck in your search