geocrasher
Full Access Member
- Joined
- Jun 14, 2018
- Posts
- 113
- Reaction score
- 122
- Location
- Northern NV
- First Name
- Ryan
- Truck Year
- 1988
- Truck Model
- V1500
- Engine Size
- 350
Howdy all,
I've owned three suburbans. The first two were 3/4 ton trucks, and this is my first half ton. What is it? Well I'm glad you asked. 350, 700r4, 3.73's, 10 bolts front and rear, on stock wheels and 31's. Barn doors. 40 gallon tank. Factory tow package. I bought it as a family rig and used it that way, but it currently needs some work and currently we're driving a different vehicle.
The good: The drivetrain is solid. Get in and drive it as far as you can afford gas for! The body is straight, and only one of the smaller windows in a back door is cracked. The factory tint is holding it together. The engine is strong and this is the most powerful Suburban I've owned, by far. The previous owner said the 700r4 had about 70K miles on it, and the motor less than 100K. It was apparently a Goodwrench motor, but I still need to get the numbers off the block by the alternator so I can see what it is. It scoots pretty good and runs great though.
The not so good but not big deal: No headliner, speakers don't always work, stock radio, antenna not hooked up, paint job could use some work. very minor rust in a few spots, mostly near a door seam and the rear window edges at the bottom toward the rear of the truck. It could use a tune-up, or at least a timing adjustment. It idles a bit rough.
The ugliest:
- Needs tires. I'll be going for a set of 16" wheels and somewhere between 245/75/16 and 265/75/16. It depends on what kind of deals I can find. I dont' expect to buy new. I'm not made of money lol.
- Door issues. The rear doors are fine, but the front doors are extremely hard to close, and the door strikers are worn from sagging hinges. The windows won't go down. The drivers side used to, but it made a grinding noise, and now I'm fortunate that it's staying up! The passenger side works but is slow as molasses uphill on a cold day in a headwind. New rubber is needed in both window frames, and new felts too. Plus there are the usual issues with the switch hanging out the door card, that kind of thing.
- Drivers seat frame back broke. Welding that up next week
- Dirty, dusty. I'm going to take both seats out, vacuum everything and give it a good cleaning. It needs it.
- Bouncy oil pressure guage
- Intermittent wipers only work on high after my daughter called and said there was smoke coming from under the dash! Surely the wires are bare probably burned. It's okay for now, but I need to replace those wires.
- Horn doesn't work. Will fix at the same time as the wiper wiring.
For almost all of these items, I could use some tips! I'll be youtubing a lot of it, but I'm open to suggestions for how to fix things like the doors and windows. I'm on a tight budget, and unless my little car sells, I won't be able to afford most of this. One thing at a time!
I've been reading this forum for a few days, and it looks like a friendly place. It's nice to meet you all!
I've owned three suburbans. The first two were 3/4 ton trucks, and this is my first half ton. What is it? Well I'm glad you asked. 350, 700r4, 3.73's, 10 bolts front and rear, on stock wheels and 31's. Barn doors. 40 gallon tank. Factory tow package. I bought it as a family rig and used it that way, but it currently needs some work and currently we're driving a different vehicle.
The good: The drivetrain is solid. Get in and drive it as far as you can afford gas for! The body is straight, and only one of the smaller windows in a back door is cracked. The factory tint is holding it together. The engine is strong and this is the most powerful Suburban I've owned, by far. The previous owner said the 700r4 had about 70K miles on it, and the motor less than 100K. It was apparently a Goodwrench motor, but I still need to get the numbers off the block by the alternator so I can see what it is. It scoots pretty good and runs great though.
The not so good but not big deal: No headliner, speakers don't always work, stock radio, antenna not hooked up, paint job could use some work. very minor rust in a few spots, mostly near a door seam and the rear window edges at the bottom toward the rear of the truck. It could use a tune-up, or at least a timing adjustment. It idles a bit rough.
The ugliest:
- Needs tires. I'll be going for a set of 16" wheels and somewhere between 245/75/16 and 265/75/16. It depends on what kind of deals I can find. I dont' expect to buy new. I'm not made of money lol.
- Door issues. The rear doors are fine, but the front doors are extremely hard to close, and the door strikers are worn from sagging hinges. The windows won't go down. The drivers side used to, but it made a grinding noise, and now I'm fortunate that it's staying up! The passenger side works but is slow as molasses uphill on a cold day in a headwind. New rubber is needed in both window frames, and new felts too. Plus there are the usual issues with the switch hanging out the door card, that kind of thing.
- Drivers seat frame back broke. Welding that up next week
- Dirty, dusty. I'm going to take both seats out, vacuum everything and give it a good cleaning. It needs it.
- Bouncy oil pressure guage
- Intermittent wipers only work on high after my daughter called and said there was smoke coming from under the dash! Surely the wires are bare probably burned. It's okay for now, but I need to replace those wires.
- Horn doesn't work. Will fix at the same time as the wiper wiring.
For almost all of these items, I could use some tips! I'll be youtubing a lot of it, but I'm open to suggestions for how to fix things like the doors and windows. I'm on a tight budget, and unless my little car sells, I won't be able to afford most of this. One thing at a time!
I've been reading this forum for a few days, and it looks like a friendly place. It's nice to meet you all!
