89 Suburban 1500 ideas

[Bayoued]

I've been lurking around this site I since started looking for a Suburban. There are definitely some nice rigs on here. I pulled the trigger the other day on a 89 GMC 4x4 1500, that to me is in pretty decent shape. 130k miles, no leaks, everything but electric door locks work.

Im looking for input into a lift/tire combo. It will be used mainly on the road with light deer lease and beach use mixed in. I will be towing a 20' bass boat and 25' camper. The lift/tire combo I was considering was a 4" all spring lift with 33" tires. Any comments?

 

[barefoot boy]

Nice looking 'Burb! I have a 1991 Suburban with a 4" Rough Country lift that has lift springs front and rear; it has a comfortable ride with the Rough Country shocks and 35" tires. A 4" lift will give enough room for 35" tires, and IMHO might look "funny" with only 33" tires on it. I think Rough Country offers a 2" lift, which should give enough room for 33" tires.

 

[elyon]

4 inch lift by Super lift. Springs all round sitting on 35" tires. Ride is a little stiff. Off-road design builds custom springs they claim gives a ride almost as smooth as IFS. I would look at those.

 

[Bayoued]

I was considering a 2" lift, but haven't been able to find a decent picture of a Suburban setup with a similar combo. If I go all spring would that eliminate the rear end sag? I like the look of the 4" with 35's but was concerned about the bigger tires robbing allot of power.

 

[kojackJKU]

If your not on the rocks, 2" and 33s are fine. You keep your power, milage and utility of your suburban now, have a look, its pretty high now. Im betting you can squeeze 285s/33s on it now. 2" to give a little extra flex room and your gold. If they make Monroe reflex monotube shocks for it, get them. I run them on all my rigs with great success. awesome ride, and awesome control in the bumps. I have them on my suburban, JK unlimited, and F250 super crew. 4" is overkill on an overlander.

 

[cyclic]

Here's my 88 with 2.5 front springs and a 2.5 rear flip...................... probably going with another 1 inch in the rear using a zero rate. I'm using 265/70R17 take off tires on 17x8 rims. I might go to 16 inchers, but the 17's were too good a price to turn down. Plus it leaves me lots of room for future brake upgrades. Lift was stupid cheap, I pieced it together. Summitracing for the springs and front install kit $172. Rear shackle flip from TNA (ORD also makes a 2.5) $160-190. Shocks from O'Reillys ($100 total for all four with life time warrentee), just had to swap bushings.

 

[kojackJKU]

cyclic, perfect height, looks great

 

[Bayoued]

Cyclic, I like the look of your burb! Are you adding the zero rate because of sag? I have narrowed it down to a Tough country 3" all spring ez-ride kit or a Rough country 2" all spring. I am concerned with the ride quality of the tough country. Has anyone ever used the monroe sensa-trac load adjusting shocks for the rear? Are the springs different on a 1500 vs a 2500?

 

[Larry]

Looks like white is the color of choice for burbs! LOL That looks like a clean Burb you scored there Bayoued! Welcome to EXPO BTW

Here is another example of 4” lift with the ORD rear shackle flip and 315/75R16 tires (34”ish). The front springs are cheap old hand-me down 4” Tuff-Country springs that I took off my K10 years ago. I’ll tell you they ride like crap and are stiff as a board and yield hardly any articulation. The rear springs are stock V2500 springs with the ORD shackle flip. For the front I like the Superlift Softrides. I have those on my K10 and they ride great and flex like crazy. Pretty decent spring for the money. My Burbs thread is HERE.

With its winter shoes. Same lift, same everything. Just taller/skinner tires. Looks much different with these meats

 

[cyclic]

I'm leaving it like this for now. I want the winch and both bumpers built and installed before I decide to do any more suspension changes.
I did do some sway bar pivot links also, $47 from Zoneoffroad. It rides pretty decent with the Monroe shocks, a little stiff, but no where close to what I'd call hard or harsh. It will end up with the rear 1 inch higher than the front, I'm measuring front to rear from the lower pinch weld next to the tires. Right now it sits exactly 21 inches. But I still need to add the weight before final height decisions are made.
I decided with the current 3.73 gears to limit my tires to 32 inches, the 265/70R17 on there now are about 31 tall. I do have several options for final suspension adjustment. I can add a zero rate in front, zero rate rear, and longer rear shackles/adjust angle to dial in the height. Off the top of my head, once the heavy stuff is added, I'm betting I'll just need to adjust rear shackle angle to get the overall height the way I want it.

I'm working on a wicked custom item for it right now, I won't show any pictures or hint too much till I'm close to revealing it. You WILL be jealous and probably lay awake at night trying to figure out how to make it happen for you too.

 

[justcuz]

You can always swap to 3/4 ton rear springs. Have them rebuilt at a competent spring shop and you will be fine.
3/4 tons are used for more heavy work/towing. That's why I recommend having the 3/4 ton springs rebuilt/ re-arched at a good spring shop.

 

[Bayoued]

What about ordering a 3/4 ton 3" instead of 1/2 ton 3"? Only difference should be ubolts, right?

 

[Bayoued]

Looks like the Suburban build is on hold for a while if ever. I got a call from my wife on Friday telling me that she was driving my truck when it caught fire. From what I can tell looks to have started from the front a/c blower motor. SUCKS!!

 

[Larry]

Oh NO!

Ah, man that is horrible. I’m so sorry to see this! I would be suspecting the previous owners dash wiring of aftermarket gadgets as the cause. Specifically the under dash light near the big heat spot. A lot of people tap into that large power wire for accessories. The high current draw blower motors are pretty well circuit protected. Unlikely the blower motor caused this.

So sorry

 

[Bayoued]

I'm pretty sure the running gear is ok. I may rip the burnt crap out, carb it and use it as a deer lease truck. Other than that and short of a total restore, I'm at a loss as to what to do with it.