My 1989 Suburban overland/expedition project

[2 E L O]

Sweet looking truck!! Very nice work!

[dieselfuel]

Hi guys, I'm new here.
Do any of you have a link to a spare tire option that is outside the vehicle? I am upgrading to 255/85's this winter, the spare won't fit inside after that. Plus, I dislike having a 100+lb projectile inside the car, right in back of my head.
Vehicle is '88 V20 w/ barn doors.
Thanks!

the barn doors make it hard, the only rear tire carrier ive ever seen on a barn door sub was a poison spyder type with the fold down carrier. but then you're stepping over/around the tire all the time ad have to lift it back up to close it.

i jumped my old suburban once and had the 36" spare hit a guy in the back upon landing. then i made a strap setup to strap it to the floor pockets for the 3rd seat.

like this.
http://4wheeloffroad.automotive.com/...photos1-0.html

[Erik N]

I thought about putting it on the roof, but the fishing areas I wheel into have a lot of low branches. And there is a brush guard up front, so that's out.

These look pretty nice, but I don't have $800 to spend on something like it for a vehicle I use only a few times a year.

http://www.tiregate.com/hg_series_0.shtml

I might just keep the 265/75/16 spare, and hope I never need it. I will be getting E rated tires, so that strategy might work...

[Little Red]

Hi guys, I'm new here.
Do any of you have a link to a spare tire option that is outside the vehicle? I am upgrading to 255/85's this winter, the spare won't fit inside after that. Plus, I dislike having a 100+lb projectile inside the car, right in back of my head.
Vehicle is '88 V20 w/ barn doors.
Thanks!

Sorry for the late reply. I have been busy using my suburban to explore back roads, go camping and hiking. And I have not really had the time for any mods, so I have not checked the forum in some time. I do have some pictures that I will upload soon.

Now to answer your question, there are a couple options available to mount your spare tire outside. The one I like most is a custom rear bumper with swing out tire carrier like this one:



It is made by Tactical Armor Group link HERE

Another option (and by far the cheapest) is to just use a stock tire carrier from a K5 blazer. I have seen this done before and believe someone else on this forum has a suburban like that.

For now my spare is mounted on my roof rack as I made a sleeping/storage platform in the back of my suburban, and I like having the extra space inside.

[firesq14]

great looking burb... love the pics. as soon as i get mine done, pics will follow

[zukrider]

little red, just went through the thread. looks like you got a real nice truck. especially for such a wet area. as for your plans for the 3-4" lift. if you have not heard of it yet, you can get a 4" lift by moving your 1/2 ton rear springs up front with a little work, new bushings and bolts. the front springs are now 48", and the 1/2 ton rears are 52". you get a much better ride, more flex, and its dirt cheap. this also gives you the chance to upgrade to 56" rear 3/4 ton springs for more load capacity. you will just need the rear shackle flip or to build your own. this is exactly what ill be doing in the next few months, after i fix the head gasket issue.

i like where your going with the build as it is 90% similar to mine!

[Little Red]

little red, just went through the thread. looks like you got a real nice truck. especially for such a wet area. as for your plans for the 3-4" lift. if you have not heard of it yet, you can get a 4" lift by moving your 1/2 ton rear springs up front with a little work, new bushings and bolts. the front springs are now 48", and the 1/2 ton rears are 52". you get a much better ride, more flex, and its dirt cheap. this also gives you the chance to upgrade to 56" rear 3/4 ton springs for more load capacity. you will just need the rear shackle flip or to build your own. this is exactly what ill be doing in the next few months, after i fix the head gasket issue.

i like where your going with the build as it is 90% similar to mine!

Thanks, and I will be looking forward to see how your cheap lift idea works out.

[Little Red]

After driving on DNR fire roads all night long last week doing a search for a missing hiker with my suburban, I noticed the check engine light came on. The truck runs and drives just fine and there seems to be nothing wrong, I checked the spark plugs, wires and fuel system. All is ok. The light comes on occasionally stays on and then goes off again. I could not find out what is wrong with it until I started noticing a bad smell. I smelled the exhaust and it smells like burned antifreeze.
I also noticed when I filled it up it only got 8mpg compared to the usual 10-11mpg.

I am thinking it might have a leak in the head gasket, and am making an appointment today to have it checked out.

If that is the case I want to see if I can swap the 350 V8 for a 6.2L diesel.
From what I have read online this should be a fairly simple direct swap. Has anyone done this?

[zukrider]

IMHO, better off with a cummins!

[xpndbl3]

is your coolant level low? Or does your oil look like chocolate milkshake? If not you could just be tossing a EGR code, which happens on older tbi engines.