Need Some Help 88-91 vs 93-99 Suburban

[FellowTraveler]

The only clean and low milage K2500 diesels

Thanks for the great advice.

I don't have the link but Auto Trader has a Tampa Florida listing for a 1999 K2500 diesel w/80k is in mint condition and is a former government truck.

You will find some good deals on former gov. owned 1999 K2500/3500 Suburbans, pickups and crew cabs around the country and they will all have under 100k miles some even as low as 20k dig some more and don't jump on that 1995, travel if you must to get one and you be happy you did.

 

[BPMOU]

Well typically I would not be hesitant to drive but with my wife recently having a baby at home and a toddler and very limited time to be off work (took a lot of time off when my daughter was born) I may have to look locally.

I talked to the owner of the 95 an hour ago, needs a new windshield, has the third row seat, the vehicle has 185k but it has a new motor with all paper work that now has 35k on it.

The AC needs to be recharged, and they live 5 minutes from my house. In addition they have owned it for three years and it has been serviced (with papers) at the diesel shop that I was going to have it inspected by.

Is there something in the 95s that I should avoid? While the price is high, it is listed with the statement make me an offer, that tells me they are possibly looking to deal. Wife say it was used to row their trailer rv, but they bought a motorhome and they don't drive it much now.

Seems like this could be a good vehicle.

I understand about traveling for a rig, but just isn't feasible. My time line may be speeding up as well as I have someone coming to look at our other car that is for sale.

Is there a right price for this type of rig in CO? It's been for sale for just shy of 10 days.

 

[bfdiesel]

If there are any on craigslist or even ksl classifieds in utah to see how it compares for price.

My 2 cents is to get it only if it is what you want. A close to what you want usually is only close to satisfying.

 

[BPMOU]

Well I took a look at the vehicle yesterday. It's in ok shape. The motor was rebuilt 35k ago not new.

It's in ok condition, but the lip on the underside of the hood above the grill is rusty. There was one other small rust spot on the back next to the fender flare. Doesn't appear to leak oil, not a lot of black smoke but would definitely need a good detailing.

One thing that I noticed was that when the vehicle was stopped and running the steering wheel was pretty heavy to turn. However once moving, it felt like I could move the steering wheel a quarter turn each way without much change on direction. Not sure what that's about. The guy was honest said he has never gotten better than 16 mpg in the thing.

All of that said , there are some pretty nice 1500 , model year 1999 locally for reasonable prices. I think I am going to look them over.

 

[Tahoe Diesel]

The 6.5 TD is a wonderful engine for your purposes. But if you buy one, I caution you to learn all you can about the necessary reliability mods that you will need to do (if they havn't already been done). They are like diamonds in the rough that need a little polishing to really shine. Compared to the ubiquitous Dodge cummins diesels and the burly Ford Powerstrokes, the old GM motor is hundreds of pounds lighter, waaay simpler and easier to work on, plus parts are a fraction of the cost of those other diesels. However they are not capable of matching the power of the other brands. So they are somewhat of an abandoned step-child and it's near impossible to find mechanics who understand them fully (though there are plenty who will take your $$$ throwing unnecessary parts into it while they learn).

So if you get a 6.5, be prepared to spend many hours of research and quite a few hours removing and replacing suspect parts with reliable aftermarket upgrades. E.g; *Relocating PMD behind front bumper *Cooling system upgrades *Oil cooler lines upgrade *Replace the harmonic balancer with a Fluidampr...Those are the major 'Must Do' projects, IMO. The rest would be just catching up on any neglected maintenance. But that's pretty much the same routine with any 12+ year old truck that a guy might buy.

It's worth while going back to re-read FellowTravellers post #29, a few times. Can't imagine driving my family out into remote areas without religiously following that philosophy.

Go to dieselplace for all the info and support you could ever need for the GM 6.5TD

As for the loose steering on the one you test drove; most likely the pitman and idler arms are worn out (Very common failure on GM light duty trucks). Cognito Motorsports makes a nicely engineered brace kit to beef up the new parts.

I think you're on the right track with the 95-99 model year, they are a more civilized beast. The wife and daughters will not be too embarrassed to ride in it :sombrero: Happy women makes for a happy man...though it might take short break-in period to get them to love a diesel:smiley_drive:

 

[rad]

I need it to do the following in the order below.

1. Safely haul around wife, kids and dogs. Will see probably 90% street and highway. Needs to have good AC and heat. I may have mentioned I have two little girls they will need comfort as this will be the family vehicle.
2. The other 10% - Driving up into the mountains, off highway trails, nothing crazy, we do a lot more scenic offroad trips mixed in with camping. Also being very capable in the snow is a great benefit.

I am thinking that the mid 90 body style may be what I am looking for. I can understand the value of a solid front axle but, for what I am looking for, I need something that can handle light to medium offroad duty occasionally. Heck, it will be paid for in cash, so if I get the bug and want something more wild, I can always do a SAS down the road.

The 96-99 Suburbans will handle all of the above with no issue. As for good AC and heat, it's pretty easy to find one with rear AC. In that generation each row of seats has its own overhead AC vents and the system works quite well. The seats are also very comfortable, with cloth being more comfortable than leather IMO. However, leather is better for handling spills. Other perks are an actual footwell for the third row seat and the small section of the second row seat slides forward for easier access to the third row (I think the last one is an option but may be a common one).

If I was to go with the 90's it appears from previous posts that the 96-99 would be the best to look for. I can find a lot of these locally for sale, and several are 2500. How is the reliability on these vehicles?

Part of my coming from the 80 Series, has a little bit of skepticism over non-toyota reliability.

Any info or guidance is greatly appreciated.

They are very reliable, and quite easy to fix if needed. It's not uncommon to find used models with over 200K miles on the clock and still going strong. Interior fit and finish will not be up to par with what you're used to in a 80, but the 96-99 models hardly ever get rust. If fuel mileage is a concern go with the 5.7L engine, as the 454 will get worse mileage than your old 80.

Oh, and if you do get one that has the orange Dexcool coolant in it, have it flushed out really well and replace it with the green stuff.

 

[Tahoe Diesel]

Another thing you might want to consider is that the '97+ has the passenger side airbag, which is an important safety feature for some. However, it takes up the space formerly occupied by the handy little 'lunch tray' cut-out that I absolutely love on my '96. For me, the redesigned dash makes the passenger space feel more closed off from the world. I prefer the open feel and utility of the 95-96 dash, passengers sometimes like to stretch out and rest they're feet up there on long journeys.

 

[BPMOU]

Just thought I would post a quick update. Looked at a few 99 burbs in town over the last few days and most were pretty beat.

However while searching CL on Sunday I located a 2002 K2500 burn with 4x4 and the 8.1 in pretty hood condition. I had a used car inspector cone out and go through the vehicle (took him almost 2.5 hours) hooking it up to his conputer and monitor and checking oil and fluid conditions etc.

From the report the vehicle is clean, has clean title is a great deal for 5k.

The interior is pretty rough and beat up but it's got 120k on it and runs great. I am going to pull the trigger on it today.

Thanks four your guys help!

 

[bftank]

congrats!

 

[DoMiNiC1]

:victoryics or it never happened.:victory:

 

[bfdiesel]

congrats