Got A '95 Suburban

[Already Gone]

Originally Posted by special-K

Looked it over yesterday. Checked vacuum everywhere, took valve covers off, pulled all plugs/cleaned/gapped properly (were way wide +.020). The motor appears to never had any leaks. Looks really good inside, as suspected...very fresh and clean looking. Vacuum tested showed all normal. Only #6 plug had burnt oil build-up, not wet at all. For the amount of oil it's using it doesn't seem to add up. I am figuring on valve seals at this point, but want to dig deeper first. Next time we're pulling the intake. Could borrow a scope but it's easy enough to pull intake and it will end up with new gaskets.

Cut the crapped out muffler and fitted up a Flowmaster dual outlet my buddy had laying around. The exhaust definitely shows it's burning oil...has the crusty black build-up. I guess between the fuel injection and catalytic convertor, they are keeping it from smoking. I'm sure a new catalytic convertor will give a big boost in power. It has to be pretty clogged with that crap. maybe other seals are also leaking but only one is bad enough to show on the plug? I think the motor is fine, but the evidence at this point doesn't add up to the results. I admit I've only dealt with older carburated engines, but my buddy is really good with later stuff and so far he doesn't feel we really know what's up next. We probably did find the problem in the valve seals.

So with replacing the muffler have you changed your mind about putting true duals on the Burb?

[OutlawDrifter]

It should puff some smoke at startup if they are leaking that bad, even with a cat and fuel injection. The TPI 350 in my Camaro would puff a little on the first start of he day. New seals cleared it up.

[special-K]

I know, that's one thing that doesn't add up. The easy symptom to bad seals is smoke when you start it or coming off idle and I see no smoke. And for it to go through as much as it is it would have to be burning oil all the time. On the interstate coming home is when I discovered it. It must be exhaust valve seals more than that one intake. The crust in the pipe equates the amount of oil being burnt. The culprit is somewhere between

It was real nice of my friend to take care of the muffler. I kind of wish he hadn't. I really wanted to do dual exhaust. In fact, been looking into TBI performance. For now I guess I'll get tailpipes run out, but it needs a new catalytic conv. The factory y-pipe is really restrictive and the myth is the engine needs back pressure. The engine needs to breath...flow. The back pressure is to build heat for the O2 sensor. For full flow exhaust you get heated sensors. I'll just run the patched together exhaust till I see what more I decide to do for performance. Since I want to take the intake off and the engine looks so fresh, I might as well put a cam in, right? Even if the oil consumption culprit wasn't taken care of there, by the time you figure the new Vortec heads will mean new head gaskets, that takes care of that.

[OutlawDrifter]

Originally Posted by special-K

I know, that's one thing that doesn't add up. The easy symptom to bad seals is smoke when you start it or coming off idle and I see no smoke. And for it to go through as much as it is it would have to be burning oil all the time. On the interstate coming home is when I discovered it. It must be exhaust valve seals more than that one intake. The crust in the pipe equates the amount of oil being burnt. The culprit is somewhere between

It was real nice of my friend to take care of the muffler. I kind of wish he hadn't. I really wanted to do dual exhaust. In fact, been looking into TBI performance. For now I guess I'll get tailpipes run out, but it needs a new catalytic conv. The factory y-pipe is really restrictive and the myth is the engine needs back pressure. The engine needs to breath...flow. The back pressure is to build heat for the O2 sensor. For full flow exhaust you get heated sensors. I'll just run the patched together exhaust till I see what more I decide to do for performance. Since I want to take the intake off and the engine looks so fresh, I might as well put a cam in, right? Even if the oil consumption culprit wasn't taken care of there, by the time you figure the new Vortec heads will mean new head gaskets, that takes care of that.

i like the way you think! i decided to go tbi over 96+ vortec after reading about how easy they are to work on. harris performance knows his stuff. i keep bouncing back and forth about building a 355 w/vortec heads and a cam and just leaving the pickup alone and driving it! it runs very well now, but i'm not sure i can wait 200k to need to replace the crate 350.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by Already Gone

So with replacing the muffler have you changed your mind about putting true duals on the Burb?

I'm do in to my buddy Mitch's muffler shop at 8. The plan was to have dual taailpipes run out from the dual outlet muffler. I made the appointment mid-week and keep thinking, I really want full dual exhaust. The thought of 2 into one then back to 2 really bothers me. That's not dual exhaust. I don't care if the single pipe is 5" with better flow than the dual sections, it is still both sides combined and what exits is one sound divided in two, 1/2 the note from each pipe. In the case of this Suburban, I have concerns about the catalytic convertor being restricted by build-up from burning oil and I know the y-pipe is very restrictive. I'd end up seeing dual exits (yay) but only have a pieced together exhaust that adds no performance, needs a catalytic convertor, some old/some new. This is no hi-performance machine, but I like a touch of performance on anything I own. I have a pair of 2.5" Flowmasters and I'm bringing them along. I'm going to see what Mitch thinks about running it all the way dual and skip the cats for now. I'd add hi-flow cats, just doubt I can get my hands on any today*. It's pretty straight forward running the pipes back. Probably cost about the same in labor and a little more for pipe... but not much. I'd eventually like to add headers, if I do more under the hood

* unless he has a pair of 2.5"

[OutlawDrifter]

Make sure you put in a heated O2 sensor if you get rid of the cats and go dual. Otherwise the 1 wire will never heat up enough to work. I would like to go dual exhaust with an H-pipe on my pickup just hard to justify the added expense for no gain. It has mid-tube headers, just needs a better Y and some mandrel bends to finish out the tailpipe.

[special-K]

I ended up changing my mind, again, after yet more thinking. In Maryland a vehicle only has to be 20 years old for historic registration, which requires no inspections and exempts you from emissions testing. That's what I just did, with regular use insurance. It was easier than getting a temp tag and putting through inspection, etc. I plan to inspect it and get regular tags at some point before too long. The plan with true duals was to put cats on ASAP. The problem is inspection, they don't allow modifications down to pipe must be of same diameter, exit, muffler, and cat all in same location unless vehicle on same frame with same engine that year or newer was available the way you want to do it. So, dual exhaust and having two cats instead of 1 are no-nos. We only have to inspect a vehicle when changing ownership, that's it. As far as emissions testing goes, pre-96 gets the tailpipe sniffed and visual inspection (mirrors). They just need to see a cat(s). So, for now I just had tailpipes run back and out behind the tires to get it through inspection... and maybe just stay that way. It sounds good. So much better than exiting below the body. It finally sounds and feels healthy. I would like a better y-pipe if I do stay 2 into 1. Now to pull the intake and see what's up with oil consumption.

[special-K]

It's starting to feel more like "one of mine". It sounds good with the exhaust and I like seeing the tailpipes from the rear. Yesterday I had the 5 rear windows privacy tinted. Not much to get excited about, since it seems most came from factory with it. I'm surprised mine didn't, being it was bought to keep dogs back in that greenhouse. I also cranked the torsion bars up, but waiting to find some 76-91 Chevy hubcaps to use with the a Accuride wheels and 255/85s. It still pretty much looks the same as the day I bought it, but the exhaust and tint are little details that will add to the overall look once I put bigger tires on. I have a vision of it done in another color, but until that 9might) happen, I have ideas for until that happens. One is, paint flairs white and paint grille and wheels to match. The color will be pretty gun metal grey. i have a wheel idea I've thought about for a long time I might do here, if I can get another set of tires & wheels.

[OutlawDrifter]

sometimes it's the little things that bring it together. glad you are still making progress.

[flashed]

Do you have a pic of the hubcaps you want for it ?

[Already Gone]

Tim, like a lot of things in life its the little things that make the difference and make it yours. On my 94 K1500 Burb I put a set of Avalanche 17 inch rims and some 265/70 17 tires which are only 1 3/4 inches higher than stock ( it came with 245/75 16 inch ) and I've had many compliments on the look of the Burb over the years. I also put a set of ( for safety as well as appearance) a set of LED tail lights and have had quite a few compliments on how great they look on the Burb. I highly recommend a K& N Filter charger system for your TBI Burb as you will immediately feel the difference in driveability and get a little better gas mileage.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by flashed

Do you have a pic of the hubcaps you want for it ?

These are the only hubcaps Chevy made after the 69-72 style. I had these wheels & tires on my '92 K3500 that died last June...with GMC hubcaps. 6-spoke for 8-lug and 5-spoke for 5 & 6-lug. The picture is attached down below.

Originally Posted by Already Gone

Tim, like a lot of things in life its the little things that make the difference and make it yours. On my 94 K1500 Burb I put a set of Avalanche 17 inch rims and some 265/70 17 tires which are only 1 3/4 inches higher than stock ( it came with 245/75 16 inch ) and I've had many compliments on the look of the Burb over the years. I also put a set of ( for safety as well as appearance) a set of LED tail lights and have had quite a few compliments on how great they look on the Burb. I highly recommend a K& N Filter charger system for your TBI Burb as you will immediately feel the difference in driveability and get a little better gas mileage.

Greg, that looks really nice. Those colors are so classy and the body accents give more to the two-tone. I will surely do that intake. That one actually uses a box around the filter to seal out engine compartment air and grabs air out of the fender, right?

[flashed]

There is a set of those on the parts board for sale .

[special-K]

Thanks. I've been watching, but maybe not a few days. I'll go look.

[Already Gone]

Here are a couple pics of the K & N under my hood.

[special-K]

Ok, that's the one I was thinking of. Now i know what to look for.

The only hubcaps I saw were some 1/2t ones in 67-72 parts sold by Coley. i've been on a GMC kick for a while now and would rather this had been a GMC. Get where I;m going here? I was wanting Chevy caps for now, but really want a GMC grille, horn cover and 2500 badges. I'll just remove the emblem on the rear. I have some nice GMC hubcaps already

[flashed]

Sorry about misinforming you about the caps ,I knew they were 1/2 ton ,was not thinking about your being 3/4 ton .I too have a decent set of the GMC ones in the bigger diameter .

[OutlawDrifter]

I understand the GMC thing. Ever since my 82 K5 I've been converted to the "other" GM side. I tend to like the grills and the smaller badging much better, especially on the GMT-400 platform.

[special-K]

No problem at all. I appreciate the thought. I like that red accent on GMC stuff.

Yeah, I went GMC when it came time to buy my first (& only) new truck in '92. I liked the GMC grille way more. It's so clean and truck-like. The grille itself is just the opening to the radiator, just like big trucks, and talk about clean? From there they grew on me. GMC makes trucks, not cars. They were the first GM truck, too. And, it doesn't hurt being there are far fewer built...at least in years past. I look at GMC as the companion to Pontiac ,as well as the other BOPs. GMCs ran Pontiac V8s in the '50s! How cool is that? In '01 I bought my '72 K2500 just to vary my K/20 collection. The hard times after my divorce caused me to have to start sellin' and the way it worked out everything I sold was the Chevys. One was my '90 blazer. in '10 I was fortunate enough to buy my '85 diesel Jimmy, so I ended up with all GMCs. my '92 finally gave up the ghost and this is replacing that and it messes all that up! . Yep, I think there's no question, she's gotta go Jimmy!

[doubleb's69]

I would rather have the tailgate and hatch. That is how my Tahoe is. I had a 91 Suburban with barn doors and I just don't care for them. I looked for a 95 Suburban but I mandated a tailgate which seems impossible to find. My 95 Tahoe has 280,600 miles on the original drivetrain. I love the TBI engines.

[special-K]

Spring has sprung so I sprang out the wheels & tires I had on the '92 when it died. Painted the wheels metallic charcoal and slapped them on. here are before and after pics, plus one from the side:

[special-K]

It's starting to feel like one of mine, finally! I've done dual exit exhaust run out behind the tires, hitch, privacy tint, cranked the torsion bars, and now the tires. it's about time! This thing drives so much better than with the squatty stock size tires. Really wants to roll down the road much better. Probably going to help the fuel consumption. I slapped them on yesterday morning and rolled on up to my brother's for Easter. He's 2.5 hrs away up and over quite a few mountains. On the way up I took the two lane hiways up the back way. It handled great, much more nibble on the skinny tread. Took the interstates back. Feels like it runs so much better now, not like it's being pushed to get down the road. Here are some w/hubcaps:

[OutlawDrifter]

looks good!

[Already Gone]

Originally Posted by special-K

It's starting to feel like one of mine, finally! I've done dual exit exhaust run out behind the tires, hitch, privacy tint, cranked the torsion bars, and now the tires. it's about time! This thing drives so much better than with the squatty stock size tires. Really wants to roll down the road much better. Probably going to help the fuel consumption. I slapped them on yesterday morning and rolled on up to my brother's for Easter. He's 2.5 hrs away up and over quite a few mountains. On the way up I took the two lane hiways up the back way. It handled great, much more nibble on the skinny tread. Took the interstates back. Feels like it runs so much better now, not like it's being pushed to get down the road. Here are some w/hubcaps:

Looking Rad Tim

[flashed]

Looks much better especially with the old school wheels and hub caps .