Was there a 1 ton Burb?

[PsRumors]

Growing up my parents had a '77 & '87 3/4 ton burb. Both had semifloating rear ends, both were 2wd. I am in the process of purchasing an '85 k20 burb. It is a ways away and is being shipped to me.

This k20 has a full floating rear axle and a quad shock option up front. Am I lucky enough to find a Dana 60 / 14 bolt combo under a Suburban?

If memory serves me there was a 1/2 ton, light 3/4 and hd 3/4. There wasn't actually a 1 ton suburban, was there?

Thanks for any info

Ron

[Pickles]

all i can find info on so far is 1960-1966 chevy suburban/panel

"Suburbans and Panels"

Suburbans and Panels came in only 1/2-ton versions, either with tail gates or barn doors. Panels came in 1/2- or 1-ton version with only barn doors. GMC Suburban has the seats mounted in tracks so they can be adjusted back and forth. Chevy seats are bolted in one place only. The Suburban has three rows of seats, front seat in 60/40 split with the 40 being the flip up passenger seat to get the rear seating. Panels had the truck bench seat. The Suburban only had the two front doors for passenger loading. The 1/2-ton Suburban and Panel were built on same chassis as short-bed pickups. The 1-ton panels are built on 133 inch 1-ton chassis. Other than that they are pretty much the same as the pickups.

http://www.stovebolt.com/techtips/bu...uide_60_66.htm


but still looking, Pickles

[crews]

There were no 1 ton Suburbans.

[DirtyLarry]

Not that I am aware of.

¾ ton Suburbans both 2wd and 4wd topped out at 8600 GVWR. A typical 1 ton GVWR is 10,000. No, you will not find a front Dana 60 under any Suburban that has not been swapped in.

If your old 77’ had a semi floating rear axle it was not a ¾ ton. The 9.5 ring gear diameter 14 bolt semi floating axle found most often in later model ¾ tons did not come on the scene until 1981. From 1973 to 1980 all ¾ Suburbans had the 10.5 ring gear diameter 14 bolt full floater. From 1981 through 1991 ¾ Suburbans both 2 and 4wd came with the 9.5 semi floating rear axle as standard equipment. The only 1981 through 1991 ¾ Suburbans that came with a 10.5 FF rear axle as standard equipment were 2wd and equipped with 7.4L big blocks. Not even the 6.2L diesel required the 10.5 FF. Keep in mind the 454 was not available in any 4x4 Suburban until 1992.

From 1992 to current is gets a little more fuzzy as to which Sub gets which rear axle. I can bore you all with that if you want.

I actually just swapped in a 14 FF into a 1988 K20 Suburban for a friend this summer that lives in Detroit and wanted a clean rust free southwestern rig to start his project with. He flew out here to pick it up in August and drove it all the way back to Detroit….1600 miles. It was also just infused with a fresh 6.5L turbo diesel. It ran like a freight train and smoked like one too!

The last picture is the 14 SF 9.5 that I pulled out.

[PsRumors]

Thanks for the info Larry. I hope the seller wasn't mistaken. I didn't have him pull the center caps on the axles but he stated it had the FF. It is a 4wd k20. He is reputable so we will see when it gets here.

Thanks everyone for the info.

[DirtyLarry]

You never know…a 21 year old vehicle could have received a swapped in 14 bolt FF sometime in its life. Then again, the general population do not realize that there are two 14 bolts…the good 10.5 FF and the barely adequate 9.5. They just look at the number of bolts holding on the cover and assume from there. Either way, I am sure you will be happy with your new toy. Keep up posted.