Got A '95 Suburban

[special-K]

I've been in need of a work truck since June when I retired my '92 K3500 after 22 years of service. Been running my '85 Jimmy and '72 K2500 till I found a replacement. Well, here it is 6 months later, winter is here and I've been real worried about being forced to drive my babies in the road salt. Winter hit early, but still no salt...luckily. I was looking for something newer, but all the trucks in my price range had mileage at 200k or more. I started looking for a decent late-90s with lower miles from further south for less rust, just like I used to do with 67-68s. I couldn't swing bringing one back from out west due to the urgency and had trouble finding a clean K2500 close enough. I came across this '95 K2500 Suburban in Marietta,GA that will fill the bill perfect. Nothing fancy or special, but that's just what I wanted...a work truck. I bought it from Cobb County and it's a retired K-9 unit. no hitch,so never towed. Fleet maintained with 120k on the clock and no rust is what matters to me. I'm sure lots of idle time, so higher engine hours for the miles, but still feel good about it. The dog(s) scarred up the cargo area, but it will be a cargo area for me,too. All in all a good start on my next work rig. It will keep my tools dry and secure w/o screaming "I'm a work truck full of tools!" and don't need to buy a work cap. Side doors give handy access to tools up front and it can be a crew cab shortbed all enclosed or an all enclosed longbed...with other seating/cargo options with the 60/40 second seat (no 3rd). I really liked that about the '91 'Burb I used to have. Privacy tint and a 2" receiver are first on the list. I'll be going to get it this week. Here are a couple pictures from the listing:

[Palf70Step]

Nice! She looks ready and willing to work.

[speedygonzales]

I like that it has the tail gate and not those useless barn doors.

[Razorbacker]

Good looking Burb you got there Tim, I like it. It's interesting that it has the split gate instead of the barn doors.

I recently added a 94 GMC 2dr Yukon K1500 to our fleet.

[special-K]

Yeah, I really liked the barn doors on the '91, I guess for climbing in easier and even reaching in better. But you do give up the option of carrying anything longer. At least not without tying the doors in on it. I'm not doing as much siding these days, but vinyl boxes are 12' and with a tailgate that is no problem. One of those sliding floor inserts would be cool, but would dedicate it to a single seater. Who knows, I'm not jumping into anything right away. I may build a nice looking full length rack heavy enough for work but look like a cargo rack. I have a 10' utility trailer with 2' sides and a tailgate that works like a pickup for general hauling. I would really like to rig a little longer tandem trailer up with a rack, so with any vehicle I can haul big/long stuff and none would need racks.
I like buying these former municipal trucks. They may not be fancy, and they may not get the TLC a personal vehicle gets, but they are used for a purpose or parked, are kept on a maintenance schedule, and not abused. This thing has A/C, O/D, is heavy duty, rides smooth, and quiet. It's funny how these SUVs cost more than trucks when new and used trucks cost more than SUVs now. Kind of like the used Cadillac or RV... no prestige left in 'em. A good used truck always has a value and is desired. I was looking at a '99 K2500 Suburban SLE much closer in Roanoke,VA. It had 187k on it. That was cheaper than the trucks I found by $1,000-2,500. I got this for less than that Suburban. Now let's see how it does driving home next week.

[Zane M]

Very nice start for a work vehicle. Congrats!

[Already Gone]

From about 2004 until 2010 I looked for a 90's K Tahoe ,Yukon with decent mileage and like you everything had 150,00 mile sor more on it and if i did find one with decent mileage the price was way more than I was willing to pay. In the fall 2010 of I found a loaded one owner 94 K1500 Burb with reasonable mileage. I bought it and have never regreted it. Its like you said its a pickup with a built in cap that you use for pleasure, work or haulig 8 people. I alway say if you feed the Burb gas it will do anything you want.

[special-K]

Purred like a kitten all the way home. It needs an exhaust and some cosmetics. I'll be taking the mud wompers off and doing something different. I'd like to run true duals, since it has a rear tank , but a friend says he has a perfect factory exhaust off of one. I was going to do stock sounding mufflers anyway. We'll see.

It's interesting, and I never put it together till I got some history from the guy I dealt with at the county shop. This was used to haul bloodhounds, not attack dogs. so,it sat parked unless there was a man hunt or a search & rescue call. Last winter brought them abnormal snow and this thing was used extensively just last winter rescuing people who were snowbound. They called it "The Beast" at the sheriff's dept. I thought the tires were unusual for a county owned vehicle. The guy who runs the shop has a Cherokee all done up for off road. I'd bet he did the tire shopping.

[Keith Seymore]

Looks good.

Put me down as a barn door enthusiast.

The problem with the gate/glass is: if for any reason you can't get the glass up (ie, frozen window, failed popper, etc) then you're not gettin' in the back. I've had both of those happen to me; had to cut a hole in the interior trim to access the latch in order to get it open in order to faciliate a repair.

Plus, with the doors the load platform is right in front of you. No "lifting heavy stuff" past the gate so you can get it closed.

K

[special-K]

I hear a lot of people saying they don't like the cargo doors. I'm not sure if they have a problem with those or they just prefer the tailgate/hatch. I can deal with either. Both have pluses and minuses. I like being able to climb in or out with the cargo doors. Figure, they were the original design. Box trucks, trailers, StepVans, panel trucks, and vans all have the doors (or roll-up later on). The tailgate/hatch is a station wagon design. I like the simplicity of the hatch vs roll down into tailgate. The tailgate is way light. This is the first '92+ Suburban I've been up close with. It's really growing on me. I cant wait to get it tagged. I may just run it (a 1st), but I am getting all kinds of cool ideas and different ways to go with it.

[OutlawDrifter]

i'm also a barn door guy. before i found my rcsb sierra i was trying to find a 1995 2-door yukon with barn doors. wanted the newer interior and the tbi. harder than i imagined!

good find, should be a good work horse with lots of life left in it. i'm trying to talk mama into letting me a build a 3/4t big block burb/yukon for a family truckster.

[special-K]

a 2dr barn door Tahoe or, better yet, Yukon with barn doors would be an awesome rig

[flashed]

So how did you find this rig in my area not that I had a need for one ,but I do like it ? Just wondering how you found it .

[special-K]

I was searching Craigslist, Car Gurus.com, Cars.com, Search Tempest, etc. using an Atlanta zip for a decent late-90s K2500 pickup, but just put in K2500. I found you can find an equal Suburban for $1,500-2,000 cheaper and figured one could fill my needs. I was at my buddy's working on his house and asked him to search around for me. I really needed to get something ASAP to avoid running my '85 Jimmy or '72 K2500 on salty roads. He found this on Ebay. I had already found a nice red K2500 Suburban in Roanoke I had on my list for consideration, but it had 187k and was about a grand more. I bid on this when it was at $2k,put in a max bid at $2,800 and won...by $75. It shot up real quick in the last 1/2 hr.

[flashed]

Good info ,Im not looking for anything right now but may use that later.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by OutlawDrifter

i'm also a barn door guy. before i found my rcsb sierra i was trying to find a 1995 2-door yukon with barn doors. wanted the newer interior and the tbi. harder than i imagined!

good find, should be a good work horse with lots of life left in it. i'm trying to talk mama into letting me a build a 3/4t big block burb/yukon for a family truckster.

That was exactly what I had bought the '91 Suburban for back in '02. My (x)wife was driving an ext. cab '99 ZR2 and my son was getting too big (10) to be crawling back into that stash box they call a back seat. I saw it as a great bring it all get away rig. It can tow, haul lots inside, and would last forever with occasional use. I totalled my '95 K3500 and started using it as my work truck and just clamped a ladder rack I have on one of my '72 K/20s (had a '71 C/20,too) for moving scaffold.

Originally Posted by flashed

Good info ,Im not looking for anything right now but may use that later.

It's a crazy world these day when a guy doesn't know about a vehicle for say a hop skip and jump away and a feller from 6-700 miles away finds it. I guess it's that same thing that makes us even know of one another.

[flashed]

Well I am glad you found and bought it ,very nice looking truck .

[special-K]

Well, it's not turning out to be such a great buy. I know I could have bought a much nicer (optioned) Suburban for the same money, and maybe even as clean a body, for the same money locally. My reasoning for buying this one was it's for work and I'd rather have the lower miles, simple, and no rust issues. Now I am finding that "Runs Good" as stated in the ad was misleading. It's got an oil drinking problem and that ain't runnin' good in my book. It only has 121k on it and it looks clean as a whistle inside the oil fill. The PCV valve wasn't clogged. I'm going to check compression and give a closer look, but I think I may be looking at buying another motor before long.

Right now I feel like I'm bombing around in an oversized old station wagon. I need to make it more "trucky" to suit me. The things I plan will use the basic lower option aspect to it's advantage. I don't want to pour too much money into this thing, but enough to make it mine. First, I'd like to run true duals front to back, since it needs exhaust. I'm going to raise it up a couple inches and put the 255/85-16s on 7" Ford Accurides from my '92 on. Gotta get some Chevy hubcaps...though I'd like to change the grille to a GMC to keep my stable all GMC (appearing). I really want to paint it, wouldn't be till spring, so that can marinade for now. I need a good heavy duty roof rack. Been thinking up designs. The main thing is mounting to the top as strongly as the rack is built. I'm thinking 1" sq tube full length. It's mostly for hauling ladders/scaffold, but also longer lumber/materials. And ALSO, kayaks/canoes. So, I want an adventure rig style. I'll have to figure out how to draw on this computer and show some sketches. That's about it, other than a 2" receiver hitch, privacy tint, Alpine stereo from my old '95, replace steering wheel with better... winch/bumpers/air locker,etc (<dreaming now)

[Already Gone]

Is your Burb a BB or Small Block ? I asked about putting real/true duals on my 94 K1500 Burb small block when I needed a muffler ( and I deal with a Pro Muffler Shop that know their stuff) and they said you couldn't do that. As a sidenote we have no emission reqirements or tests in this Province. Let us know if that works for you when you get it done.

[speedygonzales]

Don't assume an oil consumption problem is catastrophic. A compression test will probably tell you little if anything. More often than not, the intake gaskets are the reason for consuming oil. While a compression test is useful, the single most important test is a leak down test. All though it won't find a leaky intake gasket (neither will a compression test), it will give you a wealth of knowledge.

Also don't forget the valve seals will dry out over time and many times they are overlooked. Looking at the intake will let you know where oil is entering the combustion chamber. A peak with a rented bore scope can go a long way as well.

Just thought I would mention what a neighbor with his own repair shop taught me. Most external oil leaks are caused by a faulty PCV valve. Remember, a crankcase must function under vacuum while running. If the PCV is stuck open, the crankcase is no longer under vacuum. It is then possible to leak from virtually any where. I know yours is different but just thought I would throw that out there.

The other thing I don't like about your year vehicle is the TB injection. Granted it does not have the problems my "Spider" injection has. It seems to be prone to either idle or just off idle problems all the time. And the goofy EGR problems it has are notorious.

Speaking of leaky intake gaskets. My Vortec intake gaskets are the worst. Originally plastic with rubber imbedded in them. What crap. But those too are fixed.

So don't jump to conclusions too quick there Tonto. Go slow and methodical.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by Already Gone

Is your Burb a BB or Small Block ? I asked about putting real/true duals on my 94 K1500 Burb small block when I needed a muffler ( and I deal with a Pro Muffler Shop that know their stuff) and they said you couldn't do that. As a sidenote we have no emission reqirements or tests in this Province. Let us know if that works for you when you get it done.

Hmmm... I wonder why not? It's a 350. Maybe something to do with O2 sensor? I'll find out, but I'm sure there's a way. I ran into a road block putting duals on the '90 Blazer I had, and this was in maybe '92. The issue was the Maryland dept of environment went after the DMV for not enforcing the environmental laws and my exhaust guy was concerned about some serious fines . The law stated that an exhaust system had to be of same design (length, exit location, dia.) as original, or later with same chassis and engine. Blazers used to run dual exhaust with the 350 on that same chassis, but they stopped when catalytic convertors were mandated. I'm sure that was to save money on doubling up on the newly required equipment. Even Vettes at the time ran two into one,catalytic convertor, then back to dual. I had better catalytic convertors than came from factory, would be improving flow/breathing/performance/fuel consumption w/o eliminating any emissions equipment. I'm no scientist, but I'm sure my design would yield better emissions figures than factory specs. I found a place that didn't care.

Originally Posted by speedygonzales

Don't assume an oil consumption problem is catastrophic. A compression test will probably tell you little if anything. More often than not, the intake gaskets are the reason for consuming oil. While a compression test is useful, the single most important test is a leak down test. All though it won't find a leaky intake gasket (neither will a compression test), it will give you a wealth of knowledge.

Also don't forget the valve seals will dry out over time and many times they are overlooked. Looking at the intake will let you know where oil is entering the combustion chamber. A peak with a rented bore scope can go a long way as well. ..........

Intake leak is my next suspect. The motor feels strong, is fairly young, and not gunked or sludged up. I want to do a compression test just because, and it can show a cracked ring or other possible issue. I'm supposed to get together with a friend at his shop, hopefully, tomorrow to check all possibilities. Thanks for all the suggestions. I mostly bought this hoping for a good to go for a while vehicle. My '72 has been waiting for me to build it a 383 and I was hoping buying this had left me enough cash to do it...not put that farther down the road. I was feeling rushed to get a winter vehicle, with only my '85 Jimmy and '72 K2500 to drive. November was cold and we started getting a little bit of snow. The salt was coming and I was freaking out. I finished the big job that left me money to buy something in mid-Nov and had to make a move. December comes and it's been warmer than average till now. I was given another month I didn't think I had... no salt yet! Oh well, my choice has been made and I'll make it into what I'll like. If I can't have something "nice" then I want something "bad".

I wish it was a Vortec, but oh well. I've had nothing but good service from the TBIs I've had. That '90 Blazer I had bought new and went trouble-free to 193k when I sold it...running strong. It's funny, when new it also consumed oil. I took it back and they replaced the valve seals and that was the last thing it needed.

[OutlawDrifter]

special-k, my 95 sierra consumes some oil. it has roughly 46k on a crate replacement. i've noticed a small drip occasionally coming from the back of the block, i suspect the oil sender or the seal at the back of the intake. not enough of a drip when setting to make the dipstick go down the way it does. before i pull the intake, the next oil change it's getting a heavier oil just to check and see if its internal. i have never owned a sbc that didn't leak or consume some oil. just luck of the draw i guess. if your rig sat as much as it sounds like it did, the seals are probably pretty dried up in it.

[special-K]

I'm not sure if it sat for long at any time or not. It may be it was used regularly, but not every day. It wasn't a patrol vehicle, so only went where the call was and all within the county. Who knows, I won't rule the seals out yet either. We didn't get together today. It was using a couple quarts to a tank. I haven't changed the oil (changes itself) but I last topped it off with 20/50.

[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.

[speedygonzales]

Remember intake valve seals will show up in the intake. The exhaust valve seals will only show up in the exhaust manifold. Therefore only intake seals will show up on the plug.