Starting a Suburban build.....

[John90XJ]

That's the dilemma I'm faced with....do I want to keep it right where it is, add some larger tires so it looks right and sits an inch or two higher OR drop new axles in and truly make a tow rig out of it.

The cheap bastard in me says to do nothing more than just drive it and enjoy it the way it is. Everything works, nothing is wrong with it and it would do just about everything but comfortably tow my Jeep

The other side is to build it up and then use it to tow once a year on my major trip to Utah. I've been driving the Jeep XJ down there, wheeling the crap out of it and then driving home again, in true expedition style, and wonder if that's more like what I want to do anyway.

So I'm going out to the driveway and decoding the glove box sticker and seeing exactly what's under this thing. I'm reasonably certain nothing is different from the way it came out of the factory. I'll report back and maybe we can decide what makes sense then.

 

[John90XJ]

So the locking rear end is not shown but it does show that it had a factory trailering tow package (presently missing the hitch receiver) as well as skid plate package for the gas tank and t-case, a transmission oil cooler, an engine oil cooler and heavy duty shocks.

What's interesting is that it didn't get a heavy duty radiator or a limited slip or locker. Would this be a relatively standard order? Or did someone go down the option list and just choose not to do a few things?

 

[Grim Reaper]

There was a trailer package that got the hitch. There is also a HD cooling package that gets you the bigger radiator and I think the oil cooler. It has been a few years since I ran the codes on mine.

My 88 R20 has all the HD cooling options, no locker, the trailer package with the 9500lb hitch and I think mine is rated 9k towing because of the 3.73 gear. I'm grateful for the 3.73 since mine predates the 4L80 and has a TH 400. The 454 makes more then enough power to deal with the gears. Only time it really felt bogged down was borrowing a really heavy trailer and then putting my 79 K5 on it. I had just bought it and found some problems that I have since resolved. Now it will happily cruise at 65 with my 4 Runner on trailer and get 10.5mpg doing it.

 

[ntsqd]

My '91 1/2t has the engine oil cooler, but not the full thickness radiator that apparently the 3/4t's got. Guess I need to decode it to see what it should have vs. what it does have.

 

[John90XJ]

Are these coolers known to be effective?

 

[pete.wilson]

Hey

Something else to consider on the old body style Chevy's. When running a larger set of tires, Y will need to beef the frame up around the mounting bolts location of the steering pumpand frame. On the older models the holes tend to crack between the bolts due to stress. You can find on line a bracket that welded and bolted to the frame so steering box is more secure. I had an 87 which had seen some abuse but the frame was fine (33X12.5 BFG MT's), then I bought a nicer 89 with 33X12.5x15's (Forget which tire I had on it) and had no problems but it didn't see a lot of off-road useage either. Both of Mine had 350V8's, both were darn good trucks. Mileage between 10-14 (as high as 15.7 hwy), just depended on what I was doing. I love Sub's for their size and what they can carry. Too bad my 94 doesn't have a straight front axle, but it works ok so far; looking to lift it, new tires and maybe gearing.

 

[Grim Reaper]

Hey

Something else to consider on the old body style Chevy's. When running a larger set of tires, Y will need to beef the frame up around the mounting bolts location of the steering pumpand frame. On the older models the holes tend to crack between the bolts due to stress. You can find on line a bracket that welded and bolted to the frame so steering box is more secure. I had an 87 which had seen some abuse but the frame was fine (33X12.5 BFG MT's), then I bought a nicer 89 with 33X12.5x15's (Forget which tire I had on it) and had no problems but it didn't see a lot of off-road useage either. Both of Mine had 350V8's, both were darn good trucks. Mileage between 10-14 (as high as 15.7 hwy), just depended on what I was doing. I love Sub's for their size and what they can carry. Too bad my 94 doesn't have a straight front axle, but it works ok so far; looking to lift it, new tires and maybe gearing.

Very good point.

I ran one of these on My K5 It was worth every penny and dramatically tightened up the steering on the street.

http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog/steeringkit.htm

 

[ntsqd]

Or: http://autofab.com/sbgk 100.htm
I've never been clear if the ORD part has the rib that John at Autofab put on the original part. ORD's pic is poor about that.
Can't go wrong with either company.

 

[Grim Reaper]

Or: http://autofab.com/sbgk 100.htm
I've never been clear if the ORD part has the rib that John at Autofab put on the original part. ORD's pic is poor about that.
Can't go wrong with either company.

Sweet! thats the first 2wd one I have seen. Might have to get the for the 88 if we decide to keep it.

 

[John90XJ]

The direction I go with this project in the near term has been decided to some degree.

Long story short, a certain manufacturer of a gear driven limited slip differential needs some testing done on a 10 bolt rear axle. So it looks like I'll be getting a Detroit TrueTrac installed in the rear in the next week.

Since I'm not prepared to do a gear change and they're under a short deadline, I'll likely be looking for some 31s or 32s to put on the stock wheels and being happy with that for a while. At this point I'm thinking that it won't be a tow rig but instead a light duty travel rig. I can always use the Jeep XJ for actual offroad expedition type travel and it's certainly something I feel more comfortable with. But I'd be curious to know how this would work in Baja as is.