Suburban help 1995

[joker_fly]

Hello

First Post And i need soem help

Im thinking of buying a suburban 1995 k1500 350/700

But i have some questions

Im planning on running 35" or 37" ? What kinda lift kit do i need ?

What kinda cruise speed can i get with 35" at 2500 rpm ?

Will the 1500 model do ?

Im planning on fitting a Fabfour type front and back rockcrawler bumber with winch front and back and roof cage/Basket

Reson for buying is i need a cross contry rig that wont get stuck in snow or mud, seats four + 2 dogs with some personal gear.
I want to have it to the logde during winter =)

Over 600 miles tarmack, and last 60 miles no plough and its step 3 feet snow
in summer i used to use my audi but in wintertime the snow is to much for it and i want to be able to be there druring winter time

Oh and btw you now all those teen horror movies where the go to a lodge without cell reception and no one around for 100 miles they are all shot in location in my lodge =)

It wont be rock crawling or extreme offroading just taken on really bad roads

I need to be able to go atleast 130 km,h/80mp,h all day long

I have my trusted Unimog for rock crawling an such =)

Reson im asking all these stupid questions is, I i live in sweden and i have nobody to ask since suburbans are very scarce here

Sorry for bad english

Kim / Sweden

 

[Flyboat]

okay I have a 1996 just like you are looking at. But mine does not have the 700r4 tranny is the the 4l60e. There two weak points in my opinion, first the trannys and the front axle. The truck will probably suit your intended needs. I have a 3" body lift just for looks really. I ran 285/75r16 with no problems before the lift. The problem with the tranny is they don't take heat well at all. They need a cooler. Second they need the shifting body updated so they shift quicker. What happens is they start slipping between 1 and 2 and the computer boosts the pressure until it finally shifts with a dramatic bang. Once this starts you might as well drive it till it blows up, because it cost the same to fix it regardless of how bad it gets. Do not shift from R to D while rolling, this puts excessive pressure on an already week gear in the tranny. Second a locker is very rare to find for the front axle, but you plan on front and rear winches. If you expect to use them from time to time and not just for decoration then again you will be happy. It is very comfortable, very nice ride on the pavement. Can handle some mud and snow. I am in Texas so we don't do much snow here, just solid ice a couple weeks a year.

In a perfect world I would have choosen something with plenty of horsepower, solid axles front and rear, and big as the suburban.

I may end up putting solid axles under mine someday and making it perfect.

 

[ujoint]

I wouldn't recommend running larger than a 35" tire on a 1500. The front suspension won't like it at all, and there's a much higher chance of blowing up the rear axle. (10 Bolt) There are steering upgrades available, check with Cognito Motorsports. If you want something more durable, get a 2500. The rear axle alone is worth the upgrade.

 

[78Bronco]

I would look for the Sub2500 model if you want to run 35-37" tires and still carry a load. Unless you are planning to swap out the stock axles for a dana60/14 bolt combo.

To be perfectly honest I would look at the older models that came with live axles front/rear in 3/4ton rating. EFI 350/700r4 tranny or the 6.2l diesel.

Are suburbans common in Sweden?

 

[Cody1771]

imo i would try to track down a one ton, yes the 3/4 ton is alot better than the 1/2 but you upgrade to the 14bolt rear end in as well as the heavier duty front axle... 37" tires will eat a 10 bolt axle pretty quick. i have a 10 bolt front and i go through U-joints like they are made of rubber or something. anyone got a dana 60 4:10's for sale? heh...

 

[ujoint]

Most 2500's a full floater, but be sure to verify before purchasing!

 

[joker_fly]

Thanks alot guys

very helpfull

before 95 is not an option so an solid front axel is a no go =(

and the laws here wont let me swap in a solid axel in the front
what is the weak point ?

what rear axel do you guys recommend ? (needs to be an direct fit)


i wont have any problems swaping rear axel how ever

What does a full floater mean ?

And no suburbans are not common in sweden

 

[Cody1771]

rear axle you should go with a 14 bolt full floating. they are almost indestructable.

edit: full floating rear end means that the axles dont key, clamp, or pin to the rear differential gears, they just slide into the spines and are attached at the wheel end. makes swapping out on the trail a quick and easy job. and the 14 bolt should bolt right up, but i would suggest going to www.diy4x.com and buy the disk brake kit for $65 and get a pair of 3/4 ton front disks and bolt em up. it will be worth your effor and drop over 100lbs from your rear axle.

As far as the IFS goes you can always buy after market parts to beef it up. they actually arnt all the bad unless your going to be wheeling the crap out of the thing. i had an IFS blazer for awhile and i never had ANY issues with it. almost all major lift manufactureres make lift kits for them which include heavier duty parts.

 

[Spur]

rear axle you should go with a 14 bolt full floating. they are almost indestructable.

edit: full floating rear end means that the axles dont key, clamp, or pin to the rear differential gears, they just slide into the spines and are attached at the wheel end. makes swapping out on the trail a quick and easy job. and the 14 bolt should bolt right up, but i would suggest going to www.diy4x.com and buy the disk brake kit for $65 and get a pair of 3/4 ton front disks and bolt em up. it will be worth your effor and drop over 100lbs from your rear axle.

As far as the IFS goes you can always buy after market parts to beef it up. they actually arnt all the bad unless your going to be wheeling the crap out of the thing. i had an IFS blazer for awhile and i never had ANY issues with it. almost all major lift manufactureres make lift kits for them which include heavier duty parts.

I didn't go with the disc brake upgrade on my 14 bolt FF because my understanding is that the Caddy brakes are total junk and the 3/4 ton front deletes the emergency brake. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I'd love to be wrong and upgrade to disc brakes.

 

[DEEZLPWR]

not sure if this helps, but i am going with a disk brake conversion for my 01' ram with dana 80. it has a ebrake option.


http://www.egrbrakes.com/index-main.htm

 

[ujoint]

I didn't go with the disc brake upgrade on my 14 bolt FF because my understanding is that the Caddy brakes are total junk and the 3/4 ton front deletes the emergency brake. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I'd love to be wrong and upgrade to disc brakes.

Somewhat correct on both of those. the proportioning valve really needs to be changed for the best performance with the new rear discs. The best setup would be a driveline brake, and use the non e-brake chevy front calipers.

 

[Flyboat]

rear axle you should go with a 14 bolt full floating. they are almost indestructable.

edit: full floating rear end means that the axles dont key, clamp, or pin to the rear differential gears, they just slide into the spines and are attached at the wheel end. makes swapping out on the trail a quick and easy job. and the 14 bolt should bolt right up, but i would suggest going to www.diy4x.com and buy the disk brake kit for $65 and get a pair of 3/4 ton front disks and bolt em up. it will be worth your effor and drop over 100lbs from your rear axle.

As far as the IFS goes you can always buy after market parts to beef it up. they actually arnt all the bad unless your going to be wheeling the crap out of the thing. i had an IFS blazer for awhile and i never had ANY issues with it. almost all major lift manufactureres make lift kits for them which include heavier duty parts.

If you have a source for aftermarket beef up parts I sure would like to know about them

 

[Rot Box]

joker_fly, are you saying that 95 and newer Suburbans (although rare) are available to you? If at all possible I would HIGHLY recommend starting with the higher GVWR 2500 3/4 ton. The easiest way to identify these are the 8 lug nuts. These Suburbans will already have a 14bolt full floater rear axle, larger front differential, larger CV shafts and much larger ball joints and they will have the stout 4L80E 4 speed automatic transmission. You might luck out and get one that already has 4.10 axle gears.

All of these features will really help out when you add large tires and more weight. That being said I would NOT install a locker the front differential and I would also not add anything larger than 35's without upgrading the steering rods/tie rods. I would avoid a large lift as the steering geometry and CV shaft angle really suffers and large tires only make it worse. Best of luck,

Andrew

 

[joker_fly]

Thanks

Yes i can get my hands on a 2500 but how can i see what gearbox it has ?

Many questions since this is my first chevy buy =)

And i want to get it right on the first try

Not bigger than 35 "

Does any one have a clue about speed ? how fast will i be going att 2500 rpm ?
with 35"

 

[Cody1771]

ummm speed at 2500rpm? couldnt tell you. it would be different with a manual and automatic transmission. as far as beef up parts go im sorry but i cant think of anything off the top of my head as ive always gone with straight axle trucks. i would start by checking out skyjacker, procomp, and other major lift manufacturers. otherwise im sure the guys at www.offroaddesign.com or www.diy4x.com could set you up with something as they mainly Deal with chevy/gmc parts. if you where to go with the disks on the rear of the 14b you could always plumb in a hydraulic hand brake like what was suggested a few posts up, or you could get a hydrualic disk brake transfer case break. you can get those on ebay for about $200. they bolt onto the end of your t-case inbetween it and your driveshaft. they work extremly well. kind of like a pinion brake on rockwell axles. and i agree that you should DEFINATLY go with a heavier chassis like a 2500 or 3500, the main reason i say this is you get a heavier duty driveline, as well as a heavier guage steel frame. so inthe future if you ever deside to do a cummins or another diesel swap like whats being done on the other burb in this forum you dont have any strength issues, because the 1/2 ton frame is a thinner material. also when your looking into lift kits i would highly suggest going with www.diy4x.com's shackle flip kit as its cheaper than ORD's and just as affective. it comes with everything, the shackle reversal hanger, new shackles, and greasable poly bushings.