2000 Suburban K1500 budget low lift with 37"s

[CrazyDrei]

And after getting used to the suburban it'll be hard to go smaller...if I get the chance to start over it will be a van or excursion.

dirtdobberoffroad,

Completely agree with you. I rented a 2021 Durango last week and with the rear seats folded I could not fit everything I had behind the 3rd row of the Suburban.

I can not justify going smaller, my only options right now would be either another low mileage 00-02 Suburban 1500 or 07-14 Suburban, in either case I will be looking to spend under $4,000 to justify getting a replacement vs fixing.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[zoomad75]

The devil you do know can be better than the one you don't.

You can have that 4L60 built to to be much stronger for less than the cost of getting into another rig.

I like full on builds too, but I'm at a point where I just want to use my junk rather than start over on a new build. So don't overlook the perspective of what your time is worth on the build too. Are you missing out on prime camping exploring when you are building?

You like the rig as is. My vote would be fix it and get back to camping.

 

[CrazyDrei]

The devil you do know can be better than the one you don't.

You can have that 4L60 built to to be much stronger for less than the cost of getting into another rig.

I like full on builds too, but I'm at a point where I just want to use my junk rather than start over on a new build. So don't overlook the perspective of what your time is worth on the build too. Are you missing out on prime camping exploring when you are building?

You like the rig as is. My vote would be fix it and get back to camping.

zoomad75,

I completely agree with you, it's a great point. Rebuilding a 4L60 will cost money both for me and a shop to do. It will also take time at least 2 days for me to pull mine out and put a new one in. That's provided I can find one that is cheap and reliable enough to put into my truck.

As far as building a truck goes. Well it will not cut into the prime camping/exploring time at all. The reason is that what ever parts I swap over from the current Suburban would be done one part at a time and not all at once. I also know for a fact that a 100% stock Suburban will take me everywhere I want to go without any modifications.

I am both ordering the parts that I need to get this Suburban driving again and looking for lower miles GMT800 or GMT900 Suburbans.

In either case I will be back driving again soon, just know that it will not be my 2011 2500 Suburban.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[skrypj]

skrypj,

Yes you are correct, I would have to build half the stuff anyway, but I also thoroughly enjoy building and customizing my own rig, helps me troubleshoot quicker when something goes wrong on the trail.

I have a couple electrical gremlins that are lurking around that I can not find. Won't let the truck start sometimes unless I disconnect the battery and hook it up backwards for a few seconds, like positive on negative terminal and vice versa. I know thats really bad but so far it has worked at least half a dozen times.

I'm a big fan of Liberties. never owned a CRD but have a couple right now.

My Liberty tractor/side by side

In the process of becoming a Liberty convertible, LOL!

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

The liberty is a cool little rig. The CRD sucked though. SUCKED.

I kinda wished i had gone with a V6 6 speed or something, because the diesel motor was so poorly engineered and built it wasnt funny.

 

[Smileyshaun]

Last 4l60e I had done with upgraded internals was 1850$ installed , so worth it to not have to yank a trans although with your body lift it would be easy to get to everything

 

[Hillbilly Heaven]

Why not consider upgrading to a 4L80e and a few simple wiring changes and doing a reflash?

 

[NevadaLover]

In either case I will be back driving again soon, just know that it will not be my 2011 2500 Suburban.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

I think you are overlooking an important fact about the differences between your 1500 and 2500 burbs, if you had those big cushy road pillows from the 1500 on your 2500 the ride would improve immensely and you may not have had the breakage due to the difference between those soft 37's and the load range E high pressure tires that are currently on the 2500, try some different tires that you can air down and see how much better the 2500 rides!

I went from a '99 1500 burb to a '99 2500 big block burb and couldn't be happier, same size tires on both (265/75-16 BFG KO2) at the same pressure (26 offroad, 40 onroad) and now the piece of mind having HD running gear coupled with big block torque makes me feel safer and more confident in my travels, so don't discount the 2500, try a few easy changes and see the difference!

Whichever way you choose just stay safe and keep up the shenanigans!

 

[CrazyDrei]

I think you are overlooking an important fact about the differences between your 1500 and 2500 burbs, if you had those big cushy road pillows from the 1500 on your 2500 the ride would improve immensely and you may not have had the breakage due to the difference between those soft 37's and the load range E high pressure tires that are currently on the 2500, try some different tires that you can air down and see how much better the 2500 rides!

I went from a '99 1500 burb to a '99 2500 big block burb and couldn't be happier, same size tires on both (265/75-16 BFG KO2) at the same pressure (26 offroad, 40 onroad) and now the piece of mind having HD running gear coupled with big block torque makes me feel safer and more confident in my travels, so don't discount the 2500, try a few easy changes and see the difference!

Whichever way you choose just stay safe and keep up the shenanigans!

NevadaLover,

HAHA, big cushy road pillows, I absolutely love it, no better way to describe 37" tires at 18psi. I am trying to figure out an affordable way to get them onto the 2500 but have not found a way under $4,000.

I guess my big problem is that I pull a 10,000# trailer with the 2500 regularly, and anything I do to make off road ride more comfortable will decrease the safety and performance while towing. Thought about just slapping on a body lift, and a quick trim job to get 35s under it, but I would have to re-gear or constantly switch between 2 sets of wheels.

I will take a GMT400 454 any day, can't find one that I like at a reasonable price.

Ultimately I guess that I am overly passionate at make the 1500 chassis work for my application and completely against ever trying to give a 2500 chassis a chance despite owning one.

I already started taking stuff off this truck, can't wait to see where my next adventure takes me.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[CrazyDrei]

Last 4l60e I had done with upgraded internals was 1850$ installed , so worth it to not have to yank a trans although with your body lift it would be easy to get to everything

Smileyshaun,

I just don't have that kind of a budget, mine is closer to $0 + my labor. So a rebuild will be a no-go unfortunately.

 

[CrazyDrei]

Why not consider upgrading to a 4L80e and a few simple wiring changes and doing a reflash?

Hillbilly Heaven,

Yes, that is one of the options that I am looking at right now. Looking for an affordable running parts truck to pull a 4L80 from, sell the motor and part out the rest to make it completely free. Wiring in a 4L80 is relatively simple and I already have a transmission flash file for HPTuners.

Another option would be to source a truck with an NV3500 or more rare NV4500 and just swap either one in. I did find a GMT400 truck with a NV3500 but did not pull the trigger on it because it doesn't bolt up as well as a GMT800 truck parts would, well mostly the pedal assembly. Automatic trans delete is an easy reflash also.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[CrazyDrei]

Roof rack came off today...

I wonder what kind of shenanigans I am upto...

 

[CrazyDrei]

So I crunched some numbers and decided that if I find a 07-14 Suburban 1500 for under $4,000 I will buy it as a temporary adventure travel truck while I look for parts to fix the 2000 and possibly put a manual transmission in it.

Found this 2007 Yukon XL with 200k miles on it, SLT trim with just about everything but navigation for a price I could not pass up. Previous owner did have the underside coated every two years but it still does have the typical New England rust. However for the price I paid it will be a perfect temporary truck for the next one or two years and I should be able to sell it without taking any financial loss at all.

2000 Sub on the left and 2007 Yukon XL on the right. This is a good side by side comparison of the ground clearance and approach angle between the two trucks. Note the black Sub is sitting on 31" tires up front and 37" tires in the rear, while the Yukon is sitting on 31" tires all the way around.

While I wait to find that donor parts truck to swap the necessary parts into my black Sub I will slowly move some of the interchangeable parts onto the Yukon to make it expedition ready just like the black Sub was until the tranny went out. Starting with the roof rack!

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[CrazyDrei]

Holy cow it's been a while since I have been here!

So last few posts my tranny finally went out in May, I got a 2007 Yukon XL and have been using that as daily driver and roadtripper and adventure mobile. In the mean time I was torn between swapping in a new 4L60E with a ratchet shifter, NV3500 or NV4500 manual swap or 4L80E swap. Got busy and lost track of time but now I am back at it.

Finally have some downtime to continue my shenanigans!

Pulled 4L60, transfer case, torque converter out of the Suburban.

I am entertaining the idea of swapping in a 4L65 into my Suburban. Has anyone swapped a 4L60 out for a 4L65 here, any advantages, disadvantages or potential issues I should be on the lookout for? From I found online it looks like a 100% direct bolt up.

Stay tuned for more shenanigans!

 

[Mekcanix]

Nice to see you back

 

[suburbanite]

Yes! Been wondering where you went. Glad to see you’re still at it