Kyle Kelso
Adventurer
I like that. Where are your mics? And I thought I had a lot going on in my trucks up front, guess not! Haha
'Burb buying advice
- Thread starter Kyle Kelso
- Start date
rayra
Expedition Leader
Those were cardboard mockups in that pic. I've since mounted the CB (Uniden PRO520XL). I left enough clearance behind the sliding door - and space inside - to attach the mics and leave them in there. Still need to hang a mic clip somewhere, probably on the right tab of my tablet mount. But maybe instead on a lower bracket by the AC controls so the mic cord doesn't interfere with the stereo controls. Thinking about a Yaesu FT-2900R, still need to get my license. I have an inexpensive Baofeng handheld I've been using to get familiar, but need to cram for the test and get it over with.
Kyle Kelso
Adventurer
Well, I pulled the trigger and drove home a 2004 2500 suburban LT tonight. It has just under 240,000km (not miles) and I picked it up for under $5000.
It's not without issues, but I think for the price I'm doing alright
More to come tomorrow..
It's not without issues, but I think for the price I'm doing alright
More to come tomorrow..
Kyle Kelso
Adventurer
Alright, here's the scoop.
The truck has the 6.0 with 4L80e, 3.73 gears and the g80 rear end. It has approximately 235,000km on it and it starts and runs nicely. It has some bizarre history, it was first registered here in Alberta then immediately exported into the states where it changed hands a few times over the first few years and was then imported back into Alberta where it has had 2 owners since 2007 prior to me. It also had a couple small insurance claims around the time of import, no details though and under $2 grand total so I wasn't too worried. It does have the overhead heater controls in degrees F which is odd, everything else is metric. I bought it from a nice elderly couple who used it as a tow vehicle since 2011. The interior is in nice shape except from an awful aftermarket double din radio head unit and 1 small crack in the side of the driver's seat. It has a sunroof, heated leather seats and the automatic digital climate control but it is working properly at this point. I folded up the 3rd row and my kid jumped into the back and had a dance party!
On to the negatives...
The tires are done, no big deal now I can justify buying good ones right away. The fronts are heavily worn on the outer edges, red flag for front end issues. What I believe to be the steering box is leaking... I'll snap a picture this evening. Shocks are leaking/blown, again it's justification for immediate improvement. Bump stops are heavily damaged (read: hanging by a tread, literally!) When I drove it I found that there is a "creek-like" clunk in the front end. It does it driving straight over bumps and turning on smooth road... It tracked nice and straight and although feeling loose/light, there is no noticeable play in the steering. The transfer case seems to shift fine although I don't think the front diff is disengaging. Even in 2wd the front tires push loose turning a slow circle, although much less than in 4hi.
The rust is worse than I anticipated. Drivers side is not too bad in front of the rear wheel but the passenger side has rotted through in that spot and above the tailpipe is pretty bubbly also. I'll likely do a color matched bedliner on the bottom of the body line, I'll talk to my autobody neighbor to get a plan of attack on the rust repair.
Driving home I found the speedo off close to 10%! The tripmeter read 262.5km and I calculated 12.7L/100 km for the trip. I then realized it had 285/75R16 tires on it... correcting for the tire offset that's 11.8L/100 km or 19.9mpg if my math is right! It was flat prarie driving at about 110km/hr the whole time with cruise control on, but I was still blown away by that. RPM was around 2000. I did hit one small hill with the cruise on and the truck down shifted almost straight to 2nd gear and threw an engine code. It barely saw 3rd gear before revving right up to 4000rpm! It only lasted a couple seconds (small hill) before it composed itself but I didn't like how quickly it hit 2nd gear and that's when the CEL came on. I have been driving diesels and/or manuals for several years and don't think I've ever had a 4spd auto, is that normal?? Should I just avoid cruise in the hills?
I'm disappointed to find the tires are already 285/75r16, I assumed they were the stock 245s so I was looking forward to going up slightly (maybe a 255/85r16) but that would actually be smaller now, I definitely don't want to go any smaller. Anyone else running 285s on 16x6.5 rims? Should I be looking for wider (or even 17" wheels)?
I think that's all to report for now. I think I'll replace the double din radio with a single din and my cb should fit below it, leaving room for a vhf unit in the "console" cubbie space in front of the cup holders.
I'll change ALL the fluids in the truck right away and investigate the front end and CEL. I'll do a tune up sooner than later but it seems to run pretty smooth so it's not a priority. Anything else I should be looking into?
Thanks for all the advise and comments from everybody!!
The truck has the 6.0 with 4L80e, 3.73 gears and the g80 rear end. It has approximately 235,000km on it and it starts and runs nicely. It has some bizarre history, it was first registered here in Alberta then immediately exported into the states where it changed hands a few times over the first few years and was then imported back into Alberta where it has had 2 owners since 2007 prior to me. It also had a couple small insurance claims around the time of import, no details though and under $2 grand total so I wasn't too worried. It does have the overhead heater controls in degrees F which is odd, everything else is metric. I bought it from a nice elderly couple who used it as a tow vehicle since 2011. The interior is in nice shape except from an awful aftermarket double din radio head unit and 1 small crack in the side of the driver's seat. It has a sunroof, heated leather seats and the automatic digital climate control but it is working properly at this point. I folded up the 3rd row and my kid jumped into the back and had a dance party!
On to the negatives...
The tires are done, no big deal now I can justify buying good ones right away. The fronts are heavily worn on the outer edges, red flag for front end issues. What I believe to be the steering box is leaking... I'll snap a picture this evening. Shocks are leaking/blown, again it's justification for immediate improvement. Bump stops are heavily damaged (read: hanging by a tread, literally!) When I drove it I found that there is a "creek-like" clunk in the front end. It does it driving straight over bumps and turning on smooth road... It tracked nice and straight and although feeling loose/light, there is no noticeable play in the steering. The transfer case seems to shift fine although I don't think the front diff is disengaging. Even in 2wd the front tires push loose turning a slow circle, although much less than in 4hi.
The rust is worse than I anticipated. Drivers side is not too bad in front of the rear wheel but the passenger side has rotted through in that spot and above the tailpipe is pretty bubbly also. I'll likely do a color matched bedliner on the bottom of the body line, I'll talk to my autobody neighbor to get a plan of attack on the rust repair.
Driving home I found the speedo off close to 10%! The tripmeter read 262.5km and I calculated 12.7L/100 km for the trip. I then realized it had 285/75R16 tires on it... correcting for the tire offset that's 11.8L/100 km or 19.9mpg if my math is right! It was flat prarie driving at about 110km/hr the whole time with cruise control on, but I was still blown away by that. RPM was around 2000. I did hit one small hill with the cruise on and the truck down shifted almost straight to 2nd gear and threw an engine code. It barely saw 3rd gear before revving right up to 4000rpm! It only lasted a couple seconds (small hill) before it composed itself but I didn't like how quickly it hit 2nd gear and that's when the CEL came on. I have been driving diesels and/or manuals for several years and don't think I've ever had a 4spd auto, is that normal?? Should I just avoid cruise in the hills?
I'm disappointed to find the tires are already 285/75r16, I assumed they were the stock 245s so I was looking forward to going up slightly (maybe a 255/85r16) but that would actually be smaller now, I definitely don't want to go any smaller. Anyone else running 285s on 16x6.5 rims? Should I be looking for wider (or even 17" wheels)?
I think that's all to report for now. I think I'll replace the double din radio with a single din and my cb should fit below it, leaving room for a vhf unit in the "console" cubbie space in front of the cup holders.
I'll change ALL the fluids in the truck right away and investigate the front end and CEL. I'll do a tune up sooner than later but it seems to run pretty smooth so it's not a priority. Anything else I should be looking into?
Thanks for all the advise and comments from everybody!!
rayra
Expedition Leader
Inspect ball joints, all suspension bushings, steering pitman and idler arms, tie rod ends. In fact just go over everything and take nothing for granted.
I've had excellent experience with rockauto.com for basic / OEM parts. Prices far lower than chain-stores.
Double check your math on the mileage, tire size variance, etc, 20mpg seems impossible.
Congrats on what looks like a good deal. Yours is the type of vehicle I was trying to find around L.A. 3yrs ago.
I've had excellent experience with rockauto.com for basic / OEM parts. Prices far lower than chain-stores.
Double check your math on the mileage, tire size variance, etc, 20mpg seems impossible.
Congrats on what looks like a good deal. Yours is the type of vehicle I was trying to find around L.A. 3yrs ago.
Kyle Kelso
Adventurer
I thought so too rayra, regarding fuel economy. I even calculated the trip using Google maps for distance and I got 19.2mpg! And I'm talking US gallons, not old school canadian imperial gallons either. Maybe the fuel pump kicked off early? I was shocked!
tbisaacs
Adventurer
I bought my Suburban with slightly higher miles (175k) and no history, other than a small fender bender in 2005.
I did a full panel of fluids (oil, diffs, t-case, trans, etc) and tires right away (285/70/17). I pretty quickly ran into other maintenance issues.
Note, these are all super common with GMT800. Mine is a 5.3, so your 6.0 may fair better:
I did a full panel of fluids (oil, diffs, t-case, trans, etc) and tires right away (285/70/17). I pretty quickly ran into other maintenance issues.
Note, these are all super common with GMT800. Mine is a 5.3, so your 6.0 may fair better:
- Got a code for MAF when downshifting to go up a mountain pass. Replaced MAF, did air filter while I was at it.
- Got "too lean" coad on both banks. Replaced intake manifold gaskets. Was going to do knock sensors too but they were in good shape.
- Replaced breaks and rotors and e-brake mechanism. Also a huge difference.
- Ride was terrible. Just did bilstein 5100's all around as well as new links/bushings. Dramatic difference. My cv's, tie-rods, etc are all in good shape but probably need greased (there a zerk fittings everywhere).
- Kept getting whiffs of oil at startup. Replaced PCV fitting, and ended up draining a ton of oil out of the manifold (rayra has an excellent thread on this)
- Speaking of leaks, I got em. Oil pan gasket is leaking (will address soon). Hydroboost leaks a bit—although some stop leak has slowed it down a bunch. And I think my transcooler lines are dripping where they go into the radiator. None of these are particularly severe, but it's something i watch constantly.
- Driver's seat is really wacky. Seat heaters are dead and the fore/aft adjustment doesn't work. In my research—those things are always related.
Martinjmpr
Wiffleball Batter
.
Mine is the same way and I have heard the same thing. Except in my case the fore/aft works fine it's the up/down that doesn't work, and neither do the driver's seat heaters. Passenger seat heater works fine (which is the only one I really need anyway.)
I found out after I replaced the seat leather that if it clicks when you push the button for the seats then the screw may have just adjusted too tight for the motor to break it free.
If you look under the seat there is an e torx screw at the front part and there is one on the back side of the seat that is attached to a plastic looking piece that goes back to the screw part of the motor. The one on the front moves the front part of the seat up and down and the one at the back moves the back part. If you take that screw out then the seat can be moved up and down by hand. You can check the motor by pressing the button. If it works then you twist the black section it should break free to rotate on the screw rod. Put the screw back in and it should continue to work as usual.
If you look under the seat there is an e torx screw at the front part and there is one on the back side of the seat that is attached to a plastic looking piece that goes back to the screw part of the motor. The one on the front moves the front part of the seat up and down and the one at the back moves the back part. If you take that screw out then the seat can be moved up and down by hand. You can check the motor by pressing the button. If it works then you twist the black section it should break free to rotate on the screw rod. Put the screw back in and it should continue to work as usual.
jeep-N-montero
Expedition Leader
Those bigger tires without recalibrating the programming is usually a recipe for a transmission kickdown issue, a Hypertech or other brand programmer will allow you to get everything set up properly, but even then the 3.73's are not really sufficient for anything over 235/85's. I have the same exact motor/gear setup in our 2003 Yukon 2500 and am sticking with the stock 245's until they wear out, came with new tires when I bought it in December and plan to go with 235/85's on stock wheels when the time comes. When I installed the Airaid intake along with new plugs and wires I also installed the Hypertech programmer and it is a nice kick in the pants. As for the exhaust leave it stock, these trucks came with a great setup stock and actually lose quite a bit of low end when folks "upgrade" the exhaust. I came from a diesel Silverado because we needed something to load up with people and tow our boat, it will never see much more than rough dirt roads but will do it in comfort.
Kyle Kelso
Adventurer
Thanks, I appreciate that feedback! I have heard a programmer helps wake these engines up a bit. Are you talking about reprogramming the transmission also with it or does entering a larger tire size help it figure things out? I had a programmer on my 6.7 Superduty but it had a "learning" transmission controller so the tuner really just firmed up the shifts (too much for my liking...)
As for the tires with 3.73 gearing, it sure feels right for me. It has adequate torque to get moving and was at 2000rpm cruising at posted highway speed. If I was towing heavy I'm sure the added grunt from smaller tires would be beneficial but for me I'll just be revving higher on the highway...
I know the 285s shouldn't technically be mounted on the stock rims, but I really like the way it sits right now. The 255s are very limited and 235s I considered when I thought these were stock size but I really don't want to go an inch shorter.
upcruiser
Perpetual Transient
I have an '04 2500 with the 6.0, 4.10's and 285's on the stock wheels. I think they look great and am not getting any unusual wear even when fully inflated for towing. The gearing seems great for low range slow speed stuff but the limit of what we use this truck for is unimproved roads and bad two tracks at the very worst. If we were going to be doing of any technical nature I would want at least 35's and the subsequent 5" lift to compensate for the 130" wheelbase. Driving on the highway I seem to get 14-15 hand calculated but not adjusted for the 285's so that should be a touch higher. My speedo seems to be about 4mph off. Your mileage has me pretty jealous! I really enjoy this truck for what I use it for but I swapped out the shocks for 5100 Bilsteins and installed onboard air so I can air down easily on dirt. The stock ride was pretty harsh and tiring and this made long days in the dirt a lot more enjoyable. Thought I would share.
jeep-N-montero
Expedition Leader
It allows you to calibrate/adjust for tire size and shift points resulting in a happier transmission.