Bro's new used Expy- is a Suburban!

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UncleS2

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May 27, 2002
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Far North East Texas
Well, after all that about Expeditions & Navigators- how do I say this-
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today he bought a Suburban!
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He found an extra nice 97 Suburban, 122K mi, low $$, & price talks strong now. He was gonna pass, but drove it & was convinced. It'll have plenty of room for all their stuff, even more than an Expy! The words "cream puff" came up, so I assume it really is in very nice shape & had a relatively easy life- I think it was a grandparent's wagon.

I assume any good 5w/10w30 oil will be OK in the Suburban with a 97 vintage Chevy V8(late version 350?). If he'll buy a filter I'll donate the oil for the first oil change.

OK- what to watch for on 97 Suburbans?
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I know, but still have to ask!
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My 2000 Suburban (newer style) has 130K miles now and nothing, absolutely nothing has gone wrong. Just general maintenance.

I use 5w30 conventional, and usually need to add one quart between OCIs. I rely on the OLM.
 
Keep the transmission cool ,big cooler,extra deep pan that type of thing .G-o5 coolant.You can use cheap autolite plugs no problem.Eventually the fuel pump will go but it'll give you notice.Waterpump, same (two week weep hole notice max).Very low maint., vehicle it will be happy with any good dino concoction.
 
Lower intake manifold gasket, transmission. The fuel regulator in the injection spider will die eventually, so might as well do that with the intake gasket. The printed circuits in the taillights are a $70 item - I have had to do one and may have another waiting on me. Tell him to be careful when replacing the distributor cap, as the distributor base is plastic and the boss tabs may split. The A/C compressors tend to develop leaks between the case halves.
 
With that many miles I would pull the alternator and replace the brushes, and bearings. Also I would pull the starter and replace the brushes, clean the commutator (be sure to clean out the slots between sections, and if required make them a little deeper), put on a new bendix, and a very small dab of grease on each end of the shaft. If you do this your self the parts are low cost and it would eliminate the probability of those items failing for the next 50K miles.

I do not know the set up for the belt(s) for that vehicle but if it has an idler pulley put a new one on it with the spring tensioner, and new belt(s).

You could also flush the cooling system and put new 50/50 mix of coolant in it.

Some people would also change the power stearing fluid, brake fluid, rear end oil, and replace u joints with new heavy duty ones.

Also grease the front end.
 
Do a used oil analysis to look for Na, K and glycol. Other than that, use whatever, it will do fine. I like syn 5w30 or give 5w-40 a try if the use will be a bit harder.

Get new fluids in the radiator, AT, diffs and TC more importantly!!!
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
And after all of the lovely information that was shared about whatever Ford it was supposed to be...

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Yup- it never fails, especially with him!
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Oh well- I'll see it this weekend, he's bringin' the kids in Friday night.
 
If he's in Texas like you, I'd use 10w30 year-round.

No real need for a 5w30 down there. 10w30 is just a touch more robust.

If you/he are willing to step 'outside the box' on the oil, a HDEO 10w30 like Rotella 10w30 would be great in that engine.
 
Yup, sounds lke a good idea. For the 1st oil change, I'm gonna give him from my stockpile- 3 qts 10w30 Havoline Synthetic(all I have of that), + 3 qts Havoline conventional 10w30(1 for top up).

Oil is ~4 yrs old, dino is early Havoline SM, round-shouldered black bottle, high moly count(almost 500 ppm IIRC). It should get him down the road for about 5-6K, & then he can decide what to put in it!
 
Originally Posted By: Stuart Hughes
Pix? I haven't seen it in person yet- but the dealership still has the ad up. Note the text says GMC, but shows a Chevy!
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Click in the middle of the photo to enlarge, you can then see all photos in largr size. Link: http://www.covertford.com/used-inventory/3GNEC16R2VG144801#


That's a sharp looking unit. The red looks great!

Everything I see says "Chevrolet"..... ???
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Originally Posted By: Stuart Hughes
Pix? I haven't seen it in person yet- but the dealership still has the ad up. Note the text says GMC, but shows a Chevy!
grin2.gif
Click in the middle of the photo to enlarge, you can then see all photos in largr size. Link: http://www.covertford.com/used-inventory/3GNEC16R2VG144801#


That's a sharp looking unit. The red looks great!

Everything I see says "Chevrolet"..... ???


Wow- it *does* say Chevrolet.
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I guess they fixed the text after they sold it! Barring big plan changes, I'll see it late tonight.
 
Very sharp. Victory Red is one of my favorites on a Chevy. Probably was made in Beloit, WI before they shut down the factory.

Does your brother take good care of his vehicles? I sense some hesitation in your post.
 
Does your brother take good care of his vehicles? I sense some hesitation in your post.


Well, for his past track record- he gets lots of miles out of 'em, but otherwise- No Comment.
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Sorry you missed the pix- it looked just as good in person too, but with everything going on, I took nothing myself. Maybe this weekend.

Of course it couldn't be perfect, the 1st wart showed up last Sat night- CK ENGINE light came on. He had it plugged in & read- says O2 sensor problem. On the plus side- including over an hour of idling to run the A/C, plus taking over an hour to get out of the airfield where they went to see the Great Texas Balloon Race(*thousands* there, only one exit gate opened- talk about irresponsible!)- on a long roundabout return trip home, with at least 2 hrs idlie/run time wasted at balloon show- it still got 17.5 mpg. 5000 lbs, 13 yrs old, 122,xxx miles, 350 V8- I say not bad at all!
 
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