New family vehicle! 05 Suburban

Joined
May 16, 2011
Messages
1,514
Location
Greenville, SC via Chicago, IL
My wife and I were in a predicament as we just found out we were expecting our 3rd child. A 3rd child means that my hatchback Elantra is no longer feasible. My wife’s Highlander would continue to meet our needs, but isn’t optimal. We also need a vehicle that can tow a 19ft boat, which the Highlander can do.

We decided to sell my Elantra, and purchase my wife a Grand Caravan, and I’d drive the Highlander. I started a thread here about the Grand Caravans.

We put the Elantra up for sale and in two months we had 2 inquiries. No one was interested in a 6 speed and I wasn’t willing to simply give it away…

A few months ago my 100 yr old, Purple Heart recipient, grandfather and his wife passed any within 4 days of each other. A movie could be made about this man. He was truly special.

With his passing, my father inherited his 2005 Suburban LT 4x4 that was purchased new.

My father wanted to keep it and that was the plan.

I called him the night before we were going to travel three states over to purchase my wife the Grand Caravan and he told me that he decided to sell me the Suburban. With one income and another child on the way, he didn’t want us to carry a car payment, it was safe for the kids, and he knew it would tow our boat with ease.

So here it is. 2005 Suburban 4x4 LT, leather, sun roof, bench seats, Dvd system, trailer package. 67k miles. It was a new trans due to a failure with the trans cooler/radiator, and new tires. The truck still smells like my grandfather… :)

It has a few small dents, the tach doesn't work, but is overall in excellent condition. We’re VERY fortunate!

We sold the Highlander for what we paid for it 40k miles ago. I'll drive the Elantra to and from work.
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One thing I don't know is how to properly engage the 4x4? Moving, in neutral, etc!
Me neither but i'm sure youtube has a video. You aren't going to NEED 4x4 ,regardless you should shift in and out of 4wd and low range every month or so just to exercise whatever Rube Goldberg linkages it has. 😃
 
Very nice! Sorry to hear about your grandfather and his wife. Kudos to him for his service to our country!
Amen ! God bless all that served and are serving out nation ! :)
Best of luck on the Suburban and the new child that is on the way .

God bless
Wyr
 
The instrument clusters from this generation are problematic and and it looks like your tachometer might need a stepper motor. The stepper motors for the individual gauges often fail. My speedometer failed on my 2005 Avalanche and my local speedometer shop replaced all of them in the cluster for $200. The cluster is easy to take out by just pulling off the trim piece, no screws holding it in, then a couple of screws to remove the cluster then, unplug the harness. My Avalanche, which is the same color as your Suburban, has 217,000 miles and still runs great. Yours has plenty of life left in it!
 
I am sure you will love the Suburban. There are times I wish I had a Suburban instead of a Tahoe. Sorry to hear about your grandfather and his wife.
 
Looks like a great SUV!! Even though I am a Ford guy, I have always liked those Suburbans and Tahoes. Also very sorry about your grandfather and grandmother, they sounded like awesome people.
 
To the OP. Check the rear cargo area for a wet floor. Where the rear hatch locks to the floor, pull up the carpet behind that and feel the padding and the metal floor for dampness. Those year burbans were prone to leaking and window hinges to become un-bonded from the glass. My mother had one for 260k, very reliable powertrain, excellent ride quality / handling for such a whale but the rear always leaked and window became unusable due to the hinge problem. Not ragging on your new ride, just making you aware of a couple things to keep an eye on. Congrats on the burb!
 
There is a cottage industry of people that work on the clusters.. ha ha. My 01 Tahoe's went awry.

I found a guy locally on CL, had it done within an hour.
 
There is a cottage industry of people that work on the clusters.. ha ha. My 01 Tahoe's went awry.

I found a guy locally on CL, had it done within an hour.

Have owned many of that gen truck and never had a problem with the clusters 99-02 style

But the 03-06(2007 classic) another story. They ALL have the stepper motor issues.


Dave
 
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