Ode to An 03 Suburban

[53' Stude]

Originally Posted by A_Spruce

I love my Burb! She's been a great vehicle, comfortable, reasonably quiet, spacious as long as you're not using it as a haul vehicle, 'cuz it ain't a truck! :lol: 3 row seating, 3rd row removable and 2nd row folds flat, can get full sheets of plywood in. Good tow capacity too!

RIGHT ON BRO !! Burban man over here in Dallas. I have 2 right now, One for my local business and another out of state for business also. One is my daily driver a loaded black on black 2001 5.3 LT G80/GT4, New recovered front seats and still kicking strong @ 320K miles running M1 5W30 truck/Suv I picked up outside Dallas for $1500 Other is a rare orange/maroon '02 5.3 flexfuel LS 170K miles that I picked up for $1200 wholesale running and driving. Tune up, Shocks, brakes, Basic trans service(Solenoids, Fluid, Filter/kit.) she's kicking STRONG !!! Even my transmission buddy was speechless lol Dave

Nice vehicles Dave

 

[GMguy84]

If i keep finding GOOD deals on these rigs, No longer oil clearance king I'm going to be called the "Suburban King"


Dave

 

[350Rocket]

I would like one as a backup work rig/daily driver but I never see good deals on them. Seems like they're in high demand. My neighbor has around an 02, 2wd, that I drool over, looks like he takes good care of it. It's always pulling a trailer though.

$2000 for one with a broken frame and bad fuel pump. $2500 for another with 380,000kms, runs good, ideal for parts. Nothing else below $4000.

 

[A_Spruce]

I ran into the same thing when looking for my 03, most were virtual derelicts at top dollar, when I found Baby at $5400, I jumped on her! I periodically look for used trucks, because I need one, and it's the same deal, absolute thrashed garbage is still asking top dollar. I don't get it, but then, everyone seems to think they've got gold when reality is, they've got dog turds.

 

[A_Spruce]

Latest update:

I crawled under the Burb last weekend and relubed a number of suspension hinge points. The good news is that the ride noise and harshness has almost completely gone away. The clunk is still present, but greatly diminished. The only difference this time over the last suspension lube is that I got the rear sway bar bushings that attach to the frame. I somehow managed to miss those the last time around. I think this is where the "clunk" is coming from and I intend to keep hitting all the hinge points with lube until the clunk goes away. I'm not sure if any of the bushing, specifically the sway bar bushings, need replacement or simply need some lube after 17 years. They don't look bad under inspection, but obviously this is where the noise is coming from.

On an unrelated note, I've also been having AC issues. Started off about two months ago having poor cooling issue, leak tested (ok) and recharged (24oz) it was good for a couple weeks, then went out. The pressure switch bit the dust. A couple weeks later it's not cooling at all, zero! I also notice green dye all over the receiver dryer and surrounding area. The low pressure tube out of the firewall ruptured. That has now been fixed and the system recharged. It's definitely blowing colder again, but with only a 2 minle drive home from the shop, it wasn't able to blow all of the hot air out of the cabin before I got home. It was cold, but not "cold" like you really want on a hot day. Again, I attribute this to not enough time for the system to overcome the heat within the cabin on the short drive home. Fingers crossed, the AC is finally fixed for the duration!

 

[A_Spruce]

Anybody got any particular car care products they like? I'm looking for a tire and trim product that doesn't leave a greasy film. The latest one I've tried goes on greasy and gooey, then completely vanishes once it dries. By completely vanishes, I mean that you might as well never have used anything at all, it goes completely away.