Towing ability of 2004 Suburban 5.3L, 4.10, 4WD
Can anyone give first hand knowledge of the towing abilities of a 2004 Suburban 4WD with 5.3L engine and 4.10 axles? It is 7200 MVGW and has Z82 hd towing rpo. Thanks!
Forum Discussion
Thanks for the replies.
BenK, Thanks for the header info. From my limited exposure, and we're near Nashville, many headers I've seen seem to have gasket exhaust leak issues. Maybe cheap headers but I've always been a bit fearful of them for towing and getting them stinking hot climbing these Tn hills. Maybe I need to change my thinking if ceramic coating can change things.
Carringb, Thanks for the warning, but our '98 burb has been well maintained. A close friend at a local Chevy dealership has been watching it pretty closely for the past few years. I always ask him about rust and the body & frame are still very good. He did mention that the AC condenser had some rusty connections when he changed it a couple years ago, but this was probably from catching brine in the front, as it is our snow & bad weather vehicle. One of the reasons for deciding on the swap is because our '98 is a known quanty for 8+ years. The fuel pump, and both cats have already been replaced along with most sensors, ac compressor and ps pump/line. I do expect the ac lines from front to rear and brake lines to go one day but those aren't that big of a deal when just replacing all of them. I know folks who have done this.
Jeremiah, Misery loves company ha ha, and so you know for sure how brutal Monteagle is. My chevy tech friend has a newer truck with 6.0L engine and he won't go over Monteagle. He goes south into Alabama and then eastward when going to Florida or the east coast. He says that mountain is too rough on any engine. I think I've learned my lesson, well maybe... I think that with the new engine I'll probably run full synthetic oil from day one. I've been told by several folks that due to synthetic oil molecules being smaller than non-synthetic, that my original engine might have made it over that mountain that day if I had been running full synthetic. As I understand it only takes a dry spot for a split second to spin a bearing and maybe with the smaller synthetic molecules maybe that spot wouldn't have been totally dry? When mine spun I was going west to east, the brutal hill. The east to west grade seems a bit more liveable, but that west to east hill is a monster. I'm scratching my head also on why spend more on a rebuilt motor than a GM new crate motor as I've had new GM crate motors before with not a single problem. But on the Jasper side, the engine priced to us was with an RV cam that would be better for towing (I don't know if 4-bolt or not, but I'll find out). I see that Jasper has transmissions also, and if either an engine or transmission problem could be fixed under warranty when away from home with so many Jasper dealers nationwide, it is peaking my interest and ponderment...
MartyW
BenK, Thanks for the header info. From my limited exposure, and we're near Nashville, many headers I've seen seem to have gasket exhaust leak issues. Maybe cheap headers but I've always been a bit fearful of them for towing and getting them stinking hot climbing these Tn hills. Maybe I need to change my thinking if ceramic coating can change things.
Carringb, Thanks for the warning, but our '98 burb has been well maintained. A close friend at a local Chevy dealership has been watching it pretty closely for the past few years. I always ask him about rust and the body & frame are still very good. He did mention that the AC condenser had some rusty connections when he changed it a couple years ago, but this was probably from catching brine in the front, as it is our snow & bad weather vehicle. One of the reasons for deciding on the swap is because our '98 is a known quanty for 8+ years. The fuel pump, and both cats have already been replaced along with most sensors, ac compressor and ps pump/line. I do expect the ac lines from front to rear and brake lines to go one day but those aren't that big of a deal when just replacing all of them. I know folks who have done this.
Jeremiah, Misery loves company ha ha, and so you know for sure how brutal Monteagle is. My chevy tech friend has a newer truck with 6.0L engine and he won't go over Monteagle. He goes south into Alabama and then eastward when going to Florida or the east coast. He says that mountain is too rough on any engine. I think I've learned my lesson, well maybe... I think that with the new engine I'll probably run full synthetic oil from day one. I've been told by several folks that due to synthetic oil molecules being smaller than non-synthetic, that my original engine might have made it over that mountain that day if I had been running full synthetic. As I understand it only takes a dry spot for a split second to spin a bearing and maybe with the smaller synthetic molecules maybe that spot wouldn't have been totally dry? When mine spun I was going west to east, the brutal hill. The east to west grade seems a bit more liveable, but that west to east hill is a monster. I'm scratching my head also on why spend more on a rebuilt motor than a GM new crate motor as I've had new GM crate motors before with not a single problem. But on the Jasper side, the engine priced to us was with an RV cam that would be better for towing (I don't know if 4-bolt or not, but I'll find out). I see that Jasper has transmissions also, and if either an engine or transmission problem could be fixed under warranty when away from home with so many Jasper dealers nationwide, it is peaking my interest and ponderment...
MartyW
