Towing ability of 2004 Suburban 5.3L, 4.10, 4WD

I didn't really have a choice on using Jasper....when I lost reverse in Murray, KY, the Good Sam Roadside assistance folks wanted to take it to a shop in Paducah, an hour away, called Mike's or Scotty's or something. Never heard of them, no website, no info. There used to be a transmission shop in Murray but the guy retired and it closed up, now there are none. I got the name of a shop in a nearby town, but had the tow truck driver tell me they were no good. I finally got the name of a local mechanic in Murray from a guy here on RV.net (who lives in Murray), and so happened he was a Jasper dealer.

The unit wasn't cheap but I got to thinking, if the guy in Paducah gives me a 1 or 2 year warranty and it quits a few states away, what good is the warranty? I would have rather the trans been rebuilt by a skilled rebuilder, it would have been cheaper, but since I was unable to find the right guy, Jasper was a good plan B. The more I think about it, it makes sense since we're all over the country in that truck.

Anyway, you are in a different situation, not being stuck away from home, and I would think that any GM dealer would provide warranty service on a GM crate motor if there was an issue. I'm not sure that I would pay more for a reman vs a crate motor either, but with the level of detail that remans are done at these days I'm not sure there's that much difference between new and reman anymore. Not trying to sell you on Jasper as a better option, just thought it was worth looking at.

Was doing some reading on the Jasper site today relative to installation, and it cautions that if the engine has an external oil cooler (my 8.1 sends engine oil through part of the radiator, not sure about the 5.7) the cooler must be replaced when the new engine is installed. Ironically I just put a new radiator in my burb because the plastic tank that houses the engine oil cooler cracked and was leaking coolant.

I also replaced all the brake and fuel lines this spring, heavy corrosion from too many years of beach camping when we lived on Long Island.

I had a thought about RPM's on the chevy 350 and the transmission shift logic. I wonder if the shift logic with the 4l60 and 80e's let the little small block over rev on a long pulls under the right conditions.

Thanks

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

When we had a 350 main spin about 30 miles east of where you did (yup for real) we priced BRAND NEW crate 350's from GM, coupled with a local installer with nearly 20 years experience, we were at about 3300 installed before tax. It's really hard for me to justify a rebuilt motor that cost more than a factory new crate motor. IIRC the GM new crate motor was about $500 ish more than the GM rebuilt motor.

Good luck with your project. I am also of the opinion that now is the time to change all of the parts that are wearing due to age.

I live close to Monteagle so I do know how brutal these hills can be, especially on older equipment.

Thanks,

Jeremiah.

My main cautionary note relates to scope creep.... How much more will end up deciding to replace when its all said and done. There's a lot of components in your rig that are probably approaching "replace-soon" condition simply due to age. Things like the radiator, fuel pump, spider injection (unless you have TBI), brake lines, cooler lines and other aux components are not uncommon in your vintage GM. Even if they are functioning now, you could be looking at an expanding list of things to replace as parts come out and are analyzed or tested.

Just throwing that out so you aren't hit with sticker shock if those issues come up.

Marty...you said something that gets me...

Am fully retired, but continue to consult and volunteer...deciding whether to
take SS or delay to increase the $$...bottom line on that is how long I 'think'
am going to last... ;(

Mom and dad allowed me to build a 3 car garage on the back of their lot when
was in high school. There is an alley and GREAT for a teen

3 electric welders, one gas welder, plasma arc cutter, drill presses, band saws,
metal and wood working shop. A 12 foot long workbench with a 10Ga galvanized steel
top. 40 gallon, 2 stage compressor and plumbed all over the shop

Home made engine hoist with a 2 ton chained hand lift and did lift the whole
front end of my olk 73 Blazer K5.

3 engine stands, etc, etc...but am hating feeling lazy when there is a need
to get on that cold concrete to wrench something. More and more taking whatever
to the mechanic and paying someone else to do the wrenching that I'd have jumped
at and finished before the end of the day...

IMO, any reputable source will be fine and the biggie is both your gut and the
local shops that will be servicing your Sub

Long tube headers are tuned for low end performance and does make a difference.

Forgive me on locality, as I'm out here in the SF Bayarea and headers do last
longer than you folks back there in severe ambients. Ex's mom is from Nashville
and buddy grew up in Nashville (now Virginia) and in visiting found how cold and
blazingly hot/humid.

That means if you do go headers, suggest having them ceramic coated (Jet). Might
be a bit too much overhead for you, but when my Sub goes headers, they will be
ceramic coated

Knew you already had the tow package and the OEM external ATF cooler, but I'm
of the opinion (greatly debated here and other forums) of going as large as
you can. Albeit know that ATF can be too low in temp. ATF needs enough temp to
vaporize any possible moisture during cool down over nite. Develops or turns
acidic to rot out the tranny from the inside.

Also know in your area there are some pretty good hills/mountain ranges. That
is where the ATF takes a beating...along with towing heavy

Since I keep mine a loooong time, know and learned to keep my temps on the low
side of the spec. Both vehicle spec and fluid spec

Can not stress how important it is to get a solid or more solid bottom end and
that means a 4 bolt

BurbMan, I've done rebuilds and swaps in the past, but I'm too darn old to do those anymore, and I don't have much electronic equipment for the new computer stuff. Once carburetors and throttle bodies went away I'm sorta out of the loop.

I've gotten quotes on the engine swap (not trans yet) from a couple of folks, and while I don't want to keep a man from making a living, I still want to get as good a job as I can for a reasonable price. One shop quoted me the same price as I got from my local Chevy dealer. Too much. After explaining he was high, he did come down $600, but I still think he's a little high, but this was with the higher cost Jasper engine.

Your mention of Jasper does get me to wondering. If our local shop mentioned Jasper and since there are so many dealers across the land maybe this is a good way to get across-country coverage while traveling? Even with a GM crate engine, I'm not sure that the installation would be covered anywhere other than where we have it done. It does get me thinking about Jasper a bit more. I'm going to study their engines and transmissions. Maybe I can get a break by getting both from the same place?
MartyW

Marty, sounds like you are ahead of me on research, I just thought I would throw that option out if you weren't familiar with those guys. You're certainly not going to go wrong with a GM crate engine either. Are you doing the transplant yourself? If so, I would run the trans over to a local rebuilder and let them work on the 4L60E while you;re doing the motor swap.

Thanks BenK and BurbMan for the info.

BenK, Our '98 came from the factory with the Z82 heavy duty towing options, so it has external engine oil cooler and external trans cooler. The trans cooler is good size but not as large as some I've seen. Do folks often replace the stock HD trans cooler with larger ones?

BurbMan, the Jasper rebuilt 5.7L (with RV cam) (not sure if 2 or 4 bolt main) is what my local shop recommends but the price is roughly $2650 after paying shipping, tax, etc, whereas the 4-bolt GM crate engine with 100k mile warranty can be at our door for $2100. I've had GM crate engines before and never had any problems. Thanks and I'll do some checking on the Jasper engine and trans units.

MartyW