95 suburban engine mods

MartyW wrote:
I've had the same dilemma you're describing for the past year and I finally made a decision just a week or so ago, and the decision was not what I thought I'd make. We have a 1998 K1500 5.7L 3.42 gears Suburban that we've had for about 8 years, and we've loved it but it never liked pulling heavy up these Tennessee hills. About a year ago our engine with 155k miles spun a bearing towing and we got a used engine for it for temporary until we could figure out what we wanted to do. We don't put many miles on the burb and old (and simpler) is ok with us for a TV.

I posted a thread on the towing forum just a few weeks ago when my wife and I had almost made the decision to buy a nice 2004 K1500 burb with 5.3L, 4.10 gears & 113k miles. I got great feedback on that thread and the thread ended with my wife and I deciding not to purchase the 2004 but to instead rebuild the 5.7L and probably the transmission too.

But even though we've had our burb for a long time and know what all has been replaced, we still weren't comfortable with spending the $$ for the engine & trans replacement knowing that it didn't like these hills a lot.

I think every once and a while the Gods do smile on us, and they finally smiled on my wife and I in our dilemma as we found a clean rust free 1997 K2500 Suburban 7.4L with 3.73 gears. It will need some new TLC and fixes, but that engine doesn't even know when its on a hill, its amazing. What torque. My brother-in-law has had big blocks for years and I know he always got better mileage towing than I did with the small blocks.

Many will probably say I've lost my mind (and they may be correct), but in our particular situation, I'm thrilled. I believe we'll have a reliable and maintainable machine. Parts are available everywhere and relatively inexpensive.

Good luck with your dilemma and decision,
Marty

1997 GMC Suburban K2500 7.4L 3.73
1998 GMC Suburban K1500 5.7L 3.42
2000 Chevy Astro AWD 4.3L 3.73

To OP!!! Here is your answer!^^^^^ Marty, I watched your thread. Glad you found a good TV. Chris

I've had the same dilemma you're describing for the past year and I finally made a decision just a week or so ago, and the decision was not what I thought I'd make. We have a 1998 K1500 5.7L 3.42 gears Suburban that we've had for about 8 years, and we've loved it but it never liked pulling heavy up these Tennessee hills. About a year ago our engine with 155k miles spun a bearing towing and we got a used engine for it for temporary until we could figure out what we wanted to do. We don't put many miles on the burb and old (and simpler) is ok with us for a TV.

I posted a thread on the towing forum just a few weeks ago when my wife and I had almost made the decision to buy a nice 2004 K1500 burb with 5.3L, 4.10 gears & 113k miles. I got great feedback on that thread and the thread ended with my wife and I deciding not to purchase the 2004 but to instead rebuild the 5.7L and probably the transmission too.

But even though we've had our burb for a long time and know what all has been replaced, we still weren't comfortable with spending the $$ for the engine & trans replacement knowing that it didn't like these hills a lot.

I think every once and a while the Gods do smile on us, and they finally smiled on my wife and I in our dilemma as we found a clean rust free 1997 K2500 Suburban 7.4L with 3.73 gears. It will need some new TLC and fixes, but that engine doesn't even know when its on a hill, its amazing. What torque. My brother-in-law has had big blocks for years and I know he always got better mileage towing than I did with the small blocks.

Many will probably say I've lost my mind (and they may be correct), but in our particular situation, I'm thrilled. I believe we'll have a reliable and maintainable machine. Parts are available everywhere and relatively inexpensive.

Good luck with your dilemma and decision,
Marty

1997 GMC Suburban K2500 7.4L 3.73
1998 GMC Suburban K1500 5.7L 3.42
2000 Chevy Astro AWD 4.3L 3.73

jerem0621 wrote:
Yea I am with the others. If it's bogging down there is something wrong. Are you 100% sure that it has 3.73? What you are describing kind of sounds like 3.08's

Mine with the 3.42 gears is pretty "boggy" too, just gotta learn to use momentum when available to go and avoid building momentum when you want to stop! If you have a 2wd it might be less expensive to buy a used 3/4 ton rear ent (10 bolt) with the lower gears already installed, especially if you can do the swap yourself! My FIL has a 3/4 ton with a 305 that pulls better than my 350 because he has a much lower gear ratio.

First fix: the exhaust. Someone once told me the TBI Chevy mufflers would choke a Yugo. I didn't believe him...until I cut one open. Wow, AWFUL! (I also recall the 350's used a single 2" system.) A free-flow exhaust will probably be worth 20HP!

Yea I am with the others. If it's bogging down there is something wrong. Are you 100% sure that it has 3.73? What you are describing kind of sounds like 3.08's

I use to have a 95 Chevy 1-ton with the throttle body 350 with 4.10 gears and a flowmaster 40 series and a new cat.
It pulled my old 30' Sunnybrook fifth wheel no problem, It would slow down on steep grades but otherwise it did just fine.

If you really like the Sub, i vote for a complete take out 6.0L LS motor and trans. These have become very cheap and easy swaps ad of lately! Otherwise, yes the RV cam and headers (Edelbrock even makes a T-body intake for it) would be a good upgrade. Swapping from 3.73's to 4.10's will not net much of a gain. And 3.73's for that weight is good.

Go with the mods!

If you have a little bit of money.


If you have quite a bit of money.


If you have a lot of money.


Unlimited budget and you want to beat Farm Truck. :B

HP costs money. How much do you want?

I have a '95 K1500 Extra Cab and pulled a 31 foot Airstream for years with no problem. It now has 265,00 miles on it and I still pull my 2004 Trail Bay 29 foot TT with it and I have 3.42 gears. Might be the weight difference between the Burb and Pickup. Gears would be detrimental to your daily driving empty but help when towing but how often will that be? For the money you'll be spending a crate Vortec might be a better value. No matter what you choose, make sure the cam is designed for low / mid range torque and not high RPM horsepower. Believe me, I'm planning to repair or replace mine too and have looked at multiple options.

FWIW.
I had a 96 1500 that drove 100% perfect without a trailer hooked up. Could barely pull a small pontoon boat though. Turned out I had a clogged cat converter.
Replaced and pulled great after that.