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