99 Burb 454 vortec "Thelma"

[sreidmx]

well last night the wife pulled the trigger on this, what we got is a 99 Chevy suburban, 171k miles, 454 vortec/4l80e 3.73 gears/g80 and stock as a rock. It blows 39 degree air on a 90 degree night.. Idles smooth is quiet as all get out and is massive inside.
The plan is to drive it through the summer so she can decide if she wants to keep the burb or to swap its guts into the 92.. She wants 4x so if the swap does not happen(which I a, already doubting based on her comments) means this will get sfa swapped with a d60 and some 37s next year late sometime. Prob some 12 inch coil overs and links of some type.

It makes 50 lbs or so oil pressure idling, no signs of piston slap or leaks. I'll get some pics asap!
She is pretty stoked, the heavier trailer we have prompted this because the small block truck needs to much to make it tow that sort of weigh at highway speeds reliably.
The trailer has a rating of 7k full. This has a rating of 17k combined which puts me right at 10,500 maxed out.. With some buffer, which I think is pretty damn good. It has a boat load more torque and send it in a big fat wave..

 

[Deuling]

Nice. My dad has the same thing, I used it some this weekend. Just rolled over 200k.

 

[sreidmx]

 

[Smokinthehippies]

I had a 97 and my buddy had a 99. Great rigs. Especially for camping.

 

[skunked]

454 Burbs are cool.

 

[diesel4me]

I swear I saw a newer (2000 up) Suburban in my friends shop ,with a factory 8.1 and 4L80E in it...2wd I think...but I'm told GM never made such a thing...maybe it was an Escalade ?...

 

[skunked]

I swear I saw a newer (2000 up) Suburban in my friends shop ,with a factory 8.1 and 4L80E in it...2wd I think...but I'm told GM never made such a thing...maybe it was an Escalade ?...

they made 8.1 4wd burbs in that model for sure, I don't know if 2wd was an option though.

I think the Escalades are 6.0's

 

[diesel4me]

It probably was a 4x4,the newer trucks with IFS always fool me,I'm used to seeing a solid front axle,ya know ?..it was on the lift but not raised up,I walked in just as my friend was topping off the oil after an oil change...and he said "whaddya think of this beast ?"..
He pointed to the sticker that identified it as an 8.1..
My response was ...."lets see it do a burnout"..
"Cant,the owner is in the office waiting for it..
"Oh"..

I think the truck was a 2002 Suburban ,might have been a 3/4 ton,I didn't count the lug nuts..(I think some 6 lug newer trucks are rated 3/4 ton too,as well as 1/2 tons ?)..

 

[skunked]

It probably was a 4x4,the newer trucks with IFS always fool me,I'm used to seeing a solid front axle,ya know ?..it was on the lift but not raised up,I walked in just as my friend was topping off the oil after an oil change...and he said "whaddya think of this beast ?"..
He pointed to the sticker that identified it as an 8.1..
My response was ...."lets see it do a burnout"..
"Cant,the owner is in the office waiting for it..
"Oh"..

I think the truck was a 2002 Suburban ,might have been a 3/4 ton,I didn't count the lug nuts..(I think some 6 lug newer trucks are rated 3/4 ton too,as well as 1/2 tons ?)..

It would have been an 8 lug 3/4 ton truck. I've thought about buying one more than once.

 

[82355]

Why do a SAS? Why not just leave it stock if it is a pulling rig?

Martin

 

[Kay86K5]

I swear I saw a newer (2000 up) Suburban in my friends shop ,with a factory 8.1 and 4L80E in it...2wd I think...but I'm told GM never made such a thing...maybe it was an Escalade ?...

@skunked is correct. The 8.1 was only in the 2000+ body style rigs. 3/4 ton and 1 ton pickups it was an option of the Duramax or the 8.1 with an Allison behind them. 3/4 ton burban's was an option of the 8.1 or 6.0 with a 4l80e (or 4l85e depending on the year/generation) behind it. And all 3/4 ton Avalanches got an 8.1 with 4l80e/4l85e behind them (until they discontinued the 8.1 in the consumer truck market which I believe was 2007, or somewhere right around there).

@sreidmx the L29 Vortec 454 is a pretty cool motor. Probably have seen it before, but I have a 96 K2500 with 454/4l80e and 4.10's in it. (pic below). Mine has 186k on the clock and still going strong. I did have to replace the injectors a while ago which are surprisingly expensive and kinda a pain to do as you have to remove the entire top plenum/upper intake from the motor, but not something any dude can't do in his garage. Mine is bone stock and still pulls pretty good on flat and slight grades. I kinda want to see what a simple tune could do on this thing to wake it up, but since I'm building my crew cab (on the trailer in the pic) with a 8.1, I guess mine will just stay stock and keep on rocking. And just like @Deuling picture and mine, pick up some aluminum wheels off a 3/4 ton rig from the early 2000's....I think they look so good on these rigs

 

[GWeakland620]

Why do a SAS? Why not just leave it stock if it is a pulling rig?

Martin

I'm doing to same thing on my pulling rig...

 

[Bent77]

In






PAD.

 

[sreidmx]

Thats a damn nice pair you got there!
I am going to SFA it because the wife needs/wants 4x4, its the simplest way to ensure its reliable and serviceable. She also uses her truck when we go out wheeling, shes not afraid to poke around and go exploring, so if she wants to go on an adventure with the little man while im working more power to her.

I already have a muffler off my blazer that is a large case magnaflow, from what I have been reading thats a big restriction.
She towed the trailer up the big hills today and said it did just fine, cresting 45mph at the very top with 3-4k in tow 100+ degrees ac blasting. said the temp was one tick above 210.
Its a good platform to start with. I dont want to get too crazy so it will be mostly exhaust mods and a tune probally. General maintenance after that.

 

[Smokinthehippies]

Not that this helps much
But on my 97, I had k&n intake, exhaust, and a tune from eagle mark. That thing was grunt city. The tune made a healthy hunk of difference. I don't know where to get it done now, but if you have the chance it's worth it to get it done

 

[sreidmx]

I know a guy I work with if I can convince him because he is so busy with normal job stuff I dont know if he will. my other option is blackbear, I guess they goto sandiego quite a bit, I might contact them.

 

[sreidmx]

just talked to my buddy, he said he would tune it!! right on! also gave me some prep items to get.
160 stat
colder plugs
headers thick flange long tubes 1 7/8 primaries 3 inch single should be ok for now.
see where its pulling air from and if it can be improved by rerouting the tubing.

 

[82355]

I am going to SFA it because the wife needs/wants 4x4, its the simplest way to ensure its reliable and serviceable.

Oh, is it currently 2wd?

Martin

 

[sreidmx]

Yea, which is fine for now.
Last night we drove the BBB (big blue beast) temp name.. Up to get dinner and to play with the little guy in the park.
I hooked the scanner up before we left and watched the live data as we drove up there. Outside it was 95deg when we left and the Iat was into the 140 range.. Freaking hot! As we got going it dropped slowly to 123 and finally hovered around 105, we crested the top of the hill and as we slowed down it came back up to 120-130ish..
I kept reading these have lots of under hood temps but damn that's crazy! I woulda though pulling air from the fender would keep it cool.. I guess the exhaust isn't helping any and there must be a weird air pocket forming under the engine preventing hot air from escaping..
Anyone use a cold air kit that actually saw a drop in IAT?

 

[sreidmx]

I also went to vatozone and bought brakes for the front, ceramic pads with new rotors, all new shocks and an air filter because it has not been changed for a while. The rest of the normal svc was done last week. They have been using rotella..