Bought a 6.2 85 suburban 4x4

[07 grizzly700 BE]

Today i bought a blue 85 suburban, its very clean and a 4wd offcourse. I felt the first time i tried it, that the stopping power in the back wasn't that spectacular and the drums were a litlle locked up , so i want to do a disc brake conversion. It is a half ton model so 12 bolt in the rear. I was looking on the internet but can't seem to find a decent kit with everything in it and at an affordable price ( only 5lug seem complete and well priced).Anyone know a company that makes a decent kit ? Also i don't know if its a 700r4 or TH400, i did see you could only downshift to 2 an 1 , does this mean it's a th400 ? The transfercase was pretty hard to shift but this normal i guess? I want to change the leafsprings to some new ones , but dont want to lift it more than 1 inch or so, so i guess custom springs are the only way. What will a set of alcans set me back ?
Thanks in advance guys ! and sorry for all the questions, but i want some info before i start this. Pics will come soon
Matt

 

[Chevy305]

dont waste your time with rear disks, not worth the hassel/money for what you get out of them. Just rebuild the rear drums, should only cost a little over $100 for both drums. Also being an 85 you would have a 10bolt rear axel if its original. With only 3 foward gears you either have a th350 or th400. Alcans aren't the only option for small lifts. What condition are your springs in?

 

[79bonanza]

if they are stock springs they may just be worn out and saggin, i bet new stock springs would give you close to an inch of lift back. or just an add a leaf would work

 

[07 grizzly700 BE]

Ok thanks guys. Do the drums stand up to mud and water ? (if rebuilded offcourse). Yeah the front springs are pretty badly negative arched. How would new springs ride ? Because i liked the custom springs as you could probably make them ride very smooth.

 

[toomany]

Drums don't like mud. I swapped to rear discs on my k5 and didn't regret it one bit. I had 3/4ton axles and had most of the parts laying around, so I only had the cost of the brackes and flex lines into it. I do agree with Chevy305 somewhat...I wouldn't do it on a 10 or 12 bolt axle. The only benefit would be shaft retention when they broke.

 

[badmix]

Where in Florida are you at?

I would not spend money on disc swap til you get the bigger stuff taken care of.

You dont need custom springs, you can either go back to stock or Tough country and rough country make 2" springs, which is what I have on my 84 Blazer.

If you have a 700r, on the dash where you shift the gears should be

P N R OD D 2 1

Before modifying it, I would go thru all the fluids like motor oil, filter, trans oil, filter, front and rear diff, transfer case fluids, check the power steering fluid, brake fluid, maybe flush the radiator, etc etc Make sure all the lights work and gauges, look for leaks in the brakes, motor, tranny, diffs, etc

Ive got rough country springs with some Bilstein 5150 shocks and it rides very nice on the street, not bouncy at all.

 

[chulisohombre]

stock springs were slight negative arch form the factory.go with a 2 inch lift spring and it will ride pretty nice if you are staying stockish.it will prob give you about 3 inch higher than what it is now from being stock saggin springs.you could fit 33s in there and would look good if you like the stock size as opposed to going bigger.if you plan on building it and lifting it i would start with what you wan to do with the truck and plan accordingly instead of throwing money into new springs and then going a couple years down the road and needing to redo it again because you want it bigger.

 

[07 grizzly700 BE]

Actually im from Belgium, but i have a house in clermont where i go a month or so a year and ill probably go to college at ucf next year.
My plan is to fit 33" tires, i thought stock ride height or maybe a minimal lift should be fine for that. I want to keep it as low as possible because i really like the look of low and 'big' tires and also because in belgium we have something called vehical inspection(hence the small 33's and lift and disc brakes). The ez rides seem to be a good solution i guess, with the heavy diesel they will probably sag a litlle bit. You think i should go to a 14b, for just 33's ? Or is it easier with the disc brake conversion ? I think i can probably score a free 14b SF, but i have to pay the shipping costs from US to Belgium...
thanks guys , you've been really helpfull !

 

[scooter122983]

The disk conversion is a waste of time, effort, and money. Use your money on a full fluid change, u joints, bushings, and filters. Being that the truck is diesel, and you are from Europe a transmission swap to sm465 would be a better upgrade than messing with the disk conversion.

 

[tRustyK5]

Actually im from Belgium, but i have a house in clermont where i go a month or so a year and ill probably go to college at ucf next year.
My plan is to fit 33" tires, i thought stock ride height or maybe a minimal lift should be fine for that. I want to keep it as low as possible because i really like the look of low and 'big' tires and also because in belgium we have something called vehical inspection(hence the small 33's and lift and disc brakes). The ez rides seem to be a good solution i guess, with the heavy diesel they will probably sag a litlle bit. You think i should go to a 14b, for just 33's ? Or is it easier with the disc brake conversion ? I think i can probably score a free 14b SF, but i have to pay the shipping costs from US to Belgium...
thanks guys , you've been really helpfull !

If you have inspection to go through the rear disc's might cause more problems than they solve. It's not so easy to get a good E-brake with disc's...

The 6.2 diesel isn't that heavy, weighs a bit more than a small block, and little less than a big block.

So, I'm assuming the truck is in Belgium then?

Rene

 

[diesel4me]

Hey--I have a blue/silver '85 Suburban 4x4 too,with the 6.2!...

Dont know if I'll ever get the cash to register and USE it though......bought it almost a year ago and haven't been able to do much with it yet..hope too,before it gets rustier !..

 

[07 grizzly700 BE]

Yeah the truck is in belgium , it's imported from Florida though. I guess i'll save the cash for some more important things than. I was thinking of changing the gearbox for a 700r4 or Sm465, but that's also pretty delicate stuff i guess. What the aprox top speed actually with a 3 speed ?
oh nice mine is actually completely rustfree, pretty weird being it from florida. thanks again guys
Matt