Neubie: Fix my 91 or sell to someone who will?

[DavidVT]

Hello,
I just found your forum. Good stuff!

I am the original owner of a 91 suburban 4x4 3/4 ton with barn doors which was purchased near Mountain View California. Yes, CA engine The tranny was replaced in Phoenix at 55K by chevy on a 'silent recall'. The truck is in rural Vermont where it has been since 99.

I enjoyed the beast for years despite it's total lack of horsepower. This was your typical yuppie rig and it did very little hard work over the years it was used.

In 99 my wife became the primary driver of this truck while I moved on to a new Dodge diesel pickup (overcompensating for years of HP starvation). She layed the chevy into some trees on an icy road one night, the result one bent hood and drivers fender after replacing some glass. She loved driving it.

Around about 2002/3 we could not get the sububan to pass inspection (exhaust system from block to tail pipe gonzo) due to exhaust and steering column issues. At that point we thought gas consumption was an issue so we put my wife in a used minivan and parked the big burban.

Ironically here in 08, the powerful Dodge Ram is struggling to pass inspection due to rust issues. The old suburban really did not rust much despite it being in rural Vermont. The main problem with that 91 was keeping the OEM paint on it.

We did pull the suburban out at least once a year and give it a good drive up and down the dirt roads. Loud as heck and hard to keep in the road due to the steering column. However I never see oil under it but recently the check engine light is on.

So, we need a reliable rig for the winters as a backup vehicle. Thus I am not too worried about fuel consumption as long as the vehicle starts.

Do I invest in a full exhaust system from the block back (legal minimum is what???)
Do I invest in a steering column?
Do I figure out why I have a CEL?

OR

DO I see if someone really wants this 91 and put the profits into the rusty dodge?

Also I have an 01 cummins with 27K from a wrecked ram in my driveway. Yes I was considering putting that into the Chevy but ran out of funds....

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice,
David

 

[BoondocK5]

Welcome!
It sounds like you have the perfect start to an awesome fourwheeler. You don't need to go all hog wild like some of us have.
I've got 10 K into mine and it doesn't even run yet, but, I've gotten all stupid, with mods and add ons.
With a cummins just waiting in the wings, you could be the envy of every little boy with a big truck on CK5!

As far as being a Cali truck, I say take off the cali emission sticker with some MEK and a rag, spray bomb the radiator support to hide where it was. Gut all the emission control crap off, except for the EGR, you need that. get a good set of headers,w/ o2 bung, cats and mufflers from Summit pay your local exhaust shop to weld it all up for you. Then let the build begin!

This place (CK5) has a whole subculture. Make sure you check it out!

 

[ARAMP1]

Swap the cummins into the burb!

 

[noJeepshere]

What boondock said. Also, check out the local boneyards for steering columns. stuff can be had at a good price if it's in the right shape. Have someone describe to you how to use a paperclip to get the trouble codes for the CEL, and post them up here.

BTW, what's wrong with the steering column? I gather the truck wanders, but is it the column itself? or maybe a worn out joint in the linkage? Your steering is nearly 20 years old. I'm working on a truck the guy complains that he can hardly keep on the road, and he checked all the joints, and they're all tight. The joint that is loose is mounted in such a way that pulling on it won't show it has half an inch of play!

Now that you've discovered CK5, you're obligated to keep the sub and pimp it out.

 

[obijuan]

Now that you've discovered CK5, you're obligated to keep the sub and pimp it out.

plain and simple, thats an awesome burb.

 

[jonathon]

Sort of off topic but tell me about the trany at 55K? Mine was replaced at 53K with a GM crate trany in 1997 or 98 I believe, I didn't own it then and the previous owner was told the transmission self destructed because of towing in OD. Supposedly GM replaced the trany free of charge.

 

[DavidVT]

Thanks for all the encouragement.

While I was 'away', I opted to sell my 95 jimmy (tiny 2 door) that I bought for $500 a few years ago. I am sick of playing with the dashboard 4x4 switched system so let it go for $1100... Part of the deal was for the purchasing mechanic to help me put the 'burb back on the road...

So I guess I am really working towards putting big blue back into circulation!!

I really only 'need' it for a backup rig in the winter. Insurance will be short money and tags for this 'automobile' will just transfer from the Jimmy real cheap.

I see the Cummins has some issues. The oil pan has a crack in it so who knows what amount of moisture has collected inside the beast. It sits on a pallet with a tarp over it. Still mounted to parts of the truck frame it came from (fatal head on with small car). I toy with pouring in a ton of old amsoil and kicking the starter with a set of jumpers to make things move around a bit. I plan to pull the oil pan first and patch it for the time being.

As to the Tranny, I don't recall much about it. I was driving a company grand am and my wife the big beast. I think it stopped going into high gear maybe? I limped it to a tranny shop and was told $1800 for a new 700R4 'which is what that takes'....

My wife (in one of her best moves), suggested we go to chevy and have it diagnosed before spending all that money. I did and they laughed that it was not a 700R4...

Later my wife gets a call that the tranny was indeed broken but that it was covered by a recall. 24hrs later we had a new tranny.. Something about the solinoids in the new style tranny that this was in the 91?

Sorry I can't recall more about it. I was psyched as you can imagine!!

Pulling a trailer across snohomish pass a few years later I thought I destroyed it again when smoke started pouring out of the back of the truck. It was later traced to the tranny being over filled... (yes, years later)....

--
Well my wife seems supportive of getting the not so thrifty burb back on the road. As we all know, that is most important to most of these projects.!!

Now for time and money....

Thanks all!!

 

[Slapperbar]

Depending on the column problem, you could/ should replace the intermediate shaft with one from a Jeep Cherokee/ XJ. It'll eliminate the rag joint and the splines match perfectly on both ends.
Welcome to the CK5 "SUB culture".

 

[Mike D]

Will the Cummins diesel bolt up to a GM 700 R4 ?

 

[84CUCV]

thought all 91s had a 4l80e when the were 3/4 tons?? some had a 700r4 still?

 

[Slapperbar]

...My wife (in one of her best moves), suggested we go to chevy and have it diagnosed before spending all that money. I did and they laughed that it was not a 700R4...

MikeD, not without an adapter and why would you?
84CUCV, They were all 4l80e's, as DavidVT found out.

 

[Leper]

Again, are you sure it is the column? I would suspect more suspension parts than the column itself.

 

[84CUCV]

I see, next time i will read all of it. one of these days i will find a 91 3/4 ton 4x4.

 

[Slapperbar]

Suspension or a wasted rag joint. My money's on the rag joint, or the four bolts if it's a tilt. But then it wouldn't wander all over the road.

 

[DavidVT]

Yep, 4L80E (hey I did not know back then but was glad chevy educated me $$)
As to column, I probably won't get back to the beast for a few months as I have to head back to the middle east for work.
I have to move it as I see the grass growing up towards the frame. I usually park it over a big chunk of rubber roofing so the grass can't reach up.

Thanks all!

 

[noJeepshere]

That's a pretty nice looking ride.

 

[84CUCV]

If for whatever reason you want to sell the burban let me know. good luck.

 

[DavidVT]

Thanks.
What you can't really make out is the roof is rustoleam white to try and cover the rust that started to form after the OEM paint fell off. The rust has leaked through in some places.

The barn doors can't open and I've managed to mess up the linkage fighting with it.
The drivers front fender and hood are a bit 'challenged' as in bent but not rusted.

Big Blue has held on to it's chrome and body far better than the 99 Dodge Ram that replaced it. In the big picture, except for fuel mileage and raw horsepower of the Diesel Ram, the old Chevy is probably a better rig for the long run as it sits there with it's own problems. Go figure...

In 99 I should have put half the 34 grand that dodge cost me into this Chevy.... 'tuition'.... Dodge Ram w Cummins Diesel: 300K engine in 100K truck...

 

[jonathon]

My barn doors had an issue too.. once locked the plate wouldn't move up far enough when unlocked. The factory grease had solidified causing resistance.. scrubbed the entire thing with diesel to clean it up and then oiled it up real well. Next time it gives me fits I'm going to ditch the cardboard door covers and get some diamond plate cut out to replace them as they are not very strong nor are they supposed to come off often.

 

[DavidVT]

ditch the cardboard door covers

Good idea, maybe I can finally get the doors open if I rip those off.... hmmmm
It has been years since I've had the doors open.

I passed another 91 the other day. Side of the road in a tight garage. Years of dust on it.. kind of sad...
Bet these days the numbers of hanger queen 'burbans is growing as the price of gas climbs.. bummer

I figure it is paid for and insurance is real cheap. Gas and maintenance for a sturdy back up rig is fine for me!!
Again, besides HP and gas economy, I'd put his 'burban against anything made today!!