Opinions on future of 88 2500 burban

[Puckett]

I got a great deal on an 88 GMC 2500 4x4 suburban, and now I was wanting some insight on what is available for this truck. I am mostly in toyotas so I'm unfamiliar with the GM stuff.

It's specs out as follows:
TBI 350
TH400
NP241
10 bolt (7.5) front with manual hubs
14 bolt (9.5) rear semi floating

The body is pretty rough, interior very bad, rear passenger door glass is broken, the tailgate style door is trashed and no glass, it runs and drives very well though.

Now the engine and tranny I know, but the 241 tranfer case and the two axles I'm real unfamiliar with. Are these worth building up for rock crawling under a toyota? I was always looking for dana 44s with an 8.5" ring but this 10 bolt has a 7.5" ring, so I don't know if it will suffice.

Ways to go:

These axles under a tojo with 40 inch tires or so if they can handle it. Or...

Gut the interior carpet/plastic, use bedliner and replace the rear tailgate and glass and use for a work truck

Make this suburban an offroader - but I am not sure what this drivetrain can handle with the overall weight of the truck and horsepower of a v-8.

Suggestions, and info about the transfer case and axles please?

 

[BigOrange90Jimmy]

Ok, that has the 8.5 10 bolt front, which is pretty much the same strength-wise as a D44. Tranny and t-case will be fine, just make sure to have a good skidplate on the t-case.

Since the body is already rough, wheel the hell out of it with a set of 35's.

 

[Puckett]

Ok, that has the 8.5 10 bolt front, which is pretty much the same strength-wise as a D44. Tranny and t-case will be fine, just make sure to have a good skidplate on the t-case.

Since the body is already rough, wheel the hell out of it with a set of 35's.

It's good to know it has the 8.5" ring. Going by the pics under the axle ident. page it looked like a 7.5 housing.

 

[Puckett]

Correcting a mistake on the original post, i found from an orginal 88 dealer catalog that the 89s had the 241, the 88 is a 208 transfer case.

 

[BigOrange90Jimmy]

It's good to know it has the 8.5" ring. Going by the pics under the axle ident. page it looked like a 7.5 housing.

Yes, they do look similar. The front and rear utilize the same carrier and gears, but the front housing has a little extra beef built in to better distribute the load of the spring perch that is machined in. The 7.5 was only used in S-trucks. All you will find in the 73-87 genre trucks are 10 bolt (front and rear), 12-bolt (rear), D44 & D60 (both front), 14 bolt (semi- and full-float), and a D70 (rear).

89s had the 241, the 88 is a 208 transfer case.

Haha, just caught that myself...

 

[Tominator II]

It doesn't have overdrive? I would have guessed that anything wTBI would have an electonically controlled tranny also.Hmm.

 

[Puckett]

It doesn't have overdrive? I would have guessed that anything wTBI would have an electonically controlled tranny also.Hmm.

No, it has the th400 3 speed auto.

 

[muddybuddy]

it is possible to have a 241 in it, 88 was the transition year, either 208 or 241.