Not new to the board but new to me 94 Suburban

[UncleWillie]

Adding to my growing collection of Suburbans I stumbled into a deal on this 94 Suburban I couldn't pass up. The WarBeast is getting a bit well worn and has been doing a good job of towing even though it wasn't made for it. Not to mention that the engine is knocking, the rear end is the wrong gear ratio ( hey it was free and it got me back on the road), the drivers door is falling apart and the dash has mysteriously worked loose. And the biggie - the AC doesn't work and will require taking the lose dash out and replacing parts.

So enter the new Suburban -

Important numbers 1994 454 4l80e (rebuilt 500k ago) 2500 14 (bolt) 3.73 (g)80 4(wd) 160(K)

Yes the huge trailer is hooked to the LUV, it kept trying to wander off and I had to restrain it.

New axles for the trailer

It didn't even know that trailer was back there.

Hood needs paint

 

[UncleWillie]

Z71 stickers have to go

Bubba approves

Tiny rust spot

Small dents

Drivers door needs repainting too.

Not going to do a whole lot to it. here is the list

Needs tires desperately.
The bucket seats have to go they are too soft and hurt my back. I have a set of 96 seats for it.
Side mirrors are crap and wont adjust - looking for a set of towing mirrors
Swap tach dash from WarBeast
Get a horn that can be heard
Install louder exhaust. I can't hear the truck run
Remove body lift
Paint hood and door
remove Z71 stickers
Tint windows
install center console
install radio
Install brake controller
Probably something else that I forgot.

 

[UncleWillie]

Just got her back from the tint shop Got it 5% in the back and 35% up front with a 6 inch visor.

Also managed to find a set of H2 wheels that I swapped and traded for.

 

[DirtyD803]

starting to look nice.

 

[UncleWillie]

It has been a long hard day getting ready for the trip to Virginia. Had a long list of stuff that I needed to get done to the camper and truck to get them all ready. Had to rewire the camper plug which took wayyy too long and replace the tail lights ( sorry no pics).

Then had to replace the 7 pole plug on the truck because it was completely corroded.

Then the fun stuff
Jerked out the old buckets and stuck in a center console

and buckets out of a 96 Tahoe. They aren't perfect, but my back thinks they are great. I will find some covers for them soon.

Installed a brake controller

and a stereo.

Swapped the instrument panel for the one from the WarBeast and got rid of the knee banger tach.

The old dash panel was cracked and broke so I stuck the grey one from the WarBeast in there for the time being. That is why some of the switch delete plates are black and not gray. I have another Panel somewhere I just didn't have time to dig it up today.
Now we just need to get up at the crack of early tomorrow and head north to VA.

 

[250krawler]

lookin pretty good, what happen to the diesel?

 

[UncleWillie]

lookin pretty good, what happen to the diesel?

It got pushed to the back burner. I am starting on it after I get done with all the summer family visits. VA this week then a week at home and then a week in TN. Fun stuff.

 

[UncleWillie]

I drove it about 400 miles to visit the mother-in-law with a 28 foot camper in tow. It tows like a locomotive and drinks like Lindsey Lohan. Not sure what kind of mileage I got because of the tire swap and not having things recalibrated yet. The dogs loved the open back, and the wife and I loved the AC. However, I do need to find some way to get more air circulating because the dogs were hot back there.
The seats were great. I didn't realize how much higher they sat until I drove all day looking through the tint strip on top of the windshield. I may have to have it cut back to 4 inches instead of 6.
I do miss cruise control, but I will live.
And after driving it about 250 miles the muffler got louder and deeper. I am guessing the exhaust is brand new and never got run in good. I did notice yesterday while I was under it that it has a 3 inch exhaust and factory manifolds.
Filling up on the way out

At a rest stop somewhere in VA

 

[Caver Dave]

The seats were great. I didn't realize how much higher they sat until I drove all day looking through the tint strip on top of the windshield. I may have to have it cut back to 4 inches instead of 6.
I do miss cruise control, but I will live.

I have the same seats (yours are MUCH better shape than mine ), but their still light years better than the de-stuffed bench!

Not sure about the '94's, BUT... I added Cruise to my '99 by swapping the signal stalk = 2.5 hours and adding the cruise box to the firewall (can see the "screw here" dimples in your firewall above the hydroboost) = 10 minutes, as the "cruise" pigtail/connector was there, just covered... I could NOT live without it!

BTW, if you run across another set of the black flares (mine has acid rain etched SS trim), give me a shout!

 

[UncleWillie]

Finally home. Fairly eventful trip. At one point we pulled off the interstate and were sitting at a redlight and my wife pointed int he general direction of between my legs and said - "Your thing is smoking". I was slightly alarmed and did a quick crotch check and no smoke. She just kept saying, "Your thing, your thing" I leaned forward and looked around the steering wheel and the brake controller was indeed sending smoke signals. I just unplugged it since we weren't all that far from home.

 

[UncleWillie]

After pulling the camper to Virginia and basically guessing what was beside me I had to find some towing mirrors. Hopped on Ebay and found this set for $50. I guess no one wanted them because they are bright red. One tip got broken in transit. I will be using a bit of JB Weld on it later and painting them black. Then they get mounted on the truck tomorrow in place of the broken cracked non adjustable ones that are on it now.

 

[GCncsuHD]

After pulling the camper to Virginia and basically guessing what was beside me I had to find some towing mirrors. Hopped on Ebay and found this set for $50. I guess no one wanted them because they are bright red. One tip got broken in transit. I will be using a bit of JB Weld on it later and painting them black. Then they get mounted on the truck tomorrow in place of the broken cracked non adjustable ones that are on it now.

How exactly do you plan to mount the 99+ Towing mirrors on there? The bases are pretty different between the two. (those are the mirrors my 01 came with)

On the other hand 94-02 Dodge towing mirrors are a nearly perfect fit. 2 mounting holes line up, drill one more hole using the gasket as a guide, and the seals and mirror base are a perfect fit.

Also, not sure if you are aware, but you can recalibrate your speedometer yourself pretty easily by doing some simple soldering of switches on the DRAC/VSSB box under the dash.

 

[UncleWillie]

I will cross the hot to mout them bridge when I get to it. I know it can be done. I have seen it on other forums. For $50 I will JB weld them to the side ot the truck if I have to.

The speedo recalibration is on the to do list. Not enough hours in the day. Especially with this heat.

 

[UncleWillie]

I did a test fit on a spare door and I will have to drill one hole to make it fit.

 

[UncleWillie]

I got my towing mirrors on today. Had to enlarge the two bottom holes a bit and drill a new top hole and they fit great. It will be nice to see what is behind me.

 

[UncleWillie]

Oh and I also replaced the broken cup holder and fixed the drivers side barn door latch. Fortunately I had a spare back door too. No pics but it all works now.

 

[UncleWillie]

Took some time to finish up a few things today.
Put in another instrument panel with the correct mileage on it. Other one goes back in the WarBeast. Also painted the bezel so it isnt silver anymore.

Painted glove box door and installed it for the complete blue and grey look.

Replaced this broken piece from under the steering column.

Best little pneumatic screw gun I have ever had. Low torque so it is great on plastic parts.

Took a few pics. Yes, the grass is tall. Parts for the mower are on order.

 

[UncleWillie]

Doing a little work out on one of sheds today I found something I forgot I had. On overhead console complete with the correct screw and retainer clip. Wife did the awesome photography.

Then I picked up a screwdriver off the trailer and rammed a splinter under my fingernail. Can't get it out.

 

[UncleWillie]

Been working the snot out of the BlueOx lately. About 2 months ago I hauled this little piece of farm equipment.

ON Monday I had to put a new battery and alternator in it so I could go get this.

Note that the Z71 stickers are gone.

You should have been there when I loaded all that junk up. The first stop was a farm in SC where along with the little horse buggy and a monstrous old homemade swing-set she had a 3000 pound chain fall up in a tree about 40 feet high. She said she wanted it gone and I asked her if she minded me breaking her tree. She said she had plenty of trees, but she didn't think I could break it. I ran the chain out as far as it would go and hooked it to the trailer hitch on the BlueOx. After a few good tugs - each one picking the back of the truck way up in the air - there was a huge snap and the whole top of the tree came down.

Funny thing after I broke the tree she was concerned about the BlueOx being able to pull that little wagon because the back brakes were locked up on it.

 

[yoder519]

hahaha at the story about the tree. ever made a rough estimate on the mpg's your gettin? off subject but thats a funny lookin Dr. Pepper bottle sittin in the seat. never seen one like it

 

[UncleWillie]

I t is getting about 11 mpg whether towing or not. Except for when I hauled the camper up the mountains. I don't think it got 5 mpg till I got to the top.

That DP bottle is about the only one you can find here. That is one of the 24? oz bottles. I am a slight DP addict.

 

[yoder519]

11mpg aint to bad IMO for a 454 its on 35s also aint it? the DP bottle blows my friggin mind. the ones up here are shaped just like mtn dews

 

[Bullardbs]

its come along way since I drove it home 150 Miles with a bad trans

 

[UncleWillie]

Well to update this thread – the BlueOx ran into trouble. Last week we went to get a car and it barely made it home. It was missing and had no power, but true to her name she pulled on home. She was throwing codes for EGR, TPS, Knock sensor, and Low voltage on the fuel relay. So I replaced those ( and oddly enough it had good fuel pressure) and it was still missing. I pulled the distributor cap and the distributor was in pieces so I put a new one in. It still ran like crap. So I towed it up to a friends garage and let him have it. He checked everything I did and said it was all good. Then he checked compression and it was down on several cylinders. He pulled the intake He sent me this picture.

SO today he pulled the heads. They were frozen to the block. He got the bolts out and the heads refused to budge. At some point before I bought it this engine got real hot. I just went up and took him my life savings and took a couple of pictures.

6 valves are bent one is stuck. The drivers side head gasket was about to blow on all 4 cylinders and the back cylinder on the passengers side was only holding on my a prayer. But the block, and camshaft look perfect. It turns freely and neither the water or the oil were contaminated.

After a lengthy discussion with both him and the wife we decided that the smart money was to fix it since I couldn't buy another truck or even an engine for what the repair will cost. $1600 and it should run like new. I wasn't looking forward to having to put the WarBeast back together and work it again. She is old and tired I think that 400k miles is plenty on a work truck and she has earned her retirement. So by next week I will have the Blue ox back and she will be better than new.

 

[UncleWillie]

SHe is back. Runs like a champ. For some odd reason the tach is wonky. Mechanic said if I bring it back he will look into it. I am not all that concerned though.

The machinist said the valves were plugged with carbon so it looks like some seafoam is going to be run through it at least once a year.