opinions or experience - 8100 vortec and or 2500 suburban

Quick connects from the heater hose to the heater core will pop in a heartbeat. The DexCool they use eventually makes the plastic brittle. Chances are, that's what it was. I had one bust on me about a week ago after a rolling burnout :D

I just break the plastic fitting the rest of the way off and put a hose clamp on the heater hoses. Maybe I should start buying 'Burbs and fixing all of the little things.
 
Croatan_Kid said:
Quick connects from the heater hose to the heater core will pop in a heartbeat. The DexCool they use eventually makes the plastic brittle. Chances are, that's what it was. I had one bust on me about a week ago after a rolling burnout :D

I just break the plastic fitting the rest of the way off and put a hose clamp on the heater hoses. Maybe I should start buying 'Burbs and fixing all of the little things.
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I don't know it was too dark to see and I had no flashlight. Definately there was a pop. I really did want that one, she was a beauty and at a good price. I told the guy to call me and let me know what it was but it almost feels jinxed.
 
Whatever popped had to be down low because I tugged all of the upper hoses I could see from the hood light and they were all very secure.
 
Croatan_Kid said:
Quick connects from the heater hose to the heater core will pop in a heartbeat. The DexCool they use eventually makes the plastic brittle. Chances are, that's what it was. I had one bust on me about a week ago after a rolling burnout :D

I just break the plastic fitting the rest of the way off and put a hose clamp on the heater hoses. Maybe I should start buying 'Burbs and fixing all of the little things.
Click to expand...
This is what they are reporting it is. Sounds like I am in for test drive number 2. Having this post helped a bunch with reassurance I wasn't being blown smoke. Very intuitive.
 
"Well....you know....I've drove up here twice. Hell, the first time it left me on the side of the road...."

Negotiating is the fun part :smokin: Make sure they fill it up with gas too!
 
Boom! Meet my new tow pig. The kids named her Emma Brown Bottom.
ai1221.photobucket.com_albums_dd470_wolfpacker77_FFFA26E3_C39E014ed9c046dd53332b03f91ea2baa28f.jpg


You were right too it was the quick connect at the heater core.
$6500 and she is loaded loaded with 135k mi. I think I did good.
4x4
G80 - locking rear
Leather
Dual heater & power seats
It has the l85 instead of 80 tranny
Full skids
DVD
Bose
 
And some of the best looking factory wheels available. I think the suburbans with those wheels like much nicer/better/tougher/classier than any of the others. Good find.
 
jeepinmatt said:
And some of the best looking factory wheels available. I think the suburbans with those wheels like much nicer/better/tougher/classier than any of the others. Good find.
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Thanks, I'm definately partial to her especially at that price. I'm honestly pretty lucky the lot I found her at didn't know what they had and wasn't advertising well. I had looked at every available one (not many) in a 5 hour radius for 2 weeks and this is by far the best deal I could manage. That 8.1 is a very smooth but powerful engine, it's deceiving. I'm used to my raucous hemi yelling at me that it's going fast. Now I've just got to finalize selling my truck.
 
FYI - Thanks to everyone for all the advice! Especially Croatan with his prophetic mechanic prediction.
 
Hey just saw this.
I'll wager I have more experience with more 8.1s that probably anyone on here, though all but 1 were not in a vehicle of any kind.

All in all its an ok engine. A few points.
- This is one of the last engines (maybe the last?) that GM ever made with a designed oil burn rate. The engine is designed to consume oil under normal usage. It should use ~1.5 qts in a 3,000 mile run. If it does not, that is NOT a good thing. Lots of folks put leak stopped in them and the results are uniformly disasterous. Watch your oil like a hawk, if it doesnt burn at least a qt in 3k....Id put it back on the market.
- These are horribly inefficient engines in stock form...but they can reliably put out 500hp. Of course that will likely be in ~5mpg equivalent range.
-I'd actually pay $25 to Blackstone Labs for an oil analysis first couple oil changes. There is rare but real bottom end issue, that if present will cost you big before 200k. Spend the 40 or so for peace of mind.

If those check out, you got a great rig at a steal of a deal!
Congrats.
 
Thanks. I'll do that oil analysis. Never gotten one before though does the analysis specify the items I'd be looking for. I had read they like oil and I am expecting that. In fact I planned on running reg oil rather than the synthetic like I ran in the hemi.
 
AX(J)15_tudor said:
Thanks. I'll do that oil analysis. Never gotten one before though does the analysis specify the items I'd be looking for. I had read they like oil and I am expecting that. In fact I planned on running reg oil rather than the synthetic like I ran in the hemi.
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I cant recommend Blackstone Labs enough.
http://www.blackstone-labs.com/

You go to their website, click send me a sample kit and they will for free send you the sample kit and instructions. When you change the oil you catch about half a cup in their supplied container package it like they instruct and drop it in the mail. In 2-3 days you get an email with all the results, typical ranges found on similar motors and their comments. If you have any questions, you can email them or pick up the phone and they will discuss anything you want....heck the first time I sent a 6.0 sample I sent my @cummins.com email address and in the comments the guy actually asked if I was a glutton for punishment working for cummins and driving a 6.0...just a great group of guys.
 
Sweet rig! I've noticed that the Suburbans will go much cheaper than an equally equipped truck. There are still people asking almost 10,000 for a 99-02 with 150,000 miles!

I think that will serve you well for quite some time.
 
Thanks, that's how I stumbled in to even looking at Suburbans. The 2500's while pretty scarce are a very good value for what all you get.
 
FYI I would recommend comp nine for pulling build sheets and carfax for pulling histories for anyone shopping. It's an out of pocket expense (comp nine offers a free one day trial) but both were very useful to me in my searches.
 
Comp nine was how I verified this dealer had stuck z71 badging and pinstripes on a car with the z55 autoride feature. First car I've owned with fake badging but I'm fine with that because I needed some kind of bling for my mall crawling. That's what's nuts about the burbs they don't really badge them to help easily distinguish if you are looking at a 1500 or 2500. A lot of dealers will have a 2500 pop up under a 1500 search because many search engines group all Suburbans under one category. There is a red one in Asheville listed as a 1500. Best advice search them all and count lugnuts if you are in the market for 2500.
 
Anyone know what the common issues and cures are if my compass and temp readout is not working on my rear view mirror? I can't really tell where the fuse is supposed to be as I didn't get an owners manual and online searches are proving unhelpful. I checked the easy to see one under the hood and didn't see one labelled or couldn't decipher from the abbreviations used. I checked the kick panel one and it looked more like jumpers under there than fuses. My auto dimming is still working which is most important and the green light is on. I can buy a new mirror for fairly cheap on ebay and the compass and temp aren't really very critical but if it were a fuse that would be nice to knock out.
 
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