'96 Suburban - SOLD

[TheOtherSide]

Named "The General" by my kids.... here is our 1996 Chevrolet Suburban.

Bought for towing a travel trailer and the odd exploration on a forest service road. The kids are beside themselves with this thing... they want to take their kid-seats out of the mini van and ride in this thing everywhere we go since their first trip in it.

General:
1996 Chevrolet Suburban 2500 (3/4 Ton Chassis)
165,000kms as of June 2009
Loaded with cloth interior
Rear Air Conditioning
8 Seater

Drivetrain/Suspension:
7.4L V8 (454 Big Block for the Old Skool)
Automatic Transmission
Electronic Shift Transfer Case
Axle Ratio: 3.73 (with Factory Rear Locker)
Monroe Gas-Magnum Shocks

Wheels/Tires:
265/75/16 BF Goodrich All Terrain KO's, Load Range D
Stock Steel Wheels painted Satin Black
Full size matching spare tire & wheel

Armour & Recovery:
Fuel Tank Skid Plate
Transfer Case Skid Plate
Front Differential Skid Plate
Rear Hitch
Factory front tow hooks

Misc:
Dual Batteries
Alpine CD/MP3 Player with IPOD Adaptor
Trailer Brake Controller

Future Plans:
Cobra 29 NW ST, CB Radio (used to be in my Jeep)
ARB Air Compressor mounted underhood.

Needs:
- Small coolant leak from fitting on intake manifold

As it looks now:
http://pics.overlandcanada.com/burb/burb001.jpg


When we got it:
http://pics.overlandcanada.com/burb/burb101.jpg

Scary thing is that this truck has Load Range C tires on it now, and the previous owner was towing race cars in enclosed trailers.... WAY over the load range for those tires. So considering these tires are pretty old and getting hard and cracked... a good opportunity to put on a proper set of Load Range D or E tires so I can feel safer when towing a travel trailer down the highway.

Anyhow... we're really happy with it... it runs like a dream on the road. Can't wait to get it all cleaned up and set up so we can transfer the kid seats into it and do some RV style trailer hauling this summer!!!

[TheOtherSide]

Got the new tires for the Burb.... ended up with the Michelin LTX M/S 245/75/16's. Load Range E. Seeing as I'm not a big fan of raised white lettering, I bought the slightly cheaper and more uncommon raised black lettering. Doesn't stick out near as much and also has some cool testure stripes on the sidewall.

I bought a full set of 5 considering the spare tire has never been used, but is 13 years old... I didn't want to try and rely on it when far from home or a tire shop etc... rather be on a new or newer spare if needed.

Now I just have to make time to mount and balance them and get geared up for our first trip out this summer in August with a trailer! :D

[TheOtherSide]

I'm going crazy.... I hate it when I do that. I got my tires... and now I'm thinking I should have gotten the larger size... the same that is on there now. I ordered the stock size 245-75-16 and the truck now has the 265-75-16's... am I going whimpy??? I went with the stock size to maintain gearing and load at the manufacturers intended set-up... when I'm towing I don't want to have 1" taller and a bit wider tires for looks when I'd be putting a heavier load on the transmission.

Anyhow... I want the stock sizing, but want the looks too.... (I hate it when I do this....)...

The floor is open to laugh at me now.... :slap:

The tires:
http://pics.overlandcanada.com/misc/tires.jpg

[TheOtherSide]

Well... away with the Michelins... didn't have the Mountain/Snowflake logo like this:
http://www.tirerack.com/images/winter/photos/tech/severe_snowflake.gif

So I had to do some more research...

Got a set of five 265/65/16 BFG All Terrain KO's... load range D. The truck calls for Load Range E and 245's providing 3042lbs of max load per tire. So that being my minimum load I wanted to have... and not being able to find any inventory in the 245 side (orig size)... I went to the 265.. and they didn't have range E's... just D's. E's had 3415lbs max... and the D's had 3042lbs which was just perfect. So I got them.

http://pics.overlandcanada.com/burb/tires1.jpg

You may see 5 of them there... decided to replace the brand new original 13 year old spare tire. It's full size, and also going to a slightly larger tire, I figured it would be a good idea to replace the spare. Also picked up some new high pressure valve stems.

So now I just need to find some time to swap them over!!

:vnice:

[TheOtherSide]

Next step was to pull out all the seats and sill trim and shop-vac the truck out and we had the carpet shampooers come and pull a bunch of stains out and clean it up. Previous owners had a 1/8" rubber matting throughout the truck (they pulled the seats and put everything back in after the matting was put down)... so I had to pull the seats to get rid of the matting anyhow. Fun finding misc stains form spilled drinks etc....

Looks much better now... and doesn't have that "previous owner" smell. Got the sill trim back in, front seats and console back in.... will put in the rear seats another day.

I'll post up some pics later...

[TheOtherSide]

Figured the clunking finally today... the rear trans mount studs that go through the cross member didn't have nuts on them!?!?!?!? :confused:

So, I put some new nuts on the studs... and it's silent now! Odd...

I'm very happy now... it rides like a normal truck now!!
:woot:

[ChrisR]

Nothing worse than not knowing where a particular noise is coming from. Man that is anoying. Its like having a new truck once you find it and fix it :)

[TheOtherSide]

Went to have my alignment done today....was spot on... so I just paid for an alignment check!! CHEAP!!! And I'm happy!

Next week the wheels go off to our bodyshop for paint (getting all 5 painted satin black). Currently the spare wheels is silver.... and it's cheaper for our bodyshop to paint them than it is for me to buy the spray cans and do it myself. Then I can rotate in my spare tire!! :D

It's coming along.... just not looking forward to dropping the fuel tank to replace the fuel pump (a bit noisey)... it's a 159 litre tank :eek: ... and I have to time it so it's mostly empty when I pull it!

[BigWhiteFord]

Good to hear it's coming along nicely. Looking forward to seeing it with the new rubber!

My truck is in the shop right now, got some vibes coming from a u-joint or carrier bearing, and my track-bar bushings are shot. Don't even have time to replace them myself as I need it up and running asap for work.

[TheOtherSide]

Always fun when the truck is broken.... means more money you don't get to keep!!

I had the Burb into E&H Hitch on saturday, and they fixed up all the trailer wiring as it was poorly mounted too low and looks as though it got a beating over a few bumps. So they fixy'd it all up and tested all the wiring and put on a new plug. Now I'm tow-ready!!

Truck is going up on stands at work tomorrow... breaking down the wheels/tires and sending the wheels for paint tuesday. I'll have them back wednesday and the BFG AT KO's go on!

Looking forward to that. Not looking forward to looking at the brakes... just know something is going to come up and I'll have to add some more $$ to the repairs & maintenance dept. It needs shocks too... just trying to figure out if I'm going to wait till winter or do it now. :(

[TheOtherSide]

Anyhow... got the wheels painted... tires mounted, hitch wiring fixed and new shocks put in.

Some pics:

http://pics.overlandcanada.com/burb/burb001.jpg

http://pics.overlandcanada.com/burb/burb002.jpg

http://pics.overlandcanada.com/burb/burb003.jpg

And fixed up the hitch wiring....
Now:
http://pics.overlandcanada.com/burb/hitchnew.jpg

And when we got it... you can see the wiring plug hanging way down:
http://pics.overlandcanada.com/burb/hitchold.jpg


Then we had the issue of no child seat tether anchors... so I bolted & welded in a set in the middle row (3 all together, but you only see 2 in the pic). Far passenger seat needed some re-enforcement to be safe... and the very rear bench is cool... has some nice anchor points back there.
http://pics.overlandcanada.com/burb/seat1.jpg

http://pics.overlandcanada.com/burb/seat2.jpg

That's enough for now I guess....

:woot:

[TheOtherSide]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention... I didn't put on the beauty rings on the wheels... I think it looks better all black. This way I don't scratch the wheels every time I rotate them swapping ring from wheel to wheel on the spare. (spare is a full size matching wheel painted and all). Beauty rings are $168 at GM dealer!!! :eek:

[JaredS]

Looks pretty awesome! Yah, don't put the beauty rings on.
Good thing you kept your welder eh.....!
Looks great!

[TheOtherSide]

So I replaced the fuel pump and filter today. WOW... that tank is heavy. 159L tank with 1/8 remaining weighs a ton. Also smashed my head into the bumper from underneath.... found some skin and hair hanging off the bolt on the bumper... reached up to my head and found more skin and hair. So yeah, I smacked it pretty hard.... didn't bleed much, just ripped some skin off!! :huh:

Fuel pump is nice and quiet now... still have a little bit of a lack of power when hot out... and also a warm start problem. One thing at a time!!

:headspin:

[TheOtherSide]

Long story short.... sold the Suburban tonight. Went to a great home. It's leaving Saturday morning for New York taking a 1600lb mechanical spider for a show.... very cool. Check out their site:
http://www.mondospider.com/
http://www.mondospider.com/blog/

When they get back from New York.... I get to take the Mondo Spider for a ride... can't wait!!!!!!

Anyhow... another sad day (long story...) but looking for a CHEAP 4x4... like a Sidekick or something so I can join in on some adventures... and still bring the 2 older boys along.

:eyes:

[Jeremy]

:jawdrop: :violin::puke:

[JaredS]

What? Another one bites the dust eh?
:eek:

[TheOtherSide]

What? Another one bites the dust eh?
:eek:

Where you been for the last few months??

[ChrisR]

Where you been for the last few months??

x 2

[TheOtherSide]

Another link to the Mondo Spider... they're documenting their New York trip... and the Burb has a couple of photos...

http://twitter.com/mondospider

[JaredS]

Been super busy this summer....few weeks on holidays, working, working on the side a lot. etc etc. Been a great summer though, now I'm trying to get back into things!

[Squiggy]

what the?

I go away to work for a week and check in to see the General sold?

What's going on around here?

Sorry to hear the news I think, but like that your looking for a wheeler again.

good luck in your search man.