Vortec Suburban Question

[pj67coll]

Any body here have experience with a Vortec powered Suburban from the late 90's? I'm considering them and want to know about reliablity. I know fuel consumption is crap but I'm not concerned about that at this point. Just the reliability thing.

- Peter.

[TMAllison]

At my work we have some mid to late 90's chevy pickups with the 350cid.

They haul around 1000lbs in tools and occasionally another ton of materials and are not treated nicely generally. They miss specified oil changes and tueups, etc. All of them have 250 - 350K miles on them. That said, they are starting to get "used up" and we are beginning to replace them.

[daveuz]

I believe some of these had intake gasket problems. I believe it would blow and suck anti freeze into the cyl and throw a CK Engine light. I would do a google search starting with for example "1999 suburban problems".

[cjlipps]

The 5.7 and the 5.3 are both Vortec engines from the late 90's. IIRC the 5.3 wouldn't show up in the Suburban until the 2000 body change but will be in the '99 pickups with the body change. If you're looking at a '99 or earlier it's probably a 5.7 (350)
These are among the best engines to have ever been built and can last to extremely high miles with a modicum of care. Ditto the intake manifold. They are some sort of plastic or resin and can warp to the point the gasket won't seal. Not a big problem to fix though. Transmissions were a problem but I think that was more in the mid-90's. Worth checking to see if one was rebuilt or replaced though. Obviously a lot of towing by PO might raise a flag. They will leak oil from the valve cover gaskets and eventually the oil pan. Not a gusher, just annoying.
If you can, jump to the newer body with the 5.3. A complete redesign that is every bit as dependable as the 5.7 without the oil leak issues. They made an o-ring seal on the pan and the heads are dished with flat valve covers so the v-c gaskets never have to hold "pooled" oil. The 5.3 is slightly less capable as a towing engine however so this might play into your thinking. I tow our 19' Sea Ray all over without problems though. The fuel economy on mine is about 16 for an average and can dip to 13.5 for all town and up to 19 for extended highway at moderate speeds.

[PaulC]

My father had a '99 Tahoe for five years. It was not pampered or excessively maintained, and the engine ran perfectly for the entire term. The only thing that I don't like about this generation Tahoe/Suburban is that the brake booster is a little funky, causing the driver to have to press the brake pedal through about one inch of slop before any meaningful braking action will occur. I've probably driven about 10 GM 1500-Series trucks of this generation and they all have this characteristic. The 2500 series trucks use a different type of brake booster and don't present this issue.

I have an '07 Tahoe, and while it is substantially more civilized than the '99 version, that civility has come at the expense of design simplicity and off-road acumen. A good late '90s Suburban is definitely a keeper.

[pj67coll]

Thank's for your input folks. I'm not interested in towing. Just looking for reliablity above all else. That and internal load carrying ability.

- Peter.

[Ken300D]

Spend some time at http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/f1451/ to familiarize yourself with common problems.

Ken300D

[LUVMBDiesels]

I love my 1999 Suburban but it has been not the most reliable thing I have ever owned. Parts needing to be replaced have been

1) Timing sensor $200
2) computer (twice) (under extended warranty but go for $1500 each)
3) fuel pump ($450)
4) Fuel injector 'spider' and all 8 injectors ($2000!!!)
5) 4WD acutator ($138 engages front axle)
6) water pump ($65)

Other normal wear parts like filters (cheap), tires (expensive) and brakes (front rotors and pads and calipers)


Hey you know what? compared to the other cars in the fleet, this IS the most reliable car I have...

All this for a big massive 8 passenger truck that eats the highway and is very comfortable. This truck also saved my life, see this thread:
Warning non-Diesel Thread!-Lucky to be alive today

Internally I have carried 2000 pounds of cement or seven people or full sheets of drywall without ever needing the roof rack. It only gets used for Christmas trees

I have towed things as heavy as a 1974 CJ5 with a metal cap and snowplow sitting on top of a 2000 pound trailer and felt no drag but it is no Corvette -- my buddy's '98 Tahoe is a rocket with the same drive train and 1000 less pounds. Of course it also lacks three feet of rear cargo space and the third seat...

All in all I do love this truck and think it is the most versatile thing I have ever owned.

I now have about 150k miles on her and would not get rid of her for anything...

[E150GT]

MY parents have a 1997 tahoe with a 350. It's powerful. It was pampered from new until about 3 years ago when my parents got it from my Aunt. Pampered being dealer maintained, garage kept and never driven in rain. It had less than 90k on it when they got it and no sooner did it need 1200 dollars in transmission work. According to the dealer its a defect in all of them. some as soon as 30k miles. I agree, the brakes feel like crap. The tuneup it needs is almost as expensive as a benz, and man does it guzzle gas. After driving it, I feel its seating position is crap also. It leaks oil and the A/c is out, and the door is broken. The car runs relatively well otherwise. One thing I really complain about is that the rear brakelights. In order to change the lamps, you have to unscrew the taillight from inside the car, and unless you have child hands you cant catch the screw and it gets lost in the car. That really pissed me off. Just get ready to do fuel pump also for 700-800 dollars.

[pj67coll]

Originally Posted by LUVMBDiesels

4) Fuel injector 'spider' and all 8 injectors ($2000!!!)

Why did you have to do the fuel injection work?

- Peter.

[PaulC]

Originally Posted by E150GT

MY parents have a 1997 tahoe with a 350. It's powerful. It was pampered from new until about 3 years ago when my parents got it from my Aunt. Pampered being dealer maintained, garage kept and never driven in rain. It had less than 90k on it when they got it and no sooner did it need 1200 dollars in transmission work. According to the dealer its a defect in all of them. some as soon as 30k miles. I agree, the brakes feel like crap. The tuneup it needs is almost as expensive as a benz, and man does it guzzle gas. After driving it, I feel its seating position is crap also. It leaks oil and the A/c is out, and the door is broken. The car runs relatively well otherwise. One thing I really complain about is that the rear brakelights. In order to change the lamps, you have to unscrew the taillight from inside the car, and unless you have child hands you cant catch the screw and it gets lost in the car. That really pissed me off. Just get ready to do fuel pump also for 700-800 dollars.

"Tune-Up" is an amorphous term, but oil/oil filter/air filter/pcv valve/spark plug/plug wires replacement are pretty DIY-friendly procedures. The small-block V8 allows ample working room for this purpose.

[LUVMBDiesels]

Originally Posted by pj67coll

Why did you have to do the fuel injection work?

- Peter.

Peter,

After the fuel pump went and left me standed I towed it to my favorite indy as it had a full tank of gas and the skidplate was in the way. Once he replaced the pump it ran real rough so rough that he had to spray ether just to keep it running. Somehow the pump took out three injectors. We think something got past the pump and filter and clogged them. On this truck you need to replace all 8 as a unit plus the updated spider. The new spider let's you remove individual injectors I believe.

On this truck I practically do nothing except brakes, oil, and filter changes myself. It is not a good DIY vehicle like the CJ. Or the Benzes. Oh yeah, add a mass airflow sensor for $135 which I did do myself.

Don't get me wrong I love the truck esp with the new AT tires in the snow or bad weather. I also love the capacity of it. I do not like the 11-13 mpg I get

Joe