'85 Suburban 6.2 Am I nuts?

[bmiszuk]

I'm looking at an 85 2wd suburban with 70k miles. It's been in the same family since new and obviously not driven much. My last experience with a Chevy diesel was a disaster. To make a long story short, my '93 2500 blew it's 6.5, I replaced it with a "new" (but it apparently wasn't) engine which busted its crank shortly thereafter, and now have a used 6.5 in it.

Anyway, I've found this 6.2. It's real tempting. I need a vehicle that I can drive to work and gets decent enough mileage and that can also hold the kids occasionally. I can NOT afford to have a "project" on my hands. I am well aware of routine maintenance and repairs, but a blown engine, major IP repairs, etc would be quite difficult at this time.

What sort of risk am I taking here? It's been well maintained. The family is "all diesel", they all drive diesel trucks and apparently take good care of them.

When I go look at it tomorrow, anything special I should look for? I'd like to be able to determine which transmission, rear end, etc it has, and look for any potential trouble spots also.

Thanks.

[KEVIN MUNCASTER]

If it is clean (not rusty) and has only 70,000 miles, everything should be ok. I bought my 86 C10 with 125,000 on it, it was one owner, blah blah blah. I replaced the harmonic balancer and crank pulley, they were wacked ! The rubber had let go on both and was causing a vibration. Parts were reasonable to buy from Team Chev in Scottsbluff NE. Replace them if you see any wobble in them at idle. While you're there, you could change the timing chain, but if it really only has 70,000 you should be good for awhile yet. If the price is right, it will make a great people hauler. If you don't buy it, someone on this forum would likely be interested, so pass the info on if you decide to pass on the sale. :D

Kev

[bmiszuk]

Thanks Kev. What's a guy from Ontario doing buying parts in Scottsbluff, NE? :rolleyes:

Any idea how good 2wd suburbans get around in the snow? I'm used to driving a 1-ton van (have a lot of kids :D ) and wonder if the sub's are comparable. Also, any thoughts about mpg? I was hoping for better, but who isn't, with the cost of fuel these days..

[john8662]

Doesn't sound like that big of a risk to me, with 70k I would certainly take a close look and consider it. For fuel mileage you're looking at about 21mpg, it all depends on how its geared. I had a 1991 suburban 1/2 ton just like you're looking at, and it got 19, but it was geared 3.42 and had Torque convertor lockup problems. As far as getting around in the snow it did pretty well, as good as a van, because its heavy in the rear giving it a little ege over a pickup in that it gets better traction. You'll appreciate the suburban over a van as far as maintenance in concerned. I understand the 6.5 problems, going through that myself, going to sell my 6.5. The 6.2 is a solid engine, pay attention to what Northern Wrangler said about the balancer, even though it's low mileage its still an older vehicle. Worse case, you might get to replace an injection pump, although doubtfull, because the 85+ pumps didn't have a flex ring problem like the previous pumps did, as long as it doesn't leak diesel it'll go a long way.

Is it 1/2 or 3/4 ton?

You'll want to look for leaks, some seepins is going to be normal
See how well it starts in the cold, that will tell you the condition of the batteries, starter, and injection system.

If its a 1/2 ton, make sure its got the TH700R4 transmission in it, otherwise you'll regret the fuel mileage. Make sure the transmission hasn't been swapped out for a TH350 where a TH700 might have been, I used to see this pretty often. There never was a TH350 from factory behind a 6.2, only 700's and TH400's (2500 and 3500 series only).

[bmiszuk]

Is it 1/2 or 3/4 ton?1/2 ton


See how well it starts in the cold, that will tell you the condition of the batteries, starter, and injection system.It's warm here now so I can't tell for sure. They say it starts fine if it's plugged in.


If its a 1/2 ton, make sure its got the TH700R4 transmission in it,Can I tell by looking at the pan, or ..?

[KEVIN MUNCASTER]

I bought my parts from Team Chev because of price and service.

Balancer and Pulley, GM dealer in Ontario $735.00

Balancer and Pulley, Team Chev $380.00, shipped to Sault Ste. Marie Michigan FREE !

You tell me....Team Chev !

I'm in retail (own a powersports dealership) and I respect that a guy has to make money. The GM dealer employs several of my customers, (we're in a town of 5000) but $355.00 goes a long way in MY pocket. Know what I'm sayin'?

This is a great site, and you'll get loads of priceless advice. You won't be steered wrong. Buy the 'burb, once you go diesel, you'll never go back !

[john8662]

Yep, you can look at the pan, if its a TH700 it'll be a rectangle, no notches off the corners (the pan will be uniform). The TH350's had a different smaller square pan with a notch on one corner.

The easy way to tell is just play with the shifter, go to drive (three clicks down) then take a click at a time, you should have three more clicks, Drive, 2nd, 1st. Because you were already in OD when you went three clicks down from Park. And just ask, its probably got all the original equipment in it, I just state that because I have looked at a few trucks that had this done because people can install a T350 for cheap, where as the TH700 was more money, and they bolted right in place of one another.

[catmandoo]

bmiszuk,i was just across the river today in c.b,could have come over and gave it once over for ya.anyway one really wierd thing that i have had happen to both of my 82 and 83 subs is if it has the neutral tint(dark)on all the back windows,on both, one of the big ones on the sides and one on the barn doors on the back have cracked,it is like it has 2 layers of glass and one of them cracks,the one on the 82 has been that way for right at 10 yrs now.and if you do buy it and need parts,i have an 83 that i'm parting out,red/red with 3rd seat.and barn doors.and rear a/c &heat.i'm up in storm lake and get down there quite often. otherwise,mine have worked great i actually like the 6.2 better then my 6.5's and think they have far less problems,between my 3 6.2's i have close to 400,000 miles and have not replaced any of the inj pumps,1 set of inj's and couple of waterpumps and glow plugs.

[bmiszuk]

Hey, thanks for all the replies. Is there an easy way to tell the ratio of the rear end without jacking up the vehicle? I'm going to go take a look at it tomorrow, will let you know what i find. Overall the body does not appear to be showing rust, the window are tinted, and the interior is supposed to be in good shape except for a cracked dash.

Anything else I should pay attention to?

[86burb]

The RPO codes on the glove box door will tell you how the truck was originally ordered,(e.g. GT5=4.10 gears,G80=Eaton locker). If you are able to post them I can help with decoding them. Check the tail pan support for rust, the tailgate hinges can tear away if badly rusted. My suburban gets 25hwy/17city, but that can vary depending on driving habits.

[catmandoo]

my 83 is a 1/2 and has the rally wheels,if you need em.also check the oil cooler hoses from the engine to the rad,they tend to leak at the crimp fittings.and as said check around the tailgate or back doors,the ones with barn doors like to rust out the bottoms of the doors so open the doors and look on the bottoms.if it's a gate make sure the window works good,my 82 it is really slow and when it gets somewhat cold like the last week it has to be helped up.

[bmiszuk]

I'll make sure to check the tailgate (not barn doors) and window operation. I'll let you know about the wheels -- it might be good, I have an extra set of 15" studded snow tires that I could use easily if I had an extra pair of wheels.

Did not look at it today, the sellers had plans and were not home. Will post more when after I see it.

[bmiszuk]

Okay so I finally got a chance to go look at it tonight. Ran out of time but was able to see a lot. Here's the good, the bad, and the ugly:

Body is in good shape. Minor surface rust here and there but nothing major. It was repainted a few years ago, some of that paint is peeling. Interior is good. Tires are good. Transmission has overdrive (4 steps on the shifter past neutral). It's not clear if it's been rebuilt or not. 3.08 rear end. 77,000 miles on the vehicle.

Now the bad: It would not start. It's in the low 30's here. The glow plug light came on but I had to jump it to get it to run. A few times it would start and immediately die (that concerns me a bit, it was fully running for a brief period then just died). When it finally started there was HUGE diesel rattle and it idled so fast I was concerned about it. After a few minutes it settled down to normal idle. It sounded terrible at startup, mainly because of that diesel rattle. Some puffs of white smoke while it fast idled.

Once warm it ran okay. No visible smoke from the tailpipe. However at least one of the mufflers is shot, it probably needs an exhaust system. The brake booster is wet and may be leaking.

Another bad thing: the antifreeze is brown and low. It's just below the inlet where the heater hose comes from the engine. There were tiny bubbles in there when running and my flashlight shined on some vapors. I could not see any significant blowby from the oil fill tube when the engine was running.

What's your opinions? The antifreeze really concerns me. The exhaust system doesn't thrill me as it seems expensive (but routine) to replace. I wonder if it might have original glow plugs that are burned out.

In a lot of ways it's an okay vehicle but it obviously needs some work. How serious is all this??

[cschneider]

Take it from someone with a $50,000 1985 Suburban. Anything is possible if you just put enough money into it. It sounds like you have some significant issues here. Injection pump sounds like it needs a rebuild and the injectors probably should be done then too. My personal advice is to wait for another to come along. The reality on these is that you will never be able to get a good deal on a truck that you have to fix. Let someone else do the work and take it from them at an 80% discount. These things are not classics (although I would love it if one day they were) so any money you put into it is depreciated instantly. An '85 in top, almost mint condition should go for around $8,000. With all the money I have in mine I could never expect anyone to pay over 10,000. That's just the way market is. Wait for the cherry and don't settle for the lemon.

[john8662]

Hmm, interesting finds.

The cooling system troubles me, brown? At any rate it needs a complete flush (I'd make the owner pay for that) and then re-test and see if there are any bubbles in the recovery tank. The coolant went somewhere with it being THAT low, its either got a leak or gasket problems.

Starting, you learned several things about the condition of the starting system that night. It sounds like is was pretty cold, was it plugged in? It most likely needs new plugs, they're probably original. The dying after startup is concerning, that could mean a bad pump (leaking at the throttle area) leading to air in the pump. It also sounds like the fast idle solenoid needs adjustment, they do get off (mine did one morning, revved up higher than I like one to cold). Finally, sounds like it needs a set of batteries if you had to boost it off.

Exhaust, is it really leaking or is the engine running rough or missing or ticking?

It all depends on price and your availability to work on it, it is old after all.

[bmiszuk]

It was not plugged in, batteries had been drained by owner's daughter trying to start it a couple days ago. When I connected jumper cables to the right battery it had no effect on the truck, so it's likely a bad cable or something from that side to the left.

Yeah, brown coolant. You know how antifreeze gets after it's been in too long? That's how it was. Definitely needs a flush.

If it's drained, flushed, and refilled, is it enough of a test to look for bubbles in the overflow tank, or do I need to do something more sophisticated to check for leaking gasket.

[john8662]

With a completly full cooling system checking the overflow tank is sufficient for a quick check. It won't reveal a small leak. This test only reveals head gasket failure that leads to combustion gasses leaking into the cooling system. The cooling system is designed for 15lbs, so anything other than that the radiator cap releases, if its a head gasket you'll see bubbles. You'll also see a gurgling tank after shut down. Its hard to tell with a low cooling system though, things seem worse than they actually are. For a final test, you can get a compression test done, but that costs money and or extra time.

You're onto something with the connections on the batteries though, they probably just need a good cleaning, and the Dr. Lee battery terminal modification!

[86burb]

Top off the cooling system with water and then check with a pressure testor (borrow or rent one if you do not have one), pump the system to 16lbs and let it sit for a couple of hours. Continue to check over the rest of the truck, this should show you where, if any, leaks are. May only be a pinhole in the radiator or a bad hose.
Decision time, you say you don't want a project truck, how much of one is it? If the price is right and you are willing to work on it then get it. When you consider the cost of a new truck sometimes the older ones become cheaper to buy/fix And maintain.

[catmandoo]

his daughter probably tried to start it without useing the g-plugs,and how long had it sat without running before you got to it,my sub that i'm parting sat for about 3 months and thats just about exactly how it started,fired up after a couple g-plug cycles then ran for about 5 seconds and died,did this 2 more times then popped off and ran good,and as for the rad,it could just be the guy never checked it,i have to say headgaskets are the one thing i have never had to replace on my 6.2 and 6.5's,now the old 5.7 they ate em for breakfast.and exhaust,is common,replace it and you should never have to touch it again.wheres it at i'll be in c.b tomorrow,i could bop over the river and check it out if its not too far cross town!

[bmiszuk]

catmandoo, how can I reach you? email me at rcmiszuk@yahoo.com. Thanks.

[bmiszuk]

Where can I buy a pressure tester? I've looked in the past but not been able to find them.

[catmandoo]

10-4 bis man check your email.