'94 Suburban K1500 for Medium Duty Towing?

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Hey all..I have a '94 K1500 Suburban with 3:42s. It's to the point of needing a new motor, so before I go throwing cash at this I was wondering if this vehicle, with a fresh motor and maybe a regear, will fit my needs. I'd like to use it for pulling a utility trailer (12'?) or even a small travel trailer (Casita, or one of the newer 17' to 18' types)??

I'd like to swap to 3:73s or even 4:10s since it's main use in life is to be our utility vehicle.

Ideas? Experience? Go buy a 3/4 ton truck and junk this one??
 

slowburb

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Paying a shop, you may as well figure a grand an axle with parts/labor for the gear swap. It would make sense to me to regear 4.10:1. Can't remark to buying a different rig, except to say that a half ton can tow what you want to tow, but the wear and tear impact would be less significant on a 3/4 ton.
 

Biggershaft96

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he makes a good point. if it needs a motor and gears, then youll probably have $5k or more wrapped up in it assuming a shop does the work. for that, you can buy a decent 3/4 ton. on the other hand if you do it all yourself, it would probably be worth it to keep what you have, just remember, youll still have a 4l60.
 

90halfton

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How much weight will be on this trailer? If you like your rig in my opinion a regear and rebuild would be worth the money, if you're not pulling 10k lbs or something crazy. The kind of 3/4 ton truck you can buy for the 5k$ rangeish may soon need a rebuild as well. Just my opinion. But a 3/4 ton will pull anything better as well. Brakes, stability, safety, etc.
 
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Good info! I think I'll look at keeping this one running for now. If I can delay the CHA CHING of a decent (10yr old) 3/4 ton for 5 or so years life is good. My Suburban is in good shape other than the motor, even the seats are original and no rips! I upgraded the 4x4 actuator, did tires, brakes, radiator, ignition tune and new headlamps last year. I'm looking at travel trailer they say is FWD SUV towable so I'm thinking a 1/2 ton should be plenty. If we start towing it in hilly areas and it's not happy then I'll think about 3.73 or 4.10s.
 

Old Blue

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This man speaks the truth. Beware the 4L60E.

Why? What is wrong with the 4L60E? Are they bad transmissions? Next spring I'm planning on towing my car about 800 miles (round trip) to a car show at the college I went to. My truck is 4x4 also, and has a 5.0 and the 4L60E (I would assume). The car + trailer is going to be around 6500-7000 lbs.
 

df2x4

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Why? What is wrong with the 4L60E? Are they bad transmissions? Next spring I'm planning on towing my car about 800 miles (round trip) to a car show at the college I went to. My truck is 4x4 also, and has a 5.0 and the 4L60E (I would assume). The car + trailer is going to be around 6500-7000 lbs.

I personally have blown up two of them in a V6 C1500 that never hauls anything. One of them was a $2K+ rebuild. My mechanic has also told me some similar horror stories about friends of his who tried towing large loads with them. They're very weak.

I'm in the process of gathering parts for a 4L80E swap in that truck right now.
 

tinfoil_hat

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The 4L60E is an adequate trans for a 1/2 ton SUV. Just don't abuse it.
The guy who owned my burb before me towed a fairly large RV with it frequently. The truck needed a new trans at 150k miles. From the receipts he kept it looks like he had the axle rebuilt twice and lots and lots of brakes. I honestly believe his RV was to much for a 1/2 ton.
Even if you regear, that axle and brakes are still undersized for heavy towing and you will be punishing your trans. I don't know what the terrain is like where you live but around here its all steep windy climbs and descents. That probably colors my opinion.
If you are set on doing it make sure you have a working trans cooler and keep it in 3rd.
 

Biggershaft96

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the 4l60e is a good transmission for something that doesn't touch a trailer. ive had them at both ends of the spectrum. on one hand ive broken 3 of them in my truck, the most recent being a "built" trans, but its been used as a truck to fish out stuck things and pull trailers with quite often. on the other hand I had a 01 Tahoe that my mom bought brand new and it pulled a trailer MAYBE 3 times its entire life and the trans lasted to almost 250k behind a 5.3. I personally will never spend any more money replacing them.
 
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