1996 Chevrolet K1500 Suburban

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Curt

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UPDATE: I've been running through all possible options to keep the suburban on the road with minimal downtime... but after talking with my Dad about the service history of the truck (the PO before us towed a heavy trailer with the truck when it was new, then my Dad bought it in 1997 with 16k miles and continued to use the truck for its intended purpose) I'm questioning the health of the motor. Now my Dad never beat on the truck, but he didn't believe in regular maintenance either. He told me his service routine with oil changes (long, scary story short it's about once every 15-20k miles on synthetic 5W-30). Although nothing is mechanically wrong with the truck (excluding the head gasket) I'm questioning the health of the bottom end of the motor. Once I get the time to do so, I'm going to perform a compression test to check how the motor is doing. Once I get those results I'll know where to go from there. If the engine has good compression, then the top end rebuild will ensue but if not, a new motor might be in the future... I guess we'll see what happens. Until then the suburban will be parked in the driveway.


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Curt

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Imho if you are going to do the timing chain you might want to consider taking the engine out to work on it. It is a lot easier to do all the bottom end gaskets with the engine out.

By that's just my preference.


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As much as I'd like to pull the motor, I don't have the equipment nor the space to do so unfortunately. I really wish I had more garage space...


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Curt

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I got around to doing the compression test this weekend and the results are in...
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The motor is doing great! Cylinder 4 is where the head gasket leak is happening and it was reflected in the spark plug as well
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I already purchased the GM Service manual and am going to order the gasket kit soon. Looks like the top end rebuild is going to happen real soon.


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Curt

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gstubbz

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The first link for valve covers would be my pick, but damn they are pricey!!

I usually go with a 195 thermostat, my old vortec would always run 210 once it was warm. Although one day when it was really humid I drove it up a super steep mountain and it ran pretty hot (over 210). The only time I ever did that lol
 

Curt

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The first link for valve covers would be my pick, but damn they are pricey!!

I usually go with a 195 thermostat, my old vortec would always run 210 once it was warm. Although one day when it was really humid I drove it up a super steep mountain and it ran pretty hot (over 210). The only time I ever did that lol
I love the raised valve covers also, but the price of them kills me... do you know if there will be any clearance issues with the raised covers?

If my truck went past 210 I would've freaked out and pulled over haha. I bet the inside of your truck was an oven with the heater on full blast [emoji23].


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Curt

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I'll just leave this copy and paste here:

My Dad and I were talking and in the next 5 years or so, the Suburban will most likely be getting an HT383E. Not because the motor is bad, it's simply because we want to give the 'burb a little more kick. Plus, it has a 4 bolt main instead of a 2 bolt, while still remaining to be a plug and play motor keeping all accessories, maintaining the integrity of the wiring harness, and the turn key reliability of Chevy crate motors.

That being said, is it necessary to send the heads off to a machine shop to be rebuilt? I know this is a question which will be hard to answer off the internet, but the reason behind this thinking is because the truck has never overheated, nor do i have any problems with compression (aside from cylinder #1 & 4). I do burn a little bit of oil, but my hypothesis is that cylinder #1 piston ring is slightly worn and correct me if I'm wrong but I believe the low compression in cylinder #4 is because of the head gasket. My dad isn't into the idea of spending another $200/head (that's our guesstimate, we never called any shops yet) if we won't be keeping the motor for a long time. He wants me to buy the gasket kit, and change the head gasket along with the other gaskets (minus the valve seals) and call it a day. I want to get the heads redone, but he doesn't. I'm not sure what to do... advice?
 

Cokeman95

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I'd at least have the heads decked to make sure they're true. The last set I had done was around 200 for that locally.

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Urambo Tauro

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At the very least, check the heads yourself with a good straight-edge and feeler gauge. If they're flat, then I guess the need for machining is debatable. But if you do find any excessive distortion, then you'll definitely want to have them touched up.
 
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