94 Suburban has been sitting for 5+ years

[nunya]

My '89 Suburban sat for 8 years. Fuel turned to varnish, new (maybe 20 miles) 33" tires had flat spots, new ac compressor locked up.
Cleaned out the fuel tank and got new fuel pump, sending unit, etc and replaced the tires and it was good as new. Took it to s shop for A/C repair. The shop spotted a leak in my radiator so I replaced that. A week later I drove from Arizona to Indiana. I blew a trans cooler line before I even got out of town which I fixed in Khols parking lot. Then heat/AC fan motor went out the first day on the road. Used it as a work truck in Indiana for a couple months. Did a trip to Myrtle Beach and back. Drove it back to Arizona with no other issues. Still going strong 18 months later.

 

[PlayingWithTBI]

"nunya" - hmmm, does that mean nunya f***ing business, LOL?

 

[489burb]

Nice truck, If I was going to start on my build again I'd LS swap. Also if you wan't something fast its going to be expensive to make the burb fast especially being TBI, I have 20K into the motor & electronics on my big block tbi to make it fast, its fast now but also really hard to drive.

 

[David89gmc]

If she still holds fluids, change them all out and give it a tune up, I bet ti will start up with a new battery and fresh fuel. If the seals are rotted, then you have to ask yourself if it's worth tearing apart. Most of my vehicles were resurrected from the dead. I vote keep it.

That's two of us. Never owned a new car, always got "mechanic specials" that just needed a few repairs. That Sub is an awesome truck, easy to get back on the road.

 

[Z71Sierra]

Any advise on getting that gas tank drained?

 

[94burbk1500]

Any advise on getting that gas tank drained?

I would disconnect the filler neck and get a hand siphon and something to drain it in. Once you get the flow started you can disconnect the bulb and let it gravity feed. It will take a while so you might want to start that and then deal with the other fluids while you wait.

Alternatively, you could try using the fuel pump to empty it, but I would think that would be hard on the pump when you run it dry.

 

[Z71Sierra]

I would disconnect the filler neck and get a hand siphon and something to drain it in. Once you get the flow started you can disconnect the bulb and let it gravity feed. It will take a while so you might want to start that and then deal with the other fluids while you wait.

Alternatively, you could try using the fuel pump to empty it, but I would think that would be hard on the pump when you run it dry.

I thought about using the pump but decided against to avoid running 35 gallons of crap though the lines.

Would you try to rinse out the tank with some good gas afterwards?

 

[GMC GIANNI]

Hi all, been a while.

Quick backstory, my poor 94 Sierra is gone, 93 Silverado is gone, I parked my 94 Suburban pretty much because I didn't know what to do with it. My father bought it used way back when. Rough guess being around '99/'00. When I was around 14 or 15 my father lost the ability to drive and the truck sat first outside, then in a garage. When I was 19 (2007) I bought it from his estate. I drove it for maybe two years and then parked it in my garage because it was in such good shape (as well as being a 4x2) that I didn't want to drive it in the winter anymore.

I want to say I had my Silverado for one year before I bought my new truck in '14. That means unless my memories are completely wrong it's been sitting since 2012/2013.

Full of gas, without anything done to it prior. I backed the truck in one day, shut it off and never started it again. This summer it's coming out one way or the other and I've got a pretty good idea of what I'll need to do to get it back on the road.

However.... before we get into all that I would like y'alls opinion on something that's been the topic of discussion around many a bonfire the last couple years. Several of my buddies are pushing me to do the bare minimum to get it back on the road and then sell it. Their reasoning is that it will never again be a reliable vehicle. This thing has been sitting for long periods of time over the last 15 years.

What say you? Are my friends right in thinking this truck will nickel and dime me till the end of time?

I bought my 89 gmc last summer and the truck had been sitting for 14 years. I put a new battery in it and drove it home. Sure it's been springing leaks because it is now my daily but I've got a few grand in it and it's a beauty

 

[94burbk1500]

I thought about using the pump but decided against to avoid running 35 gallons of crap though the lines.

Would you try to rinse out the tank with some good gas afterwards?

It's gonna be tough cleaning the tank without dropping it, at which point you might as well do a new fuel pump and sock. Really depends upon if you want to do it quick and dirty or costly and thorough.

 

[489burb]

Any advise on getting that gas tank drained?

The tanks are pretty easy to drop, piece of plywood over a floor jack, 2 bolts, plus the filler and vent line, may need to drop the hitch too (6 nuts?), my buddy was helping me with mine, I poped into the bathroom for 5 min and he had it dropped when I was out