99Yak
I'm Awesome
Well my wife finished off the Yak in grand fashion. She rear ended a combine. Fortunately, she is ok - with the exception of her left hand. Nothing a couple hours of surgery couldn’t fix. The farmer and the combine walked away too. And he was able to bring in his crops. He was also a paramedic. So my wife was in good hands before the emergency squad arrived. For all of this I’m thankful today.
The pictures may not look like a “total”, but the cowl, firewall, and dash, are pushed in about 6 inches. It’s at my friend’s bodyshop. He knows how much I loved it - but he has pronounced it DOA.
If you can picture the rear of JD combine. The downward angle compressed the burb, kind of acting like an attenuator, rapidly slowing the burb. But before the rear of the combine could enter the passenger compartment the frame contacted the rear axle of the combine. All of this is responsible for saving her life and giving it the “appearance“ of being repairable.
So now it’s time to go Suburban shopping. I would like your input.
The 99 had some things going for it; love the looks, leaf springs, easy to work on, parts available from a vending machine. We used it as an RV. There is nowhere we can go that it can’t be repaired. If the parts aren’t on the shelf - they are only a day way.
Since we used it as an RV, the Yak‘s drivetrain has been rebuilt with the exception of the engine. The leather is in great shape, either factory covers or original. So, I would only need a suburban with: 1) less that 200k 2) decent or repairable paint 3) no rust - I will be shopping northern Cal, Washington and Oregon 4) grey interior that hasn't been hammered on (new carpet is not an issue).
On the other hand the GMT 400 had under engineered brakes. Wasn’t exactly like floating on air. Poor fuel economy. The whole blend door issue in the center of the dash that will have to be addressed eventually on all of them. There are probably a few more that I’m forgetting in my grief.
I had a 2001 GMT 800 truck. It was a great riding truck. The 5.3 was a great engine. So I’m considering a 00-06 suburban. The cons are they harder find with low miles. Seems they are all north of 200k. I don’t have an extra rebuilt trans laying around, or will the 99 L60 Work in the GMT-800? Brakes and body roll are better - but far from great. Am I missing anything pros or cons? How about a nice 3/4 ton with a 6.0?
And then there is 07-??. It seems like one can be purchased for less than $15k with less than 200k miles. I have heard they are junk. Is this the case? Can you work on them or is it always the repair shop. Are they comfortable to drive? What is the big ticket item that likes to fail? Any input/advice here would be appreciated….
Anyway, I’m not a Facebooker so marketplace is not an option, so it’s Craigslist or tips. If you're in the northwest and there is a nice one for sale around the corner please let me know.
The pictures may not look like a “total”, but the cowl, firewall, and dash, are pushed in about 6 inches. It’s at my friend’s bodyshop. He knows how much I loved it - but he has pronounced it DOA.
If you can picture the rear of JD combine. The downward angle compressed the burb, kind of acting like an attenuator, rapidly slowing the burb. But before the rear of the combine could enter the passenger compartment the frame contacted the rear axle of the combine. All of this is responsible for saving her life and giving it the “appearance“ of being repairable.
So now it’s time to go Suburban shopping. I would like your input.
The 99 had some things going for it; love the looks, leaf springs, easy to work on, parts available from a vending machine. We used it as an RV. There is nowhere we can go that it can’t be repaired. If the parts aren’t on the shelf - they are only a day way.
Since we used it as an RV, the Yak‘s drivetrain has been rebuilt with the exception of the engine. The leather is in great shape, either factory covers or original. So, I would only need a suburban with: 1) less that 200k 2) decent or repairable paint 3) no rust - I will be shopping northern Cal, Washington and Oregon 4) grey interior that hasn't been hammered on (new carpet is not an issue).
On the other hand the GMT 400 had under engineered brakes. Wasn’t exactly like floating on air. Poor fuel economy. The whole blend door issue in the center of the dash that will have to be addressed eventually on all of them. There are probably a few more that I’m forgetting in my grief.
I had a 2001 GMT 800 truck. It was a great riding truck. The 5.3 was a great engine. So I’m considering a 00-06 suburban. The cons are they harder find with low miles. Seems they are all north of 200k. I don’t have an extra rebuilt trans laying around, or will the 99 L60 Work in the GMT-800? Brakes and body roll are better - but far from great. Am I missing anything pros or cons? How about a nice 3/4 ton with a 6.0?
And then there is 07-??. It seems like one can be purchased for less than $15k with less than 200k miles. I have heard they are junk. Is this the case? Can you work on them or is it always the repair shop. Are they comfortable to drive? What is the big ticket item that likes to fail? Any input/advice here would be appreciated….
Anyway, I’m not a Facebooker so marketplace is not an option, so it’s Craigslist or tips. If you're in the northwest and there is a nice one for sale around the corner please let me know.
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