1997 7.4L 454 Vortec Engine K2500 suburban Perfomance advice

[kaboom187]

Hey everyone im new to forum posting, my friend is big in the Honda scene and said forums help allot when working on car's .
so i have my 1997 Suburban k 2500 7.4L 454 Vortec engine . It runs okay , but i want it to run great . What are some of the things
i should be doing to it first for performance wise. So far my plan was a Aem cold intake , chip it , new fuel pump, new alternator and possibly
exhaust system. If anyone has experience with these trucks or know whats the first thing you should be doing that would be great thanks.

 

[shelbyt.67]

Welcome, There's oodles of info here to choose from. Enjoy.

 

[454ss]

you dont chip 96+ trucks, the biggest bang for the buck is a tune for the ecm.

 

[addiction2bass]

well like any vehicle first thing is basic maintance! dont start throwing performance parts till it runs good stockish! spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, fuel filter, oil from engine/tranny/axle fluids change them all and if you do tranny also change tranny filter as well of course!
once it has all the basics done THEN START MODING.... nice air intake and exhaust first, breathing in helps but if its still restricted by breathing out it wont help much! after that a good ECM TUNE.

but why you say alternator... the 454s should already have the 140amp alternators. that will be fine as long as ya dont have a some nice bass in the back which sucks more power!
and fuel pump.... if it still has good pressure at most i would do is just remove the pump and change the fuel sock filter but IMO thats alot of work for just a simle sock filter replacement! but defiantly change the main inline fuel filter on the frame rail.

but if after the basic maintance and intake/exhaust is done and it still does feel fast enough for ya.... you might also look into changing the rear gears! and just remember its a 2500 suburban.... not a honda civic. its got some weight to it just cause a civic can blast ya away doesnt mean your truck doesnt have the power. its just pushing alot more weight and geared differently.

 

[kaboom187]

REply

well like any vehicle first thing is basic maintance! dont start throwing performance parts till it runs good stockish! spark plugs, wires, distributor cap, fuel filter, oil from engine/tranny/axle fluids change them all and if you do tranny also change tranny filter as well of course!
once it has all the basics done THEN START MODING.... nice air intake and exhaust first, breathing in helps but if its still restricted by breathing out it wont help much! after that a good ECM TUNE.

but why you say alternator... the 454s should already have the 140amp alternators. that will be fine as long as ya dont have a some nice bass in the back which sucks more power!
and fuel pump.... if it still has good pressure at most i would do is just remove the pump and change the fuel sock filter but IMO thats alot of work for just a simle sock filter replacement! but defiantly change the main inline fuel filter on the frame rail.

but if after the basic maintance and intake/exhaust is done and it still does feel fast enough for ya.... you might also look into changing the rear gears! and just remember its a 2500 suburban.... not a honda civic. its got some weight to it just cause a civic can blast ya away doesnt mean your truck doesnt have the power. its just pushing alot more weight and geared differently.

Hey thanks for that , uhm just put the battery in and it rotates but wont start put 20 gallons of fuel in it as well , and the mechanic that looked at it said the alternator and fuel pump need to be changed but i dont think he knows what hes talking about . Anyone know why it wouldnt start ? It sounds like the gas isnt going thru.

 

[kaboom187]

Oooh okay didnt know that thanks.

 

[sewlow]

Welcome fellow Canadian!

...and what A2B said. Maintenance before performance. Get it running (& stopping) well, before you start modding.
Changing that fuel filter on the frame rail may help solve some of the flow issues. Those 454's are thirsty!

 

[addiction2bass]

if it wont start then first thing is check fuel pressure at the intake. if it doesnt get full pressure then its probably the pump but could also be a fuse or relay or something not working. i myself have not done to much fuel trouble shooting myself. when my fuel pump just stoped working for me i just changed the pump because it was makign odd noises before it just gave up on me while driving down the interstate and i had a lucky guess cause it started right up after slapping in a new OEM fuel pump. and IMO go OEM dont cheap out on 20bucks or so for the cheap crappy pump. they are notorious for lasting 1year and 1 day.... right after the warrenty expires on them.LOL

and before you replace the alternator have it checked. it shouldnt effect the starting of the vehicle at all. just remove the alternator and take it into a autoparts store and have them test it. its probably fine but without the shop actually spinning the alternator at idle speed at least how can they say the alternator is bad? just curious.... hell did he atleast check fuel pressure? or is he just guessing by looking at it? i probably wouldnt go back to him for work... pay a real shop to diagnos the problem! they should be able to slap a gauge on the fuel fitting and test it in a few minutes and say if the fuel pump is most likely the problem!

 

[kaboom187]

if it wont start then first thing is check fuel pressure at the intake. if it doesnt get full pressure then its probably the pump but could also be a fuse or relay or something not working. i myself have not done to much fuel trouble shooting myself. when my fuel pump just stoped working for me i just changed the pump because it was makign odd noises before it just gave up on me while driving down the interstate and i had a lucky guess cause it started right up after slapping in a new OEM fuel pump. and IMO go OEM dont cheap out on 20bucks or so for the cheap crappy pump. they are notorious for lasting 1year and 1 day.... right after the warrenty expires on them.LOL

and before you replace the alternator have it checked. it shouldnt effect the starting of the vehicle at all. just remove the alternator and take it into a autoparts store and have them test it. its probably fine but without the shop actually spinning the alternator at idle speed at least how can they say the alternator is bad? just curious.... hell did he atleast check fuel pressure? or is he just guessing by looking at it? i probably wouldnt go back to him for work... pay a real shop to diagnos the problem! they should be able to slap a gauge on the fuel fitting and test it in a few minutes and say if the fuel pump is most likely the problem!

Hey a2b thanks for that and no my mom tried selling it while i was in the states came back and she told me what he said but i talked to him over the phone and he said its putting out only 3-4 pounds rather then the full 17 if that makes any sense? And ive tried the banging on the bottom but didnt work so ima go buy a fuel pump from part source it was about 129 and just do it my self. Most shops here want atleast $600 to do it . Your right about the alternator to took it to a buddy today and he said the same thing . Other then that i have a project thread up and im going to post the fuel pump , filter progress on there with pictures as well.

 

[addiction2bass]

ya doing it yourself can save HUGE!!!!!!!!! tho you have a suburban so youll need to suck most the gas out to be able to easily drop the tank and swap the pump out. fun fun for you