How reliable can I expect a 99 Suburban K1500 to be? What can I expect if I want a daily driver?

[Canuckian]

Picked up a 99’ GMC Suburban with 130,000 miles for a song as a second vehicle for the family while we wait for the car market to sort out, maybe? I’m reading lots of posts and seeing some common issues for the 350 Vortec and 4L60e.

I’m not a mechanic but I’m dumb and confident enough to at least try to fix most issues. Especially with a Haynes manual.

I just want something to do road trips and camping, maybe 3-5,000 miles a year. Should I expect to get 200-250,000 miles out of this 23 year old car at this point? Ideally it would last another 5-7 years but I’m wondering if finding parts are going to become a major issue. Either way I think I’ll keep it for a project car but I’d like to use it and save some more $$ for the next minivan.

If you just wanted a reliable daily driver what would you fix immediately, keep an eye out for short term, and what can I expect to go wrong?

I already have a new tank, fuel pump, and filter ready to go in, I’m redoing all the brakes, new rear shocks.

 

[JOHNGAAA1]

They will last forever with good maintenance.

 

[Frank Enstein]

Rust is the enemy. Keep clean fluids in it and grease the suspension regularly and you can drive it for the rest of your life.

 

[Menissalt]

And parts are no problem. These are pretty popular right now and their popularity only seems to be going up. Lots of aftermarket upgrades too.

 

[OB1214]

GMTs are great, I love mine.

that gen 2 Ram in the background could use some help though. Always wanted one of them, they have a special place in my heart.

 

[JOHNGAAA1]

i own 7 gmt 400's and 2 of them i have over 250000 miles. Original tranny and motor. Synthetic mobil 1 every 3000 miles. Yes 3000 miles. Tranny service every 24000 miles, full synthetic. transfer case service every 24000 miles. differentials every 36000 miles, grease up the suspension and drive shaft, the front shaft has a grease fitting for the slip joint. Buy a chassis washer attachment, for a pressure washer, and wash the bottom of the truck to keep the salt and dirt off of it. keep attention to the rockers, inside the doors, and lower rear quarters. When it is clean, spray the bottom with surface shield to stop the corrosion. Check your brake lines. I HAVE CUSTOMERS WITH THESE TRUCKS SOME ARE OVER 500000 MILES. I had a customer last week and i towed in his 1999 k2500 for a broken brake line. It was the first time it was towed with a rockin 447000 miles on it. Enjoy the truck !!!

 

[CrystaledJazz]

I have a 97 with around 300k miles, if you keep up your maintenance and learn to look out for certain things you will be fine. The key to keeping a 4l60e happy is to keep it cool, so thats something to look into. These things are great because pretty much anywhere you go in the States and Canada there will be parts, whether in a store or in a junkyard, and they're cheap most of the time.

 

[stutaeng]

Just do basic maintenance stuff like fresh fluids, belts and hoses needing replacement.

Fix things that break as it becomes necessary. Generally, I don't change parts that are not broken; some of the aftermarket replacement parts out there are horrible, unfortunately. Exception would be the heater hose connectors near the firewall. There's also another heater hose quick connect that tends to leak or break. Change those if they look bad.

Realistically, you are looking at keeping it for 14 years driving it 5k miles a year to reach 200k miles. Like mentioned, rust will most likely control how long you can keep the truck on the road around your area. Not sure what's recommended to mitigate rust...

Do a search on any question you may have. Lots and lots of threads likely exist with similar questions and answers.

Good luck.

 

[MrPink]

tune up, fuel filter, fluid changes. it will last you a bit.

If it has not been done, the spider injector may need to be upgraded/replaced, they are known to stick open.

 

[BNielsen]

Echoing a lot of what everyone has said; keep up on the maintenance and it'll keep ticking.

I had a 97 K1500 Suburban I bought with around 220K; I daily'd it for 2 years and put almost 30K miles on it. I had some hiccups and stuff due to age and the previous owner deferring maintenance, but once everything was sorted it out it ran like a champ. One of my co-workers bought it and he's still running it, it's got almost 280K on it now and he swears he wants to be buried in the damn thing.