96 K3500 DRW 454 tire-kicking questions

[tlbuser]

I had a 96 chevy 4x4 DRW 3500 w/6.5 and 4.10 rear. Was a pretty darn good truck. Only real thing wrong with it was the pump mounted driver. I towed things with it I shouldn't have. Ended up swapping in a 5.9 12 valve at ~135,000 (got a sweet deal), jake and putting disc brakes on it. It's been rotated to a new owner that wanted a small truck that could plow. Talk with him occasionally and he's still not disappointed.

 

[some zilch]

i used to have the exact same truck, only is was not a dually. it was the biggest POS i have ever owned. it is the one reason i will NEVER buy another chevy. underpowered engine, leaked everywhere it could, saggy doors, leaky roof, etc. i hated everything about it.

 

[mattbatson]

my best friend has a 3/4 ton 96 suburban with the 6.5 and it is a 4x4 with the big trailer tow kit springs, tranny cooler, etc.
It has been pretty reliable for him except for some air conditioning issues, I think the brake booster...., and couple other little things.

I have driven quite a few trucks, including my old modified 97 dodge cummins that was making about 650ft lbs of torque , and my buddies suburban is not slow or underpowered by any stretch of imagination.
power is instantaneous and it will set you back in your seat.

Perhaps some of these other posters had engines that werent tuned well?

no suspension or tranny or engine issues that I ever heard of...just a reliable and powerful truck.

 

[tcartwri]

my best friend has a 3/4 ton 96 suburban with the 6.5 .........Perhaps some of these other posters had engines that werent tuned well?

.

6.5 = tdiesel
454 = 7.4 gasser.

 

[jeffsw6]

From what I remember about my truck was it was throttle body 454 and I am sure it was a 96 and but could have been a 97 but could have been a 95.

95 was the last year of the TBI so yours must have been a 95. What you describe is actually the reason I am not interested in a pre-1996 454, there is a big difference in performance in the 96 and later 454.

 

[Diamondpilot]

95 was the last year of the TBI so yours must have been a 95. What you describe is actually the reason I am not interested in a pre-1996 454, there is a big difference in performance in the 96 and later 454.

You must be right. I had it in my head that it was a year old when I got it from the airport director when I took the job in April of 1997. It had to have been a 95 then if its as you say. I know for sure it was a TBI engine and a dog. It had no issues plowing snow and I was not allowed to tow it because it was a county issued truck but I know I would not have been impressed.

It was pretty reliable. I do remember a tranny issue but it was not a major expense and to be fair non of the brands had good trannys back then plus I used it to plow the ramp and hanger door areas at the airport along with the parking lot. The county brought in big trucks to do the runway and taxiways.

I do know one thing for a fact, it made me hate dually trucks. I vowed to never own another one again after having that thing for 2 years. Everything I have bought since has been SRW including 3 Ford Diesels, and Dodge, and a 3500 GM plus a dozen or so 1/2 ton trucks.

Chris

 

[mattbatson]

6.5 = tdiesel
454 = 7.4 gasser.

Yep, I was mistaken.
He does have the big block gasser
oh, and it is actually a 95 too.:laughing:
sorry bout that

edit...I see some saying the tranny's were a weak point
were there any known probems with the 48LE auto , or whatever the code was...?

 

[jeffsw6]

We don't get much snow here, and I don't plan on selling my Suburban, so I think there are more advantages to DRW for me than disadvantages. Also the bumper pull ratings of 90s trucks are not nearly what they are today.

 

[jeffsw6]

Well, my search is still on-going. I looked at what I thought was a promising truck today, cash in hand mind you, and what was listed on Craigslist as a reliable truck with no immediate maintenance needed, turned out to have:
* tires so bald it was obvious the truck was neglected
* both front door handles falling out
* steering wheel had to be held at 3 o'clock to go straight, surprisingly it wanted to go RIGHT
* very strong thump going from D to R and didn't want to go into P
* parking brake was trashed
* instrument cluster lights all screwed up

My buddy said the front-end work might cost $1k, I figured the transmission could go out at any moment and that'd be $2k plus a ruined workday, and I wouldn't have even attempted to register it without first spending $1300 on all six tires. $4800 plus $4300 in near-term repairs to still have plenty of gremlins, no thanks!

Back to searching Craigslist for F350s and 3500s every day.

Oh yeah, the guy obviously saw himself as some kind of wannabe-dealer too. He talked about how many trucks he flipped and blablablah, and this one still had the auction tag on the keys. I find his story about just having drove it to TN and back hauling horses to be difficult to believe given it had no plates and was so screwed up it had no business towing a bicycle rack, let alone a horse trailer!