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Just got a new Suburban-looking for some suggestions

seems like most fishbites come from 2 sources fuel or electrical (as in IP). put on a piece of clear tubing to the return line on the IP (comes out the front ) watch for air bubbles also check for air while starting.
 
sd455 said:
Thanks for all the advice guys-

Im guessing the airbox is the key to hearing the turbo. My 99 must have had the K47 box,once I opened up the exhaust I could hear it loud and clear. Yes, your 99 had a K47 which is a MUCH better flowing airbox.

Couple of questions- With regards to exhaust,how much difference is there really between a stock 3' system with muffler and soot trap delete(so basically 3" strait pipe) and going with the DE 3" DP and 4" system? Im thinking that the major restriction is the manifolds and Turbo,so not sure if other than the feel good factor,and slightly better sound there will be much real performance gain? The stock system is 3" up front, but I know my 95 was only 2.75" from the muffler back. The most restrictive point is the turbo downpipe as GM designed them that way to restrict the engines power back and slow the turbo spool some. A 4" diamond eye exhaust isn't that expensive, but is mORE than worth it to install. If you are concerned with noise though, a resonator or better muffler is a good idea. The included muffler works great for trucks, but the BURB body is BAD about picking up drone and echoing it and many want a quieter muffler because of it.

For a tune- Who would you recommend,and where do I find them? Someone mentioned "Buddy" but i'm not sure where to find him. Keep in mind this is OBD I. We wont really be doing any towing,at least not anything heavy,so I'm wondering what would work well for increased torque,and economy. We have site vendors who support this site who offer tuning, and if you wait a little while are few members here are working on low cost OBD1 tuning.

Now a question about an intermittent "fish biting" The truck will on occasion fish bite,usually just once,and only while on the highway in OD. Its barely noticeable,but happens usually at least once while HWY driving. I dont think there is any water in the fuel,and I have just replaced lift pump and OPS and fuel filter. Your fuel pickup sock in the tank may be covered over and causing excess fuel restrictioon to your new lift pump. And if you didn't use a genuine AC DELCO OPS, then there is also a good chance your OPS is malfunctioning as i wouldn't be a first for a new aftermarket OPS to be a POS.

And finally,what about hard starting? Actually,its not really HARD,it just doesnt always light right away,and sometimes has to crank for more than what is normal, usually just when its cold,or if you wait too long after the glow plug warning light goes off. I believe the GP's to be original,but keep in mind the very low mileage on the truck. Chances are it needs new glow plugs and injectors. I know my 95 BURB had 9G glow plugs in it which work REALLY good, but they are not a self limiting glow plug that can stay on. The BOSCH DURATERMS seem to be the prefferred plug followed up by the AC 60G's. The AC 60G's do require a bit more glow time than the stock ECM gives though, and is why most go with the self regulating BOSCH DURATERMS. And anything over 75K miles and your injectors could be due to be changed out. If your getting smoke during these delayed starts(espescially whitish grey colored), then I would suspect the injectors to be going.

Thanks again all!
Click to expand...

In red.
 
You will want AT LEAST 3.5" for the best flow (my 94&95 only had 2 5/8), I would go with Stainless too if I was in an area with more snow and road salt (or salty air and water). Our soil is salty and muddy roads eat up our trucks over the years but Alluminized pipe holds up for 5-7yrs and but then you are lucky to have not drug it off.

Buddy is the guy you want to talk to for OBD1 he tuned my 95 and i have never regretted it. Buddy is his username on this forum, I used to have his info but my email got hacked and was unrecoverable.

Fish biting and hard starting can be symptoms of the same problem. Air leak in a fuel line comes to mind. Could be PMD or ground related too.

Remember parts can go bad over time as well as with high miles. Check the rubber lines under the intake and seals on the fuel manager. New parts also dont mean good parts, check your fuel pressure. OBD1 trucks take more cranking to start due to lack of LP fuel prime during WTS
 
THEFERMANATOR said:
In red.
Click to expand...

Thanks Ferm- I have no real noise concerns- the strait pipe on my 99 was only loud with the window down. The cost of the DE is insignificant for sure,but beyond the DP,I'm just having a hard time seeing the need for anything beyond 3" considering the restrictions at the engine.

I cant seem to find any Vendors-and I dont want to make my own tune,ill leave that to the pros.

Did my homework and made sure I got the AC delco OPS!!

No smoke during start up,and once I rule out air in the fuel I will get a set of the Bosch Duraterms you mention.
 
You are right, the truck will not need anything bigger than 3" for exhaust is an overkill.

Trouble is, there is hardly any vendor selling 3" anymore.
If there are, it will be more than the readily available 4" exhaust.
Most exhaust shop cannot mandrel bend 3" or bigger pipe.
 
Go ahead and get the 4" as you upgrade the extra flow capability will be there andf as JMJ says pretty much the standard aftermarket offering these days.

Yours being a 99 Burb OBD-II you have dual power for your lift pump OPS and PCM power control if you haven't found it yet the TRL http://www.thetruckstop.us/forum/forumdisplay.php?218-6-2-and-6-5-Technical-Reference-Library is a wealth of 6.5 information.

More specifically with regard to fuel system troubleshooting and eliminating fuel delivery as cause of FB http://www.thetruckstop.us/forum/sh...t-Pumps-amp-OPS-operation-and-troubleshooting

Another area to look at is the grounding system as in all modern puter controlled vee-hickles more than 1 gnd to be concerned with http://www.thetruckstop.us/forum/showthread.php?14596-6-5-grounds

Alas you being a OBD-II truck Buddy's tunes for OBD-I won't be of any help to you wholly different system, depending on where you want to take your 6.5 to power/performance wise several vendors doing a reflash for the OBD-II Heath Diesel is one I use.

If wanting a little more power go that route, there have been some recent developments in the OBD-I tuning world that have applicability to OBD-II so my recommendation there; as far as tunes go I'd wait to see how that pans out before buying a tune.

Let's get your basic driveability & reliability resolved 1st then we can do some "MORE POWER" arh-arh-arh stuff to your Burb, you've found in my opinion the best resource & bunch of guys for that to happen.
 
He is a 95 OBD 1,, contact Buddy,, member name, I'm running a tune from him in my 95 with K-47 and 4" exh, and the turbo sings, at every throttle level.
 
Crankme69 said:
No way from him to do that...not here anyhow
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Turbine doc- this burb is a 95- I was just referencing my 99, so please advise if any of your info is different based on that. I agree that drive ability is step one- PMD is first on the list, however know one has chimed in.

Crankme- you are correct- I can't seem to find buddy- or a vendor area?
 
sd455 said:
Turbine doc- this burb is a 95- I was just referencing my 99, so please advise if any of your info is different based on that. I agree that drive ability is step one- PMD is first on the list, however know one has chimed in.

Crankme- you are correct- I can't seem to find buddy- or a vendor area?
Click to expand...

For the remote PMD I believe you want either Heath http://www.heathdiesel.com
or Leroy http://www.pmdcable.com/
Both are vendors here and we wholeheartedly support them because this forum is free to our members thanks to people like them.

The buddy tune thing, on the other hand, is a saga of the flip side of the coin where it appears he was using our forum to sell his product without benefit of supporting the forum. We don't tell people that mentioning buddy's tune(s) aren't allowed because we don't censor that sort of thing, like other forums may, but in no way are we going to endorse or promote it. I hope you understand.
 
My apologies I fixated on your signature vs the opening line your 1st post recommendations same OBD-I vs OBD-II as far as reliability, since it is OBD-I OPS is sole power source to the lift pump there is a relay control mod Ferm talks about to lighten the burden there of lift pump load on it.

As far as PMD value 2 vendors Mike sent links to are where I'd go for best manufactured kit, checkig signatures is a good idea who uses what; some folks build their own, my recommendation whether you build or buy that a new driver is used, once a driver has been IP or anywhere under hood mounted it is suspect, good for "get home" spare use only. No sush thing as a "good tested" driver you see on ebay Edam drivers famous for this as well as questionable remote driver mounts. SS Diesel mounts under hood not good either.

As far as tunes go as stated earlier we recommend paying vendors regardless of "deals" offered elsewhere I'd wait 1st as stated before for the tune until you get a solid baseline to work from and there are some guys playing with OBD-I tunes now that look very interesting as compared to what else is out on the market right now.
 
I'd return the OEM lift pump and install a Walbro - unless you like changing the lift pump on a regular basis. X2 on OPS relay unless you like changing the OPS on a regular basis...
The cooling upgrade can be had with a 4 bolt fan clutch and Duramax fan or the 19" 9 blade steel fan. HO water pump should be put on. Cheaper and easier to work with the 4 bolt water pump vs. the thread on stuff. It takes the special tools or an air chisel to knock off the threaded fan clutch. Although the thread on pump is the best the HO pump will do the job.
 
Wait on the tune. The stuff coming down the pipe is almost free. You can even try some of the ones that exist already to see if you like the improvements.
 
I use AC Delco or GM lift pumps on everything and haven't changed all that many in the 2 million miles we've driven them.

Buy a lift pump for a 1993 - they have greater output. For the most part I like to stay stock. Makes it easier for other people to work on stuff if need be.

Don't use any aftermarket OEM style lift pumps
 
Great find!!! You did say kilometers. My sig is virtually stock with slight upgrade in exhaust--3" down, 3 1/2 straight out ie no soot trap or muffler and is quieter than I thought it would be, still can't hear turbo itself. If turbo is NOT working you get black smoke, should only be a slight puff when you nail it till the turbo spools up. None if you ease into the throttle. You may have the trap or a cat. If HD engine then no EGR. You can pull the turbo inlet and if you can spin it by hand then it's probably OK.

Do the ops mod and add in the lift pump on in 'wait to start'. Wiring is here on the forum. Mine was new to me with 245K MILES so you got lots of driving to look forward to. I learned here, NEVER let temp go past about 200. Gauges are nice but if you leave it near stock then not really needed. My PCM is still on the IP in stock location--has been since new and no trouble with it. I carry a spare because of all the guys that have had them fail--.

As a newbie, I have been on the learning curve, was intimidating at first but I found that it's one of the easiest diesels to bond with and keep happy.

I had several bad glow plugs and a couple of leaky injectors that made for poor cold starts and alot of white and grey smoke on startup. Replaced everything and now it cranks a couple of cylinders and suddenly hits on all 8 with just a puff of white smoke. If you start getting a kind of stuttering when it first fires then look at glow plugs first. Use the block heater below about 40 F and it will start easily--I replaced mine with the T stat version.

If you have the rear AC take it to a dealer for any work and make them get it right before you pay them. Most folks that go to indy shops have trouble--my guess--they don't know enough about the system, it's picky.

FYI, I have 4.10 gears and average 20.6 MPG. That's light load commuting 60 miles RT per day about half mountain road and half flat land. You are heavier but taller gears so ???? Sometime can be too tall for the kind of terrain you drive.

Change oil and filter often, I go to Wal-mart and have them put Rotelle in every 3-4K miles. Listen for the lift pump running just after you kill it--tells you that it is working.

That's all the tid bits I have for now---enjoy a really nice burb.
 
Oh--membered a thing or two. Biggest thing that kills MPG, besides a heavy foot, is the coolant temp sensor for the ECM. It's not the same one for the gauge. There is a chart for what it should read with an ohm meter at a given temp and if you are getting poor mileage check it. It's the one on the water pump not the one on the head. Also, check between the tranny cooler and the radiator for junk build up. Check for seepage at the oil cooler fittings on the cooler and the engine etc. Valve covers can leak, make sure they are snugged down, bit of a PITA to fix any leaks but do it anyway. There are two balancers on the front of the crank, they can fail. If they do kiss the crank good by, so check often. Power brakes are hydraulic boost run from the PS pump, check and fix any leaks and if you are in doubt put on a new pump--not a junk yard special.

My tach is driven from the alternator and had the wrong pully size, yours may be different but ??? Speedo is driven from a pulse counter sensor on the output of the tranny or Xfer case. There are several other sensors like it and these sensors can go whacky. If you get odd ball behavior from the tranny, speedo or engine go there first. Wierd shifting is most often the solenoids not the tranny.
 
Ok guys-this is a great help,and thanks to all who have responded.

I'm ordering a remote PMD kit today to have on hand for when the OEM fails.

Im sticking with my OEM lift pump,and will add a fuel pressure guage to keep an eye on things.Ill be moving forward with the OPS mod to limit the problems moving forward as well.

Im going to stick with the stock 3" exhaust and eliminate the muffler and soot trap,as I dont believe the 4" is warranted with the stock turbo,which will stay on for the foreseeable future due to the low mileage. I'll invest that cash instead towards a good OBD I tune, and fuel,boost and EGT guages.

Im going to look for a K47 airbox,but was wondering if any of the aftermarket offerings are worth considering as they may be easier to get my hands on?

With such low mileage, the truck runs and drives almost like new,so for now the focus will be on tuning,and maintenance. There are no overheating issues as the climate here is on the cool side,and we wont be doing any towing.

I really appreciate all the feedback and suggestions- keep em comin!
 
If the exh is factory it is more like 2.75", the 4" really made mine more responsive. Even my wife noticed.

I ran it without the soot trap but did have the muffler in place, straight pipe may make up for the small size.
 
NVW said:
If the exh is factory it is more like 2.75", the 4" really made mine more responsive. Even my wife noticed.

I ran it without the soot trap but did have the muffler in place, straight pipe may make up for the small size.
Click to expand...

I know my 95 was NOT 3" coming out of the muffler, and was barely a 2.75" pipe. Not to mention how restrictive it was in the bends. You WILL notice an improvement by going to a 4" pipe over the stock pipe even straight piped. 3" is all that is needed so long as it is mandrel bent, but the stock system would be lucky to flow what a 2.5" mandrel bent system could. And a tune on a stock straight piped exhaust would be an EGT NIGHTMARE!
 
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