2005 Suburban Z71..When to repower rebuild? Newbie

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Pipemedic

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Hello everyone! My ride is a 2005 suburban Z71 current odometer is around 183k. 20” 275/60’s, flowmaster exhaust, spectre intake installed.
2” leveling kit in the box and some 295/65/20’s on deck for summer. Classic rust in rear quarters and bumper which I have the replacements for. We are a very busy hockey family during the winters so I don’t like to be down the suburban for too long.
We would like to buy a camper this summer or possibly next fall. My questions are how long should I go before I consider a rebuild/swap on the transmission? How can I squeeze some extra HP/torque out of the 5.3 via chips or cams (nothing major just trying to be able to get out of the way if need be or not die climbing a hill in the Appalachians). PS my other ride is a Ram with 320k on it so I’m not opposed to riding it out I’m just opposed to owning a Ford. Looking forward to feedback everyone....
 

iamdub

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Black Bear tune FTW. You'll get more power to the wheels, better throttle response and cleaner transmission characteristics. Nothing other than a rebuild will fix any current wear or damage to the trans, but the tune can prolong what life is left in it.
 

Joseph Garcia

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Welcome to the Forum from NH. Lots of great folks here who will offer their suggestions and perspectives.
 

swathdiver

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Hello everyone! My ride is a 2005 suburban Z71 current odometer is around 183k. 20” 275/60’s, flowmaster exhaust, spectre intake installed.
2” leveling kit in the box and some 295/65/20’s on deck for summer. Classic rust in rear quarters and bumper which I have the replacements for. We are a very busy hockey family during the winters so I don’t like to be down the suburban for too long.
We would like to buy a camper this summer or possibly next fall. My questions are how long should I go before I consider a rebuild/swap on the transmission? How can I squeeze some extra HP/torque out of the 5.3 via chips or cams (nothing major just trying to be able to get out of the way if need be or not die climbing a hill in the Appalachians). PS my other ride is a Ram with 320k on it so I’m not opposed to riding it out I’m just opposed to owning a Ford. Looking forward to feedback everyone....

Welcome Joe, keep the fluids clean and get the tune. A lot of guys do the "Corvette Servo" mod to improve the trans performance overall. Those tires are what, 35 inches? That'll certainly change for the worse how much power gets put to the ground unless you re-gear. Especially if the camper has any weight to it.
 

rockola1971

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The 4L60/65E tranny family typically last 125K or so before needing rebuilt and thats without a large demand of commonly towing. Keep tranny locked into 3rd gear, DO NOT USE 4th(OD) to tow and your tranny will last alot longer. Make sure you have a tranny cooler and hose it out real good atleast once a summer. Install that corvette servo! It adds around 50% more holding power for your 2-4 band which are what usually burn up because the dufus driving tows in 4th(OD). That tow/haul button just prevents hunting back and forth between 3rd and 4th. It helps but its just wise not to tow in 4th unless your tranny is built for towing and you stay on relatively level pavement. Next time you get a rebuild on the tranny have it built for towing and the extra cost is very minimal since its just a matter of replacing parts with higher quality/thicker/etc. These parts get replaced anyway during an OEM type rebuild so you are only looking at $200 or so in additional parts cost.
 
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Pipemedic

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Welcome Joe, keep the fluids clean and get the tune. A lot of guys do the "Corvette Servo" mod to improve the trans performance overall. Those tires are what, 35 inches? That'll certainly change for the worse how much power gets put to the ground unless you re-gear. Especially if the camper has any weight to it.

Yes! Too big! I’ve downsized to a 33.5(?) 285/60 or 65 20 can’t remember. I used a tire calculator and the revolutions were too far apart between stock and the new size so to your point I went smaller. This is part of a father and sons (4) project so we’re not off-roading unfortunately the northeast where I live offers nothing to roam just wanted a more aggressive stance. I will look into the tune there’s a GM guy in my town. Thank you very much for the advice this is a great forum for information glad I joined.
 

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