Might check out an '05 2500 suburban, what to look for?

[mikez71]

Agreed, it is actually cleaner than I expected, and not thumbing my nose at their quick detail job. The guy buys and sells, and if anything it's a good sign as in he didn't spend too much time fixing anything, everything looks stock. I notice the shocks are supposed to be z55, which I don't see available anymore.

Biggest thing holding me back is the transmission. It feels like a tall first gear (not really an issue, and probably need it with only 4 gears) but also remembering @Marky Dissod 's info about the 4l80 sapping power.. But definitely at a 'steal' price I would be more interested.. I'll probably dwell on it a few more days, if someone here wants to move on it, I won't be upset figuring it goes to someone who will appreciate it more.

2005 chevrolet suburban for sale by owner - Sacramento, CA - craigslist

Selling my 2005 Chevrolet suburban Super clean has 4x4 6.0 liter engine 150.000miles clean title Asking $8000 obo Call

sacramento.craigslist.org

 

[Marky Dissod]

Entire reason why the 4L80E WILL gain your begrudging respect is, well, unless you're a saydist, it can probably take it, for years.
The money saved by rebuilding a 4L80E gets drip-wasted by using it to the next rebuild; the 4L80E costs more power to operate vs any other transmission,
but the way power runs through a 4L80E is why they usually wear out before they break, and they take a VERY LONG time to wear out unless gratuitously abused.
So it'll likely give you plenty of time before you need to replace it, either with another 4L80E, or a 4L60E built to '4L75-spec' or whatever ...
or a manual transmission?

I'll always prefer the 4L60E, but it cannot be denied that the 4L60E's biggest limitations are
its size (every trans that is 'tougher' is larger, for very good reason),
how much it costs to properly upgrade a 4L60E from a '1/2 ton' to a '3/4 ton' or '1.ton' transmission, and then you must find the right rebuilder
yes, the tune is always an important part.

Thinking of a 6L80E? Impressively durable when built and tuned slightly past GM OE spec, they backed up 6.6L LGH DuraMax' in Expresavanas for a few years ...
But they absolutely require a tcm and a separate ecm, at least for now ...

 

[Bigburb3500]

Entire reason why the 4L80E WILL gain your begrudging respect is, well, unless you're a ******, it can probably take it, for years.
The money saved by rebuilding a 4L80E gets drip-wasted by using it to the next rebuild; the 4L80E costs more power to operate vs any other transmission,
but the way power runs through a 4L80E is why they usually wear out before they break, and they take a VERY LONG time to wear out unless gratuitously abused.
So it'll likely give you plenty of time before you need to replace it, either with another 4L80E, or a 4L60E built to '4L75-spec' or whatever ...
or a manual transmission?

I'll always prefer the 4L60E, but it cannot be denied that the 4L60E's biggest limitations are
its size (every trans that is 'tougher' is larger, for very good reason),
how much it costs to properly upgrade a 4L60E from a '1/2 ton' to a '3/4 ton' or '1.ton' transmission, and then you must find the right rebuilder
yes, the tune is always an important part.

Thinking of a 6L80E? Impressively durable when built and tuned slightly past GM OE spec, they backed up 6.6L LGH DuraMax' in Expresavanas for a few years ...
But they absolutely require a tcm and a separate ecm, at least for now ...

PowertrainSwapSolutions will get you a 10speed on this chassis… just saying… they have their issues but 4 to 10 gears is something to consider

 

[mikez71]

Trust me, I keep thinking about it!
Durability and size, and it cruises good.. I'm liking it.
During the test drive, I was comparing it to my daily driver, but it's in a different class.

Probably send an offer tonight.. Thanks for the excellent details everyone!
Will keep you posted..

 

[Marky Dissod]

On https://www.powertrainswapsolutions.com, scroll down a bit, it says:

"Coming soon:
*1999 - 2002 GMT800 Truck & SUV
*2003 - 2007 GMT800 Truck 2WD
*1997 - 2004 Corvette C5 6L80E & 8L90E Integration
*1998 - 2002 Camaro/Firebird Integration
*6Lxx & 8Lxx versions of all of our existing 10Lxx kits"​

In other words, seems like they're saying it'll soon be possible to upgrade from a 4L60 to a 6L80 or 8L90 or 10L80
(as well as from a 6L80 to an 8L90 or 10L80, or from an 8L90 to a 10L80)
If that's the case, FYI, going from a 4L60 to a 6L80 is 'mathematically' most beneficial in terms of bang for the buck, vs all the other possible upgrades.

To be clear:
*had I a 4L60 and enough money, yes, I'd upgrade to a 6L80, especially if I had 3.73 or 4.10,
because I could keep the same axle(s) ratio and the fuel savings would still eventually defray the costs
In fact I'd seriously consider borrowing quite a bit of money to make this work

*had I a 6L80 and enough money, I'd only consider upgrading to a 8L90 or a 10L80, depending largely on costs/pricing,
because an axle ratio change MIGHT be a necessary part of the cost - and if the maths don't work out right, I'll stick with the 6L80
(don't think the 8L90 or 10L80 would work well with 3.73 ... 4.10 MIGHT turn the 8L90 into a 7L90 / 10L80 into a 9L80)

*had I an 8L90, don't think it'd be worth it to upgrade to a 10L80, unless the pricing was VERY enticing

*unless the 4L80 is working UNUSUALLY HEAVY & HARD every day of its life, goes without saying that upgrading from a 4L80 to a 6L90 would pay off in fuel savings
and an axle ratio change would either be unnecessary, or be flat out dumb

 

[homesick]

I still run my finger around the inside of the tailpipe too.

joe

 

[mikez71]

Looking for soot?

Looking at the photo I took, the pipe seems cleaner than my 2012..

Hopefully he takes the offer I'm about to send (based on @Bigburb3500 's suggestions!) and I can do a final inspection..

 

[Bigburb3500]

On https://www.powertrainswapsolutions.com, scroll down a bit, it says:

"Coming soon:
*1999 - 2002 GMT800 Truck & SUV
*2003 - 2007 GMT800 Truck 2WD
*1997 - 2004 Corvette C5 6L80E & 8L90E Integration
*1998 - 2002 Camaro/Firebird Integration
*6Lxx & 8Lxx versions of all of our existing 10Lxx kits"​

In other words, seems like they're saying it'll soon be possible to upgrade from a 4L60 to a 6L80 or 8L90 or 10L80
(as well as from a 6L80 to an 8L90 or 10L80, or from an 8L90 to a 10L80)
If that's the case, FYI, going from a 4L60 to a 6L80 is 'mathematically' most beneficial in terms of bang for the buck, vs all the other possible upgrades.

To be clear:
*had I a 4L60 and enough money, yes, I'd upgrade to a 6L80, especially if I had 3.73 or 4.10,
because I could keep the same axle(s) ratio and the fuel savings would still eventually defray the costs
In fact I'd seriously consider borrowing quite a bit of money to make this work

*had I a 6L80 and enough money, I'd only consider upgrading to a 8L90 or a 10L80, depending largely on costs/pricing,
because an axle ratio change MIGHT be a necessary part of the cost - and if the maths don't work out right, I'll stick with the 6L80
(don't think the 8L90 or 10L80 would work well with 3.73 ... 4.10 MIGHT turn the 8L90 into a 7L90 / 10L80 into a 9L80)

*had I an 8L90, don't think it'd be worth it to upgrade to a 10L80, unless the pricing was VERY enticing

*unless the 4L80 is working UNUSUALLY HEAVY & HARD every day of its life, goes without saying that upgrading from a 4L80 to a 6L90 would pay off in fuel savings
and an axle ratio change would either be unnecessary, or be flat out dumb

I might not have seen it correctly but are the new HD gassers running 10L80s or 10L90s? Google-machine isn’t being super exact but I would definitely consider a 10L90 swap into any of our trucks vs a rebuild. A lot of low mileage options out there on HD trucks in junkyard.

 

[Marky Dissod]

... are the new HD gassers running 10L80s or 10L90s?

If you mean the 6.6L L8T petrol V8, they've been mated to the 10L90 (not the smaller 10L80) since 2024. Until 2024, they were mated to the 6L90.

 

[homesick]

Looking for soot?

Looking at the photo I took, the pipe seems cleaner than my 2012..

Hopefully he takes the offer I'm about to send (based on @Bigburb3500 's suggestions!) and I can do a final inspection..

Yeah, it's an old habit- soot and oil, and color.

I assume that modern computerized vehicles will look clean longer; so a dirty pipe is a worse sign than it used to be. That's my theory, anyway.

joe

 

[strutaeng]

Entire reason why the 4L80E WILL gain your begrudging respect is, well, unless you're a ******, it can probably take it, for years.
The money saved by rebuilding a 4L80E gets drip-wasted by using it to the next rebuild; the 4L80E costs more power to operate vs any other transmission,
but the way power runs through a 4L80E is why they usually wear out before they break, and they take a VERY LONG time to wear out unless gratuitously abused.
So it'll likely give you plenty of time before you need to replace it, either with another 4L80E, or a 4L60E built to '4L75-spec' or whatever ...
or a manual transmission?

I'll always prefer the 4L60E, but it cannot be denied that the 4L60E's biggest limitations are
its size (every trans that is 'tougher' is larger, for very good reason),
how much it costs to properly upgrade a 4L60E from a '1/2 ton' to a '3/4 ton' or '1.ton' transmission, and then you must find the right rebuilder
yes, the tune is always an important part.

Marky, I'm sorry, but WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?! LOL. Or I'm really confused...

4L80e are fine transmissions. The vehicle in question is a GVWR of 8,600 lbs, 3/4 ton 8 lug, NOT a 1/2 ton chassis. There's no such thing a "1 ton 4L60e" Com'on...

4L60e were never offered in 8 lug (except for the H2, and look at the failure rate of those) because they are simply not that strong, regardless of what you read or anyone claims. They started life in malaise-era EPA regulated underpowered smog 1980s in cars, hence the numerically higher first gear. The 2.48 of the 4L80e compares similarly to any other manufacturer out there of this generation. If you ask me, "GM should have put a 4L80e in every full size truck, and kept the 4L60e in cars." But that's just my opinion.

OTOH, the 4L80e was used extensively in heavy weight commercial vehicles, buses, wreckers, ect., and lived hard life towing and hauling. Not to mention it was used in some exotics like Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin and a Ferrari (TH400, predecessor of the 4L80e). It was GM's best transmission of their time, and probably better than anything from Ford or Mopar. "cost more power to operate vs any other transmission " Huh? That means nothing to me given what I just stated: Give us some examples, facts, or hard numbers here...you can't compare apples to apples (because they were used in different weight classes), unless I'm missing something?

My 99 Silverado which I swapped the 4L80e (also a 4.3 to 5.3) is a joy to drive vs the original 4L60e on the transmission side. Yes, the 4L60e has a higher first gear, but it has a weird 1-2 gear separation or wide spread. Not to mention the shifts are not really smooth because it uses a band (that also likes to wear) vs clutch-to-clutch shifting. I always squinted when I mashed the V6 gas powered pedal, because i knew the 4L60e have a glass jaw, so there's that.

The unknown mileage, unknown maintenance history 4L80e from the junkyard just laughs at me when I stomp on the gas pedal with the "little 5.3." There's guy beating on their junkyard 4L80e with LS turbos making 600-800 HP. I would absolutely NEVER go back to a 4L60e on the 1500 chassis, given tbe choice. My point is this: 4L60e in a 8 lug truck is not even a conversation to be had if you ask me.

I apologize if I'm sounding like a hard@$$

 

[mikez71]

Thanks to Bigburb3500! I'm in for $6k..!

Hoping to do some final checks for any major issues I could have overlooked (4wd etc) and hopefully pick it up soon! (tomorrow at the earliest..)

 

[OR VietVet]

Thanks to Bigburb3500! I'm in for $6k..!

Hoping to do some final checks for any major issues I could have overlooked (4wd etc) and hopefully pick it up soon! (tomorrow at the earliest..)

You are "in for $6k" on a bid or you bid that or offered that and was accepted?

 

[Doubeleive]

Thanks to Bigburb3500! I'm in for $6k..!

Hoping to do some final checks for any major issues I could have overlooked (4wd etc) and hopefully pick it up soon! (tomorrow at the earliest..)

didn't know you were creeping around here..

 

[mikez71]

You are "in for $6k" on a bid or you bid that or offered that and was accepted?

Hoping! I offered 5,500. He countered with 6k. I said yes.. (But I need to verify 4WD works)

I'm on for tomorrow afternoon!

Carfax looks good, but nothing recent.
Trans fluid flushed at 61k in 2009, regular service until 2012.
Last service with various repairs in 2018. (encoder motor sensor, brake booster, o2 sensor)
Just smog checks after that upto 2024.

 

[Marky Dissod]

... there's no such thing a "1 ton 4L60E" C'mon ...

That's EXACTLY what I said. I've even said as much in other threads.

... how much it costs to properly upgrade a 4L60E from a '1/2 ton', to a '3/4 ton' or '1 ton' transmission, and then you must find the right rebuilder

Read it again.

4L60E were never offered in 8 lug (except for the H2, and look at the failure rate of those) because they are simply not that strong,
regardless of what you read or anyone claims.

You, quote me again, bit by bit. What did I actually claim?
Are you misreading what I wrote because of the 'begrudging respect' bit?

I was merely considering the remote possibility that you MIGHT consider spending enough money on upgrading a 4L60E to '4L75-spec'
so as to eventually recoup the upgrade costs in MpG, which the 4L80E was never designed to prioritize.
EDIT: also please note that some posts are for other readers who will never participate in any of these threads, but may still appreciate info that meant nought to you.

... Or I'm really ...

I wasn't trying to.

I apologize if I'm sounding like a hard@$$

You don't sound like a hard@$$, you haven't insulted me once. Hopefully you haven't taken anything I've said personally.
All that said, you might've missed what I was getting at?
Think I acknowledged the 4L80E's strengths - reliability, durability, longevity -
while noting its weakness - MpG due to ratios / parasitic operational losses

 

[Bigburb3500]

Thanks to Bigburb3500! I'm in for $6k..!

Hoping to do some final checks for any major issues I could have overlooked (4wd etc) and hopefully pick it up soon! (tomorrow at the earliest..)

I think this is a great deal on this truck. Clean it up nicely and this is an AWESOME truck. Now that I convinced you to spend $6k… drop another $8k on the 10L swap! Hahaha

I’m good at spending other ppl’s money

 

[OR VietVet]

If they are selling that blue FJ Cruiser too, they will make up what they lost in profit on the Suburban. Those Cruisers sell for top dollar in CA.

 

[dejackson1064]

I liked my 6.0, 2500 Suburban. The fuel mileage is not that great but if you're driving what ya want who cares.

If ya cant afford the fuel, ya probably cant afford the vehicle! Besides, I'm 6'4" I cant even fit in a Prius let a lone all the shit my friends would give me!

 

[Bigburb3500]

If ya cant afford the fuel, ya probably cant afford the vehicle! Besides, I'm 6'4" I cant even fit in a Prius let a lone all the shit my friends would give me!

Dude… have you seen the new Prius… it’s a looker.