Chevrolet Suburban 3500 Questions

[Bigburb3500]

Woohoo! I hope you love it! I’m curious what you asked for in your request.

I received my tune files earlier this week from Justin (quick turnaround), so I’ll get them uploaded to the rig over the weekend. He mentioned that on these trucks, mid-grade 89 can be worth the small additional cost in improved fuel mileage. So I’ll run it and see how it goes.

I am so excited for it based on what you and others have hyped up Blackbear to be!

I put on the form that it is up to their discretion. I use my truck as a daily driver and family hauler, but need/want it for long term reliability and heavy duty use. What did you list down for preferences?

Really? These trucks do noticeably better on mid-grade+? I just did 1000+ miles this week in the truck I could have reported back, but will refill this month and see what comes of it. I think Costco has 87 and 91… will see what the cost difference is too.

 

[Bigburb3500]

Also, did the transfer case and front diff fluid. Transfer case had more on the magnet than expected but seems “normal” based on videos I watched. Front diff fluid was garbage. It was very smelly and funky color. So much for “dealer maintained.”

Glad I got the new fluids in and SUPER easy to do. Easier than an oil change.

 

[Geotrash]

Also, did the transfer case and front diff fluid. Transfer case had more on the magnet than expected but seems “normal” based on videos I watched. Front diff fluid was garbage. It was very smelly and funky color. So much for “dealer maintained.”

Glad I got the new fluids in and SUPER easy to do. Easier than an oil change.

Nice! I guess that’s the advantage of the commercial purpose pedigree - all fluids can be easily changed.

 

[Geotrash]

Also, did the transfer case and front diff fluid. Transfer case had more on the magnet than expected but seems “normal” based on videos I watched. Front diff fluid was garbage. It was very smelly and funky color. So much for “dealer maintained.”

Glad I got the new fluids in and SUPER easy to do. Easier than an oil change.

I had only suggested that I don’t want to lose 87 octane capability, that I tow often, and that I hoped they could optimize for transmission longevity as well.

 

[Bigburb3500]

I had only suggested that I don’t want to lose 87 octane capability, that I tow often, and that I hoped they could optimize for transmission longevity as well.

Ok, that’s hopefully what I conveyed. I did ask to see if they can change the Tow/Haul mode to be more aggressive/better optimized for towing and hauling while the normal be as “normal” as possible.

 

[Geotrash]

Ok, that’s hopefully what I conveyed. I did ask to see if they can change the Tow/Haul mode to be more aggressive/better optimized for towing and hauling while the normal be as “normal” as possible.

If it helps, I find the tow/haul mode settings to be perfect for our 7500 lb camper from the factory. But I once asked if they could dial them down a bit on my ‘07 because they were too aggressive, but for some reason they couldn’t — don’t remember why.

 

[Bigburb3500]

Alright, so to all of you watching this thread, I’m CONTEMPLATING doing a small lift and a few other things. One item that I think I should do with the lift is add new upper control arms. The issue here is these appear to be that the Suburban 3500 has specific control arms… I find that nearly impossible to believe given how GM loves parts sharing. Can someone help me cross reference this and see if there is an aftermarket control arm that would work?

https://g.oempartsonline.com/oem-parts/gm-front-upper-control-arm-23324185

 

[calsdad]

Alright, so to all of you watching this thread, I’m CONTEMPLATING doing a small lift and a few other things. One item that I think I should do with the lift is add new upper control arms. The issue here is these appear to be that the Suburban 3500 has specific control arms… I find that nearly impossible to believe given how GM loves parts sharing. Can someone help me cross reference this and see if there is an aftermarket control arm that would work?

https://g.oempartsonline.com/oem-parts/gm-front-upper-control-arm-23324185

Duraburb has a video where they said that the frame on the Suburban 3500 you have - is the same frame as the previous 2 generations of 2500 Suburban - so the upper A-arms should be the same geometry as those. The fact that there's no other vehicles listed for the part number you posted - might not mean anything. Even a minor change - like durometer on the bushings or something like that - would end up with a different part number.

I put Cognito upper A-arms on my 2010 GMC Yukon 2500 - if I remember correctly it was the same part number for my Yukon as for the Suburban 2500, and Sierra and Silverado 2500 and 3500.