New Suburban owner

[crunk]

Hey guys,

I got a killer deal on a 2003 Suburban LT with 169k miles. It's had a lot of owners in it's life but the most recent one owned it for 4 years and sunk a fair amount of money into it (replacing axles, pumps, etc.) and had all of his documentation from the chevy dealership. I bought it to tow our ski boat (5000 lbs with trailer and loaded) and to take on camping trips.

It has minor rust on the frame and miscellaneous parts underneath but isn't too bad. The clear coat is peeling really bad on the hood and roof but it's common for black gm cars from what I've read. I plasti-dipped the hood but am thinking about doing a cheap rattle can job to get a gloss black look.

The only real issues it has right now is a front end vibration at 69-74 mph. I did a fair amount of research. It makes the vibration in neutral at that speed so I had a reputable shop do a road force tire balance on it. It helped, but it is definitely still there and a little nerve racking. They did say that the rear left tire couldn't get into the normal threshold after multiple attempts on the machine. Could that cause the front end vibration at highway speeds?

Anyways, here are some pics of the Burban.

Full gallery:
https://imgur.com/a/9GWoa

 

[treehan77]

nice what kind of radio/screen is that? did they check your ball joints and tie rods? common issue with higher mileage

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

welcome to the club nice burban
yes one tire being outta balance even on the back youll feel it in the steering
when i learned how to balance tires tires in shcool i happened to need a new set of tires so i mounted at balanced them myself in class and first test drive i got to like 65 mph and it started to shake bad so i went through them again i guess on of the tires i didnt put on the machine correctly so were the machine was telling me to put weights on was all wrong
so one tire outta ballance can cause that much caos
me personally i would get all new rubber tires are a pet peave of mine when ever i buy a vehicle i cant stand mismatched tires and driving someonelses tires

 

[crunk]

nice what kind of radio/screen is that? did they check your ball joints and tie rods? common issue with higher mileage

It's a Kenwood. Has bluetooth for calls but doesn't transfer music which is weird.

They lifted it up and moved the wheels around. They said the driver's front ball joint has some play in it, but it wasn't that bad.

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

when i bought my suburban last year the previous owner had just replaced all 4 tires 6 months prior and had ivoices to prove it ididnt care i had to get all new tires

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

It's a Kenwood. Has bluetooth for calls but doesn't transfer music which is weird.

They lifted it up and moved the wheels around. They said the driver's front ball joint has some play in it, but it wasn't that bad.

im pretty sure its an outta ballanced tire because you said it vibrates at a specific speed range

if it does calls it does music to

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

when you make the radio visible for pairing and you search for available devices have like pandora or what app u use for music open when you pair it should said something like paired voice and mp3 or something like that

 

[crunk]

im pretty sure its an outta ballanced tire because you said it vibrates at a specific speed range

if it does calls it does music to

Guess I'll have to find a manual for the touch screen then.

Yeah, the one tire in the back is out of wack and can't really be fixed any better unless they are replaced. Looks like I will need to budget in new tires.

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

what kinda phone is it

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

Guess I'll have to find a manual for the touch screen then.

Yeah, the one tire in the back is out of wack and can't really be fixed any better unless they are replaced. Looks like I will need to budget in new tires.

yeah i know man tires is one of those annual high dollar repairs that has to be done see ive learnt my lesson cuz ive tried the cheap route like only doing two at a time or buying used tires that kinda stuff and it always bit me in the ass so i just suck it up and bite the bullet go to whos go the best deal and get 4 brand new tires
plus the ride and the handling always seems the best on a fresh set of rubber