In June 2024, my lovely wife spotted a 1989 Suburban Silverado in the local lemon lot for the princely sum of $2000. The interior was about as clean as a 35-year-old family hauler can get, with only a few stains to hint at its past. It still had its removeable third row seating, which gave it a total seating capacity of 8. More than that, it was a 4×4 model, which usually commands a premium. I called the seller and took a brief—almost ceremonial—test drive to ensure the truck was as good as it looked. There was little to find wrong with it. The transmission, the four-speed 700R4/4L60 had been rebuilt within the last twenty thousand miles or so, and the engine, a TBI 350, ran exactly as well as any other 350 small block that had seen anything approaching maintenance.
That said, the truck was not perfect. The steering was loose and rust had set in, eating at the barn doors and the rear fenders. However, the steering could be fixed, and the rust was limited to superficial areas on the body which could easily be fixed. I hastily paid the seller—who turned out to be a friend of my father’s—his asking price and brought the truck home, immediately pressing it back into service as a family hauler, handing off the Buick Terraza to my sister-in-law and to its ultimate fate.
The Suburban served us without any trouble for the first few months. It made trips to and from Santa Fe with no indication of strain. However, in about September 2024, it had its first major failure—the rear axle. My stepchildren were meant to have a camping trip with Cub Scouts, and so the Suburban was going to be the tent for me and my then-heavily pregnant wife. I already did not want to go on the trip, so when the axle gave out on my way back to the campsite from town (where there was phone service and internet) in the middle of a dead zone, it made an already bad weekend worse.
I made my way back into town, arranged for a tow and a friend to come rescue my family, and by Sunday the Suburban was sitting in the yard of a local mechanic, awaiting work. Fortunately, the Suburban is a square body, and the repair was not expensive by my (BMW-informed) standards, and by the end of October it was back in service, and not long after it brought my son home for the first time. It would continue to serve us without trouble until about February 2025, at which point the A/C compressor failed without any warning or apparent reason. It was swiftly replaced, and the truck worked flawlessly for another six months.
In August 2025, to service a Midget I had bought on impulse, I purchased what was advertised as an early 1960s MG Midget. It was located in Colorado Springs and would need to be towed to my brother for disassembly, about a hundred miles west of Grants, NM. Because one rationale I had for purchasing the Suburban was that it would tow an RV, I decided I would use the Suburban instead of a rental. The first leg of the trip went smoothly. A friend joined me, thankfully. We picked up a U-Haul trailer in Santa Fe and then made our way towards Colorado Springs.
The drive was uneventful, and the Suburban happily crossed over Raton Pass without protest. At some point, we reached Colorado Springs and loaded up what turned out to be an early 1960s Austin Healey Sprite onto the trailer. This did not go quite so smoothly, as the Sprite was so narrow that it did not happily fit onto the trailer’s tracks, and it nearly fell off. Fortunately, we were able to make it fit, and as the evening rush hour hit, we hit the road toward our rest stop for the night, Red River. At Walsenburg, we stopped to try the A&W, leaving just as the sun disappeared over the horizon.
This is where the Suburban began to stumble. Literally. Somewhere between Walsenburg and Fort Garland, the Suburban began to vapor-lock. I was dumb-founded; I did not know TBI 350s could do that. Once I realized what was happening, I took steps to cool off the throttle body and limped the Suburban to Fort Garland. After an hour sitting at the first gas station I saw, my friend and I set back out for Red River, this time with a cup of ice to throw onto the back of the engine. We made it with no more trouble. The next day, I would spend two hours by the side of the road by Sky City, just east of Grants, on the hottest day in August, waiting for the throttle body to cool back down again.
The Suburban remains with my family, and it is our designated family hauler. My wife loves it, and she is its primary driver. Its utility is unmatched, and it swallows everything we need to carry and more, and despite its weak-chested TBI 350, it seems completely unfazed by it. It’s perfect for when my friends and I want to go shooting out in a dried up river-bed, as it happily carries eight people and their rifles and ammunition. My wife loves it too, and we’ve decided we will not part with it. However, for the time being, we have resolved that it will not be our camping tent any longer, nor will it tow any RV for us. We found a better solution for that.
Related CC reading:
1987 Chevrolet Suburban 4X4 – America Falls In Love With The Big SUV – Me Too?
1990 Chevrolet Suburban 2500 Silverado – Swank Yank Tank
I feel as if we need to summon Paul Harvey from the grave for one of his legendary “And now the REST of the story!” codas. 🙂 That is, how have you addressed the vapor lock issue? Or do you only drive in the winter and/or with a cooler of ice? (I suppose that the latter is an option as there ought to be room for a cooler of ice onboard)
I don’t know enough about these engines to know if this is something that owners just put up with, or what.
What I have done though is to have given occasional thought more than once to buying something much like your 20th century Suburban. Ideally one in white (If I couldn’t find one in Forest Service Green). It seems to be the perfect out in the country beater, dump vehicle, lumber hauler, and occasional towing vehicle. Glad you and your family are enjoying yours!
It never came up again. I changed the fuel filter after the trip. While I can’t say for certain that it was the filter, the filter was old and the truck started much faster after I put the new one in.
Yes, a genuine old-school SUV, and a tough old goat despite a few infirmities. It is perfect for your part of the world.
I have never heard of a TBI Chevy 350 (or any other TBI engine) vapor locking. Have you checked the fuel pressure? Maybe the in tank pump is starting to get weak.
My best guess is that it was the fuel filter. These things run at low fuel pressure, such that a gunked up filter is enough to cause problems. I replaced it after the trip. I don’t know for certain whether it was the fuel filter, I do know that it hasn’t happened since.
Engines with pressurized fuel systems cannot vapor lock. I too, would suspect the fuel pump.
Back in 2003 my wife saw a 99 GMC Suburban in deep red that she wanted. We pulled into the dealer who was a friend’s business. He told us it was a lease return and it had the “rare” front bench seat, making it a 9 passenger.
Living in Ohio, I wished for it to be four wheel drive but we made it work.
Wow, what happened? At the 4 month mark the transmission imploded. In fact so much so that a rebuild was not an option- too much shrapnel (per our trusted mechanic at the time). We ordered a GM crate transmission and it failed within 2 weeks. The second unit was much better and the mechanic checked over the rest of the truck.
Then on the way home from a Florida trip the A/C clocked out.
Within the first year, it cost us about $4000 in repair costs and that was a ton while two kids so it left the family.
When it ran, it was a terrific vehicle.
“When it ran, it was a terrific vehicle.” I’ve said that about quite a few vehicles. Among vehicles I’ve had, the comment seemed quite appropriate for Nissans with a CVT, later year GMs with the corporate V8, Fords with an Ecoboost and mid 80s Chryslers with a transmission.
So true! Our Buick Park Avenues and LeSabres served us really well as has our current 2004 Grand Marquis.
And once I get my 78 Cadillac back, I’m hoping for it to be reliable.
That makes a big change from Kei cars and Mitsuoka Cosplay cars. The “square body” Suburbans have a developed a following so if you aren’t dead set on a 4×4 with a solid front axle the subsequent GMT400 is easier and cheaper to find. Or son is on his second one after buying a 96 for $400 he decided he liked them and upgraded to a rare 99 3/4 ton Suburban with the equally rare base trim so it has a bench seat and hand crank widows. Apart from some epic cursing while replacing the front brake rotors it’s been reliable and hauls car trailers all over Oregon and Washington when his friend in Japan needs to collect a car for export.
I do not get the square body fetish that started about 7-10 years ago. Now they are WAY over priced for what they are.
Personally I think they are kinda junk in terms of the bodies, thin sheet metal, very prone to rust even here in the south. The 67-72 “action line” of trucks feel more solid, the sheet metal is thicker, plus I think they look cooler. The later GMT400 trucks were such a huge step forward over the square bodies as well with TBI and once again thicker, more rust resistent sheet metal.
Anyways not to hate on the op’s square body suburban, they are tough trucks mechanically. Seems like he bought his at a good price, its all the $20,000 “restored,” shiny, full of bondo square bodies that I have issue with.
I too find is sad that GM decided to cheap out on the paper thin and zero rust proofed sheet metal, my ’76 3/4 tom GMC stripper was a fantastic work truck but the leading edge of the hood rusted out in LOS ANGELES .
When I was a fleet Mechanic these were about the best out there there were .
Not surprised you liked and bought a Suburban, they’re tanks .
The AC compressor used was the (in)famous DELCO R4, a good little unit that tends to get shaft seal leaks (the originals were Ceramic) and once the oil leaked out they failed .
I wish you’d given more details in the rear end, how it failed and so on .
-Nate
Growing up, our family cars were a ’77 4wd GMC Suburban, an ’84 Cutlass Supreme, and a ’78 Datsun King Cab with a 5 speed. Needless to say, being dropped off at school in these in the late-90’s and early 2000’s led to some taunting by other kids. But that Suburban should never have been sold (for $700 nonetheless, probably about 20 years ago).
It was mechanically great. But boy, the rust was invasive, even in South Carolina. We called it “leaky” due to the rust holes in the roof. My father used it on boy scout trips and as soon as everyone loaded up, a roll of duct tape was passed around to patch the holes directly above your head. it’s probably still living life as a hunt club truck somewhere.