1997 K2500 Suburban Diesel 4x4 W/12,000 Miles On A New P400 6.5 Diesel on 2040-cars

150+ pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/113578553253323388671/June222014

Up for your consideration is my baby.  Well, for the last 3.5 years that is.  My whole mission was to have a super-durable, super-comfortable and super-reliable camping/tow rig extraordinaire.  We wanted a K2500 Suburban and a diesel with 4:10 axles, but as everyone knows, the last year GM made a diesel Suburban was 1999.  So the choices were limited to the GMT400 body.  Took me a while to find this one.  This old girl had 151,000 miles on her when I picked it up. 

Found her on Craigslist down in Sarasota, FL in 2010. At the time, she needed an injection pump (typical for these 6.5’s) so I had it shipped up and then the odyssey began.  3 years later and way too much money that I even care to think about later (or willing to tell my wife about), here we are.  It’s truly been a labor of love.  But we want a 5^th wheel now and well, Suburbans and Fivers are not compatable.  So its time for the next person who will appreciate this as much as I have.

Drove it all over hell’s half-acre and in 2013 I decided at 194,000 it was time for a motor refresh.  6.5’s are renowned for durability, reliability and low maintenance costs.  That’s why the military puts them in their Hummers. 

Rather than cheap out, I got the best when it comes to 6.5’s – Peninsular Diesel http://www.peninsulardiesel.com/WP-PENTEST/  I had the Peninsular folks install a fresh P400 in February 2013.  Mated that with an A-Team Turbo http://www.ateamturbo.com with a KOJO tow tune and added a Peninsular intercooler.  Never made it to the dyno, but folks in the know say it probably is in the stock Duramax area now.  Pretty much everything GM skimped on in the 6.5’s (and the knocks against them) I’ve fixed.  From engine to exhaust, everything was installed professionally.  And my friend, it’s bad ass. 

On the comfort and convenience side I added a complete interior out of a 2000 Escalade.  While I had the interior out, I dynamatted the floor and doors, filled in the voids in the back, put in new carpet and rubber mat in the rear cargo area with extra insulation.  Other things that have been done over the last 3.5 years:

·      Rear Disc Brake Conversion from TSM Mfg.

·      H.O. Power Steering pump and cooler from PSC Motorsports

·      Massive safari rack from Defender

·      Custom front and rear bumpers.  I now fear no deer!

·      Warn 9500lb winch with in-cab controls

·      Enough Rigid Industries LEDs to blind you

·      Completely refinished late model GM 8 lug aluminum rims with fresh Michelin LTX M/S2 LT265/75R16

·      N-Fab running boards

·      New fuel tank with external filter mounted on frame rail

·      Amsoil Two stage bypass oil filter mounted on frame rail

·      New JVC head unit with High End Speakers.

·      New Bilsteins on all 4 corners

Recent (last couple of months):

·      New rotors and pads all around, new hydroboost and master cylinder

·      Right front axle half shaft

·      New trans pan (fluted for added cooling) & gasket and oil pan gasket.

·      AC condenser (blows ice cold front and rear)

Known areas of concern/issues that you’ll have to deal with:

Rust is pretty tame on this one, which is unusual for these GMT400’s.  At present limited to the passenger side rocker and a couple tiny bubbles.  I put two new rust-free front doors on it last year so they’re good to go as are the rear doors.  The rear quarter by the exhaust just showed a couple of bubbles (pictured) and an area about the size of a quarter on the left rear barn door.  Nothing major at all and honestly if I was keeping her, I would replace the two rockers and deal with the bubbles as they come up. It’s a pretty solid rig.

The injection pump is working fine but has about 50,000 on it now so in another 30k or so will likely need replacement.

The main issue that will need some attention is the brake hydroboost.  Pumps up quick but for some reason the brake light comes on at idle.  Pump the pedal once and it comes right back up.  Ran the last 18 months fine with the rear disc conversion and this just started so not too sure what it is.  I’ve thrown $1,500 at it so far in the last couple of months and now the whole system is basically new. So maybe its pinhole in one of the brake lines I can’t find. I’m not going to deal with it though.  Gotta leave something for the next guy to work on!

The only body damage that’s happened while I’ve owned her is my wife got tagged in the rear quarter by some stupid woman in a parking lot.  Dented the driver’s side rear quarter which has been professionally repaired.  Other than that, its been washed, waxed and loved.  Never a drop of biodiesel or French fry grease in the new motor.  Just good ole dinosaur diesel. 

Bottom line here is I’ve redone nearly everything on her.  Trans shifts as it should.  4x4 works as it should and with the 4:10’s you can pull all the stumps you want.  It’s super comfortable and a real head turner.  I’m not in a huge hurry to sell it so I’ve got a reasonable reserve on it and will wait for the next person that knows what I’ve done and appreciates the time, labor, money and life force I’ve put into this for the past few years.

I’ve tried to be as forthright as possible but please ask all the questions you want and feel free to have it inspected.  Do not bid unless you are serious.  I have it listed locally and reserve the right to pull the listing at any time.  Happy bidding!

Forgot to mention the tach is not working.  I used my Garmin plugged into the ODBII port and got all the gauges a guy could every want. So never fixed the factory tach.

Someone had asked for a copy of the Peninsular Diesel invoice.  Uploaded a picture of it to the Picasa deck so click on that link and scroll thru to the end.