Towing with a 4l60e

[99xcss4]

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[L31MaxExpress]

I pulled this home over 300 miles at 75-80 mph in overdrive but my 350 Vortec was not stock and I already had the 4L85E and the 3.73 geared 9.5" in it. Might not seem impressive, but I had 7 adults in the van and all of our luggage and camping stuff was filling the Jeep to the roof. Buddies 4.0L popped a head gasket and cracked the head on a trip to the river to camp and float the river. I had 3 other people with me, he had 3 with him. We moved what we carried that did not fit in the van behind the rear seat into his Jeep along with all the stuff he had carried, threw the Jeep on the trailer and went. I had like 3rd degree sunburns despite using like water resistant SPF50 every hour while we were floating the river and literally sat in a pool of like 60F spring water for 20 minutes before we left. The river was low and the normal 3.5 hour float we went on years prior was over 6 hours. 45 minutes into the trip when we hit I-35, I broke my foot off in the go pedal and went. I wanted to be home and lay around the house in the AC without a shirt and pants rubbing on those sunburns. I set the cruise at 80 most of the way. I set the cruise after I looked down and was running like 95. Also when traffic in Austin and Waco slowed down to a crawl or stop and started to move again I was in the fast lane, pedal shoved through the floorboard keeping up with traffic getting rolling again. Getting out of those cities even the semi's in the slow lane were running 80 and so was I. I gave that powertrain a torture test in 110F heat for a solid 4 hours. Even with traffic and 30 minute Buccees stop, I was in my buddies driveway in Lewisville, 303 miles from where we started in 4.5 hours. The van is fairly long and butt heavy so not much makes it sway at all. With 7 of us and stuff in it, was an easy 7,500+ lbs at the time not even mentioning the tongue weight. I bet were 14K all together, those U-haul transports are like 2,200# empty. My Tow/Haul programming was lifted right out of an 8100 Suburban or Avalanche at the time, I dropped it into Drive, mashed the Tow/Haul button connected to the 0411 and went. The van sat pretty level with that trailer because I swapped 3500 van overload leafs into the 1500 leaf spring pack with the 9.5 swap while I had the U-bolts apart. Normal ride empty, massively less squat loaded. A ball mount ~2" taller would have been more ideal for that trailer and load, but it was what it was and what I had tucked under the back seat.

I helped my buddy pull a newer remaned head at the junkyard and fix that POS 4.0L too after it was all said and done. He was dang near broke at the time, I think I even payed for the head and gaskets, lol. My brother helped too. Good dude, fell on hard times under Obama policies with his work.

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[99xcss4]

GM 10-bolt 8.5″ vs 8.6″ (or 8.625″ to be exact)

There is some confusion about what exactly is similar and different between GM 10-bolt 8.5″, 8.6″, and 8.625″ rear axles. First and foremost, 8.6″ is simply another name for (and an easier way of denoting) 8.625″. This means that both 8.6″ and 8.625″ mean the same thing, however people in the...

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[name]

So just to recap:

1) Towing in OD with this rig is not really reccomended because even with the trailer empty any fuel savings would be minor / barley noteworthy and would increase the ods of having an trouble free trip ( even if running at 2500 - 3000 rpm constantly )

2) Towing with this rig in 3rd gear at highway speeds ( even when I get it loaded with another pick up ) would not cause any other concerns that would not already be present with a vehicle of this age and 160K on the clock.

Is this correct ?

 

[name]

Good dude, fell on hard times under Obama policies with his work.

I know the feeling, and I am feeling it again...

 

[L31MaxExpress]

So just to recap:

1) Towing in OD with this rig is not really reccomended because even with the trailer empty any fuel savings would be minor / barley noteworthy and would increase the ods of having an trouble free trip ( even if running at 2500 - 3000 rpm constantly )

2) Towing with this rig in 3rd gear at highway speeds ( even when I get it loaded with another pick up ) would not cause any other concerns that would not already be present with a vehicle of this age and 160K on the clock.

Is this correct ?

Correct. The L31 in the boat I had a few years ago ran 3,500+ the whole time it was on plane and had something like 2500 hours on it. Sometimes as much as 5,000 rpm for fairly long periods of times. Same everything as the truck engine except for the camshaft and intake manifold. Every SBC before OD transmissions turned 3K at 70 mph for hours on end. The L31 in my 1987 G20 van spins 3K @ 85 mph.

If you are worried about 3K, slow down a bit. Even 60-62 mph in 3rd will bring that RPM down a bit and save fuel. Personally now days I am rarely in a huge rush to get anywhere, I select avoid interstates and let GPS take me on the 2 lane 55-60 mph highways away from the crazy rush on the interstate. Here in Texas those roads are 75 mph too, but as soon as I leave this state it is nice and mellow. If I feel like cruising 55-60 in a 75 mph, they can go around.

 

[Erik the Awful]

Please keep the politics out of it.

@name, if you're towing a GMT400 with a '94 K1500 4L60e, your larger issue will be brakes. I'll assume the trailer has brakes and the truck has a brake controller and it's not an issue. If not, you're going to have to think ahead for every stop, and it wouldn't be legal.

I towed my Jaguar from OKC to Mid-America Motorplex just outside of Omaha and back with a '99 Suburban with a 4L60e. I kept it easy and slow and the transmission did just fine. Then engine was another matter. The Vortec upper intake manifold gasket blew out in the middle of a construction zone with barriers on either side. I babied it out of the construction zone, but I'm pretty sure that's where I cracked the block. My trailer did not have trailer brakes, but I didn't know any better then. I just drove careful.

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

@name, if you're towing a GMT400 with a '94 K1500 4L60e, your larger issue will be brakes.

^^^ This.

Check your rear brakes. AFAIK all Suburbans got 11" drums, but...

See if yours has 10" drums; if so, open them up and check their adjustment b/c the 10" drums rarely stay properly adjusted.

Even if 11", you might want take a good look a them.

 

[L31MaxExpress]

^^^ This.

Check your rear brakes. AFAIK all Suburbans got 11" drums, but...

See if yours has 10" drums; if so, open them up and check their adjustment b/c the 10" drums rarely stay properly adjusted.

Even if 11", you might want take a good look a them.

Should have JB6 brakes just like the G-vans I have had. 11 x 2.75" rear drums, larger front caliper pistons, double vacuum booster. In properly maintained state they work extremely well if not a little prone to excessive rear lockup. With weight on the rear that tendency seems to diminish. Definitely want trailer brakes either surge or electric with a good controller like a Podigy. My 99 Tahoe had the same brake system. I later added hydroboost, the matching master, and the even larger Police/8800 GVW SRW 3500 front calipers to it. Tahoe was fine as it was but I wanted braking equal to the performance of the 8100 under the hood.

 

[ImMrBill]

I have a 97 K1500 305 and didn't know there was an overdrive. What is considered an overdrive.
This is what I tow 80% of the time..the teardrop. The other time it is this Utility/Tent trailer
If i remember right the newer trucks have a button on the shifter.