First and foremost, follow the maintenance schedule indicated in your owner’s manual!

Clean fluid provides long life!

You may be lucky enough to get a stack of maintenance records with your Suburban, but this is the exception, so I recommend you start with a clean slate and get all the fluids replaced. This includes the fluid for the engine, transmission, brakes, power steering, radiator, differentials, and transfer case. If you can’t afford to do all of this right away, then do one of these additional fluid services with each oil change. And speaking of oil changes, do them regularly, at least every 5,000 miles, and know that as your engine ages, it will seep and/or burn oil in between oil changes, so check it frequently.

Air, fuel, spark!

This is what makes the magic happen, so keep it all in good shape with regular service. This includes replacing the air filter at every other oil change and the cabin air filter at about 15K miles. I run a tank of premium gas after each oil change for some additional cleaning of the fuel injectors. Spark plugs and ignition coils and wires do not need to be replaced very often, but if you notice a change in engine performance, this is always the first place to start. I had no idea when my spark plugs had been replaced, so I decided to do this at 200K miles, and it resulted in stronger starts, and it is running better!

Tires make big difference

When you put a new set of tires on an old vehicle, it makes a big difference in ride quality. I run all terrain tires most of the year, and then switch to snow tires in the winter. If you are going to splurge on anything, make it tires!

Listen closely

Once I have blocked out my lifter tick, I am always listening for unusual noises coming from anywhere on the vehicle. For example, I had a squeak coming from the front end when I went over speed bumps, which was a sign my front shocks needed to be replaced (see below). Once you have identified an issue, search for the sound and symptoms on the web and see if you can diagnose it yourself, and then you can use GM Parts Direct to at least figure out how much the parts should cost.

Data is power

Don’t be intimidated by the information your Suburban can provide you to diagnose warning lights. I recommend you invest in an inexpensive OBDII diagnostic scanner. I bought a THINKOBD100 for $35 and it has served all my needs to date.

Stop!

The brakes are very good on the Suburban and given its size and weight they must be! You should never feel like you need to hammer the brakes to slow down, even when you are fully loaded. The reason is it features disc brakes and dual piston caliper on all four wheels and if they are functioning properly, you can stop very easily.. The front discs are a little bigger than the rear - keep this in mind when ordering replacements. All that said, brake pads are an inexpensive investment with a big payoff.

Belts

The Suburban has a serpentine belt and a belt for the AC compressor, and they are both easy to replace. I carry an extra serpentine belt, along with a serpentine belt wrench, just in case!

Hoses

Coolant hoses should be replaced at least every ten years. This includes the heater core hoses, which are a weak point in the Suburban, as the plastic connectors at the firewall tend to leak. My 21 year old Suburban just turned 200,000 miles and I have no idea if the hoses have ever been replaced, so I will be replacing them ASAP!

Heater Core

My heater worked fine, but I could hear coolant gurgling through my heater core, which told me it was due for a cleaning. Flushing it with water will clean it out, but I also recommend utilizing a chemical cleaner.

Shock Absorbers

I like to say you should feel like the “King of the Road” when you are driving a Suburban, and a King deserves a smooth ride! The 9th generation Suburban featured two types of shock absorber setups, self-leveling and Autoride. You can tell which setup your Suburban has by looking at the RPO codes located in the glove box. Self-leveling is ZW7 and Autoride is ZW55.

My Suburban has the ZW7 self-leveling setup, which features regular shocks up front and self-leveling Nivomat style shocks on the rear. When I had 200K+ miles on my Suburban I noticed some squeaking and a bit too much compression in the front end when going over speed bumps, so I replaced the front shocks. While doing this, I also discovered the bump stops were all worn out, so I replaced them. My Suburban still does a good job of maintaining the 2” front to back rake when empty, and when it is loaded, it levels up every time, so I know the rear self-leveling shocks are still in good shape.

The ZW55 Autoride setup is a fully automated suspension control system and I am not that familiar with it, so that is all I will say!

Watch this video to learn more about Suburban maintenance and repairs….