1989 Chevrolet Suburban R250 Silverado review from North America

The alternator was known bad when we bought it, and we had it rebuilt. Also, the paint was peeling, so we had it repainted.

Since then we have had to replace every part of the cooling system except for the water pump. This includes the hoses, radiator, fan clutch, heater core, and thermostat. It had an overheating problem, and it was mostly due to the fan clutch. The previous owner did not maintain the cooling system very well, so all of these problems are not entirely the fault of the vehicle.

The air conditioner does not work very well, and will probably need a new compressor soon. It uses R12, so I have put this off because of the cost of a retrofit to R-134A.

We have also had some problems with the electrical system. It was intermittently not starting. Then one day it would not start at all. We had it towed home, and it turned out to be a bad contact on the starter. I removed a wire, put it back on, and everything has worked fine since then.

There is nothing like a Suburban for hauling kids, luggage, groceries, or whatever you need to haul. It has so much room in it, my wife doesn't want anything else. It is great for camping trips, long road trips, big shopping trips, etc. It is also very comfortable, though a little bit on the noisy side. The only vehicle that can compare is a Ford Excursion or a full size van.

This vehicle is very powerful, and can haul a huge load. However, with that power comes very expensive repairs and low gas mileage. The repairs are expensive because the parts are heavy duty. Heavy duty parts in general are larger, require more metal, and cost quite a bit more money. Even the tires will cost you more than your typical SUV because they are very large E load range tires.

I do some of my own work on this car. Doing an oil change is easy because you can crawl right under it without even jacking it up. However, reaching many parts under the hood is very difficult. The engine is so large, that even changing the spark plugs is a huge chore. I usually have to get into the engine compartment just to reach the back spark plugs, and I am over 6 feet tall! On the bright side, the engine compartment is not packed with stuff, and Chevy uses a serpentine belt, making the belt a cinch to remove and replace.