I have  been looking for a bigger family vic.  I found a '98 suburban 4wd with 98K on the chassis, but only 10k on the engine.  I was told that the vic was driven in 4 low and it trashed the engine, so a crated engine was installed.  My question is, if the trip in 4L shredded the engine, what kind of damage, if any, are we looking at in tranny/transfer case?  Is there any reason to be concerned?

The 4l60E, and the 700R4 were never particularly strong to begin with. I am QUITE skilled at blowing 700R4s up. I would imagine that you might want to see how much a rebuild and a shift kit will cost you. You might get lucky, and the tranny and transfer have no issues.... but that much abuse WILL take it's toll. Also, the transfer is push button, I'm assuming? These transfers use clutches, instead of gears, and are more prone to wearing out.

How much is the truck?

Thanks for the reply and information, IR.  I wasn't aware of the weakness of tranny/tran case. I will certainly look into the cost for that eventuality. The fellow is asking for $4500.

Interesting. Only thing I could think of is someone tried to drive it in 4L for too long and the motor was damaged due to the sustained high rpm's. I have never heard of that but hell I guess it could happen.

I agree I would be concerned with the trans/transfer case. Have those checked out by a good mechanic before buying. Does the motor have any sort of warranty? Was it installed by a shop or by the owner?

The 4l60E is indeed a weak setup. It's the same transmission they use in the Colorado and the older S-10 trucks.

I don't have one in my truck, I have a NV3500.

I'll go with a potentially fouled up transfer case and a weakened 4l60E tranny for $1000.00 Alex.
Having a 97' Tahoe with well north of 100,000 miles I can also tell you how much a replacement 460LE costs and that it is not extremely difficult to install given time and tools.  Of course this is the only major issue the ole Hoe has had during its life minus an accident I put it through.
They're good trucks (SUVs to the non-truck believers) and if anything goes wrong there's parts a plenty to be had for them.



Link for potential issues:  http://www.gmtruckhq.com/?q=node/93

llanero, go to the Survival Forum and search my screen name.    



The 4L60E can be easily broken if you want to do that.  The 4L60e can also be easily taken care of.



I ran one 700R4 to over 230K miles and gave the truck away with a cracked engine block.  The 4L60e is basically a computer controlled 700R4



My first 4L60e and AutoTrac transfer case were lost at just over 182K miles due to an accident and the truck that they were installed into being totaled.  That thread is in the SF archives.



I now have a 4L60e with 189,xxx miles that is going fine.  



To keep a 4L60e in the '98 going for a long time:

>DO NOT use the overdrive for towing.

>Keep the transmission fluid properly filled.

>Keep fresh fluid in the transmission

>Keep good quality fluid in the transmission.  I use Mobile1 full Synthetic.  



hope this helps.

Hell, if you need engine parts, give me a holler, LOL. I have 2 Vortec 350s sitting around with spun main bearings. One of them MIGHT be repairable, the other one not so much, lmao.

I would offer 3500 for the truck, or less, and see what they say. The transmission is probably going to need to be rebuilt, or put a junkyard trans in. Same goes for the transfer case. Either way, Burbans are SWEET trucks.

I have a '99.  Same body as the '98.  It's a half ton 4wd (K1500) 5.7.  The transfer case shifts manully but I have a stripped down version (no power windows, bench seat, no carpet, vinyl seats, no trim panels in the back, Cheyenne type head lights, no rear air, 3rd row seat).  I bought it in 2005 with 64K miles.  Here's a list of the repairs that I've had to do to it.  I don't think they're all that uncommon.  You might want to check and see if any of this work has already been done or if it will need to be done in the future.  

When I first got it I replaced all lube (engine, diffrentials, trans, etc) and belt

2005 at 66K, fuel pump, at 70K Alternator.  Cost approx.  $150.

2008 at 96K, Distributor, plugs and wires.    Distrubutor gear was severely worn and causing a misfire/hesitation.  Apparently not uncommon in these trucks.  Cost approx. 400

2010 at 110K lower manifold gasket.  GM used a gasket that reacted with the Dex-Cool antifreeze and caused leaks.  This is a common problem with these trucks.  They start leaking at around 100k (give or take).  At this time I also replaced the upper and lower radiator hoses, heater hoses, thermostat, egr valve, belt....just because.  Cost approx $350

2011 at 120K.  Rebuilt the front suspension/steering (upper/lower control arm bushings/ball joints, tie rod ends, pittman arm, idler arm.  (I had bad control arm bushings on one side, idler arm and a tie rod end had some play also.  I just decided to replace everything with quality parts and hope for another 120K.  This by far has been the biggest expense.  I could have gone with cheaper parts and only replaced what was bad but I wanted to get it over with and not have to jack with it again (hopefully).  Cost approx. $800

2011 at 120K.  Sometime soon I need to fix the AC.  I have a hose that's leaking.   Cost approx. $200

2011 at ????.  Sometime this fall (if not sooner) I'll replace the shocks.  Cost approx $200

2011  There's a little

If these repairs seem expensive it's because I used the highest quality parts I could afford.  If, on the other hand, they seem cheap it's because I did the work myself.  Overall this has been a really good truck.  It looks like I've had a lot of problems with it but for the most part they've been easy fixes and the repairs have been WAY cheaper than payments.  If you decide to buy this truck either check for yourself or have a mechanic check to see if any of this work has been done or needs to be done.