Most common problem with pushbutton 4wd is the switch, second most common is the actuator. On that unit the encoder motor can be replaced separate from the whole unit, and the encoder motor position switch a well. Having a good mechanic can save you some dollars.

 

What goes wrong with the switch?
What I had read was something about a magnesium housing, with aluminum internals, where the internals tended to eat the case..

 

it seems like a lot of money for just occasional use and so old (wow they hold their value well)
a big roof-carrier on the CX-9 was not enough?

How much trips are you making? If 3000 miles/yr, 500 miles a shot, so realistically three trips, maybe three weeks in a year, you could probably just rent a new Suburban for less than the opportunity cost of the old one and the ongoing expense of maintenance/insurance/tags.

 

We talked about the rooftop carrier idea, but that still maintained the CX-9 as a DD for my wife, commuting 110 mi/day in a 3 row SUV by herself @~20mpg, not enough room in the budget for an extra car payment.

Thought of the renting thing, but there are a variety of uses beyond the primary use..
1) towing race car trailer : currently accomplished with my F250, but it's a standard cab, so 2nd vehicle required for family to come along
2) her dad has been talking about getting a camping trailer that he'd loan to us for extended periods, but the Mazda doesn't have enough tow rating to support anything more than a small pop-up
3) Like having a 4x4 around for the 1-2 times a year we get actual snow here
4) when family visits us it's nice to have more space (both of us have Fiestas for DD, which means only enough space for 1 add'l passenger)

3k/year may be a low estimate, maybe more like 5... just seems negligible compared to the 30k/year we put on the DDs.

We had one in the family from new (1999) up until just about 400K. The blasted 4x4 switch went out a half dozen times (3 times under warranty). Every time it was JUST the lights not working, the 4wd worked perfectly. The other common failure were the inside door handles, they'd break like clockwork every few years. The door pind and bushings would also wear out quickly. Other than that it was a very solid truck mechanically, one transmission and t-case rebuild were the biggest repair we ever made.

Your switch problem sounds like what this one has.. Probably something that can be lived with as long as I remember what it's in! Maybe look at how expensive it is to get anew one. Thanks for the other words..
Did the transmission die slowly or all of a sudden? That's my one concern with this one at 200k is that it may need an transmission soon, or perhaps it was done not long ago. But like I said it drives nearly like new, so it seems like it should have some miles left in it.

 

We had one in the family from new (1999) up until just about 400K. The blasted 4x4 switch went out a half dozen times (3 times under warranty). Every time it was JUST the lights not working, the 4wd worked perfectly. The other common failure were the inside door handles, they'd break like clockwork every few years. The door pind and bushings would also wear out quickly. Other than that it was a very solid truck mechanically, one transmission and t-case rebuild were the biggest repair we ever made.

 

I have a 95 GMT400 with 425 thousand on it with original running gear / the rear diff howls badly exactly at 55 MPH and none at all at ANY OTHER speed the front axle lock motor went out in it + a cracked rad (-40 and not sufficient coolant to water) a few ALTS ONE starter and front brakes
has the "manual" 4X4 on the floor NOT the push button

as for stuff to look for depending where you live the frames RUST out at the front of the cab where they angle upwards also SLOW shifting into reverse when cold
other then those 2 things IMHO there are NOT a lot of stuff beyond "normal" stuff like burning oil ETC and GM's short lived front ends (in Canada they do NOT last long)

 

Don't forget the dreaded "transfer case rub" (where the internals wear a hole in the case,
leak the fluid out and go BOOM!),
also where the upper control arm mounts on the frame CRACKS and seperates !
Also the same on the gmt-900s.................

 

It's been in NC for its lifetime according to the carfax, and there's no evidence of rust on the underside, though I didn't check those specific areas, so thanks for that.

The rub mentioned is what I was worried about on the xfer case, this is the push-button version.

We'll see how it goes.. Looking at GM Performance Parts, could buy this and put in a brand new 383-E, and 4L70 and still be only a shade above $10k invested... obviously woulnd't ever be able to sell it anywhere close to that, but we're hoping this will be a "lifetime" vehicle at least until kids are out of the house (oldest is 2 and youngest isn't born yet so may be worth the investment when the time comes..