Nothing yet done on the Suburban today so far, but a little more online research and another question.
Q. What year is the transmission, and what are you using for a dust shield for the bellhousing since you are working with a 1988, and what modifications did you need to make to the dust shield if you are using the older stock factory piece?
A. The transmission is out of 1980 1/2-ton 2WD pickup, the engine was a 350. The main difference between the 1980 engine and the 1988 350 in the Suburban- is the 1-piece rear main seal and the dust shield off the 1980 engine not having enough clearance for the 1988 main seal retainer, that- and I installed the dust shield after mounting the bellhousing to the block, requiring the starter hole to be opened up so I wouldn't have to remove the starter to install the dust shield.
I also had to remove about 3/8-inch of the center section of the dust shield, and it just so happens that the shield has an indentation at this very location around the crankshaft opening area, and the locating tabs that hold the shield to the oilpan are too large for this application/adaptation- requiring 1/4-inch be removed from the tabs still allowing the tabs to serve their intended purpose.
Photo 1 shows the dust shield un-modified.
Photo 2 shows the dust shield with the modifications not yet done, but with the locations of where I removed the metal for clearance.
