Suburban, tahoe and yukon guys......

[charlie_the_tuna]

well, i'm already thinking about my next vehicle. i really cant stand my truck. it is my second pickup truck and will most likely be my last. i cant believe how little room i have to store sh!t. so i'm looking at one of the three trucks mentioned. i'm only in the begining stages of researching and pricing them out. i know some of you guys have, had or know about them so c'mon and chime in.
i'll be looking at something in the ten year old category.
ok, let it fly.

[Hedge]

99 Suburban, love it. Roomy enough to haul alot of stuff and the family and still have room to spare. I have the 1500 4x4 but really wish I had the 2500 for towing capacity (33ft travel trailer). It really depends on what you are looking for though. For a daily driver it is not very practical, I used to spend about $600 or so a month on gas driving to work (35miles each way) and hauling the kids to school and sporting events.

[Orlando]

i got an 84 diesel suburban, gets better mpg then my sisterinlaws 2006 with the 5.7. turning radius on all of them aint that great, but the newer diesels get very good mpgs for a full size vehicle, and will rrun practically forever if taken care of. plus plenty of towing power. all three are almost the same vehicles, all offer the same drive trains, but the burbans offer diesel. that would be my choice. all gms have a tendency to rust round the fenders and lower doors, just something to keep an eye out for wichever choice you make. just make sure you dont buy one from some kid who thinks a full size vehicle can be driven like a sport car or rice burner and not be hurt

[Orlando]

oh and not sure when or if gmc dropped the suburban name, but you get a gmc suburban you can pick it up a bit cheaper and it is the exact same as the chevrolet for all intents and purposes

[Road King Cole]

If you had got a full size pick-up and clean out the empties behind the seat you would have more room...

:hi:

[spareparts]

Hey Charlie, didn't we go thru 10 or 12 pages on your last vehicle purchase?:fight:

btw, 99 Suburban, 5.7l 2wd. 218k miles, 18 on the high way running 70 or better, average around 14 around town. Got another motor in the machine shop to replace this on when it goes. I looked hard at getting a newer one, but this ones paid for, in great shape, and I can work on everything on it

[the daydreamer]

suburban!!!! the only way to go.good ride 15.2 on hwy,towing the daydreamer 13.6. lots of room. this is my 2nd one. the one i have now is a 2005 with hot and cold running!!!! i looked for a long time before i found this one. it was super clean and had o8 wheels on it and custom paint. i did not go out to buy with custom paint it just sort of came all togather had every thing i wanted on it. you can see it in my album.

[lumberslinger178]

89 suburban 4x4 ....aka the war wagon at the time my son was playing paintball and it had room for them gear and more room to spare .

[Destroyer]

Suburban has more room than the other two. Yukon has the most luxury. Tahoe is known to have problems with the electric seat switches, but other than that is a great vehicle. My pick would be the Suburban... We have 4 of them at work as construction vehicles for the foremen, and they just keep running and running.. and our guys put them through some unbelievable terrain daily. :head:

[Monkey Butler]

'04 1500 Full time 4wd loaded. 151K

17 MPG Hwy, 10 MPG towing.

In hindsight I could do without all the options. Always fixing something.

Tows ok but the 5.3 makes power at too high RPM's and does a lot of downshifts.

Had water in oil just out of warranty due to porous Castech cylinder head. A couple of cans of Barrs Leaks seems to have fixed it.

Rebuilt the tranny at 120K.

Spare tire winch had typical failure in UP position. While under there noticed almost all the undercoat from the rear axle aft is gone. Going to have to do something about that before winter

My wife doesn't drive it much anymore so I wish it was a 2500 with 6.0 and barn doors.

[phatdaddy]

02 tahoe w/ 5.3 4wd tows great in fl in tow mode and 3, probably not so good in hilly terrain. my wifes daily driver and we love it. bought it in 06 for $13500 w 85000 miles and have done minimum repairs currently has 155,000. if you are going to travel with the 3rd row seats , there is no room for anything behind the rear seats. we have to add a luggage rack for bags when on a trip.

mileage in town 13/15
otr 17/19

don't blame you on the dakota, i inherited one when my dad passed, what a piece of junk.

[charlie_the_tuna]

its not that the dakota is a bad truck, its not. its just that when i had my last pickup i was single and now with the wife and kids theres just no room for anything.
in terms of commuting i put less than 3 miles per week on my car. i'm 2 blocks from the station and it doesnt even have a chance to warm up before i've reached my destination. i have 2 ramps within 3 miles of my house with the closer one being 1/2 a mile away.
and yes, we did go through this with my last car (dakota) but i decided i need something a bit different.
my big guy turned 13 a couple weeks ago and i had to shuttle him and his friends to the mall. we decided to all go and see a movie while they were putzing around. there were 10 of us in all and we needed 2 cars. that sucked.

[Orlando]

if your dakotas a 2000-2005 or so and has some milage on it get it gone, the 4.7 they were putting in them has a factory defect in the design and has a tendency to make sludge resulting in a hot spot due to very small cam oiling ports causing the heads to warp, i had to tear down the top half of my 2001 at 100k miles and my sisters 02 durango has the same problem, i just caught mine in time to save it, hers is fried completely.

[Stinky_Hooker]

99' 4wd Hoe here.

Bought it CHEAP with a blown motor. Built a new 5.
7 for it and love love love it. Tons of room and very comfy. I got a drawer system in the rear I built for all my tools and such and put ice chest/hunting & fishing gear on top of it. I literally live out of it during hunting season on the weekends. :clap:


Ill never go back to a pickup. May go to a Burb next time though. :beer:

[Blue_Runner]

'96 2 door 4x4 Yukon
Bought it with 126k. Engine blew at 183k. Had it rebuilt and now have about 30k on the rebuild. Rebuilding was an easy decision when it came down to it. My main gripes are there's always something breaking, door handle, cruise recently went out, etc. oh and don't forget the paint chipping on the roof and starting to rust. But what can you expect from a 15y.o. vehicle? I still love it and plan to get it painted and keep it going as long as I can. It towes my V well. I didn't know if I'd like the 2 door but I think I like it better. Only a minor inconvenience for the kids (11 & 14) to hop in the back and I get to enjoy and tight turning radius due to the shorter wheele base.

[THEFERMANATOR]

Go for a 00+ 1500 with a 5.3L in it. Yes it does take some getting used to for teh higher RPM range it turns, but they are MUCH more efficient even at the higher RPM's. Can't beat the milage or refinements in the 00+ either.

[jasoncooperpcola]

If it was me i would try to find a 6.5 Turbo Diesel Tahoe or Yukon, not just the big SUVs got the 6.5 TD.

Too bad GM dumped the 4.5 DMAX for their 1/2 ton trucks, bunch of idiots.

[Orlando]

i like the 6.2 diesel in my 84, cant kill it, close to 300k miles and still running great. and between 16-20 mpg. love it

[THEFERMANATOR]

If it was me i would try to find a 6.5 Turbo Diesel Tahoe or Yukon, not just the big SUVs got the 6.5 TD.

Too bad GM dumped the 4.5 DMAX for their 1/2 ton trucks, bunch of idiots.

I don't think CTT would be very happy with a 6.5. They are a decent engine, but theyare a wrench's engine to have. They will pretty much always need soem sort of maintence, and in stock form are pretty gutless and less than desireable for reliability. If you want a 6.5 BURB CTT, let me know. I'm on quite a few forums with 6.5 enthusiasts on them. The 5.7L is a good engine as well, but honestly I think it falls short of the 5.3L in a big way.

[RidgeRunner]

2001 Tahoe 2wd 5.3L - Tranny went at 40,000 miles while towing a 22' cuddy. Shell gear. Again at 60,000. Bit the bullet on a fresh tranny from GM (36,000 mile/3yr warranty no more issues) Check engine light with a generic computer failure message. ABS light on/off sporatically. Drives great, nothing a little electric tape wouldn't cure. Ride quality is better than the 96 Tahoe 4wd which had the 5.7L. The short wheelbase, same as a reg. cab shortbox, lent itself to a bucking bronco type ride on the interstate around here. The redesigned 2001 with similar wheelbase is more carlike in ride. Ferm is right on the 5.3 is more refined, simply a better mousetrap. Not that I had any problems but the Gen III chevy motors are easy to work on.
The 5.3 is built loose IMO. There is a little piston slap and the top end is a little noisy on cold starts but she is peppy.

[Skools Out]

i have a 99 Tahoe and turning wise nothing turns tighter but the 5.7 does has intake gasket issues unless it has been replaced. mine has 151K now but i also have a 94 Tahoe Diesel 6.5T and it out pulls my gasser. The 99 gets 19 hwy and 16 town but towing 12 all the time my 94 gets 18 town 21 hwy but 17 towing all the time. also have a 96 GMC Z71 but you don't want a truck but it falls in the middle tows better than my 99 tahoe but not as good as my 94 diesel. the 96 Z71 gets 20 hwy 14 city and 12 all the time towing.

[phatdaddy]

The 5.3 is built loose IMO. There is a little piston slap and the top end is a little noisy on cold starts but she is peppy.

100% correct on the cold knocking, RR. i try to let it warm up a little, but when the wife drives, she is at the stop sign down the block before the starter is disengaged.

[Pipe_Dream]

I haven't been online for a while, so I'm catching up.

2000 Suburban here, 1500 4WD. I have owned something like 15 vehicles, and this has been the most reliable of them all. 193,000 miles on it. Daily driver. Tows the V-20, a big box trailer, and last week a UHaul car hauler with an old Toyota Land Cruiser on it (another story). I don't tow long distance, or I might want a 2500.

An acquaintance just traded in his Yukon XL, same year and basically the same vehicle. 200,000+ miles and they gave him $4K. Had I known, I might have bought it from him for that and kept it as a backup. I love my Sub.

[spareparts]

hey pipe, whats up with the Cruiser? what ya building?

[Pipe_Dream]

I've acquired a '69 FJ-40. It doesn't run at the moment -- last ran a year ago when it was parked -- so that's the first order of business when the temps cool off enough to make wrenching an attractive weekend activity. The Cruiser has a lot of competition for my attention, of course, not the least of which is the ol' Pipe Dream. I'd like to have it starting and stopping by October. The body has rust, but I think it's solid enough for now. Might do a restoration in the future. What can I say? I've always been a car nut, and always loved the old LCs, and this one practically fell into my lap.

"Honey, I know I don't have much free time as it is, but I've got to do this!"

[spareparts]

Hey Pipe, just so you know.....
http://www.pirate4x4.com/welcome1.php largest 4x4 site around
http://www.nc4x4.com/forums/ good site for the carolinas
and
http://gdi4x4.com/ where the coolest low country wheelers hang out
http://hardlinecrawlers.com/forums/index.php and some of them hardliner Georgia boys hang

[Pipe_Dream]

Hey Pipe, just so you know.....
http://www.pirate4x4.com/welcome1.php largest 4x4 site around
http://www.nc4x4.com/forums/ good site for the carolinas
and
http://gdi4x4.com/ where the coolest low country wheelers hang out
http://hardlinecrawlers.com/forums/index.php and some of them hardliner Georgia boys hang

Thanks!

[nipper]

98 Suburban (Chevrolet) 1500 4x4 with 183k miles. Runs like a top. Just drove it from Indianapolis to Massachusetts and it ran flawlessly. Got 18 mpg. It has a whopping 40 gallon tank so I only had to stop once to fill it up. Tows the V20 easily. Only problems we have had over the years has been the air conditioning system. It has gone out 3 times since we purchased it used in 2002, and the repairs were EXPENSIVE. So expensive that I have not fixed it this third time it has gone out. I have kept fluids filled and clean and only other part had to replace was a starter motor at
175k miles.

[spareparts]

I'm thinking about upgrading the suspension on my 99 1500 to 1500HD specs, hey Ferm, Skools, ya'll know what the difference between them is. what it would take to convert it?

[THEFERMANATOR]

98 Suburban (Chevrolet) 1500 4x4 with 183k miles. Runs like a top. Just drove it from Indianapolis to Massachusetts and it ran flawlessly. Got 18 mpg. It has a whopping 40 gallon tank so I only had to stop once to fill it up. Tows the V20 easily. Only problems we have had over the years has been the air conditioning system. It has gone out 3 times since we purchased it used in 2002, and the repairs were EXPENSIVE. So expensive that I have not fixed it this third time it has gone out. I have kept fluids filled and clean and only other part had to replace was a starter motor at
175k miles.

A/C problems on this model BURB were normally the compressor which can be solved by installing the SANDEN compressor, low side pressure switches, and the high side scrader valve port leaks. All of these are fairly simple fixes. I have yet to hear of an evaprorator fail in one of these model trucks, so I don't know what could be costing you taht much to fix.

I'm thinking about upgrading the suspension on my 99 1500 to 1500HD specs, hey Ferm, Skools, ya'll know what the difference between them is. what it would take to convert it?

They never made a 1500HD in the GMT 400 platform. They did make the 1500 diesel which uses all 2500 7800GVWR front suspension and a stiffer rear spring pack, and then there was the 6 lug 2500 which used 7200GVWR front suspension and a stiff rear spring pack. You could swap out your control arms with those from a 6 lug 2500, and then swap out your rear axle to a 9.5" 6 lug version.

[bradford]

They never made a 1500HD in the GMT 400 platform. They did make the 1500 diesel which uses all 2500 7800GVWR front suspension and a stiffer rear spring pack, and then there was the 6 lug 2500 which used 7200GVWR front suspension and a stiff rear spring pack. You could swap out your control arms with those from a 6 lug 2500, and then swap out your rear axle to a 9.5" 6 lug version.

Spare, I currently own a '95 K1500 diesel and a '94 C1500 gasser. Like Ferm said, the front end is way more heavy duty on the diesel than my C1500. My Mom drives a '94 K2500 gasser with the 6 lug wheels. It definantly has stiffer rear springs than both of mine.

That guy Ferm sure knows some stuff.

[spareparts]

OK, change of plans now. After rethinking everything and heading off my wife's plan to buy a used Saturn(it is a nice car, just not what I want to be owing money on). I'm now in the market for a 03-06 Suburban. Needs to be a 5.3 2wd, under 80K if possible. Leather, third row, tow package. Any color but black or white(my favorite, but my wife hates it)I know its not going to tow with a 2500, but its higher than my 99. I think we're going to keep the 99 as my car, sell my Cherokee to my sister, and get my wife a newer burb. I need an older couples car, one that's been driven rarely, but taken care of. Any one run across one, let me know. I'm looking on craigs list in NC and SC. I hate to venture much further out with out some ones eyes on it before I drive to look at it. Thanks

[phatdaddy]

more mileage than you wanted, but comes with a fsu tag

http://panamacity.craigslist.org/ctd/2611771490.html

[brisboats]

2001 Burb here its a special ordered stripper 2500 with the 6.0 gasser closing in on 300K now ,4 x4 with 3.73 posi rear. It does better than my 06 HD 2500 ext cab 6.0 p/u 4:10's on mpg but I really don't bother keep track anymore. The Nanny hauls my kids around in it and she loves it. I am a big fan of the 6.0 and 8.1's just couldn't have a 5.3 at this point. I wish I could pony up for another one soon but in this economy we'll just keep on rollin with it. Paid 32k 10 years ago and it was well worth it, one tranny rebuild original engine burning mobil on since day one, couple of minor maint items and that been it. Gas guage doesn't work and the a/c compressor is on the way out but who cares. The old truck still looks good still runs good so we'll just keep on rollin. The old girl still will pull like a mule and I would take her x- country tommorow!

B