thinking of buying a tahoe or Denali, anyone have any thoughts no them?

F

fullahotair

Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2002
Looking to unload my jeep grand cherokee and get a 2000 to 2006 vintage Yukon/Denali or Tahoe. I like the looks of the Yukon/Denali over the Tahoe, but not so much to make a large determing factor.

At any rate, anyone here have one? experiences? known issues/problems? One year better over the next?

I would prefere a crew cab truck, but this is would be as close I can get with the boss lady approval.

Thanks,
Nate
 
I just bought an 07' Tahoe for the wife. She loves the hell out of that thing. Has an incredible turning radius for a larger vehicle. AC works like a champ. all the automatic crap like the folding seats and rear gate are a godsend for a pregnant mom. Has enough power, fairly quiet. Good sound system.

I give it a 8.5 out of 10 for soccer mom approval.


Oh yeah, I did some calculations. It will hold roughly 40 cases of longnecks, 11 kegs if staggered properly, 31 mafia "anyone seen tony?" + 2 or three shovels.
 
I dont have the yukon version but here is my denali.... I love the truck it does GREAT towing IMO no real issues with the motor other then having to clean out the throttle body twice a year, and the AC ssytem tensioner failing twice now. I have 119k miles on it and no real issues *knock on wood* I also have a trailer on it usually atleast twice a week.

PIC-0003.jpg
 
I had a 2005 Denali xl. Probably one of the nicest all around vehicles i have ever owned. It did everything great. Towing was fantastic. The fit & finish of the interior was excellent. My wife traded hers for a c6 corvette because we didn't need the room anymore---if we still needed the romm--she would still have her Denali.
The self-leveling(suv only--not truck) was a very nice feature.
I highly rec. one:biggrin::biggrin:


Geoff
 
Go with the Denali for one main reason - the 6.0 instead of the 5.3. Then get you a Wester's tune. You will thank me later.
 
thanks for replies...

What were/are you guys seeing for mpg out of the 6.0L or 5.3L?

A friend of mine is building a 6.0L for his camaro, so i know the 6.0L can be a lot of fun! Do the denali's come with the lq4 or lq9? I know the escalades had the lq9 which is the aluminum block - i think.

Anyone know of any significant differences over the years to make one year more attractive than the next?

Thanks,
Nate
 
I have a 04 z71 silverado. I usually get about 14 in town and 18-20 on the interstate. Still had OE plugs and wires so those figures could be a little weak. And yes, the 5.3 is a dog. If you aren't going to tow much, it does the job. If you plan on doing some towing, get something with a 6.0 and be done with it. Issues I've heard of on 00-06 trucks is fuel pumps, transmissions, idle issues, and intake gasket. More common problems are steering shaft noise, loose crossmember bolts and body bolts, bad oe plug wires, road/wind noise on extended cab models. The stock stereos suck also. Make sure you get something with a Bose system at least.
 
Get an 05+. They have electric fans which make the A/C perform better sitting in traffic. Been meaning to convert mine to efans. Denalis will have the 6.0 liter.
 
I heard the electric fans is a good mod. If I ever get a chance to hit the JY I'm gonna get the fans and wiring. Is it all plug and play?
 
I wish it was plug and play. You will need to have your computer programmed to power a pin in the ECM for the fan harness. I have heard that the bolts are different for the E-fan shroud compared to the clutch fan shroud. HP Tuners and EFI Live I believe can do it. Tech 2 will not. There are several companies that sell the harnesses along with the program. Black Bear Performance is one local to me. I've been meaning to do this for awhile but this stupid black car seems to take my extra money:biggrin:
 
Have an 09 Sburban with the 5.3 Nice Power and about 19.5 on Hwy. Best vehicle we have ever owned. Bought new has 20k on it now.

Just took delivery of an 2010 Chevrolet 1500 Quad with the 403 HP engine and Wow:eek::eek::eek: for a truck it has balls;):biggrin::biggrin:
 
I have an Escalade with 5.3 and 85k miles not one problem. It does have 26" wheels so it does feel a little under powered but i get around 17-20 mpg. Oh and like others have said get the air ride it is nice.
 
I average 9mpg on average with my truck but I do NOT baby it lol...... and I also spend a ton of time with it idling on fire calls, I have gotten 18mpg out of it before on the highway with the cruise on at 70 with the ac running on a long trip. I'l most likely be hauling a 28 foot trailer down to the oil spill this week again and Il make sure to report back how it does.
 
My 07 chevy express 2500 van has non electric fan.. Ive used synthetic oil and motorkote..Ii noticed that 2 weeks after adding the motorkote that it runs 20 degrees cooler than it used to,ive even compared it to other vans idling in the pk of a truck stop and mine was running cooler it has the 6.0 its 7100lbs with me in it and ive gotten 19mpg on the hwy with it..Its not a tahoe but its got the same drivetrain so i thought the info may help...
 
A good forum for these trucks is denalitrucks.com. There are guys on there with denali suvs and trucks from every year, bodystyle, etc. Even some guys on there with tahoes/trucks with the 5.3l. Im glad someone on here said that the 5.3 is a dog, i said the same thing on here once and was basically crusified. As far as mileage, my westers tuned 99 model z ext cab with the 5.3 i got probably 14 if i remember. My new truck with awd and the 6.2 gets about 15.5-16, but i keep my foot in it quite a bit.
 
i am curious to see what mileage you get going down to LA...

I just found denalitrucks forum last nightand signed up. I'll do some snooping around there and see what kind of info i find as well..

Thanks for the replies and info...

Nate
 
Tahoe

My Dad bought a 2000 Limited Tahoe FBI Version new, had the lt1 5.7 style block vers the LS block. MPH is 15-16 town 19 on the road. Problems were fuel pump, tranny went out. and intake manifold gasket leaked. He had JWs transmission out of FL build the tranny and all is well. All in all the Tahoe is well built solid ride.
 
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