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

alwayscode390 said:
BLEND DOOR, wtf ... please explain in detail for me ---
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Laymans terms....it mixes the outside air with the AC or heat your car makes to create the perfect temperature. Say it is 100 outside, your AC is 50 and you have the auto set to 75. It will mix it so your air is 75. Obviously, a lot more complicated then that. It also is the same motor that switches from head to foot and left to right...

Here is a picture.
604-107-001.jpg

usetaboost said:
Couldn't imagine why so many of these trucks have failed fuel pumps. Don't run them low on gas guys:biggrin: I just remembered my truck still has dexcool. I gotta get that crap out of there.
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Werd...Forgot to mention I changed my moms fuel pump at 101k miles to prevent it from failing on the road. She travels a lot and I would not want her to have a failed fuel pump...Took me 3 hours to change and most of that was fighting the damn quick connect fuel lines. Give me a clamp anyday over those damn things. The pump was working great when I removed it, I was just being proactive.

Jason
 
My thoughts based on the tow vehicles I have had over the last several years. As others have pointed out almost every vehicle has its quirks....we all know about the turbo buick quirks....example: find one that don't leak oil your probabl looking at one that has no oil in it to leak!

I would say anything Tahoe/Yukon etc 2001 and up with decent care easily can see 135,000 plus miles. Having had a few fuel pumps go out generally with no warning.

My son did have the dash cluster go out, but someone on ebay can fix them reasonably.

I got a 2001 Tahoe loaded bought it with 110,000 now has almost 150,000 on it. Every vehicle I buy for personal use I get every fluid drained and fuel filter replaced. Most previous owners fail to do this. Especially coolant and brake fluid and rears...

No smoker vehicles is a must.

I usually replace all the shocks with Bilsteins as most previous owners never replace the shocks since they wear gradually.

Good luck on whatever you buy.

denniskirban@yahoo.com
 
My thoughts based on the tow vehicles I have had over the last several years. As others have pointed out almost every vehicle has its quirks....we all know about the turbo buick quirks....example: find one that don't leak oil your probabl looking at one that has no oil in it to leak!

I would say anything Tahoe/Yukon etc 2001 and up with decent care easily can see 135,000 plus miles. Having had a few fuel pumps go out generally with no warning.

My son did have the dash cluster go out, but someone on ebay can fix them reasonably.

I got a 2001 Tahoe loaded bought it with 110,000 now has almost 150,000 on it. Every vehicle I buy for personal use I get every fluid drained and fuel filter replaced. Most previous owners fail to do this. Especially coolant and brake fluid and rears...

No smoker vehicles is a must.

I usually replace all the shocks with Bilsteins as most previous owners never replace the shocks since they wear gradually.

Good luck on whatever you buy.

denniskirban@yahoo.com
 
Have an 03 Z71 Surburban that I bought new and has about 70K mi on it now, basically its the wifes car most of the year(she loves it) and the family tow vehical (car trailer, boat, camper).

No real problems with it other then cat converter went and both converters were replaced under warranty and some steering componet that was a known problem.

For towing I feel the 5.3L is a little underpowered(needs about 50hp more),mine is stock other then the K&N, but I like to drive fast even when towing:wink:
My camper is 5,800lbs and it struggles a little on any up hill pull but gets the job done.

Overall pretty happy with the purchase even at $40k:eek:
 
i just test drove an 2004 tahoe tonight, and i will agree with all who said the 5.3 is a little doggy in the tahoe!!! Even my wife complained it was slow, and she isn't usually the one to complain. We will need to seek out a Denali or tahoe z71 to see how they perform. I think the z71 comes with 3.73 gears?

Anyone have any input on the autoride system that is available for these?

Thanks,
Nate
 
fullahotair said:
i just test drove an 2004 tahoe tonight, and i will agree with all who said the 5.3 is a little doggy in the tahoe!!! Even my wife complained it was slow, and she isn't usually the one to complain. We will need to seek out a Denali or tahoe z71 to see how they perform. I think the z71 comes with 3.73 gears?

Anyone have any input on the autoride system that is available for these?

Thanks,
Nate
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I am not disagreeing with you, but I would like to drive one of these doggy 5.3's. My truck has a 5.3 and 3.42 and feels just fine. Never downshifts on hills and can pass easily. Like I said, the 6.0 has A LOT more torque though.

On the autoride, it works great. It is costly to fix when it breaks, but our vehicle as 110k+ miles without an issue.

Jason
 
I'm on my third 5.3 Tahoe and none of them have been "doggy" at all. Will they peel out and leave 30 feet of skid marks? Probably not.
 
it might just be a difference in opinion - I don't know what gears the one i drove had, so that could make a difference i am sure. I am not saying it was a complete slouch, but it certianly wasn't exciting. Maybe something was messed up with it who knows....but it felt like it should have downshifted or something to give it a good kick in the pants, otherwise i would think twice about jumping out to pass someone in a hurry.... We'll be test driving some more, so i'll post back if my findings are consistent...


Nate
 
I'm not sure if I will be heading south this week or not. But I did take my truck on a 100 mile trip dis-morning before work with a empty 20 foot enclosed trailer. I kept it at about 65-70 the entire way and it got 14mpg that's with some stop and go traffic (where I easily getting mad with the other drivers and end up getting on the gas hard lol :D)
 
usetaboost said:
I paid 11k for mine with only 47k on the odometer
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Yeah kind of makes me sick how much it depreciated,stickered for $48k got it for $41k with 0%interest

"and i will agree with all who said the 5.3 is a little doggy in the tahoe!!! "
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I have no problem with the power in my suburban in normal driving,great torque, just when trailoring heavy loads up inclines it could use some more umphh, A blower would be nice!!!!!
 
CHARGED said:
Yeah kind of makes me sick how much it depreciated,stickered for $48k got it for $41k with 0%interest



I have no problem with the power in my suburban in normal driving,great torque, just when trailoring heavy loads up inclines it could use some more umphh, A blower would be nice!!!!!
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I think the window sticker said my truck was 35k new. It booked for 17500 when I bought it may 2009
 
well I test drove an 05 escalade tonight so i could experience the 6.0L and an 05 yukon with a 5.3L and a 3.42 gear. The 6.0 was really nice and the ride on the caddy was really excellent. It wasn't boaty at all and 6.0 felt nice and strong...good exhaust note too.

We went to another dealer to drive the yukon, so we could experience another 5.3 as the 04 tahoe (5.3L with a 3.73 gear) was quite poochy. I'll tell the 5.3 in the yukon was noticably more peppy and responsive than the tahoe, which is surprising since the yukon had 3.42's and the tahoe had the 3.73's!!! I can only conclude that the tahoe had something funky going on with it.....

Nate
 
More thoughts on this subject......I believe the Tahoe/Chevy adnd Yukon/GMC are basically the same size. Early models rode on 16 inchers and later ones had 17s etc...as my 2001 Tahoe had 16s the ugly rims I call them and from ebay I bought 2008 17s from a Yukon.

The low end torque on the 5.3 is decent for towing 3500lb cars on a lite weight open trailer which is what I do. Back in the mid and late 1990s when I was buying 35-45 turbo regals a year I used 2 different 2500 HDs with the 8.1 gas motors and allison transmissions....never drove the 6.0 but I am guessing the 8.1 is worlds quicker...

If the Yukon or Tahoe is equipped with a factory receiver under the bumper its almost a sure thing it has 3.73 gears in it. Even Ford I think rolls with 3.73s as I also own a 02 V8 explorer also with the larger factory receiver.

If I was towing something every week I would want the 6.0 with 3.73 gearing....

In most northern areas you have to look at fairly new ones as rust/salt just eats them up. Lays up in the back of the frame rails gas tank and towing receivers....eventually you see evidence of rust on the back bumpers...

I got lucky with mine one owner woman owned garage kept and never used the receiver.

GMCs and Escalades Denalis are the upgraded ones....and I think most if not all have the 6.0 powerplants...

Good luck in your search....

denniskirban@yahoo.com
 
Dennis Kirban said:
More thoughts on this subject......I believe the Tahoe/Chevy adnd Yukon/GMC are basically the same size. Early models rode on 16 inchers and later ones had 17s etc...as my 2001 Tahoe had 16s the ugly rims I call them and from ebay I bought 2008 17s from a Yukon.

The low end torque on the 5.3 is decent for towing 3500lb cars on a lite weight open trailer which is what I do. Back in the mid and late 1990s when I was buying 35-45 turbo regals a year I used 2 different 2500 HDs with the 8.1 gas motors and allison transmissions....never drove the 6.0 but I am guessing the 8.1 is worlds quicker...

If the Yukon or Tahoe is equipped with a factory receiver under the bumper its almost a sure thing it has 3.73 gears in it. Even Ford I think rolls with 3.73s as I also own a 02 V8 explorer also with the larger factory receiver.

If I was towing something every week I would want the 6.0 with 3.73 gearing....

In most northern areas you have to look at fairly new ones as rust/salt just eats them up. Lays up in the back of the frame rails gas tank and towing receivers....eventually you see evidence of rust on the back bumpers...

I got lucky with mine one owner woman owned garage kept and never used the receiver.

GMCs and Escalades Denalis are the upgraded ones....and I think most if not all have the 6.0 powerplants...

Good luck in your search....

denniskirban@yahoo.com
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All Escalades and Denalis came with the 6.0 and 3.73's with the 4l65e trans.

Towing package means the wiring, an auxillary trans cooler, the hitch, the tow haul mode for the trans, and a posi. Has nothing to do with gears.

Jason
 
Quiky One said:
All Escalades and Denalis came with the 6.0 and 3.73's with the 4l65e trans.

Towing package means the wiring, an auxillary trans cooler, the hitch, the tow haul mode for the trans, and a posi. Has nothing to do with gears.

Jason
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My Escalade has 5.3 it was an option.
 
i have an '01 denali with about 190,000 miles on it, my bro has an '05 with less, i average 12.2 mpg city and some hwy, he averages 11mpg with 22" rims in city only driving.

I rebuilt the trans around 160k miles, the sun shell gear sheared. i did the fuel pump around 170k miles, that sucker is heavy to push by yourself and the pump was a pain in the ass to change in the puddles of the alley, real ****ty job. water pump died around 180k miles, ive changed the drivers power window motor 2 times, friggin jobber window motors suck.

the denalis are lq4, the escalades are lq9, all have cast iron blocks, the lq9 has more compression. I also have a carb'd lq4 with l92 heads for my '69 c10 panel truck, still under construction, what else is new.

I love the denali, prefer the interior vs the similar year escalade. I want a pickup so I'm thinking to maybe upgrade to a '07 escalade ext.
 
We've had our 97 Tahoe for almost (9) years now, its the second best vehicle we've had so far (sorry, the Honda Odyssey DD took first:smile:). Other than the intake manifold gasket, speed steering sensor, and wiper circuit board failing, its been extremely reliable for everything we put it through. The LT based motors are hard to kill, you see a lot of them with 200k+ miles, and you can pick a nice one up for cheap!

The paint on ours is starting to go (still really clean)...I'm debating about either painting it or trading up for a Suburban for a little better tow ride. Ditto what everyone else said about the Tahoe turning radius, its great!
 
I have an 01 Tahoe. I have owned it for almost 5 years now. Its been great. I tow my car and 16' trailer everywhere. Also use it everyday as a work truck. I drive hard and still manage 14-16 MPG mixed driving. The 5.3 is fine on power IMO. The Tahoe now has 174k miles and original trans. The AC doesnt work, replaced fuel pump (rigged in a walbro from a buick LOL). Its been a great vehicle for me. I will buy another when this one is done.
 
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