95 Tahoe questions

[Gorilla72]

Can anyone school me on the 5.7l TBI v8 for a 95 2dr tahoe?
1- Any advantage of swapping the vortec heads to this motor? Will it even work?
2- Any other recommended mods to do for improved gas mileage? My main focus.
3- Or would swapping out to a 5.3 gen 3 or newer be a better choice? OR ?
4- Is there any truth to a 95 2 dr Tahoe being a one year only for parts? Ive been on the fence about this tahoe and when Ive asked more question to some others one guy told me to becareful of the 95 as it was a one year only.

 

[drakon543]

probably better off with the 5.3 swap easier no. im not sure on the vortec head swap seems like your real problem there is it would still need to be tuned. finding a dyno shop that does obd1 chip flashing is a hard one. there are a couple mail order shops tho. i had a 94 suburban and i have 0 complaints about the 5.7 tbi. with the right choice in parts some extra power and mpg is able to be milked out of that engine. i actually had less problems with that 5.7 tbi than i have with my vortec 5.7 in my 97.

 

[liquify33]

What kind of mileage are you currently getting? 12-14 mixed is probably the best I’d expect for a 2 ton brick.
If you’re getting much under that there is probably an underlying condition.
The $ you’re talking doesn’t make sense for a 2mpg max gain, IMHO.

 

[Doubeleive]

I agree with Robert the amount of money you would spend just isn't worth it at all, just think for instance even spending only $1000 dollars to save a (theoretical best) $3 per tank of gas =333.3 tanks of gas just to break even, filling up once a week would take 6 yrs again just to break even

 

[Gorilla72]

Still thinking about buying this '95 Just sold my Jeep, I was all set and ready to go for it till I asked a buddy if he knew anything about them and he replied with becareful of the 95's and they were only one yr part trucks. Later asked another guy and he said about the transmission.
So it put me back on the fence on if I should buy it or not.

I dont mind running the 5.7 and it makes sense what all of ya are saying which helps me decide about not changing the heads from a vortex motor but what all can I do to get some extra mpgs out of the 5.7?

My biggest concern is buying it and then being stuck for parts to get it running again being its a one year only.
Thats why I was asking if the trans and motor can be swapped to a later one and keep the truck going. I planned on a restore over my ownership.

 

[drakon543]

chevy used parts across the board so its not like the 95 tahoe is the only one you would have that concern with. im not aware of it but i wouldn't be concerned about it. yes it is also possible to milk some extra mpg out of the tbi 5.7. its basically a carburetor with electronic jets instead of mechanical or vacuum jets. i got a 94 suburban bumped up with just some basic bolt ons and a muffler ans cat swap. the factory cat in that 95 is probably similar and has a wierd flow path which doesn't help.

 

[exp500]

95's are good, just a little different. You can expect 16 mpg highway with 373 or less gears. TBI motors are slow compared to Vortecs. So if you keep it tuned all the driveline lasts longer. 300-400K miles before everything needs to be replaced.The easiest swap is a vortec with a carb. Up to 18-19 mpg.depends on cam.But that is not politically correct/emissions violation.

 

[GMW468]

I bought a 94 K1500 extended cab brand new when I got out of the Marines in 95. It's got the 5.7 TBI. 2 years later when I heard about the release of the Vortec motor, I considered trading my truck in for a new one. Then I heard about all the issues that the Vortec years were having with intake gaskets and transmissions.

I had a buddy who liked my truck so he bought a 97 K1500 brand new. By the time it had hit 50,000 miles he had to replace the intake gaskets and 3000 miles later his trans went. Chevy didn't do anything for him since it was technically out of warranty. But honestly, that's flat out BS that his trans went at 53,000 miles. And he didn't even tow anything.

My 94? Well I still have it today and it has 201,000 miles. My daughter drives it back and forth to high school and her part time job. I kept it in the family because it's always good to have a pick up. When my daughter goes to college, my son will get it. I changed the oil religiously every 3000 miles with Valvoline oil and a quality Wix filter. I did finally rebuild the trans but it was at 175K miles.

When I bought the truck I got it with a 3:42 locking rear differential. I wanted 3:73 for towing but my truck was actually a 94 leftover and I got a killer deal so I accepted the 3:42's. I've towed my 69 Camaro all over with that truck and never had an issue. It pulls pretty strong and the only mod I've done to it is a high flow air filter and a dual cat back exhaust. It still runs the factory manifolds and stock style cats.

I just scored a 95 Tahoe 4 door this weekend and I have no doubts that it will last a good long time. I plan on daily driving it until I drop dead. Hell, I plan on retiring in 9 years when I turn 60 and at that point, I'm going cruise the Tahoe and restore my 94 K1500 and swap out to a 6.0 LS motor.

If the price is right on this truck, I say grab it and roll with it.