Buying Higher mileage Tahoe/Yukon/Suburban, Major concerns?

[clandr1]

Would ya'll say that the improvements in the '05 are work taking one over an '03?

Yes.

is the fuel pump internal to the tank on these?

Yes.

@clandr1, I had seen mention of the castech heads before, thanks for the reminder. Do you know by chance of an image the points out where the stamp would be? I see reference to a visible location on the passenger side near the dipstick, but I'd like a better idea of where to look.

Look on the front passenger corner of the motor, under the oil filler neck (see image below). If you see 706, it has Castech heads. Again, my truck has them, but I haven't had any issues in 148,000 miles. In fact, last time I did an oil change I sent in a sample to Blackstone labs, and everything was 100% normal - no evidence of coolant in my oil.

Here's a link to the TSB regarding the Castech heads:

http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/Bluegorilla/2008-12-05_142924_Coolant_loss_5.3.pdf

 

[adventurenali92]

@sneasle , the compressor is right behind the drivers side rear tire mounted on the frame rail. When you turn the key you should hear it kick in,for 5-10 secs on start up. If you don't hear it,kick on than the compressor maybe burnt out.

 

[pnwdan]

It is cheap and easy to swap out the auto ride with normal shocks. Most of us who've had ours for some time have done that.

One thing to be aware on the Denali is that mid 04 and earlier had issues with the cam bearings. They fixed it in 04. Mine ate the bearings at 165k. I'm still on my original 4l65E though.

 

[08HoeCD]

Great thread and very timely for me, as I just took the plunge this past Wednesday and bought a 2008 Tahoe LT with 125k on the clock. Needed to get out of a '12 Challenger R/T and into something with better all-around utility but didn't want to drop huge $$$ in the trade. Loving this vehicle so far, but understand and accept that the fuel pump, steering pump, water pump and other bits may give up the ghost at any time.

The Chevy dealer I bought it from is extremely highly rated, and the vehicle is super-clean for its age/miles---I'm actually surprised at how well all the systems function. I drive under 7k per year and I understand these rigs will run over 250k easy with diligent maintenance, so all good.

 

[Wake]

I think the transmission is really the only major thing to look out for, in general, on the half tons. They will do just fine with regular maintenance, but if you have someone who's never changed the fluid, or worse has done a flush on a high mileage transmission, you could be looking at issues soon.

Beware of the Castech heads (see link below). I have Castech (706) heads, but thankfully haven't had any issues (purchased my truck new, now have 147k on it). So, while having Castech heads is something to be aware of, it isn't necessarily a death sentence.

http://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/would-you-buy-a-tahoe-with-castech-heads.67689/

I agree with you on the transmission. Up until the 6spd automatic GM made some very crappy automatics. The 05 Escalade I had already had a rebuilt transmission installed when I purchased it at 83K miles. It was starting to go again already at 90k miles when i got rid of it 3 years later (4th vehicle, not driven much).

To the OP, how about considering an Avalanche or EXT? I have my Escalade SUV but I don't find it that useful for home projects. A pickup with a bed seems to be the ticket for home depot and dump runs.

I took a chance and purchased an 03 EXT this past Monday that is very well taken care of. 180K miles and still on the original everything other than the cluster and fuel pump. The suspension is shot, you can expect that but I've done enough of them over the years that I don't think much about rebuilding the entire suspension system upon buying an older vehicle. I ended up picking up my 03 EXT from a private party owner for $7500, less than most comparable F150s or Silverados would have cost me and I get the big 6.0 with AWD versus part time 4WD which appealed to me more.

 

[sneasle]

@clandr1 , thanks a bunch, this really helped. The two trucks I've looked at so far are both good, one is a 316 and the other was a 306 (I think).

@Bigbeardenali1992 , @pnwdan , Thanks for the input. That has helped greatly. I'm much less worried about this now.
My reading suggests that the trucks should sit lower when parked, and that if the autoride is working they should lift slightly when they are cranked, is that correct? Otherwise, is there an easy 'on the lot' method to tell if the autoride is working correctly?


@Wake, I'd love to buy an Avalanche (I've been ******* after them for years) but what is driving the Tahoe/Burban/Yukon decision is that the wife and I want to be able to fit 4 passengers, plus the dogs (Husky mix, Shepard mix), plus gear in the vehicle. I can't do that with the Avalanche without having the dogs (or our other passengers) out in the bed and in order to crate the dogs in the bed I'd have to pull all the covers off and expose dogs and gear to the elements. Granted, there are ways around this, but it is a whole lot easier for me to open the rear hatch and say 'Up' and have the dogs jump in than it is to try and crate them and tarp everything down for a longer distance ride. That said, I am leaning toward a burban/Yukon xl just so I have more room behind the 3rd seat without having to pull it every time. I believe the 3rd row bench on these also folds, so I should be able to run some pretty long lumber in there without much hassle. If I'm missing something obvious here, please let me know, but the SUV seems to be the right choice.

We are keeping the budget small on this for that reason, if the the SUV ends up not fitting our needs the way the thought it would we will sell it and find something else without having to deal with the massive depreciation if we had bought a new Yukon off the lot.

 

[adventurenali92]

@sneasle , yes that is correct. My 2006 sits just slightly lower when I park it. Also listen for that compressor to kick in when you start it up. As for your hauling I needs I went with a bigger suv instead of a truck for the same reasons. Carrying all my detailing gear around pretty much every day means it's always back there. But when we get weather I don't have to unload all my,car and bring it in the house in order for it to stay dry and also locked securely. With an open truck bed it would be much more of a hassle to load and unload everyday. And bed covers are expensive. Third row folds forward and I have room for everything. But there's still seating if I need to pick people up with all my gear in The back.

 

[sneasle]

@Bigbeardenali1992, thanks. We are of a similar mind with regard to cargo carrying.

I went and looked at the 2005 Denali with the 252k miles, the compressor did indeed kick on as expected and didn't sound like it ran more than it should. I didn't get a chance to watch it from the outside as it cranked, not sure if it did indeed lift up or not. If it did, I didn't feel it while I was inside.

It was in reasonable shape (I think), wear and tear looked better than expected. Ride felt a bit rough though. Not sure if there is something up with the suspension or not, they are doing a lot of construction in the area and the roads are a mess, so I might be being overly harsh on it. The check engine light is on though. I don't have a code reader, seller says it is an O2 sensor error. Based on what I am reading here I am definitely going to have that checked before I decide to go any further with this one, I don't want to have to deal with replacing the Cats without having priced that in.

 

[adventurenali92]

@sneasle , that's good! My compressor doesn't kick in and I'm only @ 85,500! If all is working right you should only hear it once on start up. The difference in height is minimal. You wont notice it feel any higher or lower from inside. @ least I dont. Lol. Suspension can be any number of things. If your roads are jacked up you will definitely feel it. They are tearing our whole main boulevard up here in my town doing some elctrical bs and theyve totally frankensteined the pavement back together and its horrible. So if the ride feels stiff it could be related to that or it could be related to the suspension. You won't know unless you tear into the suspension. With 252k on the clock it could need new shocks. That wouldn't surprise me. But that's all part of buying a used truck. I would take it for another test ride and tell the salesman that you want to take it to another mechanic and get a second opinion on condition. Then take it to someone you know is going to give you an honest opinion while you're on the test drive. Wear is a big factor for me. My drivers seat had a small tear in the leather. Typicall gm issue. Lol. If you don't have that problem you're doing good!

 

[sneasle]

@Bigbeardenali1992, understood. I expect to have it checked out, just need to find someone to do it. We haven't lived here long, I haven't had need for anything aside from regular maintenance, and most of that I do myself except for tires and alignments.

So, I say it has normal wear and tear, but its pretty clean. The leather has some lines in it, stretch lines or somesuch that seem to be pretty common on these after a few years, and there is a small (nickle sized) hole in the door-side bolster on the drivers seat, but otherwise the leather is in good shape. The 2nd and 3rd rows looked pretty good, they don't seem to have gotten much use. The steering wheel did feel a bit rough, but a cover will cure that without much issue. I'd probably add one anything, it feels a bit 'thin' compared to what my daily driver has anyway.