How many miles is too many (Denali)?

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#1taho

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When it stops it's too many miles. Lol. When the repairs won't justify the cost to the miles. If it's in good repair and high miles then keep her going
 

adventurenali92

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These things are tanks. I have a 2006 XL and absolutely love it. Fantastic SUV. Suits all my needs. The extra space is fantastic. And the xl handles a lot better in my opinion. The 6.0 is awesome for power and makes towing a dream. Your concerns on the transmission are valid. Any vehicle can have a trans problem. I just had my 4L65E trans rebuilt at only 83k miles because the previous owners put most of the miles on it and hammered the poor trans. It ran 2200 to have it rebuilt here in SoCal. But that seems to be the general price give or take a few from what I've researched.
 
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I have a 2002 XL with the stock 5.3 AND transmission....with 462,000 miles with no major repairs:)

Take care of it, don't abuse it, and change the fluids, and these things will last a good long while.

That said, I'm just waiting for something to die (probably the trans). When it does, rather than spending 20K on a newer one, I'll just spend that on the drivetrain (6.0, built trans, diffs and transfer case).
 

adventurenali92

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Also if you decide to go the route of the denali, put a bigger trans cooler on it. That Will help tremendously reduce risk of trans failure but keep it running at easy temps. I just did one for mine and I'm thrilled with my results so far. Before my trans was running temps of 200ish even under easy driving conditions. Since the cooler got installed hasn't gone above 150 which is perfect.
 

RND Customs

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Hey I'm new to this forum so hello all!
Saw this post and thought I'd add my two cents worth to start getting acclimated to the forum.

I have a 2001 GMC Yukon Denali 6.0L, 4L60E, NP149. I purchased it in 2007 with 75,000 miles on it. It now has 310,000 miles and runs excellent. Original Trans, rears, transfer-case, and body. I rebuilt the engine 20,000 miles ago because it needed a timing chain again and thought it could use the attention. There were no mechanical issues otherwise. Every 70,000 miles I changed the trans fluid and filter and it still runs smooth and shifts strong. The point is; the vehicles condition all depends on the owner and how much regular maintenance they did.

The oil pump tends to get overlooked and is critical to change around 100,000 miles or less but can actually last a really long time. The real issue is they tend to just stop working and drop pressure momentarily and can cause you to spin a main bearing. As long as regular maintenance has been done and it has a good oil pump and timing chain, it may very well be worth around $7,000. These old Denalis really hold their value and I've seen them sell from 5,000 to 10,000 depending on condition.
 

RND Customs

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By the way, I take care of my stuff but I'm ******* my Yukon. 6,000 RPMs all day and it has never let me down. Plus my top end is always super clean
 

adventurenali92

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I agree with @RND Customs , well maintained and itll be a reliable truck. When I was shopping for mine a year and a half ago there were many for sale here in California with 200k+ miles for sale. I couldn't tell you how any of them ran as I had just gotten out of a 200k suv and was not even considering looking at a vehicle with over 100k on the odometer. But I know how they run. That being said I have a client who buys and sells a ton of used cars and he has an 02 XL Denali with close to 250k on it. I've driven his often helping him pick up vehicles and his runs like a tank. I also know his has the origins motor, trans, and t case. So I know that if you maintain them they will hold up.
 

abishoff

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Also if you decide to go the route of the denali, put a bigger trans cooler on it. That Will help tremendously reduce risk of trans failure but keep it running at easy temps. I just did one for mine and I'm thrilled with my results so far. Before my trans was running temps of 200ish even under easy driving conditions. Since the cooler got installed hasn't gone above 150 which is perfect.
What kind of trans cooler upgrade did you do?

To the OP. I have an 06Denali XL. I was thinking about getting something new. Even thought I have 230k on mine I decided to keep it, and just do some comfort upgrades like a new DVD/NAV system, carpet, and seats. It didn't make sense to buy a new one when my runs so great.
 

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