Proactive maintenance - New to me 2023 Yukon SLT 5.3 60k miles

[NiamLeeSin]

I've purchased a used rental 2023 Yukon SLT with 60k miles. I'm looking through the threads on the 5.3 L84 and the 10L80. I'm trying to learn about this coming from my 2016 Yukon 5.3 6l80 world (which I still own).

Below is what I'm gleaning from searching the forums. Can you gents offer some guidance, what do I need to do for longevity? Especially regarding rental abuse survivors...

5.3 L84:
-5w30 oil every 5k miles (really not clear on best oil type)
-Catch can
-AFM delete via HP tuners trans tune, vs Range adapter?

10L80:
-Does it benefit from tune to reduce slip, or anything else?
-Aftermarket pan with plug, but us there a pan that's easier to remove so filter swap doesn't require dropping exhaust?

EDIT: it has the tow package which is great for the transmission cooler upgrade, but since these 10L80s are heat sensitive, should I get an additional aftermarket cooler, despite not towing?

 

[jfoj]

Suggest you use the OLM and change the oil when the OLM reaches 50%, this is typically between 3700-4500 miles depending on driving conditions from what I have seen.

As for oil, while not officially DEXOS approved, I run Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 0W40 in my vehicle. Pennzoil knows how to make DEXOS approved oils, however, DEXOS requires a big up front testing fee and and ongoing licensing fee (per quart) AND they require the oil vendor to provide the ingredients and possibly the oil formulation. Vendors are not going to release their ingredients and formulations to a 3rd party as they are giving up their intellectual property and research development information. Who cares if the oil is not DEXOS approved if you are changing it at 50% OLM. No time for the oil to get crazy dirty and form sludge as long as you are not driving 3-5 miles for each trip and not warming up the oil.

Suggest a J&L catch can, no noise on the 6.2, not sure if the 5.3 will be the same but assume it will not be noisy, easy install. Initially check and drain catch can at 2000 miles, but you should be able to change it every oil change and only be have full when the OLM hits 50%. But you need to check and see how often it needs to be drain for your engine and driving conditions.

Range DFM and ASS disabler. Just make sure you remove before taking to dealer for service as it seems to cause issues with ECU flash updates if installed.

10L80 on a V8 you MUST drop the pan for filter changes. Search my user name, I have a big thread on the NextGen valve body upgrade along with the PPE trans pan install. You need to get the correct PPE pan because many are for the 10L1000.

Get and OE trans filter and gasket, gasket is considered "Reusable" but at that age and mileage and needing to drop the exhaust, it is not worth the risk.

I would suggest when you get a trans pan with an oil drain plug installed, just drain and fill the transmission every 4th oil change.

You will not need or benerit from an additional trans cooler due to the trans cooling loop thermostat in the valve body, unless you remove the trans cooler loop thermostat, you are wasting time and money and even then if you remove the trans cooler loop thermostat if the vehicle has the towing package the trans will stay under 165-170F depending on ambient temps. If you are not towing, just put the money into fluid changes.

 

[swathdiver]

Put the truck on the severe service schedule. That means most of the fluids ought to be changed now.

We often see on these forums folks having VVT issues and it is often, not always, because they are not using Dexos approved oils.

Engine Oil is used like hydraulic fluid these days, and since it's used to do more than just lubricate and shed heat, it wears out faster. We try to change the engine oil between 4-5K miles or about 150-175 hours.

 

[OR VietVet]

@swathdiver beat me to it. DO ALL FLUIDS, ASAP.

 

[Doubeleive]

yep all fluids, brake, trans, diff's, coolant, belts, plugs/wires, intake service
you can almost bet money the brake fluid and transmission have never been done, coolant is a maybe

 

[NiamLeeSin]

yep all fluids, brake, trans, diff's, coolant, belts, plugs/wires, intake service
you can almost bet money the brake fluid and transmission have never been done, coolant is a maybe

Thanks for this. By wires do you mean replace the engine wiring harness? And by intake service do you mean engine air filter only? (I guess I'm handy, but not a mechanic).

 

[ReaperHWK]

Suggest you use the OLM and change the oil when the OLM reaches 50%, this is typically between 3700-4500 miles depending on driving conditions from what I have seen.

As for oil, while not officially DEXOS approved, I run Pennzoil Ultra Platinum 0W40 in my vehicle. Pennzoil knows how to make DEXOS approved oils, however, DEXOS requires a big up front testing fee and and ongoing licensing fee (per quart) AND they require the oil vendor to provide the ingredients and possibly the oil formulation. Vendors are not going to release their ingredients and formulations to a 3rd party as they are giving up their intellectual property and research development information. Who cares if the oil is not DEXOS approved if you are changing it at 50% OLM. No time for the oil to get crazy dirty and form sludge as long as you are not driving 3-5 miles for each trip and not warming up the oil.

Suggest a J&L catch can, no noise on the 6.2, not sure if the 5.3 will be the same but assume it will not be noisy, easy install. Initially check and drain catch can at 2000 miles, but you should be able to change it every oil change and only be have full when the OLM hits 50%. But you need to check and see how often it needs to be drain for your engine and driving conditions.

Range DFM and ASS disabler. Just make sure you remove before taking to dealer for service as it seems to cause issues with ECU flash updates if installed.

10L80 on a V8 you MUST drop the pan for filter changes. Search my user name, I have a big thread on the NextGen valve body upgrade along with the PPE trans pan install. You need to get the correct PPE pan because many are for the 10L1000.

Get and OE trans filter and gasket, gasket is considered "Reusable" but at that age and mileage and needing to drop the exhaust, it is not worth the risk.

I would suggest when you get a trans pan with an oil drain plug installed, just drain and fill the transmission every 4th oil change.

You will not need or benerit from an additional trans cooler due to the trans cooling loop thermostat in the valve body, unless you remove the trans cooler loop thermostat, you are wasting time and money and even then if you remove the trans cooler loop thermostat if the vehicle has the towing package the trans will stay under 165-170F depending on ambient temps. If you are not towing, just put the money into fluid changes.

Agree with penzoil ultra plat being the best but if your under warranty you’ll need to use penzoil platinum. I am just because I don’t want a warranty denial becuase of this. I have a 6.2 so I’m being super careful.

 

[Doubeleive]

Thanks for this. By wires do you mean replace the engine wiring harness? And by intake service do you mean engine air filter only? (I guess I'm handy, but not a mechanic).

lol. no spark plugs and spark plug wires, commonly referred to as plugs & wires.
the intake service should probably be done by a shop

 

[OR VietVet]

lol. no spark plugs and spark plug wires, commonly referred to as plugs & wires.
the intake service should probably be done by a shop

Or remove the throttle body and do a cleaning.

 

[Doubeleive]

Or remove the throttle body and do a cleaning.

that wouldn't hurt but no, these direct injected engines need a deeper cleaning the valves are more prone to getting caked up

 

[jfoj]

Borescope the intake valves and see how they look as far as carbon buildup. There are some liquid/foam products that claim they can remove carbon build up on the back of the intake valves and valve stems, however, intake removal and walnut shell blasting tend to be the most effective. Then install a catch can to help reduce future carbon buildup on the back of the intake valves.

 

[jfoj]

Agree with penzoil ultra plat being the best but if your under warranty you’ll need to use penzoil platinum. I am just because I don’t want a warranty denial becuase of this. I have a 6.2 so I’m being super careful.

The oil is not going to be a cause of a failure of my engine. Any early engine failure will be due to substandard design, substandard parts and substandard machine work and engine assembly. Not so different from the many other 6.2l. My engine is currently outside the "Recall" window by a few weeks where things were supposed to be "fixed".

DEXOS vs Non DEXOS when changing oil at 50% OLM or less than 4k miles is pretty much a non issue and is the best you can do to try to protect the mess that GM delivered. Not very happy about what I am seeing in the oil filters and oil drain pans on post recall 6.2l built after July 1, 2024. Even the 2025's are not looking promising. Time will tell??

 

[Anomaly]

I've purchased a used rental 2023 Yukon SLT with 60k miles. I'm looking through the threads on the 5.3 L84 and the 10L80. I'm trying to learn about this coming from my 2016 Yukon 5.3 6l80 world (which I still own).

Below is what I'm gleaning from searching the forums. Can you gents offer some guidance, what do I need to do for longevity? Especially regarding rental abuse survivors...

5.3 L84:
-5w30 oil every 5k miles (really not clear on best oil type)
-Catch can
-AFM delete via HP tuners trans tune, vs Range adapter?

10L80:
-Does it benefit from tune to reduce slip, or anything else?
-Aftermarket pan with plug, but us there a pan that's easier to remove so filter swap doesn't require dropping exhaust?

EDIT: it has the tow package which is great for the transmission cooler upgrade, but since these 10L80s are heat sensitive, should I get an additional aftermarket cooler, despite not towing?

I've got almost the exact scenario as you except I moved up from a 2013 5.3L SLT. So far, I've done:
- Oil change using M1 0w20 (per mfg spec), considering moving to 5w30 next change and using the forum recommended 5K change interval
- Trans fluid & filter change (@ ~60K) using mfg spec fluids (done by mechanic)
- Rear Diff fluid change with Valvoline Full Synthetic 75w90 + AC Delco 10-4003 LSD Additive (possibly overkill)
- Tire rotation
- Brake inspection

I think you've got some good input here. Recommend picking up a fluid transfer pump if you do the rear diff. I did it with just a longer tube from above the cross-member but it made quite the mess.

Another AFM delete product to consider is Carbyte; seems to be 50/50 here for preference with Range.

 

[tsuintx]

Tagging along on this one, if I may… Have similar question anyway, so hope OP doesn’t mind.

My question to the collective here is about the 10-speed fluid change. My wife’s newly acquired 21 Premier has 116K and I have no records whether the fluid has ever been changed or not.

The miles are clearly over the recommended interval, but should I just bite the bullet and get it done? I’ve always been kind of wary about doing it when you’re well past the interval and have no idea if it’s ever been done or not.

Yes, fresh fluid is better than old, but still there’s the possibility for issues popping up. That would of course mean that issues were about to start at some point, but anyway…

I’d take it to the transmission shop that put a new GM 6L80 in my Silverado a couple of years ago, but not sure if I’d have them put in a pan with a drain plug or not.

 

[jerry455]

I am going to get a new deeper pan with magnetic drain plug this summer. I feel that these new trans fluid additives wear out faster than the older trans fluids. I have never seen a trans fluid that says to shake it before pouring. It pours like water.

 

[Anomaly]

Tagging along on this one, if I may… Have similar question anyway, so hope OP doesn’t mind.

My question to the collective here is about the 10-speed fluid change. My wife’s newly acquired 21 Premier has 116K and I have no records whether the fluid has ever been changed or not.

The miles are clearly over the recommended interval, but should I just bite the bullet and get it done? I’ve always been kind of wary about doing it when you’re well past the interval and have no idea if it’s ever been done or not.

Yes, fresh fluid is better than old, but still there’s the possibility for issues popping up. That would of course mean that issues were about to start at some point, but anyway…

I’d take it to the transmission shop that put a new GM 6L80 in my Silverado a couple of years ago, but not sure if I’d have them put in a pan with a drain plug or not.

For the trans fluid service, I'd wait for 120K and then do the service.

I think the old train of thought to either stick with a service interval or don't touch it until it fails might not be the case any more thanks to modern lubricants with more manufacturers recommending service intervals at 100K+ miles.

 

[jfoj]

Changing trans fluid will not cause a fluid related trans failure. 100k + plus service interval on atf's foolish.

 

[fondupot]

When I purchased my 2021 Yukon it had a similar mileage, ~62,000 miles. The first things I did on it was fluids in all the diffs and t-case and then had a shop do my transmission. It was a pan service. Drop pan, replace filter, replace lost fluid, top off and level check. Cost me $250. Trans is extremely smooth and quiet. A joy to drive. Will repeat again at 100k, then every 50k after...

Most people here will recommend 3000-5000 mile engine oil change intervals with a high quality synthetic oil. I personally am using Amsoil Signature 0W20. I am ignoring the OLM% and changing oil based off mileage or time. Since our Yukon doesn't get driven a whole lot, it's going to be a 2x a year oil change interval.

I did the diffs and t-case myself in the garage. A few months later I also changed the serpentine and AC belt, and idler pulley. The serpentine belt showed a little bit of fraying.

Truck is around 69,000 miles now and its been a great vehicle. I also installed a Range RA007 module. I inquired about custom tuning to remove DFM and the cost was prohibitive compared to the Range module.

Here's a few tutorial videos I made.

Rear Diff fluid change procedure

Front Diff fluid change procedure

T-Case Fluid change Procedure

Serpentine and AC Belt Procedure

Range Module Install procedure

 

[jerry455]

My 2021 High Country Suburban 6.2 is at 95,000 miles and passed the test. This June will be 2 years since I bought it and I will replace all of the fluids again. I am going to add the PPE deeper trans pan also. I tow a 6,000-travel trailer so I change fluids every other year. Trans will be more frequent. That is the best preventive maintenance for the vehicle.