Thinking about buying a 2007+ Chevy

[87Skier]

My 1996 Suburban is reaching the end of its life, and I'm thinking about upgrading to a newer vehicle.

I don't care for the 4L60E transmissions, so I've decided I'm going with something 2007 and newer. Wife wants an SUV of some sort but doesn't care if it's a Tahoe, Suburban, Yukon, Escalade (I think Avalanche variants are a no). I do some occasional towing, mostly a boat, but occasionally a car trailer, so I need something truck based. She also wants heated seats, leather, and maybe a back-up camera. 4 wd is a must.

Originally I set out to buy a Tahoe or Suburban for around $13k with ideally less than 125,000 miles. I've found a few out there, but I also saw quite a few Escalades for not a lot more money. So I've been seriously considering a Cadillac Escalade.

So, what do you guys think? Do you own a newer Tahoe, Suburban, or Escalade? How do you like them? Is the ride quality/comfort significantly better in the Cadillac? How is the build quality in these vehicles? Is there anything I should watch out for? Is the 6.2L better or worse than the 5.3L? If it were your money, how would you spend it?

I just want to hear your opinion, you won't offend me!

[Greenlee]

About a year ago I bough a 2012 Yukon Denali AWD with 6.2. This is the first vehicle in this body style I have ever owned. I really like it. It’s the best driving truck I’ve ever had. It has air suspension, which is pretty nice for pulling a trailer. As soon as you drop the trailer on it, you can here the compressor turn on and it levels out the truck.

I was a little worried about the AWD and not having low range, however, the little bit of driving off-road I’ve done so far it worked just fine. The 6.2 is awesome!

[95 S_Trucker]

Since you tow, I'd look for one with the max trailering package. It will have an engine oil cooler, and an auxiliary transmission oil cooler. The trucks with the regular tow package only have a transmission oil cooler in the radiator.

You can buy OEM parts and add the additional coolers. The price on parts only is around 800(that's fro GM parts, aftermarket is less).


All of the engines would have active fuel management(uses the lifters to keep valves closed when activated), and most would have variable valve timing. I've seen some issues with the lifters on these trucks(heads need removed to replace them). I've never ran into an issue with variable valve timing.



***I don't own any of them, but I do work on quite a few in my shop.***

[grubsster]

Hi 87 Skier,

I have 3 of the 2007 models of these trucks 2 crew cab Silverado LTZ's and one Suburban LT. All have 5.3's in them with towing package and 4wd. I tow a 2016 Stingray 192SC with no problems.

I have had no real problems with 2 of them but have had the lifter issue on one of the Silverado's previously mentioned by 95 S_Trucker. I have also had the oil consumption issue that you may have heard of on all three. I swapped to the newer style valve cover on two of them and that helped but did not totally fix oil consumption. I then put a Hypertech 32501 tuner on and turned the AFM off and that seems to have really helped oil consumption on all three.

IMO I would stay away from the 2007 or 2008 models of this truck with higher mileage because of the risk of the lifter issue mainly. I think 2010 and up GM fixed a lot of the issues that were plaguing this truck. Definitely put the tune on it no matter what year you get, the 32501 covers till at least 2015.

Good luck with your search...

[87Skier]

Thanks for the replies!

I had some thoughts and questions. I see that a lot of talk is devoted to the 5.3L for early gen IV engines, mostly with issues being oil consumption and DOD/AFM issues. It sounds like a lot of these issues were sorted by 2010 model year stuff.

Is there anything to be said about the L92 used in the Escalade. From what I've found it didn't have DOD/AFM until 2010. Do these engines have any hidden issues I should know about? I see these were used in some Tahoe's, Suburbans, etc...

Also, what about the suspension on these trucks? Just wanted to confirm some info I've heard about these. All had front independent with coil springs.
Trucks, and suburban received leaf spring live rear axle. Tahoes and variants received multi-link rear suspension?

Any difference in steering? Are all rack and pinion?

[weq92f]

My wife purchased a 50k mile 2010 tahoe a few years back and drove it for 2 years. It was trouble free however, toward the end of our run with it, the thing started using oil. When I swapped out the plugs on it, 4 of them had huge chunks of the ceramic stuff broken away/missing.

Obviously, the 2010 still has the issues with DOD.

-klb

[87Skier]

Originally Posted by weq92f

My wife purchased a 50k mile 2010 tahoe a few years back and drove it for 2 years. It was trouble free however, toward the end of our run with it, the thing started using oil. When I swapped out the plugs on it, 4 of them had huge chunks of the ceramic stuff broken away/missing.

Obviously, the 2010 still has the issues with DOD.

-klb

Good to know.

Originally Posted by GREG58

My wife drives a 2007 Suburban LT loaded, it runs and drives nice with decent power. Has always used oil, 800 to 1000 miles per quart.
Just hit 200k and had to have the DOD lifter work done, $2800 later it is running fine. Oil consumption is now 1500-2000 per quart.
No transmission or 4x4 problems, brakes last a long time.
If you don't mind the decrease in fuel mileage, maybe the 6.2 would be better. Also they made some 2500 Suburbans with 6.0 and 4l80 trans. pretty bulletproof!
Greg

Seems like a common experience for the 5.3's to use oil, and need DOD work. I'm thinking if I bought one of these, I might have to spring for the DOD elimination kits. Kind of don't want another project right now, so the 6.0/6.2 would probably be a better option.

On a side note, I hear that a lot of people run oil catch cans on ls swaps. I don't recall seeing them on these trucks. Would installing a catch can reduce oil consumption?

[Greg58]

My wife drives a 2007 Suburban LT loaded, it runs and drives nice with decent power. Has always used oil, 800 to 1000 miles per quart.
Just hit 200k and had to have the DOD lifter work done, $2800 later it is running fine. Oil consumption is now 1500-2000 per quart.
No transmission or 4x4 problems, brakes last a long time.
If you don't mind the decrease in fuel mileage, maybe the 6.2 would be better. Also they made some 2500 Suburbans with 6.0 and 4l80 trans. pretty bulletproof!
Greg

[95 S_Trucker]

Originally Posted by Greg58

My wife drives a 2007 Suburban LT loaded, it runs and drives nice with decent power. Has always used oil, 800 to 1000 miles per quart.
Just hit 200k and had to have the DOD lifter work done, $2800 later it is running fine. Oil consumption is now 1500-2000 per quart.
No transmission or 4x4 problems, brakes last a long time.
If you don't mind the decrease in fuel mileage, maybe the 6.2 would be better. Also they made some 2500 Suburbans with 6.0 and 4l80 trans. pretty bulletproof!
Greg

The 2500 suburban will not have active fuel management. It will have a 6l90e. The 4l80e was never installed on Gmt900 trucks.

They are also harder to find.

[Greg58]

Originally Posted by 95 S_Trucker

The 2500 suburban will not have active fuel management. It will have a 6l90e. The 4l80e was never installed on Gmt900 trucks.

They are also harder to find.

Thanks for the correction, I think any fuel savings we got with the active fuel management was eaten up by the expensive repair work.
I have been watching for 2500 Subs, and you are right they are hard to find, many were used by Govt. Agencies.
Before we bought the 07, we had a 2000, 2500 6.0L Suburban 4x4. it was pretty bulletproof, but liked gas.
Greg

[95 S_Trucker]

Originally Posted by Greg58

Thanks for the correction, I think any fuel savings we got with the active fuel management was eaten up by the expensive repair work.
I have been watching for 2500 Subs, and you are right they are hard to find, many were used by Govt. Agencies.
Before we bought the 07, we had a 2000, 2500 6.0L Suburban 4x4. it was pretty bulletproof, but liked gas.
Greg

I keep my eye out for a 96-2000 with the 454, and they are either rust buckets or to much $$$$.

[Olive1970]

My daily driver is a 2011 Silverado 6.2L max trailering package. It is a great drivetrain with the 6L80E and Limited Slip 3.42 gears. This is my third GMT900 I have owned and my top complaints and only real complaints are the seemingly thin paint and the horrible turning radius.

[68c10airstream]

Horrible turning radius?? Agreed, but with a long wheelbase and cv joint front axles you can only turn so far before the cv gets into trouble. I believe a u joint front end can turn farther, but the feeling of the speed up/slow down in 4wd with u joints is weird but normal, and probably not acceptable in today's expectations!