Thinking about going to look at a 2001 Suburban 2500. Has the LQ4 6.0L V8, I believe. Sounds like it's been quite well maintained (oil changes every 3k, lots of new parts), but has 283,000 miles. I'm looking mainly for a cheap tow vehicle, something to haul a 3k lb car plus fuel and a small trailer to crap-can enduros, rallyx and HPDEs, and maybe the occasional winter road trip when I might want 4WD. I really like this generation of GM full-size SUVs and the price is right, but the miles seem pretty high. What do you guys think? Are the engine and trans up to another 100k miles? (assuming they've only racked up mild-mannered highway miles to date)
In reply to JohnyHachi6:
I wouldn't expect the engine/trans to last another 100K miles. People don't buy Suburban 2500s as grocery getters, this truck has seen its share of work/towing over the years. Excellent maint records are one thing, but at some point the engine/trans will wear out. If you can accept that happening and it doesn't you're money ahead, but if you think it will provide another 100K trouble free towing miles odds are against you.
if its got good oil presure and runs well, I wouldn't worry. Check the trans fluid carefully. I'll assume you're getting it fairly cheap and the rest of it is in decent shape. Good used engines are $1000-$1500 and a trans rebuild is about the same. Does it have a full floating or semi floating rear?
If that uses the 4l80e like my 2000 6.5l 2500 does, then a tranny rebuild is $2800. I just had mine done last week.. It actually cost me a bit more because the transmission case was cracked at the bell housing, so I needed a donor.
If it's that or the 4l60e, I'd plan on needing a rebuild sooner than later, as it seems like they tend to wear out between 175-225k with normal towing use.. If you throw plowing into the mix like I did, it's closer to the 175k mark. The 4l60s are supposed to be a little lighter duty than my 4l80, but I can't confirm that from personal experience.
Edit: it's the reverse strap or sun gear that goes out on them, and without warning. In my case, push snow forward, throw it into reverse and it revs like you're in neutral.
If it's not smoking (floor it on a test run and look in the mirrors) and has good oil pressure I wouldn't worry about it. I would look at the trans carefully though, it's probably due for the second rebuild soon by GM standards.
Thanks for the info. Seller is asking $2500. I'll take a close look and see if any red flags pop up with the trans and I'll keep an eye out for engine smoke.
I would have jumped on it right away, but I remember hearing that transmission rebuilds were super expensive and I wasn't sure if the earlier GenIII small blocks were up to high miles either.
The rest of the truck will fall apart before you have any issues with that motor.
A lot of those trucks burned for some reason, I have personally seen over 40 in the junkyard that were completely melted. I would feel a little weird buying one because of that if nothing else.
In reply to Travis_K:
Just my guess, but the valve cover gaskets are o-rings that get baked by the exhaust... Not to mention returnless fuel with quick connect fittings at the rail....
For $2500, I would buy it and twice on Sunday.
does it knock when you start it cold?
if it does, don't worry about it.. it's probably done that since shortly after it's first oil change.
Buy it. Run it until it quits. It's a great platform overall. The engine is killer, the 4L80 is much stronger than the 4l60 and was made to do real work. Former boss had the 1500 with the 5.3 at over 325k miles before the original trans died. Engine had SCK (Cold start knock since he bought it with 115k. When I left, it was over 330k miles and running strong.
Mine has way less than that. I'm creeping up on 250,000 km. But it doesn't feel in any way worn or tired. I beat it fairly hard. WOT runs, heavy towing, etc. That combo (6.0/4L80E) is stout. That is a lot of miles, but if it sounds healthy, has good oil pressure and doesn't smoke, it's not going to suddenly fail without warning.
Just a note about the trans - make sure it locks the converter in OD. If not, there's a good chance it needs at the very least a valve body, if not a TCC at that mileage.
I know this engine can withstand crazy amounts of boost with no internal mods...
4L80E's should go forever. The reason why rebuilds are so expensive is because they don't typically fail, unlike the 4L60E.
I do question the 2500 desire though. The 3/4 ton chassis is about 1000lbs heavier. The LQ4 doesn't make "that" much more power than a 5.3L (I'd rather the 5.3L with a tune compared to a stock LQ4). And I'd rather save 1000lbs of weight with a 1500 chassis then gain the extra 40-60 torques of the LQ4 (depending on year), plus the heavier trans sucking way more power. And the 1500 is a better daily driver compared to the 2500.
In reply to HiTempguy:
Good points on the 2500 vs 1500. I don't think I'll ever really daily drive this though, and at some point I'd like to get an enclosed trailer, so I feel like having the 2500 for the beefier trans and axle/suspension is probably worth it.
If that is your main concern, then also make sure you buy one with 410s (8100 for the 1500 4x4, 9600 for the 2500 4x4). The rated towing capacity difference is negligible between the 1500 and 2500 if you only get 373s and 4x4. The 410's make a big difference and make it much easier to tow in OD. Happy hunting :)
In reply to HiTempguy:
Ah, yeah. Another good thing to check.
I have a 98 1-ton chevy cargo van with the 5.3/4l80e combo. It hasn't hit 90k yet, but does have SCK. I've been very impressed with it, I've towed ~5500lbs and it has plenty of power and brakes to handle the load, plus being a 1-ton means factors like wind, load shift, tongue weight, etc. don't have nearly as drastic effect as I had towing with my previous 1/2-ton chevy pickup. Oh, and even without trailer brakes it still stops confidently.
I get between 10-12mpg towing(I'm in IL so not too much hilly terrain), and 17mpg empty. It's not a DD, so I can live with those figures. Especially given the cheap buy-in.
At 2500$ buy in, I wouldn't worry about it, if the body and interior is in decent shape its worth a rebuilt/used unit if something fails in the future
HiTempguy wrote:
4L80E's should go forever. The reason why rebuilds are so expensive is because they don't typically fail, unlike the 4L60E.
I do question the 2500 desire though. The 3/4 ton chassis is about 1000lbs heavier. The LQ4 doesn't make "that" much more power than a 5.3L (I'd rather the 5.3L with a tune compared to a stock LQ4). And I'd rather save 1000lbs of weight with a 1500 chassis then gain the extra 40-60 torques of the LQ4 (depending on year), plus the heavier trans sucking way more power. And the 1500 is a better daily driver compared to the 2500.
I'm going to respectfully disagree strenuously with that. On paper, a 6.0 is not much stronger than a 5.3. In the real world, towing, it has a large advantage - in my experience anyway.
For a rust free southern 2500 I could be there on Saturday to pick it up if you don't want it.
doc_speeder wrote:
I'm going to respectfully disagree strenuously with that. On paper, a 6.0 is not much stronger than a 5.3. In the real world, towing, it has a large advantage - in my experience anyway.
What year 5.3L? Yes, the ones before 2004 were dogs. But a 2004 and later 5.3L, tuned (on 87 octane) with 4.10's vs a stock 6.0L with 4.10's? They are comparable, I've done the comparo. Yes, I'd rather have the 6.0L while towing of course, but for everything else (and especially mpg), the 5.3L takes er'.
But that is all my anecdotal opinion. OP has been warned ;)
I bet you could pull the heads off and the bores would look perfect and pull the bearings and they would look perfect...
Ranger50 wrote:
In reply to Travis_K:
Just my guess, but the valve cover gaskets are o-rings that get baked by the exhaust... Not to mention returnless fuel with quick connect fittings at the rail....
For $2500, I would buy it and twice on Sunday.
The valve covers are really far away from the exhaust and generally don't leak.
The fuel rails however are three piece units, and the crossover pipe is held to the rails by one M5 (maybe M4) bolt on each side, and they are typically very rusty. So i would not doubt if 58psi fuel pressure eventually wins that battle.
