Opinions on GM Yukon/Tahoe 1995-1999???

[mxz]

Any opinions on the GM 1995-1999 Tahoe/Yukons 4X4 5.7L? Gas mileage? Any common problems to look out for?
Thanks!

[1BadAction]

depends on rear gear and EFI type. with a 3.43 on the highway id say 20mpg or so. maybe better with the vortec. my gramps 1988 1/2 ton truck was getting 25mpg highway with the crappy TBI 5.7 with 300,000 miles, but it had a 2.73 rear end. make sure the transfer case and tranny are in good condition, and the trans shifts firm but not hard. other than little interior bits those trucks are pretty much bullet proof.

[Kavalk]

There are a few. I think I've had most of them.

1. Brakes. There brakes are junk. These vehicles are terribly underbraked. A new set of OEM rotors may last you 15,000 miles in a non towing situation.
The drums are about the same. At which point the rotors will start to warp and the drums go out of round. You may get away with turning them, but the cycle till the next time just got a lot shorter.
It's worse if you're towing.
Solution. "Powerslot" front rotors, and "Hawk" pads. And if you really want to get the best, get the cryo treated ones.

For the rear, I'm trying the cheap import drums at 1/4 the price of OEM. They
seem to last about as long(less than a year) and they hand you a new set on warranty if they warp!

2. Fuel Pump. These vehicles have an in tank pump. The later models are very expensive. I paid around $300.00 for my 1996 fuel pump. Plus install. The 1st time. And the second. One week later. Get them from GM and make sure that the wire harness and connector are perfect or you'll fry another pump fast like me. Some people say not to let the tank fall below 1/4. Not enough fuel in the tank to keep the pump cool.

3. Wipers. The wiper motors apparently fail early. Mine's been OK.

4. Leaks. Look for stains around the edges of the carpets near the door sill plates and under the rear seat. None of the body seams in the wheel well area were sealed in mine. Threw massive amounts of sand and water into the vehicle under the carpets. Had to pull the entire interior, clean, sand, paint, and seal the wheelwells.
Also found a leak in the cowl area(top of the firewall) that leaked down onto the parking brake pedal and then to the carpet.

The leaks were the hardest thing to diagnose.

Happy with the vehicle now. I like it better than the new ones.

Fred

[The Big Al]

The only know big problem is the intake gasket on most.

It was plastic and could move, it would sag in the middle and engine would have a internal vacum leak. Very easy fix.
I had one 4x4, with 3.73, did very well. 1998 5.7 vortec.
The Vortec was not untill 1996.
The wipper delay module for those years were a problem.

You will find a lot of these vehicles with over 200k with no problems at all.

AL

[Kavalk]

Oh yeah, forgot about that intake gasket!!
Did that too!!

[1BadAction]

You will find a lot of these vehicles with over 200k with no problems at all.

AL

hell man, 200,000 miles is just getting broken in :D

check this, I just bought an 03... hopefully it will do me as good as our past trucks. http://forums.screamandfly.com/forums/showthread.php?goto=newpost&threadid=89940

kavalk- we fixed that brake ****... turn the rotors down when they are brand new, and they'll last 3X as long.

[The Big Al]

Well, I did not want to sound to possitve!

See u still have that AVVVVAAAIITOR!!!!

Does nut bghttyther me a bittttt!!!!!!

[mxz]

Thanks for the info guys!

[Ted Stryker]

My Dad had a 1996 as you described... The brakes were a little soft, but the fuel mileage was his biggest gripe... We took a fishing vacation that was almost entirely interstate and highway... It was flat and level with no real wind at all and 65 degrees.... At an average of probably 70 mph, it got about 15.0 mpg unloaded... With a single axle XB2002 behind it under the same conditions, it got about 11.5 mpg....

[Michael Martin]

I've got a 95 Suburban 4X4 w/ the 5.7.

I bought it in 2001 w/ 107k miles. Since then I have replaced -

Right exaust manfold
high pressure power steering hose
ac compressor


I also change the front brakes myself. The pads are 24.00 & the rotors(?) are 25.00 each. I do pads yearly & have replaced the roters maybe 2 times.

Gas milage isnt that good as its the TBI motor. I get around 12 pulling & 16 around town. However it does have the large gas tank - 40 gal - which I love. If I'm easy I can run 650-675 miles on a tank.

It now has 238k miles & still runs great.

Mike

[froggy]

I have a 1993 Suburban 4 X 4 with limited slip rear and towing package. The truck has 180,000 miles and still uses zero oil between changes. Brakes are crap and need service as mentioned. Mileage is 10-13 mpg in town and 13-15 highway (70 - 75 mph). Towing, with 2500# rig is 10 - 11 at 70 - 80 mph. Good truck if you stay ahead of the nits. Everything works on mine right now.

froggy

[mxz]

Great info guys, with gas prices skyrocketing I am seeing the price drop quite a bit on the used ones.

Thanks

[hwyrnr]

used my moms 99 tahoe 4x4 to pull the Ally a few times pulled good.

The only prob it had was some electrical stuff "seats" and the plastic upper intake started to leak same with my 96 pickup was told "the 5 yr antifreeeze aint meant to be in there for 5 years"

My bad, James

[rhickox]

Intake gasgets leaked, common problem. Idler pulley flew apart and put a nice hole in my hood. Power steering pump front seal blew out. Alternater quit at 50,000. Rear air quit working (bad console). Some models had a drive shaft noise problem when accelerating from a stop(pack the slip yoke with grease is GM's fix). Keep an eye on the crush washer behind the battery post terminals. The work loose and once they do you can not tighten the terminal.And last but not least, some models had a problem with the carrier bearings in the rear end, had to rebuild mine at 68,000 miles. Also have 2 friends that have a 97 and 98 model and both have had to rebuild the rear ends. Just my 2 cents, mine was a piece of s#@t. I will never own another GM product!!! :mad:

[Ron V]

I've never owned one, but from the GM's we've had in my family and some people I knew who wound up going to litigation, I would RUN from anything made by the General late 90s or newer. GM's electrical systems have degraded from being industry leader to the level Chrysler was at in the early '80s. Can't speak for the transmissions but that would be my next biggest fear....had a neighbor who put five of them in his Chevy 1500. Oh yeah, the first one blew because the differential locked up. That was on a '95 model.

As for the intake gaskets, welcome to GM ownership. Same old crap, they know about a problem and let it slide for the entire production run of a decade or more.

[1BadAction]

:rolleyes:

http://img124.imageshack.us/img124/9374/300kmile.jpg

yep, they dont last, everything is junk.

[Action Frank]

I have a 96 yukon. so far: intake gaskets,two fuel pumps(one week apart!!), ac compressor, drive shaft klunk when aceelarting from stop,wiper module,catalitic converters, paint is flaking off, and cracking

and how could I forget HORRENDOUS gas mileage!!!! Decent tow vehicle...My advice STAY AWAY!!!