General vehicle thread

[Martinjmpr]

So what's the opinion on best years for the Chevy Suburban say.... 2005-2015?

05-06 IMO. These were the last 2 years of the older GMT-800 body style. This is what I drive (mine is a 2004.) Currently have 181,000 miles and running strong.

2007 - 2008: These are a real crapshoot. Some are great, many are not. These are the first two years of the GMT-900 body style. They are also the first years for AFM (Active Fuel Management) which is the system that shuts down 4 cylinders when cruising for better MPG. This caused a LOT of problems in the otherwise very robust 5.3 V8. Excess oil consumption was common and sometimes the whole engine needed to be replaced. If you look on the used market you can see there is a "dip" in asking prices for early GMT-900 1/2 ton trucks for this very reason.

I *THINK* (no experience though) that most of the AFM issues were worked out by 2009. 2009 also saw the introduction of the 6L60 6 speed tranny. This allows for lower final drive ratios while still having enough power.

The GMT-900 body style ran through 2014. 2015 saw the introduction of the current body style which is often referred to as the K2XX body style.

One thing to consider: If you are looking for 4wd (which I presume you are), on all of the 2007+ Suburban/Tahoes, the standard 4wd system had a single speed transfer case (IOW the only positions on the T-case dial are 2hi, 4hi, 4auto and N.) There is no low range. You only got low range if you ordered the towing or Z71 packages. By contrast, all GMT800 and earlier Suburban/Tahoes with 4wd had the 2 speed transfer case with low range.

Then there is the question of whether you are looking for a 1500 (1/2 ton) or 2500 (3/4 ton.) 2500's are not common and starting in 2007 they are much, much less common than 1500's. I would guess you can probably find 1 2500 for every 25 1500's on the used market. The 2500's came with a different engine (either the 6.0 or the 8.1) and a much beefier transmission (the 4L80.) Expect to pay premium dollar for a 2500 in ANY condition. They are like unicorns. I think they stopped making 2500's altogether after about 2011.

Another note: Don't forget the GMC Yukon XL. The Yukon XL is the same thing as the Suburban - unless it's a Denali model. Denali's had the 6.0 V8 instead of the 5.3 in the Chevy, and AWD with a single speed, non-lockable transfer case instead of the 2 speed case in the Chevy models. This is true of both GMT800 and GMT900 trucks (I think some of the GMT900's might have gotten the 6.2 V8.) The Denali model is basically the same thing as a Cadillac Escalade.

Non-Denali Yukons and Yukon XLs are identical to the Chevy Tahoe and Suburban (respectively) with the 5.3 V8 and 4l60 transmission with a 2 speed transfer case.

Depending on your budget, I would consider a GMT 800 over a 900 just to avoid problems with the AFM. There are a few well known failure points in the GMT800. The 4L60 transmission is probably the weakest link. That's the bad news. The good news is that a rebuild is only about $2k and most transmission shops are very familiar with them. If you get a GMT800 I'd just budget for the trans rebuild, it should be a one-time thing.

The 5.3 V8 is pretty bulletproof. The electric T-case will sometimes fail but it can be fixed in your driveway with a new encoder motor for about $200 (compare with my previous Toyota 4runner, if the electric T-case goes out on that it's $2500 minimum because they have to pull the t-case and open it up to fix it.)

Other known issues include instrument panel stepper motors that go out and make your gauges go haywire. When that happened to mine I just sent it off to be rebuilt, even better they installed a transmission temperature gauge and put in green LED lights, total cost was about $300.

Overall I'm very happy with my 'burb. I plan on keeping it until I turn 60 (3 more years) and I have no doubt that it will make it to 220,000 miles without any more serious issues.

EDIT: I should add that the Suburban is very easy to work on and there is a ton of institutional knowledge on the intertoobz. For example, back in November I started getting a CEL. I have a Scangauge so I ran the code and it turned out to be an 02 sensor upstream from the catalytic converter. I found a YouTube video showing me how to change it out. Part was $45 (with a $20 rebate) and installation literally took less than 20 minutes in my garage. I also put in a dual battery system which is super easy because Chevies have a dedicated space a 2nd battery, so it was a simple matter of ordering the shelf and then connecting the cables. That lets me run a 12v refrigerator while we are camping without fear of running the main battery down.

I also did a basic lift in my driveway a couple of years ago. With the T-bar suspension, lifting is as easy as jacking it up, removing the old keys and putting in new ones, then adjusting to desired ride height. In the rear I just put in new springs and also put in shocks all around (Bilstein 5100s.) Again there are YouTube vidz to show how to do all this stuff.