OT GM Engines

GordoSD · May 3, 2012

Have decided to move up to a larger SUV. Tahoe.
Which engine was the best from 1996 to 2006? I will buy a low priced high mileage rig because I will only put tops 4k miles on it per year.

Russ from MN · May 3, 2012

5.3 unless you are going to do a lot of towing.

bob15 · May 3, 2012

I have the 5.3 in my 2006 K1500 pick-up and I love the engine. Good power and still gets 19 a gallon.

skip33652 · May 3, 2012

5.3 hands down the 6.0 uses too much gas the later vortech 350's werent bad but dont compare to the 5.3 and the 4.8's were too small. we have several they have been very good .Paul

omahagreg · May 3, 2012

I have a 1996 Chevy 'heavy' half ton with the 5.7L. Love the engine, not the mileage. 13mpg is about all she will do!

oldtanker · May 3, 2012

If going back into the late 90's you will want a vortec engine as they get better mileage. We have a 98 Suburban we got with 110K on it. At speeds below 68 it get 19, hit 70 and it''s 16. Vortec 5.7. We use it both as a daily drive and a farm truck. It has 285600 on it now. In the last 10K it cost a tranny and a fuel pump.

Rick

bradk · May 3, 2012

"Nother vote for the 5.3.

2x4 · May 3, 2012

6.0 liter. 15 mpg & way more power that 5.7. Had both engines in log trucks. You're not gonna use it enuf for the gasoline to break you & the power will be there when you need it.

John - OH · May 3, 2012

I vote for the 6.0 liter. 215,000 miles on my 01 and no problems thus far.

Cody Meister 2 · May 3, 2012

if your towing get a 6.0 you won't regret it

tomNE · May 3, 2012

Rick Kr · May 3, 2012

1999 and newer will have the 5.3L. You will be plenty happy with the 5.3

Rick

Bryan inIowa · May 3, 2012

6.2 is a rocket !!!!

MN Scott · May 3, 2012

I'll second that. My 08 GMC Yukon XL with the 6.2 has awesome power! It gets 19-20 MPG at 70 MPH to.

Philt · May 4, 2012

I've had a 93 with the 5.7 (350) and it got about 17mpg and an 01 that had the 5.3 that got about 18 but I prefer the 5.7 more pulling power and a proven engine for many many years.

Mashbox · May 4, 2012

5.3. Had it in my '04 Silverado and now have a GMC Sierra with the same engine.

Kirk Grau · May 4, 2012

Before "99 I think the only choice in a Tahoe/Yukon is the 5.7. We had a "94 Suburban with that engine that we ran up to ~340k miles. Was going through some oil at the end, but served us well.

Current ride is an "01 3/4 ton Burb with the 8.1 which I also really like. Handles our 2 horse trailer well. Never felt like the older Burb was overmatched by the trailer, but it was getting close.

Only know the 5.3 by what I hear, but have not heard anything bad about the 5.3 or the 6.0 (don't think the 6.0 could be had in a Tahoe) which would be the engine offerings after "99.

Can"t speak to the 4.8 either, but seems like it would probably be a little anemic in a vehicle that size.

Just my $0.02,

Kirk

Texasmark1 · May 4, 2012

On the 4.8, I bought a new Silverado 4 door a year ago with the 4.8 and 4 speed. Has the Tow-Haul shift pattern modifier.

I traded in a 4.7, 5 speed and a 5.x Hemi 5 speed (2 trucks, both with tow hawl) on this little Chevy cause I felt that I didn't need a lot of power any more and I liked the LS version of the truck which didn't have so many bells and whistles.

Well, DO NOT underestimate this little conventional pushrod engine with roller lifters and some air channel reworking. You had better hang on if you put the "pedal to the metal". It will make a run for 6k rpm and won't slow down in the process, trailer or not, and get great fuel economy (normally) in the process.

Coming from a guy that had two well performing engines that is worth noting.

Oh, and the reason for the badge change is I wanted a local dealer and Chev was the only one close, and was a family owned for 47 year business which attests to it's customer support. I left the badge back in the early '80's for several reasons and was pleasantly surprised at what the Fed takeover has done to GM. Really impressive.

Mark

MichiganMH · May 4, 2012

I have a '98 Chevy 1/2 ton with the 5.7 and an '04 GMC with the 5.3. Both 4x4 with off-road and towing packages. The 2004 with the 5.3 pulls better and gets better mileage. '98 has 220k+ miles with rebuilding the heads and transmission around 200k, and still has good compression. 2004 has 140k with no major problems. Both running the same tires. If I wanted to haul larger loads (7-8k+) on a regular basis I would buy something larger then 1/2 ton, not just a 1/2 ton with a bigger engine.

buickanddeere · May 4, 2012

There is not an engine to avoid because it"s a dog, a fuel hog or unreliable. 96 is getting awful old and rusty or at least worn out. Accelerating that weight up to speed and pushing that wall of air takes power. To obtain more power, more fuel has to be burned. 1998 the 5.3 L LS series engine was introduced with the 6.0L in 2001. 2003 was the last year for the old LT type V8. Although the 4.3L votec version is still a base engine in stripped down 2012 pickups.

farmer boy · May 4, 2012

I don't know alot about the newer(1999+) stuff but the 350 vortec is known for weak intake gaskets and poor fuel pumps. The newer engines(99+) will have to have the fuel pumps replaced occasionally, but it's not as common as the early vortecs. A 5.0 96-99 vortec will get slightly better mileage(1mpg) than the 5.7 but if you want to tow with it, you're going to have to take it easy. If mileage doesn't matter look for something with a 4l80e(3/4 ton). Will take a bunch more abuse if you ever plan on towing with it. If you get something in the 96-99 range then fuel mileage difference will barely be noticable. The 96-99 vortecs are also known to have poorly designed injectors. They can be updated to the same system as the 99+ vortecs. I can"t tell you about the downfalls of the 99+ cause I know nothing about them.

JMOR · May 4, 2012

Waste of time to ask this kind of question, because as you can see, everyone says the same thing,.....that is, "here is what I have & why it is best". You can't expect anything different, because otherwise the fellow would be saying, "I chose this & it is a POS, therefore I'm stupid & make bad choices", instead of "look at me, I chose a great/best engine, because I'm smart/well informed/brilliant".

GordoSD · May 4, 2012

I think I learned a lot. The 5.3 seems to be what I need. Thanks everyone. I didn't know there were so many choices.

Kirk Grau · May 4, 2012

Your probably right. Having never been around one I probably should have kept my mouth shut.

Have a Good Day,

Kirk

Texasmark1 · May 4, 2012

Great. I have absolutely nothing to gain by my comments but a reader might. My first surprise was my Dodge OHC chain drive 4.7 which was a gutsy sucker. Then when I entered my second childhood and bought my Candy Apple Red (just like when I was a kid) Dodge 1500, short bed, 2 door, 20" chrome wheels and all I just had to have the Hemi. Actually I was at the dealer thinking about buying my wife an SUV sorta thing, but she was in the local garden club and had dirt and shovels and all in the back of my 4.7. While I was sitting in the show room talking to the sales guy, this little sucker was sitting out on the lot......had to have it. So I just gave her the 4.7 and bought this boy's toy for me. She never objected.

Later she passed on and things changed and all and it came to pass that I wanted to down size to one vehicle and being a senior citizen I was looking for what I said.

I loved my Dodges and I love this Chevy. People say they don't make them like they used to and thank goodness they don't.

You too have a good day.

Mark

Kirk Grau · May 4, 2012

I hear you. People lament the modern computer controls and the difficulty trying to service, but when you get in the vehicle on a cold morning turn the key and go it is hard to argue with some of the improvements. Setting manual chokes, flooding the engine, etc. can get old. My mother never could get the hang of it and was always getting left somewhere in the cold. Before cell phones this was a really bad deal. Can hardly count the times we got in the car in search of her. Was like a detective show folowing/tracking her footsteps.

Kirk

MichiganMH · May 4, 2012

Gasket problems are from the Dexcool according to the shops around here

JMOR · May 4, 2012

I sure can't tell you exactly the cause or fix for the problem, but Dexol is escaping onto garage floor from my 5.3
Some say Dexol coolant is to blame, others say the plastic manifold, ......I don't know & see no recalls (not safety related, I guess).

36 Coupe · May 5, 2012

My sons 06 GMC had a complete engine failure at 133000 miles.Coolant in one cylinder, flex plate cracked all around.One plug on right bank was oily.I see some reports of porous cylinder head castings causing the problem.Just got the truck paid for.He was out of work but had a tax refund and a good friend who found an engine and changed it out.Talk to mechanics, they known who builds high priced junk,

buickanddeere · May 5, 2012

That is about 1-1/2 times farther than gas pickup truck engines went up until the late 1980's.

36 Coupe · May 6, 2012

I have a 77 Chevy that went 250000 miles.I bought it used,drove it 90000.The fenders had been replaced and the floor had some repairs so it must have been on the second time around.It was at 89000 when I bought it.It came from NJ so salt damage wasnt too bad.350 v8,used some oil.Put a lot of exhaust parts on it.Tires. brake lines ,a new water pump and a rebuilt starter.Replaced spark plugs and master cylinder and brakes. The HEI ignition died in the drive way.The engine never had any repairs done on it.Salt got the chassis so I parked it.Ive had plenty of old cars that were over 100000 when I bought them.GM cars my wife had lost transmissions long before the engine gave trouble.Western Auto and Sears sold rebuilt short blocks for 99 bucks in the 50s.

OT GM Engines

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