High mileage Yukon

[Dantheman-2003]

Greetings. New member here. I live in the Northern Virginia area (Winchester). I'm collecting opinions before I make a purchase. I'm looking at a 2002 Yukon XL SLE that has 197,000 miles on it. I have the Carfax and the previous owner(s) were very good about maintenance with most work being performed at the dealership. The oil was changed every 3-5K. It's had the front hubs replaced (twice) last at 157K. Fliuds, including transfer case and differentials, transmission, brakes, coolant and injection system have been flushed multiple times. Serpentine belt replaced twice. Plugs and wires replaced. New water pump at 157K. The interior is in very good/excellent condition with no rips or worn spots on the seats. The only issues I see with the body are rust on the driver's rear lower quarter panel (it will need a patch panel) and the bottom of the rear fender where it meets the rocker panel (again, it will need a patch panel) on the passenger side. The rocker panels themselves seem very solid. The paint is in good shape and still shines. I test drove it and it runs great, steers well (no wandering/pulling) and the brakes work well. The best I can do is 7K out the door. Do current owners think this is a good deal for something with that many miles? Is there anything I should be worried about?

Thanks much,
Jeff

Hi Jeff. Man I’ve been there. Same situation. All good considerations when thinking of a high mileage purchase. The history is important. I bought my 05 Yukon with 195k for $6,000. It was super clean. I drove it to 210k then was T-***** by a utility truck and totaled. The Yukon saved my life tho. I’d say if it’s clean and cared for, $7,000 is not unreasonable. You can find deals out there, they come and go. Now I just picked up a new rig, 02 Tahoe LT with 110k on the drivetrain for $8,500.

The good news is, if the motor goes, rebuild it. Tranny goes, upgrade it. These literally are the best trucks ever imo. If you find one that is clean and cared for, grab it.

 

[Jeff53]

Hi Jeff. Man I’ve been there. Same situation. All good considerations when thinking of a high mileage purchase. The history is important. I bought my 05 Yukon with 195k for $6,000. It was super clean. I drove it to 210k then was T-***** by a utility truck and totaled. The Yukon saved my life tho. I’d say if it’s clean and cared for, $7,000 is not unreasonable. You can find deals out there, they come and go. Now I just picked up a new rig, 02 Tahoe LT with 110k on the drivetrain for $8,500.

The good news is, if the motor goes, rebuild it. Tranny goes, upgrade it. These literally are the best trucks ever imo. If you find one that is clean and cared for, grab it.

"The good news is, if the motor goes, rebuild it. Tranny goes, upgrade it. These literally are the best trucks ever imo. If you find one that is clean and cared for, grab it." brings me to a question. If the tranny were to go in it, is it relatively easy to swap it out for a 4L80E or would I just have to stick to a beefed up 4L60?

 

[B-train]

I think you'd run into more fitment issues than you'd want to deal with. I'd just do a good reman 4L60E. Plug and play. They are good transmissions now that the bugs have been worked out over the last 10 years. They always were decent, just issues with the sun shell and valve body from what I remember. By 2005, most of those should have been rectified

 

[Bill Barnes]

B-train, I have a 2005 Yukon XL that I purchased new at the GMC dealer In Manassas, VA. At 82K mi. I had to have a GM Reman Trans in it. The dealer gave me a Service-for-Life agreement, which was fortunate, because at 150K, the 3-4 gear assembly failed. So obviously, GM didn't resolve all of the issues. From others here in this forum, I understand that the best course for these 4L60E trannys is to have them upgraded to 4L65E specs, with performance parts.

 

[Sam Harris]

I wouldn’t assume that any factory-built 4L60, or 4L65 is sufficient to run in these trucks. The reality is the trans provided was just barely capable of handling these vehicles. Some are definitely better than others, and of course maintenance has a
lot to do with it. However, the weight of these rigs makes even some “heavy duty” parts fail. I was lucky my original transmission lasted well over its expected life of around 150k (or less), but went ahead and upgraded to a very nice (albeit rather expensive) Performabuilt level 3 (thanks mostly to recommendations, and experience I observed from @Rocket Man.)
Most transmission upgrades include stronger components, but only specific things, while any sort of increase in power can often leave you with a nicely built transmission, with a broken input, or output shaft, for example. These upgrades are pretty rare, and pricey. Definitely do your research if you plan to upgrade. Most trans shops will happily sell you a “heavy duty” or “high HP” rated transmission, without taking the weight of these rigs into consideration. Usually, those are purpose built for lighter cars, or trucks.