Well with 300K on it i guess you shouldn't be surprised to see the service engine soon light on. It looked and sound really good for a 300K truck. I hope to have mine for at least 225K.
Newb with questions: Engines & Towing
- Thread starter hamiltonfighter
- Start date
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Well with 300K on it i guess you shouldn't be surprised to see the service engine soon light on. It looked and sound really good for a 300K truck. I hope to have mine for at least 225K.
blueflamed03
Supporting Member
either way, the LS engine are so plentiful, if it ever goes out, you can find a used low mileage replacement for under $1200...
I tow a boat a few times a year with my Denali (6.0L) and it does fine in the power area but when I pull the bigger ones, 6000lbs or so, you can definitely feel it on the shorter wheelbase. If I was needing to pull anything heavier I'd definitely want the longer wheelbase.
FWIW, I have almost 160,000 miles on an '03 and the engine feels as fresh as ever. These things last a long time if you don't abuse them and have good maintenance. I wouldn't discount a high-mileage one as going to need a new engine soon because it very well may not. As others have suggested, get it looked over by a mechanic first, but if it's all in order and running smooth don't be scared by 200k+. It's much more likely you'd need to worry about the tranny or drivetrain first.
FWIW, I have almost 160,000 miles on an '03 and the engine feels as fresh as ever. These things last a long time if you don't abuse them and have good maintenance. I wouldn't discount a high-mileage one as going to need a new engine soon because it very well may not. As others have suggested, get it looked over by a mechanic first, but if it's all in order and running smooth don't be scared by 200k+. It's much more likely you'd need to worry about the tranny or drivetrain first.
dropmech
Puddle Pirate
I haven't done a whole lot of towing with mine, but I towed a 6k lb trailer across the country with my 4.8 and had no issues at all. Couldn't even tell I was towing anything on the highway.
I had an 01 Sub 1500 with a 5.3 that I traded with 242,000 miles on it. I currently have an 05 Denali XL with 137,000. The camper that I have is about 30'overall length and with all of my crap in it weighs around 6500 lbs. Both of them had absolutely no problems handling the trailer. I've even pulled it in a 40+ mph cross wind with the Sub, although I could only drive about 53 mph without it kicking down to 2nd. The 6.0 does pull it better, but some of that is because the throttle practically has to be floored before it downshifts. My Sub downshifted somewhere between 1/2 and 3/4 throttle. I tried not to let it do that because I don't like running the engine over 4,000 rpm. The mileage is only about 1 mpg worse with the 6.0 than the 5.3, but I think they bumped up the mileage for all engines in 05, so an older one might be worse. Unless you pull something really heavy or will pull it in a lot of hills the 5.3 will be fine.Another thing to consider is that the Denali has all wheel drive. There is no low range. I don't like it as well as the regular 4wd. High mileage on the engine isn't any problem if it's been taken care of. It's everything else that wears out.
