Purchased a 2007 Yukon XL, now to make it reliable!

[YukonGold12]

Hey all! New around here as I’ve just purchased myself and the family a 2007 with 190k miles on it. The primary use for this is going to be for the kiddos getting around.

This truck doesn’t seem to have too many issue from what I can tell. I crawled all around it to inspect and find anything of concern. Not too much from what I can tell but here is what I’ve found.

- small oil leak underneath the engine, near the oil filter (see picture). I’ve heard it can leak from all sorts of places here. Could be a valve cover gasket or the rear main seal.
- rotors need to be replaced.
- light shaking at 80 mph, hard to pinpoint the issue. No play in the suspension or steering components. This could be just a wheel balance issue.

So that this can serve us well and be reliable for the foreseeable future. I plan on doing the following.

Drain and replace all fluids to start us off at a good baseline.
1. Oil and filter
2. Brake fluid
3. Coolant
4. Transmission fluid (sounds like you can get about 60% of it if you drop the transmission fluid case)
5. Front/back diff fluid


Replace front and rear brake pads and rotors
The rotors are obviously warped. I can feel the slow pulse as I come to a stop. So front and back rotors are being replaced with power stop rotors and pads.

Suspension/steering linkage
I want to attempt to address that small shake. At the very least tighten things up a bit.
1. Replace front inner/outer tie rods
2. Replace ball joints
4. Replace sway bar bushings
5. Replace stabilization bars

A/C and Cooling
I’ve heard that it’s good to get these hoses replaced to reduce chance of coolant failure.
1. Top and bottom radiator hose
2. Cooling T
3. Serpentine belts
4. Small tensor for the AC belt.

Nothing else planned yet but I’m sure I’ll find more as I go along. Let me know if you have any recommendations to check or replace. Thanks!

 

[OR VietVet]

Welcome to the forum from Oregon.

 

[petethepug]

Welcome from SoCal. Nice pick on the ultimate land yacht. Is it a Denali, 2WD or 4WD 5.3L?

You’re on the right track with replacing the fluids. Buy a new carbon canister for the fuel evap system asap. They leak pellets into system and it demands about 2-$3k in parts & labor to rid them.

A permanent fix to brakes is installing ceramic pads with Centric drilled, counter sunk, slotted & hot galvanized coated discs. They stay looking new for 5-6 years, have very low dust, quiet and they last a long, long time.

Centric’s design eliminates the overheat and pad material bonding that requires the discs to be turned down or replaced. Stopping is butter smooth and consistent when cold or hot.

The tire bounce. This is a tough one that tire shops prey on. It can be tires purchased as “2nd’s” or known flawed tire at a discount price, a store too lazy to calibrate their balance machine or have an inexperienced tech running it. Bottom line, if u have the front tires balanced and they still vibrate at 80, replace the upper & lower control arm, ball joints, tie rod ends & sway bar bushings w/ poly (sway bar poly only) based on your milage. It’ll ride better than new. Then address the 80mph jitter again.

 

[YukonGold12]

Carbon canister, got it.

This is the 4WD, 5.3L!!

 

[petethepug]

 

[Geotrash]

Hey all! New around here as I’ve just purchased myself and the family a 2007 with 190k miles on it. The primary use for this is going to be for the kiddos getting around.

This truck doesn’t seem to have too many issue from what I can tell. I crawled all around it to inspect and find anything of concern. Not too much from what I can tell but here is what I’ve found.

- small oil leak underneath the engine, near the oil filter (see picture). I’ve heard it can leak from all sorts of places here. Could be a valve cover gasket or the rear main seal.
- rotors need to be replaced.
- light shaking at 80 mph, hard to pinpoint the issue. No play in the suspension or steering components. This could be just a wheel balance issue.

So that this can serve us well and be reliable for the foreseeable future. I plan on doing the following.

Drain and replace all fluids to start us off at a good baseline.
1. Oil and filter
2. Brake fluid
3. Coolant
4. Transmission fluid (sounds like you can get about 60% of it if you drop the transmission fluid case)
5. Front/back diff fluid


Replace front and rear brake pads and rotors
The rotors are obviously warped. I can feel the slow pulse as I come to a stop. So front and back rotors are being replaced with power stop rotors and pads.

Suspension/steering linkage
I want to attempt to address that small shake. At the very least tighten things up a bit.
1. Replace front inner/outer tie rods
2. Replace ball joints
4. Replace sway bar bushings
5. Replace stabilization bars

A/C and Cooling
I’ve heard that it’s good to get these hoses replaced to reduce chance of coolant failure.
1. Top and bottom radiator hose
2. Cooling T
3. Serpentine belts
4. Small tensor for the AC belt.

Nothing else planned yet but I’m sure I’ll find more as I go along. Let me know if you have any recommendations to check or replace. Thanks!


View attachment 434213

I have an '07 Yukon XL Denali with 247K on the clock. It's been a phenomenally reliable truck, but it has taken some careful observation and well-timed maintenance work to keep it that way. The good news: I think 90% of the midlife catch up maintenance has been done.

That oil leak is very common and comes from the oil cooler block off plate just above the filter. It's where the cooler lines would enter the engine if yours were so equipped. My '07 has the plate, too. The leak is caused by the slight warpage of the plate, so a new gasket usually won't fix it. The solution is to replace the plate and gasket with either a new factory part, or the one made by ICT Billet that includes an o-ring seal instead of a gasket. Watch the bolt torque or you'll be putting a helicoil in there, which is no fun at all.

Get rid of the A/C belt tensioner altogether and put a stretch belt on there from the later model years. The A/C belt from a 2012 YXL Denali will work great.

Some of the things I've done to mine over the last 5 years and 50K miles:
-All new fluids, oil changes every 5K
-New rear air shocks and compressor.
-New motor mounts
-New front diff mounts (resolved a clunk for me, common issue)
-New front brake calipers (originals no longer wearing the pads evenly)
-New steering rack (original started leaking)
-New alternator (original failed at around 200K)
-New starter (return spring failed allowing the drive gear to tink against the flex plate)
-New water pump and all coolant hoses and tees, thermostat (preventative maintenance)
-New fuel pump (the pressure regulator was failing on the original, causing intermittent high fuel pressure-related codes)
-New brake pedal switch (cruise control became intermittent)
-New Denso radiator (original started leaking slightly on one end tank)
-New left front wheel hub (bearing started making noise)
-New A/C compressor (not actually needed but I thought it was because the original kept throwing the belt)
-New Dorman throttle body (resolved a code)
-New ACDelco iridium plugs and wires
-New charcoal canister

It's probably the best all-around vehicle I've ever owned (along with our 2012 YXL Denali). I wouldn't hesitate to drive it to Alaska tomorrow.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

Welcome to the Forum from NH.

Lots of knowledgeable folks here who freely share their knowledge, experiences, and perspectives. Knowledge is power.

I hope that you will become a participating member in the Forum's discussions.

Pics of the truck, please.

You are already receiving sage advice from the knowledgeable folks on this Forum.

I absolutely love my 2007 Yukon XL Denali. So do my 2 90+lb White Shepherds. If I start the truck (loud exhaust that can be heard 100 feet away), my dogs are up and ready to go. If I don't take them, I can hear them howling from inside the house, as I walk to the portable garage where I house the truck.

 

[Coveman]

Welcome to the forum! The oil filter block plate and the oil cooler lines (pia on 4wd) both tend to leak, keep an eye on those areas. I too am a fan of the drilled and slotted rotors, here’s what I used:

Limited-time deal: Power Stop K2020-36 Front Z36 Truck & Tow Brake Kit, Carbon Fiber Ceramic Brake Pads and Drilled/Slotted Brake Rotors https://a.co/d/hWUo82S

I have had braking-shaking front ends on 2 burbs now and the slotted rotors have been awesome. I believe that hot brakes tend to transfer the pad’s friction material to the rotors which leads to the pulsation feel when braking. The slots in the rotors seem to knock down the high spots for some really buttery smooth braking

 

[YukonGold12]

Very cool all! I’m going to keep this thread up to date with items as they get replaced. Thank you all for the helpful pointers.


In a second note. I noticed some ticking coming from the passenger side that doesn’t seem to happen on the driver side. I’m concerned that it’s lifter tick but can’t confirm yet. Here is a video https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dgOSdkDrU2mqfiVGeBoJmD7jv4-qYq4j/view?usp=drivesdk

 

[OR VietVet]

Very cool all! I’m going to keep this thread up to date with items as they get replaced. Thank you all for the helpful pointers.


In a second note. I noticed some ticking coming from the passenger side that doesn’t seem to happen on the driver side. I’m concerned that it’s lifter tick but can’t confirm yet. Here is a video https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dgOSdkDrU2mqfiVGeBoJmD7jv4-qYq4j/view?usp=drivesdk

Cannot open link unless am signed in to google. Not gonna do that.