Would you consider your Tahoe/Sub/Yuk as fragile?

[Goodinblack]

M R ducks
M R not
O S A R
C M wings
L I B
M R ducks

 

[Big Buttons]

M R ducks
M R not
O S A R
C M wings
L I B
M R ducks

Do what?

 

[Goodinblack]

Re read it lol

It will make sense

 

[DarkCharisma]

After owning a Duramax/Allison combo everything seems fragile.

The Tahoe/Yuk are fine platforms in a half-ton, but do suffer from the same weaknesses that half-tons have--biggest and most glaring being the 4L60e, with the differentials sometimes ******** beds with bigger tires and a lead foot.

With the exception of the 4L60e, the problems are overstated. Don't expect it to haul like a 3/4 ton and don't treat it as such and it'll be fine.

---------- Post added at 11:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:59 AM ----------

It's possible that it was abused before I bought it, but I've found the items I mentioned in several of my vehicles as weak points. I don't think all of them were abused. My 03 Trailblazer also needed to have all the suspension rebuilt before 90K miles as it was pretty sloppy.

My Escalade like your Tahoes/Yukons share a lot of the same pieces. Take a look at some of the suspension pieces and you might be surprised. I was pretty surprised to find the lower control arm bushings looked fine on both sides but the uppers are totally shot, cracked all the way around on both sides and sloppy. The panhard bar bushing looked OK but they along with the stamped steel bar are pretty flimsy. I replaced it with a tubular steel unit with poly bushings and it feels like a brand new rear suspension. The rear lower control arms were replaced last summer, cracked bushings. The rear upper control arms looked fine.

Maybe it's because I now live in an area where salt is used but if you do as well take a look at your brake lines, they might scare you. Lots of those going out all through the GM line, heavy rust and corrosion on My 98 Olds and my 05 Escalade. Not sure about the 07 STS yet as I haven't been under it that much.

I knew a lot of these issues going into the game but I decided to purchase one anyway. You can't beat the prices on a used GM. My $62K Escalade came to me at 7 years old with 83K miles for $16K. My $80K STS-V came to me at 6 years old with 79K miles for $22K. Both almost like new in appearance and run excellent. I just know there is a lot of work ahead of me in keeping them for any length of time. I was pretty relieved to find out I had a rebuilt trans in the Escalade already.

I still consider them fragile though.

Bushings and suspension go out... that's normal on ANY car. For what it's worth the suspension didn't start getting real bad on my '00 half-ton until it had 200k miles on the clock. Rear springs started to sag a bit and I replaced the torsion bars.

The nature of rubber lends itself to being a disposable item given time. The only way around that is solid mounts or poly.

Salt and road conditions affect EVERY car. There's nothing inherently weaker about the GMT-8 platform than any other vehicle made of steel, cushioned with rubber and held up by springs. It's gonna happen.

 

[Gzes]

I use mine like a 3/4 ton... Lol but will get me a Cummins when j win a jackpot

 

[comerz1]

Do what?

Translation:

Them are Ducks

Them are not

Oh yes they are

See them wings

Well I'll be

Them are Ducks!

Like he said, read it as it is, this is what you get, but if you are not from the south then you will struggle with it!

 

[oh1yukonslt]

Do what?

X2 Say what?

---------- Post added at 09:24 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:23 AM ----------

Translation:

Them are Ducks

Them are not

Oh yes they are

See them wings

Well I'll be

Them are Ducks!

Like he said, read it as it is, this is what you get, but if you are not from the south then you will struggle with it!

Oh ok got ya. Good deal!!

---------- Post added at 09:26 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:24 AM ----------

I use mine like a 3/4 ton... Lol but will get me a Cummins when j win a jackpot

I use mine like a 3/4 ton also...Wait it is a 3/4 ton

 

[Garyjw2]

80+ mph Crash.. 06 ltz suburban

They are tanks. I hit a telephone pole at about 80 cut it right in half then rolled it 4 times. WALKED away from it jumping out the passenger window and was fine.. Chevy & GM till I die.

 

[Wake]

After owning a Duramax/Allison combo everything seems fragile.

The Tahoe/Yuk are fine platforms in a half-ton, but do suffer from the same weaknesses that half-tons have--biggest and most glaring being the 4L60e, with the differentials sometimes ******** beds with bigger tires and a lead foot.

With the exception of the 4L60e, the problems are overstated. Don't expect it to haul like a 3/4 ton and don't treat it as such and it'll be fine.

---------- Post added at 11:07 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:59 AM ----------




Bushings and suspension go out... that's normal on ANY car. For what it's worth the suspension didn't start getting real bad on my '00 half-ton until it had 200k miles on the clock. Rear springs started to sag a bit and I replaced the torsion bars.

The nature of rubber lends itself to being a disposable item given time. The only way around that is solid mounts or poly.

Salt and road conditions affect EVERY car. There's nothing inherently weaker about the GMT-8 platform than any other vehicle made of steel, cushioned with rubber and held up by springs. It's gonna happen.

I knew I was asking for it when I gave my opinion, it was a loaded question. :LOL:

I don't drive most of my vehicles hard, the only exceptions being the occasional flogging of my STS-V and Vette. The others are driven quite normally. I plan to tow with the Escalade eventually when I pick up a travel trailer but it has no towing miles on it from me or the previous owner.

I understand about the rubber items being wear items but I do think they should last much longer than they do (same case on all my vehicles). I also understand about the salt contributing to our vehicles needing more work but I know that I replace things much faster than my peers with foreign vehicles (German vehicles being the exception).

Your signature has you listed as owning a CTS-V, I see you replaced the differential bushing. Was that a failure or an upgrade in your case? My V has some clunking in the rear and it appears the diff bushing will need to be replaced sometime soon as it doesn't look like it's held up very well. I've got 95K miles on mine.

My opinion comes from about 25 years of driving experience, a lot of GM vehicles owned, and working on both GMs and several friend's non-GM vehicles. I've been inside every part except the transmissions. The domestics definitely don't fare as well when it comes to items like the suspensions, electrical systems, and interior materials wear as the imports do from my observations.

It sounds like you had good experience with the Duramax setup. I'm kinda thinking about that route in the future with a conversion on the Escalade. I like the idea of that setup over anything else on the market right now.

 

[dwmmatt23]

I beat the crap out of mine, especially in the dunes, has never let me down