Nitrousbird

Not everyone wants to drive some brokedick truck. DBW is vastly superior to cable throttles for traction/stability control and throttle tuning. I had a 2002 Avalanche North Face Edition for 10 years, same basic setup as your '99. Plenty of rust issues (especially brake lines and eventually fuel lines). I replaced it due to not wanting to worry about problems towing on long vacation trips; leaking fuel line and broken exhaust weld on a single trip, replacing a wheel hub assembly in a Wendy's parking lot on a different trip. Not a confidence builder. Had it strand me with a dead fuel pump at 85k miles. I'll take my chances with my new truck.

Airbags should help and level you out. I find the Z71 suspension a bit soft in the back when towing, especially coming from my previous truck (2nd gen Escalade EXT). I tow a boat not a trailer, but have enough lead in the nose that the tongue weight is pretty decent. As for mileage/power, only so much you can ask of the 5.3. A good tune would help in power (especially if you have, or add, a flex fuel sensor and run E85), but you won't impact fuel mileage greatly. Even running 92-93 octane would help you stock a bit.

I am also interested in the 2.5 to 3.0 upgrade.

I have auto-up in my BMW. It's a '07 at that. Will open or close both windows and the sunroof. If the key fob range wasn't so poor on it, I'd probably use it more.

Why wouldn't you lemon law it instead of taking the trade in hit? My 6.2L with the 8-speed shifts great, no hunting for gears when towing either. Z71 suspension rides nice.

Which transmission do you have and do you have Max Tow. We can tell you from that.

Don't buy "refurbished" high pressure fuel injectors. Refurbished = a used injector someone might have wiped the grease off of it. There is no refurbishment of the injector.

I am really confused why many of you have these. I am seeing a lot of center console trucks, where there is the rubber mat right in front of the USB ports. THAT IS YOUR CELL PHONE HOLDER. Hook in your USB, set phone there, done. If you have that, you have Android Auto / CarPlay, so a cell holder where you can see your phone is totally pointless.

Was it not an option to simply buy the factory GM lines for Flex Fuel and put the sensor in the OEM spot (well, OEM spot for a 5.3L FF truck, I get that GM never offered it on the L86). I'm not understanding the need to relocate the sensor to another location.

You likely need what P/N is for the 2018 module. That said - why bother? You can't do wireless Android Auto. Just plug your phone in and be done with it.

Or use simple logic. If oil isn't hitting the valves, what would be building up on them? Exactly. If you reduce the amount of oil hitting the valves, common sense would tell you that your reduced the build up on the valves. You have seen the proof of catch cans catching oil. That is oil heading towards your intake. That should be enough reason to know this should be used. GM even puts a catch can (be it an unfortunate design that dumps into the sump) on some of its DI motors. So GM thinks they are worthwhile as well.

Now that I have had my Denali cluster for a bit, I wish it was more than it is. I don't regret the upgrade and would do it again. I just wish their was a way to customize it further than what GM offers. I wish all of the gauges would show up all the time that only show when in tow/haul mode. I want the compass to be more analog and not just the 8 directional points. I want to see the outside temp on the freaking cluster. I want to see the AFM status on every screen. Why not a screen that shows all active data it is able to display? How about additional display looks? I know, lots of wishing and something no one is willing to take the time to crack the programming and offer an upgrade to the functionality. It has the potential with a software upgrade to be so much more than it is. The frustrating part is the hardware is there to do it.

HP Tuners is the way to go. Also the only option for tunning the TCM on a '18. It isn't THAT complicated, price isn't bad for what you get and you can always buy a used tuner and credits to tune your truck. It is the right way to do it. Hand helds are kind of a joke IMO.

Stock E85 is pointless. You need a tune to unlock its potential. OP will have to tune to use E85, so that's a given. Also, not exactly a hard DIY mod, so something I also wouldn't have worried about if buying a truck. E85 wasn't an option on the L86 but I will be converting once my warranty is coming closer to expiring. It will REDUCE my fuel cost, even with the reduction in fuel mileage. Extra power is also an added bonus.

Far more than the 535. Anything with an N54 engine (which went in the 135, 1M, 335, Z4, X5 and perhaps others) all had HPFP issues to where BMW extended the factory warranty on them. It is a guarantee that the early units will fail...though most have been replaced by now. The latest revisions seem to be more durable. Their DI injectors are also suspect and use the same injectors on a number of different engines. They are up to Index 12 injectors now, with multiple part numbers per index, so there have been a ton of revisions due to how bad their injectors survive. Fortunately, the GM injectors are very inexpensive compared to the BMW units...about 1/5th the price. You can replace all 8 GM injectors for under $400.

What's everyone seeing for a re-fi APR? I did GM Financial for my loan to get the extra cash incentive. Obviously, the APR is garbage on that loan. I'm sitting around an 820 credit score with the only debt on my credit being this truck loan (put half down cash) and whatever balances are on my credit cards at the time the report is pulled (I pay them off every month). I basically qualify for whatever the best rate is available. I keep checking for the "best rate" and what is being advertised is not what is actually offered. I refuse to let anyone pull my report without telling me the APR based on the credit score I provide them. Today's BS deal was Lending Tree pushing me to iLending Direct, stating a 2.25% APR for 48 or 60 months. Yet when I'm able to dig deep into it with the guy, he was offering in the 4% range. I've already been quoted 3.89%, so I told him I'm not interested unless he could beat that. He obviously couldn't as he very quickly got off the phone with me. I'm looking for less over the next week or two. I should have dealt with this a couple of months ago but I've been too busy, unfortunately, which is what GM Financial banks on.

Your truck doesn't have a 5.7L motor.

And that person was selling a '18 cluster. So how does that not make my point 100% valid?

I am into wake boats (which is what I have), which are up to about 9000lbs on the trailer for the 25' versions now. No one is using a WD hitch for these, so WD for what the OP wants is way overkill. Your truck will have zero issues towing that. Probably 800lbs for the trailer and another 400 for the motor. My first boat weighed right around there and I had no issues towing it with a 1st Gen S-Blazer and 2nd Gen S-Jimmy, both with the CPI 4.3L V6. Your way over those two motors on power with a truck that doesn't weight that much more. I was towing that boat with a Class 2 on both SUV's, though you should have a Class 3 on yours. The slider is for electric brakes. Unless the trailer has electric brakes, it doesn't do a thing. Most boat trailers don't unless they have an electric over hydraulic conversion, which isn't all that common. The Tow/Haul switch changes shift points, shift firmness and I believe locks you out of 8th gear (haven't towed with my new truck yet). Not sure if it locks 6th out; didn't on my last truck with the same tranny. It should be used any time towing a heavy load. I know they call it "haul" but I've had my truck over the bed payload max with 3 passengers and there was zero need to use it.

Who the hell is using a WD hitch with a boat trailer? Especially something that his truck could tow? Nearly all boat trailers use surge brakes, so WD hitches won't work. Why not just put a Class III on his truck? They are rated @ 6000lbs, more than his truck is rated for, so that's not really a factor.

You can ski behind a pontoon boat. Doesn't make it a ski boat.

After driving mine a little, I noticed one option from my old cluster is gone. In the info pages, I used to have a page for the transmission temp. That's gone. I can see the trans temp only when in tow/haul mode. Is this normal or is my cluster missing an option now? It's not in the pages to select (as I checked all 12 of 12 options to display).

I just looked - the same seller is now selling it for $299 shipped: https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-OEM-2018-ESCALADE-SILVERADO-SIERRA-INSTRUMENT-CLUSTER-MPH-84385167/192800114177?epid=23027152487&hash=item2ce3c84601:g:~qwAAOSwGI5cR4Jm:rk:2:pf:1&frcectupt=true

eBay. I just put a watch on all of the compatible P/N's at the price range I wanted to pay. Once came up and I bought it. Seller was in Michigan, as is WAMS, so it shipped on Monday to WAMS and was at my door step by Friday.

You found a sucker, sucker, sucker at that price! I paid $269 shipped for my brand new one last weekend. Already went to WAMS and is installed/good to go. That buyer paid the difference plus an additional $100 for programming a used unit! Congrats to you, you got top dollar for sure.