PPK

I had a 3.0 ordered.. then went 5.3 i have had a lot of oil burners.. the last one I had to pull a head to change a ceramic glow plug.. too much carbon on it get it out without breaking it. I just think it’s too much. All the belts and chains in the 3.0 are on the back of the engine. The fuel filter changes, DEF.. and fuel four bucks a gallon. I see no way it will cheaper than a 5.3

I sure would want the compression checked in each cylinder. and then when i got it home i would infrared check each exhaust...

I have the same sierra that the op has.. i can’t imagine towing much more than a couple of tons. I drove to Dallas last week and it heats up a little sitting at idle.. i do not think the cooling is there to tow very much at all.

For starters- keep it well lit.. that might help you a bit. But it’s a growing problem and we are all going to face more and more of it.

1962 CJ5 Ford Powered 289. OD and duals.. followed by non-truck T/A with olds 403. wish i had back 1987 Nissan. Good machine. 1992 Toyota. Good, but weak. 2005 Yukon - Heat and Air problems… blending.. finally thinned it out 2010 Tacoma - cam phasers banged and clanked through 60k of ownership… not missed. Too weak to do anything, gas hog 2017 F150. In the shop.. had its own bay. Almost put me in the hospital. Oil leaker. Coolant leaker.. 2018/9 SLT. Nearly perfect V8 power and gas mileage. Woo Hoo!!! Never getting rid of it… probably the last Sierra of that model built. American engine and tranny. How can you beat that?

Iron block? If so feel the bottom of the radiator.. and check that it is not solid with rust from the engine collecting there..if it is clogged it will be cooler than the top half of the radiator.. then replace it.

I used to regard the extended warranty as more trouble than it was worth.. and then i got a truck with two turbos (twice the fun!) and found out the value... my truck rolled into it's 28th month last month.. and even though it has been solid i bought a GM/Platinum from Smith Chevrolet for $770 that added 39 months and 39,000 miles to where i am. Now seems like a weak time to trade in and get a new one with the 1/2 shortage of expensive trucks.. I think you really have to lay out the various prices/terms and mileage on them to see where the value is for you. Some folks spend thousands on these... i spent at the top end of what i think they are worth... Once you spend more than $770 you are up there where you may as well just pay for the repair. And normally i keep these rigs 3 years and then turn them over. I think you have look at a longer ownership today with $60k trucks - at least 5 yrs which is where i am targeting. i also think i will get one every other generation.. rather than one each gen. Licensing them has gotten out of hand, too.

did you ever run e10 in the truck? what grade - 87 oct or higher.. thanks!!

My dad has had three rams - ‘13 (lost 8sp), ‘15 and ‘18 (using coolant) and is now in a GMC.. The Ram is a lot more impressive inside… but you really don’t weight it very much after you have had to top off the radiator and the coolant fill with three quarts of antifreeze.. Basically a blown head gasket… still under powertrain, but enough was enough and yes you do have fight the touch screen to change certain functions like active vents… that is why you do GM.

bad bearings make a lot of whine... the pinion and ring gear are misaligned.. however.. i would pull the cover before i decided. if the ring gear has a lot of wear - hardening shelling.. then at least you can make an informed decision. if the ring gear is ok... i would just clean everything up.. replace the bearings and seals.. So #4 should be getting the cost of the bearings and seals... your truck.. while still having a lot of life left in it.. getting to that phase where you try to fix economically.. you don't have to get 300k miles out of the repair.. if you are pulling something though.. i would get on ebay and scrap yards and start pricing. and don't drive it in the meantime...

As an example one of my diesels, a TDI needed a glow plug replaced. I tried to… but a carbon deposit on the end of it kept me from extracting it. I had to pull the head… for a GLOW PLUG…. I waited till there two of them gone.. but that is my example of a real trade-off for a few more mpg.. which is based on higher btu more expensive fuel… gasoline…

Typically draining a battery at high levels shortens the life... sometimes drastically.

Like a Rock! Very solid. And i have had Toyota’s, Jeeps, Nissans and Fords. I have lost cam phasers, rear end ring gear and a front half shaft on Toyotas. I have pretty much decided GM (Yukon and SLT) is the best lowest cost operation (replacements are cheap) and Ford the weakest. My Toyota’s - never had parts in stock. Ever. Waited forever for the ring gear and pinion in my Toyota. Everybody has an opinion, though.. I provide some examples.. that have helped me form mine. And neither of my Toyotas got mpg at all.

Got down to 8 months on the bumper to bumper.. With the truck sitting there... on telework.. i thought I would get a warranty to get my use out of the truck. It has 12,000 miles on it, so i got a GMEPP from smith Chevy. Did the 39 month and 39000 mile platinum... Wonder if i did right.. Thanks oh..$770 was the cost.

I do not think a “journalist” is qualified (and educated) to provide a technical review of anything more complicated than a potato. So consumer reports is not a valid source for anything except the comparative prices of the autos. I will tell you why i dislike the Toyota V8 in my old Lexus. It had timing belts. The oil pan leaked.. and leaked.. new gaskets or not. And finally - when the starter needed new brushes at125k miles i had to pull the intake manifold to get to it. Imagine a design where you have to take off half the emissions, the intake manifold and hunt gaskets that are not in stock for love nor money. That is a specific example of why Toyota is off my list.... and it always will be. Every little part you do replace is priced like Gold too. If you can find it.

hold out for the low range... it is indispensable.. for backing up to a trailer or any number of crawling or pulling activities... i have a grand cherokee with no high range... its ok.. but a lot of capability and low speed control is lost...

Oh well... when a canyon starts looking as good as this sierra.. i will trade. It will be a while..

Agreed. My since new mpg is 23.8 at 11,000 + miles. I am always on the open road - no city. That is 1 mpg better than my f150 - and it read 2 mpg high on the dash... Ferds!! That 2.7 Ferd is good motor, too if you don’t mind new oil pans every couple oil changes...

I have hand tested two tanks - one was a half mpg low and one a quarter mpg high than the dash. I am no hot rod... but i think you need more than 25 mile distances to get a fair reading. 50 mile distance should always be lower... stock tires with 42 lbs in them. 6 sp.. bedcover, which helped mine a liitle too. Nobody should gripe about either motor. They are both great. I suppose if i wanted the next step up in mpg i would need a canyon with the duramax.... All that said... i do think that the 5.3 is doing 2 mpg better than my F150 with 2.7 did. The 2018 sierra is a little shorter than the ford... and maybe that is what we are measuring. Anyway.. this L83 is so much superior to my ‘05 yukon 5.3 i can’t believe it. Astounding.

I want a 3.0 as well... but mpg seems weak to me... my 5.3 does close to what 3.0 does.. and fuel is cheaper... my 5.3 has a range so it is not the mpg best configuration for it either..

This is where you see the origin data - window sticker..

Question Denali HD66 - Is you engine New York sourced or Mexico?

Detonation.. yes.. A Ford. broken ring lands - and rings. i think the piston broke first - and then the rings of course without support went. Detonation in a pre-90s Ford without the sensors and controls of fuel injected engines...

It could have been detonation... and then a broken ring.If you catch it immediately - pull the piston and replace it - you can just have some marks in the cylinder. With a broken ring.. any period of time running it- that ring - the broken part that is a half circle sized or so - the ends will gouge the cyl wall. When you pull the piston and see the ring - and the top ring - you can speculate detonation caused ring land / broken ring failure was the result.... i know this the hard way....

Probably true. Not due to how good battery power will be, but due to gasoline being taxed into oblivion. Gleefully, with one party rule looking ahead.....