PPK

Will be staying in my 2018 SLT... Happy.. solid. straight panels.. and great paint..

I did take a look at a ‘20 and realized that it was a single speed... transfer case. There is no room in my garage for a single sp transfer case... Agreed only needed once in a blue moon - i used mine last may to help guide a large tree to the ground.. i think usually when i use it is for control - like backing up to my trailer to creeping a tight turn with it. My 2108 SLT is just fine... i think the de-content on the new trucks is there... you just have to study so you know what features you might miss.. i mean we all can’t afford a Denali...

I also had a Yukon a ways back... it had a 5.3 and was decently powerful, but a bit of a gas hog. Mine was a 2005, I recommend to get the 5.3 as i get 5 mpg more than the Yukon with the same driving style. Its a fine motor - and still simple enough to be reliable. Now i would not dream of modding the truck - lifting or doing anymore than going up a size on tires on stock rims. It comes down to blowing a lot of money and shortening the life of the ball joints, spindles and brakes... daily driver is best kept as GM builds it... imo.

This 5.3 is pretty new - 11,000 miles. Not much iron on the magnet. My other vehicle - JGC has a pentastar 3.6 and 3 or 4 times the shiny accusation of iron with 9000 miles on it with a similar magnetic drain plug. i am thinking the design difference is in the chains. The v8 has one chain and the jeep has 6 i think. The jeep also has a lot of rollers in the valve train. Hardening is a big factor in how much iron ends up in the oil.. but so is the design. I don’t really like the tiny filter on the 5.3 but GM might know what it is doing, too.

Had a Yukon and now have a Sierra. I miss the Yukon... it is easier for parking lots. Always used a trailer when hauling with the Yukon, which is a pain, but it keeps the mess away from the vehicle. I would not go Yukon today though. They are just too pricey. Every man has to call it the way he sees it though.

I traded my Ecopoop '17 lariat due to leaking oil and coolant and 30+ days in the shop. My last GM was a '05 yukon - 5.3 like my '19 Sierra. That ford upset me so much, i felt lucky not to end up in the hospital from it. Ford rides a little smoother.. and that is about it. i will take the old 5.3 starting on the first compression stroke every time... over the Ford two turbos with oil and coolant lines done on the cheap... plastic valve cover and oil pans... all oozing and fighting the dealer on every drip. No Fords in my future! As far as Rams go, my dad has had three since '13. Only lost one tranny under warranty on the '13. The other two were solid.

My last Toyota, 2011, had cam phaser issues. Toyota... determined not enough to warrant. My ‘05 Yukon was great, lost a water pump and changed it it 45 minutes. my least fav toy had the starter underneath the intake manifold... that was the v8 ls400.

I have been waiting for just this question... I know ford can do a lot better, having had a 289 in my 1961 CJ5... Most unreliable vehicle - or i will extend that to combustion engine powered device...my 2017 Lariat. Build was wavy body panels, thin paint, and crooked doors and hood.... and a ecopoop 2.7 in the shop for 30+ days... over many visits. Plastic valve covers, plastic oil pan and two turbos with water and oil feeds done on the cheap. The one vendor i will never give another chance. I have had too many Toyota’s and Hondas that did not leak oil and coolant all over everything to think that Ford will be around much longer. Just a terrible experience. Second worst - TS100 Suzuki. Lost the wrist pin snap ring, threw a rod and tore up the rotary valve... Tell me i don’t have a long memory....

the one i miss the most was a '79 trans am WS6 and olds 403... what a time to drive... wish i had that one back!! the bottom of the pile was a tie between a VW diesel and a 2.7 ecopoop. and i have to say my Sierra 2018 with the L83 is really a pleasure to drive and use... i can't find any faults in gas mileage, reliability or comfort.. only how many buckeroos it was.. it is at the top of list.

i think the place to look first is a good air filter so dirt partlcles are kept out of the engine... and include a drain plug magnet. attached is a magnet with the captured iron from 3000 miles with the 63E. Fine iron... but IMO that is what you do not want in the oil... .probably micron sizes... little grinders floating in the oil... just a liitle dab of iron/chrome slurry on this oil change... but still not picked up by the filter...

while you are at it it... make sure that you have a magnetic drain plug. you will then be privy to any issues with hardening of cams and rollers... before you find out acoustically... see the little pile of iron that the PF 63E didn't get

Refrigerant Oil...

I wouldn't take for my 2018 SLT... Mine was built in Dec 2018.. so it was one of the last off the line. I had an aluminum F150 ecopoop.. puking oil through four oil pans... you get a good running machine... hold on to it.. you just never know whether you will keep the reliability that you have now... That said... every man has to call it the way he sees it!!! Best regards

this is not an economy to take on new payments.... insurance and taxes are way higher on '20s too.... imo.

If you know why and who you have bigger problems than a missing wire harness. whoa!

i've had several diesels and they never disappoint. i had one VW that needed a glow plug replaced -a five minute job after you spent two weeks finding one. except the old one had so much deposits.. i had to pull the head. diesels are off my radar for now.. too much difficulty getting parts and deploying them..

Spend 2 or 3 kilobucks on your sierra and keep it. that kid on the way is going to cost you plenty and you do not want to get in over your head in this economy... now if you have a couple of college degrees... to keep you employed a long time go on.. otherwise keep your powder dry...

Payback... is questionable if you turn-key the project. If you are technical - and capable of doing some welding for mounting (not on the roof) payback is much more certain, with a lot of sweat equity. The KEY to a successful and reliable solar or wind project is GROUNDING. Low impedance grounds protect people and equipment when lighting hits... i think you can be a lot more reliable with solar in storms than your local utility.. The solar systems also protect you from future carbon taxes.. and higher rates. Regulators, inverters, and panels are peanuts compared to what they were three or four years ago. It might be prudent to wait for costs to drop a bit more for hardware... but on the other hand more than half the project will be copper and labor.. and that is only going to go way up... i like the battery based independent off grid best... at some point we will have LiFEon batteries that will make you wonder why we built hundreds of thousands of miles of transmission lines everywhere....

I think Solar - if you have two or three acres is a good deal for electricity to power a house, when augmented with natural gas or propane when you need heavy lifting. Production cost of electricity is a penny a kilowatt for coal and nukes.. retail is 12xs that.. due to taxes, pensions, stockholders, salaries of execs and financing. Solar - at the home user level causes a reduction in taxes.. My dad has been off grid for five years.. it is not that hard. propane hot water, oven stove and dryer. A/C is summer - so you are good with 14 hr days.. Winter is the tricky season... The pic shows 90% of the install... 24 volt. Inverter is off to the right of the pic, but they are pretty solid anymore... And i am no environmentalist.. i have a half a dozen four wheel drives... i am just cheap. Those batteries are 75 bucks each... and this setup will go for 5 or 6 years.. So you have a $33 month fixed electric bill... and that is capable of doing 2000 KWH a month in the summer... way cheaper than paying 12 cents a KWH...

ball joints can go after 30k... do you feel it in the steering wheel at all?

well like any used vehicle.. check the tail pipe for signs of oil seeping past rings and valve seals... listen... hard at how much noise the engine emits - piston slap - rod or main knocks.. on start-up, when it is cold and warmed up.. check the radiator for coolant.. and bubbles... on and on.. low oil pressure might be a red flag and might not be.. you have to look and listen..

my 2005 yukon had similar pressure at idle in really hot weather. what happened was it used a little oil... and what i suspect is that my wife let it get down there where it was either way hot - because it had two quarts in it - or the engine was coming apart anyway. i never tore it down.. but it was in that period where the GM engines were pretty noisy - especially when they were cold...

i'd like to hear too!

I had an affinity for the sun roof... until a rock land on top of mine and cracked it. This can always happen and when you least expect it.

i will use 2-#2 on pos and neg. It is easier to bend than the big wire...