Thinking Of Getting A 2001 2500 Suburban With 8.1

intheb0x · January 4, 2010

Hello all,

im new to the forums, but not new to GM.

within the last couple months i have driven everything from the current Tahoe LTZ's, to Escalades, to yukon xl to regular yukon denalis.

im in love with them to be honest, but i found a 2001 suburban 2500 at a local dealer with about 120k miles.

the owner of the small dealer says it was owned by his brother in law who was a surgeon so everything was taken care of at the dealer, he says all the fluids have been changed just within the last couple months, from tranny to differential, he said something about the steering shaft had been replaced, all belts, full tune up and so on.

i drove the truck, it was about -10 this saturday when i did drive it. she started right up, that huge 496 takes FOREVER to warm up lol. but anyways my first thats were that it was a great truck. it is a LT model, fully loaded with heated seats, which also seemed to take forever to heat, perhaps they need new elements and were well used?

the truck is for sale for about $8,800.

after driving the new denalis to a couple 2005-2006 gmt 800 denalis i found this truck to ride more rough, i can understand it is more heavy duty, but it does have the Auto ride feature so i figured the ride would be similar but it was not.

could it be that the truck needs new shocks? or are all the 2500 burbans and 2500s in general more of a work horse rough ride then a 1500 denali or escalade?

my father is really pushing me to get the truck even to the point where he says he would full it with gas every week lol. he wants it more then i do. it wasnt what i thought it was going to be ride wise. im looking for more of a cushy denali type ride. but im sure it can be achieved with this same truck.

let me know your thoughts everyone.

this is my first post and i hope to become a frequent member on these boards.

daylower · January 4, 2010

could it be that the truck needs new shocks? or are all the 2500 burbans and 2500s in general more of a work horse rough ride then a 1500 denali or escalade?

I think you answered you're own question there

oh yeah, welcome to the forum

intheb0x · January 4, 2010

lol thanks.

i was wondering if maybe i got some more beefier tires that would help out the ride?

any recommendations?

also what rims bolt up to the burban?

would any GMT900 style bolt up? or am i limited to the older style rims?

does this truck have 2 gas tanks?

C. Charles Hahn · January 4, 2010

From what it sounds like, if you buy that your dad will be borrowing it a lot

And no, you're never going to get a 2500 to ride like a 1500. Beware also that the autoride shocks and other components are a LOT more expensive to replace than a non-autoride would be. Also beware that a 2500 is most likely going to cost more for insurance and registration than a 1500 will.

I'd research those aspects of it before jumping at that rig. Looks like a nice one, but if it's way more truck than you need or want you might wind up regretting it.

intheb0x · January 4, 2010

thanks for the heads up, im going to look into insurance and registration.

we do alot of stuff together and he likes to be driven so he would always be in it.

ive never owned a truck before, im 24. i would love a denali or a tahoe ltz..

i wouldnt really mind a clean 99 if i could find one locally with under 100k.. just needs to be 4wd and have heated leather lol

im coming from one of the last generation oldsmobile aurora with the 4.0 northstar.

i would either trade or sell this car to get the truck. my car has 82k miles on it.

KMGZ400 · January 4, 2010

just my opinion, i would not get it. if you do not need the power and suspension of the 2500 for anything you might as well just find a 1500 burban or yukon and you will be just as happy.

well, even if i didnt tow anything at all i would still get that 2500 burban. the 8.1 is an awesome engine and is probably a blast to drive. its awful on gas though.

any pics of it?

intheb0x · January 4, 2010

there is a pic of it above on the post I made at about 120 am.

So the 8.1 is a reliable motor? How are the trannys?

KMGZ400 · January 4, 2010

i know that the 8.1 is a very reliable engine. there are a few 8.1 owners here that have never had any problems at all with the trannys or engines.

some input from the 8.1 owners?

daylower · January 5, 2010

i wish my 900 had an 8.1....

m332is · January 5, 2010

I had one of those a few years ago. 4WD, white with tan interior, second row captain's seats. I used it as a daily dirver and to tow a 24 ft race car trailer. That thing rocked and pulled like a beast. I think the 2500 only came in the LT package and while it has autoride, they don't have the adjustable air shocks in the rear.

The wheels are an 8 bolt pattern vs the 6 bolt on the 1500.

Only one gas tank, rather large if I remember correctly.

It rides a bit rougher than a tahoe or Escalade, but not bad.

It pulled off the line like a sports car from a red light!

Bottom line is it uses a lot of gas and it overkill if you are not going to pull a bigger trailer.

Vince

intheb0x · January 5, 2010

Thanks for all the replies.

one of the reasons im looking this way is because the way these 2500 burbans are priced. they are priced LOW...

id love to get a tahoe, or yukon but they are hard to find for under 10k.

i keep hearing the 8.1s are reliable motors, plus it can haul my whole family and whatever i throw at it.

ya it can be a gas hog . but will it really hurt my pocket? my trip to work is about 10 mins to work, plus the 4x4 feature would be great in the snow as i have problems now with my current car.

besides that the price of the truck is a steal in my eyes, i could own it for a year and get something new. it started right up, but too forever to warm up lol i take it thats how big blocks are since ive never been in one before..

intheb0x · January 5, 2010

I would look for a list of local gas stations. You are going to need it.

lol and i wouldnt with a 6.0??

the mileage difference isnt so bad the more i read about them.

can anyone tell me if the 01's came with the allison transmissions??

smattei14 · January 5, 2010

thanks for the heads up, im going to look into insurance and registration.

we do alot of stuff together and he likes to be driven so he would always be in it.

ive never owned a truck before, im 24. i would love a denali or a tahoe ltz..

i wouldnt really mind a clean 99 if i could find one locally with under 100k.. just needs to be 4wd and have heated leather lol

im coming from one of the last generation oldsmobile aurora with the 4.0 northstar.

i would either trade or sell this car to get the truck. my car has 82k miles on it.

This is what I would do if I were you. Since you trip is short...and your truck prob won't heat up to temp...that short trip will be very hard on your 'burb's engine...I would keep you Olds Aurora and use that as your daily driver...it would save you in gas plus you won't have the wear and tear of the short trips that engines hate.

I have a "daily" car that I use to save on gas, then I use my Denali when I have need it or want to drive it. YTD...I have saved over 1,500 in just gas alone....not including the wear and the milage that I would have put on the Denali...YTD I saved 22,000 miles on my Denali.

I use to have a Caddy STS with the Northstar...great Powerplant...they will run forever...if you take care of it, it will run to 150,000 - 200,000 miles.

This is what I would do IMO....

alaska511 · January 5, 2010

I would look for a list of local gas stations. You are going to need it.

lol and i wouldnt with a 6.0??

the mileage difference isnt so bad the more i read about them.

can anyone tell me if the 01's came with the allison transmissions??

Not the Suburban, only the pick-ups had the Allison.

intheb0x · January 5, 2010

thanks for the heads up, im going to look into insurance and registration.

we do alot of stuff together and he likes to be driven so he would always be in it.

ive never owned a truck before, im 24. i would love a denali or a tahoe ltz..

i wouldnt really mind a clean 99 if i could find one locally with under 100k.. just needs to be 4wd and have heated leather lol

im coming from one of the last generation oldsmobile aurora with the 4.0 northstar.

i would either trade or sell this car to get the truck. my car has 82k miles on it.

This is what I would do if I were you. Since you trip is short...and your truck prob won't heat up to temp...that short trip will be very hard on your 'burb's engine...I would keep you Olds Aurora and use that as your daily driver...it would save you in gas plus you won't have the wear and tear of the short trips that engines hate.

I have a "daily" car that I use to save on gas, then I use my Denali when I have need it or want to drive it. YTD...I have saved over 1,500 in just gas alone....not including the wear and the milage that I would have put on the Denali...YTD I saved 22,000 miles on my Denali.

I use to have a Caddy STS with the Northstar...great Powerplant...they will run forever...if you take care of it, it will run to 150,000 - 200,000 miles.

This is what I would do IMO....

i love your denali, very clean!

tell me more about those rims? i know they are GM, are they special order?

after doing some vin look ups, the truck has 3.73s and the 4L80-E transmission

i cant find anything online that shows the build date. anyone know a place?