Preparing to purchase

[tjeick]

Hi all, I'm new to the site. I want to purchase a 2000's Yukon, Tahoe, or Suburban and I'm looking for advice.

 

My current thought is to find one that has less than 200k but needs a transmission. My first, biggest question is where should I get a rebuilt/remanufactured transmission 4L60E from?

I will tow my 3000lb (probably 4000lb fully loaded) pop-up camper with it, and I am trying to plan a trip out west in 2020. We also like to take it up north.

Otherwise it will be a family and grocery hauler, so I don't think I will need anything too beefy. I'm not trying to mod the engine in the slightest, and I intend to install it myself.

-Best buy transmissions has a 5-year warranty even if you install it yourself, they are asking $1500 but I'm not sure what that includes.

-Monster Transimssions wants $1800 for what I'm asking for, 3 year warranty. But I read one negative thing about them on this forum or another one.

-Finish Line Transmissions wants $1800 for their cheapest one, warranty is only 6 months.

Does anyone have experience with these sources or others? A part of me would prefer to deal locally for simplicity's sake.

 

Beyond that, do you guys have any general knowledge you can share? I am thinking 4.8L or 5.3L so I can try to squeeze every bit of mpg from the vehicle, especially on longer road trips. My mom lives 200 miles away and my in-laws are 150 miles away so this will definitely see some highway miles.

 

Any normal issues I should watch out for?

[swathdiver]

A 4.8 will not tow worth a can of beans.  A 6.0 will probably get better mileage towing than the 5.3.  The later trucks have electric cooling fans, I think that began in 2004.  

 

For towing you'll want at least a 3.42 gear and probably a 3.73 gear.  A tune will make the truck more fun to drive and improve transmission performance; if done right.

 

The longer Suburban and Yukon XL will tow better and of course, have more room.  They also ride nicer with that extra 14 inches in their wheelbase.

 

There are some fellow Michiganders on here who will chime in with more local knowledge about a transmission shop and other helpful information.

 

It's better to have too much truck than not enough!  Skip the shorties and the 4.8s and anything lacking 3.73 gears.  

[greatmizzou]

Get a 5.3 and an equalizer hitch with built in sway control.  4,000 lb popup camper sounds pretty beefy for a popup!

 

Another benefit of going HD is the bigger fuel fank and I think the 5.3 just barely feels adequate towing 6,000 lbs uphill so you should be good.

 

 

Spend time researching the best reputable tranny shops.  It may be the most reliable shop is the dealer or a very inexpensive guy.  Just make sure u upgrade the cooler and get a temp gauge installed.

 

 

[Mikebtte]

The prices you listed are not far off of most local shops. I had a local shop rebuild and install my last 4L60E. I made sure they were a good shop and they installed a new sun shell and newer style servo in the rear. It ran my $1750.

They only gave a 1 year 36 month warranty. 

I have personally herd good stuff from Monster transmission and that will be the source of my next transmission.

 

I second the gearing. 3.73 will work way better that 3.42

My 5.3 has 3.42 gears and my other truck had 3.73 and my oldest has 3.90. Taller gear make a big difference. I also Tow in AZ with a lot of grades. Will you be taking your towing far or just more local to your area?

[diyer2]

I would go with a trans from GM.

That's what I did.

Call your local dealer.

I bought the GM trans and installed it myself in my 93 Silvy. 4L60E.

3 year 36 K mile warranty 

This was 5 years ago.

 

My son was a GM tech.

A GM rebuilt trans is done by a trained technician who replaces any part that does not meet spec with a new part.

Other shops replace the most common wear parts like clutch packs, seals, shift solenoids.

 

Worth the extra money IMO if you are going to keep the vehicle for a while.

 

[tjeick]

42 minutes ago, Mikebtte said:

The prices you listed are not far off of most local shops. I had a local shop rebuild and install my last 4L60E. I made sure they were a good shop and they installed a new sun shell and newer style servo in the rear. It ran my $1750.

They only gave a 1 year 36 month warranty. 

I have personally herd good stuff from Monster transmission and that will be the source of my next transmission.

 

I second the gearing. 3.73 will work way better that 3.42

My 5.3 has 3.42 gears and my other truck had 3.73 and my oldest has 3.90. Taller gear make a big difference. I also Tow in AZ with a lot of grades. Will you be taking your towing far or just more local to your area?

When I tow, it will mostly be hundreds of miles at a time, plus my big trip out west which will be thousands. But keep in mind I won't be towing all that much or that often. 3-4k and twice a year at the very most. I have hauled the camper fully loaded with a FWD Ford Flex that has the 3.5 NA V6. It was not difficult power-wise and it handled the weight pretty well too, but I could tell the transmission was getting warm.

 

About gear ratios, I think I would prefer the hampered towing performance with better mpg when unloaded. Another reason I am considering the 4.8L as well. The way I see it, any V8 will outperform my current set-up and I don't ever intend to tow anything big with it. I'm not necessarily looking for a "don't even know it's there" type of feel. I just want something with a transmission and suspension setup that is more engineered for that purpose. And most importantly something that isn't a Ford.

 

I was definitely planning to add a big ol' cooler for my new transmission, especially before I trek all over the mountains with it. Any brands you guys prefer? I would assume bigger is better.

[tjeick]

Another question I want to talk about is what common problems should I look for especially in the engine? I have heard the 5.3 will sometimes have noise from a cold start or will burn a lot of oil. I looked for some stickies or something but I couldn't find any.

 

I have also heard about the 4WD solenoids being an issue? Are there other stuff I should keep an eye out for?

[Mikebtte]

26 minutes ago, tjeick said:

When I tow, it will mostly be hundreds of miles at a time, plus my big trip out west which will be thousands. But keep in mind I won't be towing all that much or that often. 3-4k and twice a year at the very most. I have hauled the camper fully loaded with a FWD Ford Flex that has the 3.5 NA V6. It was not difficult power-wise and it handled the weight pretty well too, but I could tell the transmission was getting warm.

 

About gear ratios, I think I would prefer the hampered towing performance with better mpg when unloaded. Another reason I am considering the 4.8L as well. The way I see it, any V8 will outperform my current set-up and I don't ever intend to tow anything big with it. I'm not necessarily looking for a "don't even know it's there" type of feel. I just want something with a transmission and suspension setup that is more engineered for that purpose. And most importantly something that isn't a Ford.

 

I was definitely planning to add a big ol' cooler for my new transmission, especially before I trek all over the mountains with it. Any brands you guys prefer? I would assume bigger is better.

Sound like you just about got this figured out. Good idea on the cooler, that is a must when towing with a 4L60. Lots of options available.

[tjeick]

19 minutes ago, Mikebtte said:

Sound like you just about got this figured out. Good idea on the cooler, that is a must when towing with a 4L60. Lots of options available.

LOL I have some parts figured out but I don't know what I don't know!

[swathdiver]

On 12/31/2018 at 11:58 AM, tjeick said:

Another question I want to talk about is what common problems should I look for especially in the engine? I have heard the 5.3 will sometimes have noise from a cold start or will burn a lot of oil. I looked for some stickies or something but I couldn't find any.

 

I have also heard about the 4WD solenoids being an issue? Are there other stuff I should keep an eye out for?

Poorly maintained engines are like this.  Same with the solenoids, guys only engaging 4WD once a year and wonder why they stick.

 

Stick a 3.622 crank in a 4.8 and you have a 5.3 without AFM.

[tjeick]

7 hours ago, swathdiver said:

Poorly maintained engines are like this.  Same with the solenoids, guys only engaging 4WD once a year and wonder why they stick.

 

Stick a 3.622 crank in a 4.8 and you have a 5.3 without AFM.

So you're saying the 4.8 just has a shorter stroke? Everything else is just the same?

 

Is there any way I can tell by looking? Blue smoke?

[swathdiver]

12 hours ago, tjeick said:

So you're saying the 4.8 just has a shorter stroke? Everything else is just the same?

 

Is there any way I can tell by looking? Blue smoke?

In the Gen III version, the only difference between the 4.8 and 5.3 is the crankshaft; even the camshaft is the same in those Gen III motors.

 

Well, any color smoke could foretell a problem but some that use oil are not so easy to detect.  If you can get your hands on the maintenance records, that's golden.

[tjeick]

4 hours ago, swathdiver said:

In the Gen III version, the only difference between the 4.8 and 5.3 is the crankshaft; even the camshaft is the same in those Gen III motors.

 

Well, any color smoke could foretell a problem but some that use oil are not so easy to detect.  If you can get your hands on the maintenance records, that's golden.

Yeah agreed. I’m hoping if i’m patient, I can pick one up with lots of service records, maybe even from the original owner.

[swathdiver]

5 hours ago, tjeick said:

Yeah agreed. I’m hoping if i’m patient, I can pick one up with lots of service records, maybe even from the original owner.

Be patient and take your time and the right one will show up.  Took me about six weeks of looking to find exactly what I wanted 699 miles from home.