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Upgrading Base Yukon Radiator to Tow Package Radiator

15Yukon

By 15Yukon
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15Yukon Enthusiast

15Yukon

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Posted (edited)

We are going on a 3k mile camping trip later this year pulling a 5500 lb camper through hills, my 2015 Yukon has 135k miles so im looking to do what I can to help the cooling system, ive already done the lower temp thermostat for the transmission, when looking at OEM radiators I see there is an option for the one with the tow pacakge, will that one drop right into my SLT without the tow package? I should mention ive already swapped the rear out to 3.42's instead of 3.08's. The part number for the radiator for the tow package is 84207656.

Edited by 15Yukon
cs15dah Enthusiast

cs15dah

Posted
Posted

5500#? Stock setup should have been just fine. I’ve pulled 7000# up slight grades through TN, VA, GA, etc with ease. Are you climbing bigger hills than out here?

 

Just my opinion but you’re putting a lot of unnecessary worry and a lot of unneeded work into it. If I were you, I’d more focus on your braking system. Especially going down those same grades you’re concerned about climbing. Not only potentially adding a brake controller, but just ensure your pads and rotors are up for the job. Hot brakes are a real thing.
 

Not to mention tires. Last year I did 7000 miles over the course of 10 days. I was surprised how much less tread depth I had on the rear tires than I did on the front. Not to mention how “squared off” the wear was. There was a clear difference between the almost sharp right angles of the tire edges as compared to the rounded off front tires. Since I normally only tow short distances, and rotate my tires regularly, I’ve never notice this before. 
 

Regardless of how you’ll be set up, gas mileage will be horrendous, as expected. 

 

Good luck on your trip!

15Yukon Enthusiast

15Yukon

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Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, cs15dah said:

5500#? Stock setup should have been just fine. I’ve pulled 7000# up slight grades through TN, VA, GA, etc with ease. Are you climbing bigger hills than out here?

 

Just my opinion but you’re putting a lot of unnecessary worry and a lot of unneeded work into it. If I were you, I’d more focus on your braking system. Especially going down those same grades you’re concerned about climbing. Not only potentially adding a brake controller, but just ensure your pads and rotors are up for the job. Hot brakes are a real thing.
 

Not to mention tires. Last year I did 7000 miles over the course of 10 days. I was surprised how much less tread depth I had on the rear tires than I did on the front. Not to mention how “squared off” the wear was. There was a clear difference between the almost sharp right angles of the tire edges as compared to the rounded off front tires. Since I normally only tow short distances, and rotate my tires regularly, I’ve never notice this before. 
 

Regardless of how you’ll be set up, gas mileage will be horrendous, as expected. 

 

Good luck on your trip!

 

Hi, thanks for the input, it has new tires and an aftermarket brake controller (the camper has 4 drum brakes on it). Im just trying to be proactive and replace so "hi stress" items that could possibly fail along the trip, as I stated it all has 135k miles on it already. I was going to replace the radiator, water pump, upper and lower coolant hoses and thermostat all OEM (I do all my own work) but was wanting to know if the "max tow package" radiator would drop right in without an issue. We do get wiffs of coolant smell in the summer time after parking and I bet it has this issue here: PI1513F 1..2 (nhtsa.gov) ,  Its already has every fluid changed out on it when I bought it last year. 

Edited by 15Yukon
garagerog Enthusiast

garagerog

Posted
Posted

I can't answer your question on the tow package radiator fitment, but with 135k miles on your Yukon's clock, I would add a transmission fluid and filter change to your to do list, might even consider adding an auxiliary transmission cooler as towing stresses the transmission more than any other drive-train component.

14burrito Enthusiast

14burrito

Posted
Posted

How do you like the 3.42 vs 3.08s?

 

Been thinking of doing the upgrade on our 19 Tahoe. Only problem is no easy way to regear the front diff except a whole OE assembly (which is why I'm "stuck" with 3.42 as I can find a donor diff to swap right in).

15Yukon Enthusiast

15Yukon

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Posted (edited)
On 1/11/2022 at 7:27 PM, 14burrito said:

How do you like the 3.42 vs 3.08s?

 

Been thinking of doing the upgrade on our 19 Tahoe. Only problem is no easy way to regear the front diff except a whole OE assembly (which is why I'm "stuck" with 3.42 as I can find a donor diff to swap right in).


I love it, drives way better and is easier to tow (we have a 5k lb camper). I bought the rear end from a wrecked Yukon XL with 28k on it so it was almost 100k miles less than what my 3.08’s were at. I bought a 3.42 front axle from a Silverado. Found both on eBay for about $1500 shipped to my door, yes it was expensive but I wanted to “upgrade” it since we can’t regear easily. I noticed zero difference in MPG too.

Edited by 15Yukon
14burrito Enthusiast

14burrito

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, 15Yukon said:

I have a ctsv thermostat to go in, that radiator is trash, take a look at all the reviews from cracking and warranty claims. No thanks. I like to stick with OEM parts.

 

The Mishimoto radiator is trash? Can you post links to said poor reviews? 

 

Ha, why did GM issue a recall if the OEM radiators were so "issue free"... 😂😉😏

14burrito Enthusiast

14burrito

Posted
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, 15Yukon said:


I love it, drives way better and is easier to tow (we have a 5k lb camper). I bought the rear end from a wrecked Yukon XL with 28k on it so it was almost 100k miles less than what my 3.08’s were at. I bought a 3.42 front axle from a Silverado. Found both on eBay for about $1500 shipped to my door, yes it was expensive but I wanted to “upgrade” it since we can’t regear easily. I noticed zero difference in MPG too.

 

Aside from other reasons, we are camper shopping which is what resparked the want for deeper gears.

 

You bought PN 84526158 as your front diff, correct?

Edited by 14burrito
15Yukon Enthusiast

15Yukon

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
20 hours ago, 14burrito said:

 

Aside from other reasons, we are camper shopping which is what resparked the want for deeper gears.

 

You bought PN 84526158 as your front diff, correct?


Not sure on the part number, it was from a 4wd 2015 Silverado (GU6 axle code), it bolted in and works great. As for the radiator, just Google their issues (mainly the welds cracking after a couple months). The OEM radiator had issues but GM fixed it with the newer ones and going from the base radiator to the max tow (same price for the most part) is an upgrade IMO.

Edited by 15Yukon

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