95 or 99 Tahoe Differences

[smithb39]

I'm looking for some advice. Original plan was to buy a 98 or 99 Tahoe/Sub/Yuk/YukXL to haul the family and boat until I found a 95 Yukon with only 65K and in better shape than most 99. My question the 95 has a 5.7L and the 96-99 have 5.7L Vortec, what's the difference?

 

If my source is correct here is the hp and lb-ft difference:

95: 200 hp, 310 lb-ft of torque

96: 250 hp, 325 lb-ft of torque

97-99: 255 hp, 330 lb-ft of torque

 

It looks like the Vortex gets a little better gas mileage, 2 mpg? Probably easier to get parts for the Vortec?

 

What about the autotrack all-wheel drive that was available in 99, does that make a difference?

 

From a safety stand point the 95 had a drivers side airbag while a passenger airbag showed up in 97?

 

Any differences I'm missing?

Thanks,

Brent

[citydriver]

The '95 5.7L uses a TBI (Throttle Body Injection) unit for fuel delivery. In '96 it was replaced by the Vortec which uses Multiport injection, and is more efficient, thus more horsies and torque. The '95 uses 1 O2 sensor, '96 and up uses 4 and also uses OBDII which can be "tuned" more easily.( ex. Westers or Hypertec hand held type devices) The '95 uses OBDI which would require you to change the PROM ( computer chip ). The Vortec series is also more fuel efficient. But the '95 and older engines are a little more Do It Yourselfer freindly for the backyard mechanic, if you are into that sort of thing. Both engines are durable and long lasting when maintained properly (my '95 has over 185k mi on it) But the newer engines give you a little more BANG for your buck$

 

I'm not that familiar with the Auto-Trac 4wd system other than it's a computer controlled All Wheel Drive system that improves handling in poor traction conditions. If you do a search on this site I'm pretty sure you will find a better explanation and its pro's and cons.

 

Hope this helps a little

[smithb39]

That's a great explaination. Thanks for taking the time to respond.

 

Brent

[TEE]

Not much diff in gas mileage..my 94 gets about the same as my dad's 97 Vortec.

I drove his and to be honest , after putting headers,intake and exhaust on my 94...I'm not sure which runs better.

Mine seems to have more torque but, his has more HP.

I can also tell you if the mileage is that low for a 95...it's been settin' a little while and not driven much which means...check it over good.

Both will have issues with the intake manifold gaskets but, that's just the nature of the design with no gaskets on the front or back valley.