8.1 Liter Suburban Longevity?

bwinter1 · December 6, 2008

I am looking at a 2001 Suburban 2500 with the 8.1 liter and the 4spd OD tranny. It currently has 101K miles in it. It appears to be in great condition, but I haven't driven it.

What is the longevity of the 8.1 liter motor? I don't have much experience with the 8.1, only the 6.0.

Thanks- I appreciate it.

xwire · December 6, 2008

I am looking at a 2001 Suburban 2500 with the 8.1 liter and the 4spd OD tranny. It currently has 101K miles in it. It appears to be in great condition, but I haven't driven it.

What is the longevity of the 8.1 liter motor? I don't have much experience with the 8.1, only the 6.0.

Thanks- I appreciate it.

have 175xxx on mine with out ever even having a valve cover off, have had to replace a couple cam sensor's though other then that still runs like new

ATMINF · December 6, 2008

The only issues that I have heard of is the Cam sensor and they burn a little more oil.( if you only owned small blocks, this maybe new to you, its not "bad" they just have a tendancy to burn a little more oil than SBs).

Also with 100k on the motor its time to really look at the maint items, (fuel filter, O2 sensors, hoses, plugs & wires, fuilds all the regular ones, but don't forget the brake fluid also). The other thing I would also look at is the 4L85 tranny. They are strong trannys but see what type of service that it has seen. I like to do a pan drop on my trannys at about every 30k since I don't tow alot. All in all a good motor.

vern650 · December 8, 2008

my bros 03 has around 170K on his and the only thing hes had to do was a water pump and that was only a couple weeks ago. i have an 01 with only 80k on it and his 03 will still run side by side with mine with twice the miles.

Swang · December 8, 2008

It's a marine engine...it's made to run high RPMs for a long time. She'll have the life of a Diesel motor. Just do basic maint. stuff and you'll be fine. I'd bet on having tranny issues before the engine.

jmcdowall · December 18, 2008

I love everything about my 8.1 engine except the gas mileage, but it is a true pulling machine. I have a 2001 GMC 3500 and I pretty much get 10mpg no matter how I drive or what I pull, but that's the cost of needing a heavy duty tow vehicle. I only have 85k on mine, but from talking to others, it should easily go 200k. Another thing you will need to watch out for is the oil consumption, the 8.1 engine is known for this. It's very common to burn through a quart of oil every 1,000 to 1,500 miles. This is "normal" according to GM. The other posts on this topic have good advice as well, listen to what they are saying.

Being an ex-GM mechanic, the key to keeping any vehicle running long and well is to just simply do the required maintenance when needed. If you follow those guidelines, the vehicle should last a long time.

Good luck to you!

die hard · December 25, 2008

I am looking at a 2001 Suburban 2500 with the 8.1 liter and the 4spd OD tranny. It currently has 101K miles in it. It appears to be in great condition, but I haven't driven it.

What is the longevity of the 8.1 liter motor? I don't have much experience with the 8.1, only the 6.0.

Thanks- I appreciate it.

i have got a 8.1 in my 2001 hd it has 170, runs perfect plenty of power threw out the rpm range will go up hills with out down shifting ..the only i have thing done to the moter is a crank sensor witch never left me on the side of the road . i have got the allison transmission witch i love .i just found this site after looking for questions on m my transfer case witch had a leak [i now found out is a common problem ] my transfer case is now on its way out [junk]

tim73 · January 7, 2009

130K here, Ive repalced the fuel pump, the crank and the cam sensor. I think the front wheel bearing/hubs are on their way out. but this is pretty much just normaly wear and tear type stuff.