Z71 Tahoe 2002-200? - Opinions Please

[JD8]

There arnt any....
The 5.3/4L60 is probably the longest lasting drive train you'll ever find in a half ton. 5.3s arnt notorious for being power houses in stock form but they are light years ahead of what the 5.7 (350) was. The 5.3 is capible of a lot of power of tuned right, they are very restricted from the factory. Do yourself a favor if your get one and get a good PMC tune (not a junk plug in tuner), have them delete torque management, VTC and all that other crap. Your milage will improve greatly in town and power/felt power will be nigh and day difference!!!
As far as longevity, there are no bad years but there are bad seeds in every bunch so ya "someone" has always had an issue... But odds are with the vehicle your looking at 250-300k miles is expected and more isn't uncommon without and drivetrain issues.
The Oil issue, it's an LS and a lot of them do it. Some will use a quart of oil I between changes by its no big deal, it's the nature of the beast.
I just bought a 2005 Z71 suburban 2 months ago, it's about the 10th 5.3 vehicle I've had. I agree with the earlier poster, it go with the Suburban over the Tahoe, they are the same price and you get more room.

Listen to this man.

Got a 2004 5.3 Avalanche..... it's got ~145K. Replaced the fuel pump and alternator so far, along with the HVAC blend door.

Added some Long Tubes, Y pipe, and did a PCM tune. HUGE difference. They are pigs otherwise.

 

[BIG_MIKE2005]

The GMT-400 has cheap available parts, but you gotta work on the SOB all the time.

Hmm, I don't work on mine all the time & it's a 97' Z71 with 225k+ on it. Just had the tranny rebuilt last month but once it got opened up apparently someone had already messed with it which helped it fail on me so it wasn't a stock parts failure.

I think honestly if your buying older it all comes down to picking one thats been taken care of properly & not dogged out. You buy one thats had a hard life prior to you buying it & your bound to have to start fixing things soon. I only gave $3k for my truck & $5k for the wifes Tahoe LT, both 4wd & power everything. Her's is nicer but I also paid a little more. The really good thing is though if things do need replaced parts are ALOT cheaper for the older trucks. And are readily available almost anywhere cause so many are still on the roads. I'd rather not buy a used car without a warranty that has really high priced replacement parts. I bought older so it would be cheaper to maintain in the long run. But again, thats just my opinion.

 

[JKClay]

I've got an 03 Z71 Suburban...I love it! Plenty of power, good riding solid truck with lots of room. I wanted the Tahoe originally and couldn't find one with the Z71 package and "settled" for the Suburban. Boy am I glad I did! The extra room is great!

 

[Dr. HK]

does the 2x4 get better gas mileage? is there a quality difference (2x4 vs 4x4)?

 

[AllOut]

does the 2x4 get better gas mileage? is there a quality difference (2x4 vs 4x4)?

Yes but not much....
No, why would there be? They are identical except the 4x4 has a few extra parts lol

 

[BIG_MIKE2005]

Yes but not much....
No, why would there be? They are identical except the 4x4 has a few extra parts lol

Probably b/c the front of the 4wd has IFS & is weaker than a straight axle. It can cause issues if not used properly or maintained. Main wear parts are upper/lower ball joints, CV axles, hubs. I would much prefer to do a SAS(solid axles swap) but I don't have the cash or means & my IFS doesn't get hardcore abused so it'll last me for what I use it for. But that does come into play for some people.

 

[338Shooter]

2x4s usually get better MPG because they come with shorter gears in the rear. 2.73 - 3.42 maybe. K trucks probably have 3.42-4.10 depending on options. 3.73 is probably most common on the K series half tons.

 

[Dr. HK]

I seen some nice 2005's with relatively low miles. Is that a good or bad year?