last night i was extremely close to purchasing a 2000 silverado 5.3 w/57k miles. after running through numbers for payments, race budget, and other expenses i determined that i couldn't spend 19000.

my question is this. do any of you have experience with high mileage silverado's? specifically how long the 5.3L vortech V8 will last as a tow vehicle before the engine needs a replacement/rebuild. i'm now looking at trucks in the 80k mile range, and i figure i'll put on 20k miles in the next year. i really don't want to be having engine issues after 1 or 1.5 years with the truck.

anybody with experience here?

 

Well, not experience, but I know a guy who knows a guy who's had to replace a couple valve seals after 180k miles, half of which has been towing about 6000 lbs worth of Formula Ford and trailer. No rebuild yet and still has reasonable compression and leakdown according to my source.

I believe they share a lot of parts with the LS1.

 

We have 97 5.7 liter vortec, it has 103,000 miles on it. In general it is a nice truck, the 350's can be very reliable engines in terms of longevity but so far my experience with our truck is regular maitenaince is a must. Its not so much the engine itself that we have had problems with but it is the counter parts ( ie. Fuel pump, alternator ect...). It still runs good, we use our company work truck to tow a wakeboarding boat behind it in the summer as well as company trailers over long distances.

not sure if this helped but good luck with your future purchase!

 

The 5.3 is a totally different motor than the 5.7.

Several issues with the Gen III motors, and also some with 1/2 ton GM trucks...

These motors have a reputation for piston slap at cold start-up, and there is a well known "secret" warranty to 100k to pacify people who complain. Due to short skirt pistons. IMHO as long as the engine is warmed up before loading it up, shouldn't be an issue.

What my be something more to think about, are trannys and diffs. I've known a bunch of people who've lunched 4L60E's, as well as fried differential carrier bearings. The whole rear axle becomes a throwaway. Synthetic lubricants from new would help, but even then 100k might be the limit with either piece. Buying used, YMMV greatly.

 

I agree with what the other guys said, but I'd also keep close tabs on the transmission. Use the tow/haul switch and change the fluid & filter yearly.

my first suburban (350) had 212K on it when I retired it. It was also on its 3rd 700r4. The 4L60 (4L65?) in your truck is better than the 700r4 but its still no 4L80 either.

 

5.7L != 5.3L. The 5.3 is the baby brother to the LS1 - both are GM's newer generation of the smallblock.

Get an '00 or newer - they revised the ECU and cam profile after '99 and got 20 or so additional horsepower.

I have a '99 Sierra 1500 with the 5.3, 4x4, ext cab, and most options (except the leather interior). 3.73 gears (4.11 is optional). It towed my open trailer and RX-7 with no problems.

I did need a tranny overhaul at about 70k miles. But I think it was abuse by the previous owner. It never slipped, lurched, or misshifted. The reverse (slow-speed?) sprag gear failed - I've never heard of that being an issue with the trans.

Gas mileage with mixed driving on stock C load Wilderness AT was 15-16mpg. With D load Yokohama Geolander ATs, the mileage dropped to 14-15mpg. Highway towing I got about the same as mixed non-towing.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JoelG &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The 4L60 (4L65?) in your truck is better than the 700r4 but its still no 4L80 either.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The 5.3 trucks come with the 4L60E. Same basic design as the 700R4, but electronically controlled. The 4L60 is the same as a 700R4 - GM changed the name to keep in line with their other transmissions.

4 = 4 forward gears
L = longitudinally mounted
60 = load rating, higher is heavier duty, so 4L80 is heavier duty than 4L60
E = electronic control

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Crack Monkey &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">5.7L != 5.3L. The 5.3 is the baby brother to the LS1 - both are GM's newer generation of the smallblock.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

The 5.3L is a terrific motor, way better than the vortec 350 (aka 5.7L). Its also the only one of the new motors (gen 8?) that seems to be a clear improvement over the previous generation. The 8.1L's in particular seem to have had a lot of 'issues'

oh yeah, don't leave the dexcool in it for 5 years either. changes every other year should be fine though.

While the design of 4L60 and the 700R4 is basically the same, almost all of the internal parts of the 4L60 are improved over the 700R4.

 

I trust a chevy/ford/dodge gas motor and auto tranny about as far as I can throw them...

Get Diesel, manual tranny.. Havn't heard ONE bad thing about the combo..

 

2002 Chevy Duramax with ZF-6 six speed manual transmission.

Replacement of throw-out bearing and dual-mass flywheel 3 times in 55k miles, all under warranty. This is a common issue with this trans application.

I bought the manual tranny because I didn't want the headache of doing auto tranny rebuilds every $70k miles. Obviously, it's not working out the way I intended.

Everything else about the truck is awesome.

Gary
Sheehan Motor Racing
http://www.teamSMR.com

 

ok, well just stay away from a chevy then....

Ford and Dodge manuals rule..

 

friend has a 00 6L 2500 GMC witht he 4L80e with 150,000km on it over 100,000miles i think right?
Only part that failed was a PS pump thats it
Still hauls *** and tows heavy loads like nothing. I think the most weight he had out back was about 6500-7000lbs

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Honda318dx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ok, well just stay away from a chevy then....

Ford and Dodge manuals rule.. </TD></TR></TABLE>

sorry, chevy it is. GM always gets criticized for cheap interior materials, obviously these people have not been inside the previous generation F150. Dodge's can tow the crap outa anything, but are a harsh ride. Harsh ride is not what i want when towing 10+ hours to road america. C&D stated the silverado to be the best tow vehicle available at the time.

 

if you guys are talking about the transmission from the 93-98 or whatever years they were 1/2 ton trucks, this one on the 99-03 is completely different. it is true that the older models had trouble (as evident by my parents destroying theirs), but the new ones should have addressed the problem.

 

the 5.3L comes with the 4L60. the 6.0L comes with the 4L65. The two transmissions share many of the same parts but the 4L65 is beefed up to handle the torque of the LS1 and the 6.0L