Towing ability of 2004 Suburban 5.3L, 4.10, 4WD
Can anyone give first hand knowledge of the towing abilities of a 2004 Suburban 4WD with 5.3L engine and 4.10 axles? It is 7200 MVGW and has Z82 hd towing rpo. Thanks!
Forum Discussion
Thanks for the replies, and here's my situation and delima.
We tow our Bantam hybrid travel trailer (4,500 lbs loaded) about 4-6 times per year. We're in Tennessee hills so that 4,500 lbs seems pretty heavy at times.
For the past 8 years we've been towing with a 1998 GMC Suburban K1500 5.7L 4WD 3.42. It has pulled our camper wonderfully by staying out of OD when towing and using OD for non-towing and getting pretty good milage (16-17 mpg). We've also pulled our tractor and bush hog at over 6,000 lbs a few times and the '98 burb handles that well also. Our TV is not our primary transportation so milage isn't super important. We've had our '98 burb for 8+ years and have put less than 40k miles on it, so older vehicles are ok (and necessary) with us for towing.
For this coming season it's time to replace the engine in our 155k mile '98 K1500 burb and we're debating on replacing engine (and probably transmission) in our '98 versus purchasing a newer burb that we've seen (2004 5.3L burb with fairly low milage (about 100k) that we think has been well cared for).
Our delima is whether to replace our '98 burb engine and transmission for about $7k, or to replace the burb for at least double that $$ amount. We've done a lot of 1-time upgrades/fixes to our '98 and we we won't know what might need to be done to a (new to us) used 2004 5.3L burb.
Also in the delima, I like the torque of the 5.7L and I wonder if the 5.3L will tow as well on these Tn hills. I've read as many "5.7L vs 5.3L" tow posts as I can find, and it seems like a lot of folks still like the lower max torque of the 5.7L over the 5.3L.
So, our camper is 4500 lbs loaded, and we're towing on Tennessee hills, not flats. The 5.7L had good torque when out of OD, even with the 3.42 gears.
A newer burb would be nice but our '98 still is rust free and strong. I like the heavy leaf springs in the '98 and I understand the newer burbs have coil rear springs that can be prone to sag over time?
Any info on the 2004 5.3L 4WD with 4.10 (7200 MVGW) and how it will stack up to the towing capabilities of the 1998 5.7L 3.42 (7400 MVGW) will be greatly appreciated. I understand that GM corrected the piston slap in the 5.3L by the time the 2004 models came out, correct?
Many thanks,
Marty
We tow our Bantam hybrid travel trailer (4,500 lbs loaded) about 4-6 times per year. We're in Tennessee hills so that 4,500 lbs seems pretty heavy at times.
For the past 8 years we've been towing with a 1998 GMC Suburban K1500 5.7L 4WD 3.42. It has pulled our camper wonderfully by staying out of OD when towing and using OD for non-towing and getting pretty good milage (16-17 mpg). We've also pulled our tractor and bush hog at over 6,000 lbs a few times and the '98 burb handles that well also. Our TV is not our primary transportation so milage isn't super important. We've had our '98 burb for 8+ years and have put less than 40k miles on it, so older vehicles are ok (and necessary) with us for towing.
For this coming season it's time to replace the engine in our 155k mile '98 K1500 burb and we're debating on replacing engine (and probably transmission) in our '98 versus purchasing a newer burb that we've seen (2004 5.3L burb with fairly low milage (about 100k) that we think has been well cared for).
Our delima is whether to replace our '98 burb engine and transmission for about $7k, or to replace the burb for at least double that $$ amount. We've done a lot of 1-time upgrades/fixes to our '98 and we we won't know what might need to be done to a (new to us) used 2004 5.3L burb.
Also in the delima, I like the torque of the 5.7L and I wonder if the 5.3L will tow as well on these Tn hills. I've read as many "5.7L vs 5.3L" tow posts as I can find, and it seems like a lot of folks still like the lower max torque of the 5.7L over the 5.3L.
So, our camper is 4500 lbs loaded, and we're towing on Tennessee hills, not flats. The 5.7L had good torque when out of OD, even with the 3.42 gears.
A newer burb would be nice but our '98 still is rust free and strong. I like the heavy leaf springs in the '98 and I understand the newer burbs have coil rear springs that can be prone to sag over time?
Any info on the 2004 5.3L 4WD with 4.10 (7200 MVGW) and how it will stack up to the towing capabilities of the 1998 5.7L 3.42 (7400 MVGW) will be greatly appreciated. I understand that GM corrected the piston slap in the 5.3L by the time the 2004 models came out, correct?
Many thanks,
Marty
