opinions on 96-99 tahoes

[mud hungry]

My wife and I are looking to get a newer vehicle and are looking at the late 90's tahoes any opinions on them? Pro's or Con's.
We have three children and we like the room that it has but we don't want to go as big as a sub.

 

[HarryH3]

Things to watch out for are coolant leaks at the back of the intake manifold and cracks in the factory header/y-pipe.

 

[Stratispho]

I have a 99 Tahoe and love it. Only problem I've had is the alternator has gone out twice. Replaced free with Autozone warranty though. HarryH3 is right though. Coolant leaks are a common problem cuz of how they route the lines, Flush your radiator every other year and make sure you're careful to get the right mixture and my mechanic says it cuts the leaks way down. i do it myself so he's not making any money off telling me to do that...

 

[dhcomp]

Not bad, but prefer the stregnth of the 3/4 burb's. If you dont' want to go that big, then a tahoe will work well.

That being said, and the fact that we have owned or do own a 96 burb, 94 blazer, and 01 tahoe.....if you can get a 2000 or newer tahoe, DO IT.

They are so much nicer. The 5.3L engine vs. the old 350 is debateable, but as long as you don't mind winding it up, the 5.3 has some good power.

Drive a 99 and then drive a 2000 or 01, and you will know what i am talking about.

Good luck!

 

[the beast]

I'm not overly fond of my 98.

I've had the coolant leak problem. Typical of that year Vortec from what I understand.

I've replaced 3 alternators, at the expense of Auto Zones lifetime warranty as well.

I bust my passenger side torsion bar mount on a yearly basis. I'll never buy another IFS truck again.

The thermal linear actuator for the front diff is also gone = no 4WD. Also a common problem with late 90's GM 4x's.

On the plus side, parts are fairly easy to find. Good luck.

 

[mini_mull]

I had a '99 tahoe from '01 to '05 and loved it. It was just the right size to drive in the city. Big enough to feel safe, but not overly hard to park. The guy that bought it from us claimed that '99 was supposed to be a great year with very few inherent problems, but I have no idea if he was right. I've heard a lot of bad stuff about the newer 5.3s, don't know how true it all is, but my sister had an '01 that sounded weird, she traded it in on a new one though, so I dunno if anything was actually wrong with it.

 

[thezentree]

The new 5.3s have a piston slap issue, but my dad's 03 XL has about 150k on the odometer, and has yet to have any major problems, so I don't think it's a huge issue.

I've got a 97 Yukon and I love it. I've got 155k on the ticker and it's still running strong, even after all the crap I've put it through. Mine did have an upper intake leak and some serious EFI system issues a while back when the fuel pump died and sent all kinda crap through the fuel system. That was not a cheap fix...