05 Silverado Z71

[jaycount]

Probably buying one of these tomorrow. 82k, 4x4, 5.3L, towing pkg. Anybody pull with one? How do they do?

[cowtrimmer]

They are slugs

[haftafish22]

I have an 04' and till now it's been bullet proof. It's pulled well more weigh than rated for in Alaska, endured the cold of alaska, lived through the scorching heat here in oklahoma, and only had to work on absolutely nothing. Simple maintenance, brakes, new plugs, tires lol. it's a good one. Pulls great too. I get around 20+/- on the highway, and 12-14 pulling depending on conditions and speed.

Edit: I just rolled over 130k fyi

[C-riggVA]

I had an 04 and it did extremely well.
Mine actually ended up losing antifreeze and oil after a while and would smoke RANDOMLY on start up. I would start it, drive it a while, shut it off, drive it a while, then let it sit overnight and start it again in the morning to be sure it didnt have the same problem.

Also, If it is 4wd, i would run the switches through thier paces a few times to be sure it works ok, that is a common problem and I had it twice with mine.

I loved the truck, I would still have it if it werent for the smoking and oil/antifreeze loss.

[brandonb]

I have an '06, for a gas motor it pulls pretty well IMO. Starting out going up hill it's a little sluggish, no problem running 75-85 or so.

[jeff210]

I have an 01 with 205,000 miles. Rebuilt transmission, changed 4wd selector switch, need to change a/c switch panel. Other than those, it's been a great truck. It was starting to knock but I put some seafoam in the intake vacuum line and bought a programmer and it runs better and has more power than it ever had. Been using the bully dog programmer for 100,000 miles. Great so far.

[bronze_back_hunter]

Check the rear end for slack and damage. That is another common problem. Good trucks overall.

[stratos284]

I have an 04 with the 5.3 and 4:10 gears. it pulls great

[crawdadking]

I have an 06 with same set up and have many friends with same set up from 02 and up. None of us has never had any major problems.

[stratos195]

Its an '03. Same motor. I love it

[Igore67]

I got an 04, hills are a little hard on it, but still tows great.

[ol man river]

<table width="90%" cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 align=center><tr><td>Quote, originally posted by Igore67 &raquo;</td></tr><tr><td class="quote">I got an 04, hills are a little hard on it, but still tows great.</td></tr></table>

00 here.....bout the same ...been a good vehicle ....

so its a slug.....its paid for

[stratos4life]

I have a 05 avalanche with the 5.3 and it pulls my boat fine.

[jaycount]

Thanks for the advice guys, sounds like a good truck I close the loan tomorrow

[ReelDoc]

Jay - Make sure you check for the gear ratio and locking differentital BEFORE YOU BUY. Look on the RPO plate in the bottom of the glove box. My '04 Tahoe Z71 had the 5.3L with 3.73 gears and Locking Diff. Very good towing combo for the flat lands of KS.
Here are the common RPO codes to look for
GU5 = 3.08
GU6 = 3.42
GT4 = 3.73
GT5 = 4.10
G80 = Eaton Locking Differential

[JoeTPR]

I have that exact truck and it does just fine. I usually get around 12mpg towing my boat. The truck has all the power you will need, you just might have to put it to the floor to get it. Overall I'm happy with it.

[JerryT]

Check the gas cap!

[ol man river]

@jerry

[old373guy]

I have an 04 Z71 3:73 gears and 5.3.ltr motor. It pulls my Ranger just fine. Decent mpg when not towing. The only problems I have had is the gauges went wacky and were fixed under recall, and the intermediate steering shaft makes noise, not a safety issue just needs to be lubed. Other than those two items it has been perfect.

[jaycount]

Yeah the intermediate shaft clunks on this one. I was reading about that earlier