Marriage is going bye-bye, selling the Explorer, so the soon to be ex can buy what she wants.
I have located a 2005 Chevy Avalanche 1500 locally with 246k kms (about 150k miles). Body is decent (big deal up here), engine runs fine, interior is great. They are rated to tow 8200 lbs, which is way better than the Exploder at 5k. I know this will be a 4l60E.
Did these have DOD?
What say GRM?
Edit: Towing is a 00 Honda Civic Rally car on open trailer. Approx. 4500 lbs.
The 2003 model doesn't have DOD. Look at all the Suburban and Tahoe threads on this forum. The Avalanche is a Suburban with a bed.
The 4L60E is on "borrowed" time to everybody. Don't tow in OD and watch your temps (OBD2 dongle and Torque app) will get you everything you need. I love my Tahoe, want to step up to a Suburban 2500.
Didn't Pat (formerly patgizz) have one of these and suffer some pretty serious issues leading to a lot of upgrades and ultimately selling it off?
Trans vomiting at 118k on mine was because aamco didn't rebuild the pump when it puked at 92k and the pump exploded sending shrapnel through the case.
At 140k or so the rear axle exploded spectacularly. One carrier bearing just completely let go, dropping the carrier sideways and making the gears lose mesh. I limped it home in 4wd.
148k the front axle did weird things and i had to dissect the front axles in a parking lot in a downpour 1200 miles from home to get the truck to roll again.
At 150k the transfer case started clunking. At that point i traded it in for $500 more than i owed on a ram and have not looked back.
The body design is lovely. I used my fold down midgate for work. I miss the seats, mine was a Z71 LT and loaded to hell and back. The engine is great, however with about 6k of racecar and trailer coming north on 77 from the $2015 challenge we were in 2nd gear foot glued to the floor to keep 50mph. And it had the tow pack and optional 3.73 gearing. I now walk up the same mountain with more weight in 6th at 1500rpm going 65.
I did have every bit of 8000 pounds behind it once. I don't know where that rating came from but I wouldn't do it again.
Sorry (?) to hear about the marriage going south.
I'm sure there are healthy, happy examples of the Avalanche running around. Just like there are healthy happy Silverado 1500s and healthy happy Suburbans and Tahoes. All have the same basic running gear that usually performs perfectly competently. Unfortunately some just don't. I suspect if you could predict the good ones you'd be a rich man.
I may have towed 10k behind the wife's 04 Av once through the mountains to get back home....
Traded it in with 167k on it and nothing but normal wear parts needing replacement like ujoints, tie rods, front hubs, water pump gaskets, power steering pump, and rear brake line off the top of my head.
Avalanches have pretty low payload capacities (like 1322 lbs). You need to take that into account. It may be fine for your 4500lb load but tools and parts in the bed add up.
I mis-typed that - it's a 2005.
MINIzguy wrote: The 2003 model doesn't have DOD. Look at all the Suburban and Tahoe threads on this forum. The Avalanche is a Suburban with a bed. The 4L60E is on "borrowed" time to everybody. Don't tow in OD and watch your temps (OBD2 dongle and Torque app) will get you everything you need. I love my Tahoe, want to step up to a Suburban 2500.
2005 doesn't have afm/dod either. Mine was an 05.
Also the steering was completely worn out at 130k and the upper ball joints were impossible to remove without burning them out. Did all 4, tie rods and center link, pitman arm.
Patrick wrote: I did have every bit of 8000 pounds behind it once. I don't know where that rating came from but I wouldn't do it again.
Probably the same place that some new F-350s get their 40000lb GCVR.
The biggest issue with payload and towing with the Avalanche (the 1500 at least) is the marshmallow-soft rear coil springs. If they'd come with stiffer rear springs (read: less comfy ride), they'd be every bit as capable as the equivalent Silverado from what I can tell. The chassis doesn't seem any less beefy or anything.
4L60E/4.8 Silverado owner here.
The 4L60E tows just fine. Not sure why everybody is so worried about towing in D, my friend teaches GM transmission shop and said it's just fine. I had to add an OEM cooler to mine because it didn't come with the tow package. Trans temps were cool (~185) towing a miata and tandem axle trailer at ~75mph, which is very similar to what you need. You can monitor trans temps via OBD2.
What I will say is that the 3.42 rear end in mine leaves a lot to be desired. With 4.10s I bet I'd be smitten. Over 12mpg to NJMP for me.
Do you know what rear end is in it? With a 8200 tow rating I'm assuming its a 5.3 with 4.10s?
PS congrats on the divorce!
In reply to Blaise:
The usual towing in OD issue (unless it's a trans with a known mechanical weakness in OD) is that someone is running in OD and then the trans drops a gear on a hill. A lot of older 4 speed autos don't lock the converter in 3rd when OD is enabled, so now they're climbing the hill with the TC unlocked and end up cooking the trans due to excess heat.
I usually go with the rule of: if it stays in 4th steadily and it's not just short of the downshift point all the time, let it run in 4th. If it's dropping to 3rd, just lock out OD and run in 3rd.
Plus, if you're pushing it hard enough in 4th to keep the engine in accel fuel enrichment constantly, you'll burn about the same amount of fuel in 3rd at higher rpm but not in fuel enrichment (and it'll be easier on the trans as you won't be shifting as often and it'll feel more responsive too). Only downside at that point is more noise in 3rd.
With Tow/Haul, the converter stays locked. I specifically monitored TCC slip parameter to see whether this was the case due to comments on here about that issue. I really think GM did a good job with the T/H button. I left it in D and it was smart enough to hold it in 3rd when needed, it was never hunting between 3rd and 4th.
In reply to Blaise:
In that case, you're doing it right. Anyone who says you need to lock out OD for towing with that setup is just being paranoid.
seems like everyone I know with one has had issues with brake lines rotting out.
Apexcarver wrote: seems like everyone I know with one has had issues with brake lines rotting out.
Thats a early 00s GM truck/SUV issue, and an easy fix.
I loved my Avalanche. Towed great, camped in the bed (had the tent). Was great to have the bed when needed, but also covered lockable storage when you need that too. I would definitely consider getting another (even my wife liked it). As for upgrades for towing, trans cooler is a must, and I had airbags in my rear springs. Handled light trailers great, and you will have no issue towing your Civic. Just keep up on maintenance and you can enjoy it for many more years.
Oh I must say mine, a '13, was ball-less coming home from Charlottesville on I-64 coming into WV... Foot to the floor with trailer and Miata in tow, 2 adults made for a 55 max speed up the one mountain... and 220F trans temps.
Yeah, I think some of the 4l60E fear is overblown. Even in my older 1998 Silverado, I've towed ~6500 lbs with no problems for hours on end. I actually don't mind the 3.42 rear end on my truck - I leave it in 3rd, and at least on my truck, the torque converter still locks in 3rd just like it would in 4th. 70 mph is ~2600-2700 rpm, which is right in the meat of the torque curve with the 5.7. No tow-haul button on the older trucks.
I looked at avalanches before finding this truck, but couldn't find any that weren't rusty, beat up, or didn't have some kind of odd 4wd electrical issue. Don't know if the last one is a common problem, but a lot of the trucks I looked at had a 'service 4wd' error and the 4wd didn't work.
For 1/2ton and reliability my research shows that any of the 2007+ Toyota Tundras have the best reliability. The 5.7 can tow quite a bit as well
06 Sierra CC. I rebuilt the diff because of pinion whine under load (and an excuse to install an LSD) at 90k. It's towed to Nationals 4 times with the lightest load around 4k lbs on open wheel, heaviest about 5500 last trip. 4.8, 3.23 rear end, 4L65E. towed in 3rd out and back. 75mph was 2600rpm and it was stupid happy about that. averaged just shy of 15mpg round trip with the last leg running closer to 80.
Dad's 03 Silverado 5.3 the original trans puked at 201k. Had a friend rebuild, sun gears exploded at 216k. Mistakenly bought a rebuilt and installed. It died in 3k miles. Second was DOA, 3rd one leaked like a sieve because of improperly installed front pump. Had a shop try to fix it, deemed the case unusable and installed a 4th trans. NEVER EVER EVER buy a reman trans from Movarus. Been great since then. He has 230k on it now and they have no plans on ever getting rid of it.
In reply to Ranger50:
I had an issue close to that with the Sierra bringing home the vette. Just south of Branson, got caught behind a slow mover and ended up in 2nd gear pulling the 3200lb vette up hill at a steady 55mph with 4 large adults on an 1800lb open trailer. I made sure to look farther ahead from then on out.
Jaynen wrote: For 1/2ton and reliability my research shows that any of the 2007+ Toyota Tundras have the best reliability. The 5.7 can tow quite a bit as well
I have driven a 2011 Tundra while towing. A buddy has one that I borrowed. A few issues:
I may have found another option. More money but Chevy Express 2500 - 6.0L/4L80E and the towing package!
Blaise wrote: PS congrats on the divorce!
That's the spirit! This is going to cost me a lot of money but I might be able to retain my sanity.
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