The King - a 2002 GMC Yukon XL... 496 CI of STILL not an LS!

ck80

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So, after having previously locked down a 454 4wd gmt400 series burb to be a tow pig, I've still kept an eye out off and on for what I'd really wanted... an 8.1L 4x4 truck.

Wasn't going to jinx things by announcing earlier, but Thursday gave a card deposit over the phone and this morning formally pulled the trigger and completed the paperwork on a 2002 GMC Yukon XL.

I was able to get away with it by rationalizing that it would nominally be the wife's spare vehicle to use, and how much teaching supplies she could load in and out without needing to deal with tailgates - and drive herself. So... add another project truck to the list of running backlogs.

Basic specs: dark blue paint, about 120k miles. 8.1L, 4l80e, 4x4, 4.10s, g80. Leather. Dual zone and rear climate control. Power heated seats and entertainment system. Brake controller, rear tow hitch, front tow hitch. Running boards. Power adjustable tow mirrors.. Still has working factory cd and cassette players. Barn doors. Oversize towing airbox, trans oil cooler. Autoride suspension. Has an exhaust upgrade of some sort. Came with a pile of paperwork I really need to read up on because the selling dealer didn't know what they had.

Was traded in and listed afternoon of March 3rd, not even cleaned/detailed. Morning of the 4th I was giving them a phone deposit on it. @ $5k I think they thought it was just another 20 yr old suv, one time where the "no haggle" automated pricing of a national chain works for the little guy!

Yes, I paid their full price, and yes, I paid their stupid doc fee... but I also got full weathertech mats for front, middle, rear, and cargo areas that are covering rip/wear/stain free dash.

Overall looks to have been pretty well cared for, down to having a set of michellins on it currently at about 70% tread.

It's a good daily driver/10 footer, for now. It has some mild gmt800 trim and rust issues starting owing to having been an Arkansas and Memphis TN area truck for many years.

I'd prefer the mid row captains buckets, but the bench is easier to fold down for the wife anyways. Also a few other little options I'd like, but, how picky can you be on a 20 year old truck anyways?

My guess from watching these the last year or so is I could wait for the title and slap 12-14k on it fairly easy as a flip. - not that I would, just making the point about the stupid money they seem to be bringing.

So far, the drive from Memphis to the bama/Georgia line has seen a somewhat unexpected 14mpg hwy @75mph.

Here's a pic of it with the chase car when we stopped to eat. Keeping with the theme the last 5 years, it's another blue one.


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Texas82GP

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Nice buy. Congratulations again.
 
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69hurstolds

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That's pretty decent mileage for that beast. It's probably only got another 100K or so left in it as is. :)
 
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Yeah, the 8.1 is kind of a weird motor that has some issues as well but what doesn't. That is killer mileage for that rig and speed. What size tires are on that unit? I say you got a hell of a deal. Trucks are insanely priced here as well.
 
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64nailhead

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Nice pick up. The 8.1 makes gobs of low end grunt.

I have to ask about the thread title though, are you thinking the anti LS consortium will disown you if you own something with 8 inj, 8 coil packs and looks like an overgrown LS?
 
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ck80

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Nice buy. Congratulations again.
And thanks again. I got tired of looking at 10k to 15k versions that would be sold within a days... although I guess I did that with this one.

It hasn't gotten the bugout hillbilly treatment which is nice.
That's pretty decent mileage for that beast. It's probably only got another 100K or so left in it as is. :)
That's what I figure. I see lots of examples with 250-320k running around, and I'm guessing that 120k miles in aside from wear items it's "a good motor"... ones with trouble seemed to act up within 40-50k
Yeah, the 8.1 is kind of a weird motor that has some issues as well but what doesn't. That is killer mileage for that rig and speed. What size tires are on that unit? I say you got a hell of a deal. Trucks are insanely priced here as well.
What I like is in development testing the design had to run 300 non stop cycles of 55 min wot followed by 15 min idle, then repeat until it passed 300 times.

Right now it's got 265/75/16 defender ltx m/s... Basically the successor to the ltx m/s 2 I used to put on my trucks so for once I don't need to replace them immediately.

Major torture test, partly due to its boating use
i had no idea that was available,nice job.
Thanks. Despite capabilities it appeared dealers discouraged the ordering of the motor. It does well in such a heavy beast if you keep your foot out of it, and the gearing/tires seem to work well in the power band sticking 2k-2200rpm around speed limit driving
Nice pick up. The 8.1 makes gobs of low end grunt.

I have to ask about the thread title though, are you thinking the anti LS consortium will disown you if you own something with 8 inj, 8 coil packs and looks like an overgrown LS?
Or are you saying the ls engines try to imitate this beast wishing they could cpme.close to its on demand instant torque? :ROFLMAO:
 
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ck80

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5k?! Hell yeah! While a 454 can run forever, an 8.1 will run forever. Good grab. I am curious how it landed itself a trip to the dyno?
Me too. The dealer had pulled that paperwork out of a stack of about an inch of stuff. Mostly looks like oil changes and the like with a quick flip but haven't gone through it all.

It's also been a long time since I saw a front mount tow hitch?

It's also had a lot of owners. I'd guess fuel mileage being a concern.

Started out as a 3yr 8k mile lease in MI. Second owner at 8500miles was in PA, and they only drove it 25k in 3 more years. That followed to Memphis from 08 to 16 and cracked 95k miles. Finally it was just over the border in Arkansas to get to the 120k for its last 5 years.

Back in 2016 it had some minor body/paint work, I can see overspray on the barn door seal, but I figure if the repair isn't externally noticeable by now it was a decent job.

That early history concerned me, rustwise, but it was such low mileage In guess it only saw a little salt. Underneath was better than my almost only summer driven New England cars, and even many Georgia gmt800s seem to pick up some rust here and there.

I figure nice interior and the 120k mile running gear are worth the price, especially since this will help break in the better half on the big block. When we met back in '09 she drove a 300k++ mile accord hand-me-down that made 0-60 in 20 something seconds. She moved into a firebird, then a late model mustang, now we're going to get her used to a big block truck. Next... I dunno, I'll get creative. She does like true (pre-1970) cadillacs...
 

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