6.0 gmc? [Archive] - ATV Riders Forum

duke416ex

12-14-2005, 10:21 AM

Originally posted by MOFO
Is his truck a HD or does it have the Vortex MAX in a 1/2 ton?

I have been looking at a truck that is an 03 a500 hd. Atleast I think it is, it has 8 lug wheels but they said it was a 1/2 ton. What is the difference in these trucks and the 3/4 ton trucks, mainly wondering if they have the same suspension and stuff cause I will be doing some pulling with it and I want to have heavier suspension than a 1/2 ton.

bwamos

12-14-2005, 10:46 AM

Originally posted by duke416ex
I have been looking at a truck that is an 03 a500 hd. Atleast I think it is, it has 8 lug wheels but they said it was a 1/2 ton. What is the difference in these trucks and the 3/4 ton trucks, mainly wondering if they have the same suspension and stuff cause I will be doing some pulling with it and I want to have heavier suspension than a 1/2 ton.

Most likely heavier springs and axle.

TheLadiesMan

12-14-2005, 12:03 PM

gm makes some very nice trucks
i got a 2000 sierra 1500 z71, with the 5.3 in it. defently has alot of power. way more updated and powerful then the old 350's

my dad has a 2003 2500HD 4x4 wiht the 6.0 in it. nice truck, he gets about 11-13mpg in it. plenty of pulling power, and defently alot of power to be had in that engine.

i think the 1500hd's are a 1500 chassis, with 2500 suspension, and a 6.0. some are the vortec max which i think is a 5.3 HO

HiperEX

12-14-2005, 02:57 PM

i will be looking for a new truck sooner or later but right now i have a 92' 1/2 1500 with the 5.7 but im wondering how the 2500 hd's do on gas my truck now averages 12-14mpg

cjkranz

12-14-2005, 03:26 PM

Just a little advice from experience.. If your going to pull much (around or over 6,000 lbs), get a diesel. I have a trailer that weighs around 7,500-8,000 lbs and used the 2500 HD with the 6.0 motor in it.. I was pi**ed off!!! I don't know if it was a lemon, but my old '97 1/2 ton GMC pulled it just as good. It wouldn't pull it 70 mph down a flat highway, unless the wind was nill and no hills. We then bought a Duramax and LOVE IT! 70, 80, 90 MPH, up hills, in 30-40 mph winds, it pulls it all. Dodge and Ford also have good diesel motors. Alot of the diesels will also get around 20 mpg on the highway (empty) and should make 10-12 mpg pulling. I only mention this because I don't want anyone to spend as much $ as I did on a new 6.0 only to find out it didn't work any better then my 1/2 ton (which was paid for).

TWISTED

12-14-2005, 03:38 PM

Originally posted by cjkranz
Just a little advice from experience.. If your going to pull much (around or over 6,000 lbs), get a diesel. I have a trailer that weighs around 7,500-8,000 lbs and used the 2500 HD with the 6.0 motor in it.. I was pi**ed off!!! I don't know if it was a lemon, but my old '97 1/2 ton GMC pulled it just as good. It wouldn't pull it 70 mph down a flat highway, unless the wind was nill and no hills. We then bought a Duramax and LOVE IT! 70, 80, 90 MPH, up hills, in 30-40 mph winds, it pulls it all. Dodge and Ford also have good diesel motors. Alot of the diesels will also get around 20 mpg on the highway (empty) and should make 10-12 mpg pulling. I only mention this because I don't want anyone to spend as much $ as I did on a new 6.0 only to find out it didn't work any better then my 1/2 ton (which was paid for).

DEFINATELY!!!! I'm talking from experience too. Get a Duramax, you won't regret it!!!

Hondadudeehhhh

12-14-2005, 05:02 PM

Originally posted by walsh450rmx21
i have a 2002 chevy 2500hd and its got the 6.0L in it.
im not positive but i think its a 370.
not sure but ill check it out. its a great truck but i keep my foot in it too much and it eats up gas..

you're 15 :huh

MOFO

12-14-2005, 05:37 PM

Originally posted by TheLadiesMan
gm makes some very nice trucks
i got a 2000 sierra 1500 z71, with the 5.3 in it. defently has alot of power. way more updated and powerful then the old 350's

my dad has a 2003 2500HD 4x4 wiht the 6.0 in it. nice truck, he gets about 11-13mpg in it. plenty of pulling power, and defently alot of power to be had in that engine.

i think the 1500hd's are a 1500 chassis, with 2500 suspension, and a 6.0. some are the vortec max which i think is a 5.3 HO

FYI...the Vortec MAX option is a 6.0L in the 1/2 tons.

Toadz400

12-14-2005, 09:29 PM

My dad used to drive a Chevy 2500 HD extended cab 6.0L (it was his work truck, he works for MNDOT). He loved that truck, it rode nice, handled awesome, had great power, etc. Now the state switched over to Ford and he's got a F-250 HD, he's pissed off. I don't know what it has for an engine but he says it's gutless compared to the Chevy 6.0L and handles like crap, the interior is also cramped compared to the Chevy.

Oh well, we might have a chance at owning the truck. The state is putting up in a public auction so hopefully he'll get to grab it for cheap.

86350x

12-14-2005, 11:01 PM

I considered this since I hate that 5.3 motor. But it was just too hard on gas. Bob B, who we go snowmobiling with has a halfton (4 door) with the 6.0. Still likes to downshift and rev a bit too much like the 5.3 does. Its not as bad, but it does still do it. My 05 ford with the 5.4 pulls the same enclosed 4 place trailer better and it is rated at 40 less hp..:confused:

For a diesel, I'd get the duramax over a new ford(post 7.3 powerstrokes). The duramaxes are great trucks, and there is alot you can do to them.

Toadz400

12-14-2005, 11:31 PM

Originally posted by 86350x
My 05 ford with the 5.4 pulls the same enclosed 4 place trailer better and it is rated at 40 less hp..:confused:

How much torque does it put out though? Overall HP doesn't amount to anything if it doesn't have enough torque to get it up there. I know Ford's used to put out good amounts of torque but I don't know how they rate now.

86350x

12-15-2005, 12:26 AM

359 I think. The vortec max torque rating is like 379 I think. I think its mainly the computer trasmition setups. Both have the same rear end gear ratio I believe 373.

Anything lower then that and your mpg would be horrible. Especially towing on the interstate.

TWISTED

12-15-2005, 12:44 AM

Mine has a 4.10 rear. I love my truck, but hate the gas mileage.

MOFO

12-15-2005, 03:41 AM

Ummmm, the newer 6.0L WILL out pull the Ford 5.4L. No question about it... been there - done that....pulling a skid loader which out weights a few quads. Using a F-250 and a 2500HD in this example.

86350x

12-15-2005, 09:52 AM

My truck is configured to pull about 10,000 pounds. I am not sure what the max is set to pull. Just saying what we experienced for ourselves. My truck pulls the trailer better. His is an 03 I believe.

So all the die hard gm guys with the gm relatives can just save it. I am still a gm fan, but there half ton trucks need some work before I'll buy another one. I think that motor with a different computer and transmition setup could be alot better. It certainly should outpull a little 300hp 5.4. But I am not convinced so far.

I think the 5.3 is hopeless as far as a truck motor goes (towing/hauling) and they need to bring back the old 5.7 and make some changes. Btw, I pulled over 6,000 pounds from detriot to traverse city a little while ago with no problems what so ever. I'm willing to bet I end up towing more **** then the majority of the users on this board, and am just sharing my personal experiences with different trucks. We wouldn't even try pulling the 4 place with my brothers 5.3 equiped silverado. Pulling 2 snowmobiles or quads and it does OK, but thats about it.

parkers30

12-15-2005, 10:53 AM

we pull our 24' enclosed trailer loaded with 6 wheeler and all our stuff behind my dad's '04 half ton with 3.42, most of the ime out of OD but it will still pull OD on a flat section of highway, the trailer empty weights 3500 not including the cabinets etc...

Sorry John... I'm not with you on this one

86350x

12-15-2005, 10:58 AM

Originally posted by parkers30
we pull our 24' enclosed trailer loaded with 6 wheeler and all our stuff behind my dad's '04 half ton with 3.42, most of the ime out of OD but it will still pull OD on a flat section of highway, the trailer empty weights 3500 not including the cabinets etc...

Sorry John... I'm not with you on this one

Do you pull this in northern michigan and up to the up where all the hills are? Thats where the gm half tons do the down shift and rev. It seems like they drop down about 50 or more hp then slam down a gear and start to scream. All of em I have drove or ridden in have done this. Thats the main thing I didn't/don't like. It will pull ok on flatt ground, but in hills you can forget about overdrive.

If you have ever had your truck fail you, and leave you out in the cold with a spun brg like mine did when I was only pulling 2 snowmobiles. You would think about switching too.

parkers30

12-15-2005, 11:41 AM

I can understand where you are coming from, I am just saying that I don't agree

cjkranz

12-15-2005, 11:49 AM

Are all of the 1/2 tons only rated to pull 6,000 lbs max? I also noted the same thing with all of my 1/2 ton GM trucks. On open road they do OK, but when you hit a hill you swear your going to push a piston right through the hood. Just to be fair to the GM trucks, this all happened when I was pulling a 7000-8000 lbs trailer. It was too heavy for them. What is the 2500 HD with the 6.0 rated to pull?

Titanium

12-15-2005, 02:02 PM

Originally posted by 300EXer
my dad just got one and wondering if it was a new 350? or wut is it?
The 350 is 5.7 litres.

MOFO

12-15-2005, 04:38 PM

Originally posted by 86350x
Do you pull this in northern michigan and up to the up where all the hills are? Thats where the gm half tons do the down shift and rev. It seems like they drop down about 50 or more hp then slam down a gear and start to scream. All of em I have drove or ridden in have done this. Thats the main thing I didn't/don't like. It will pull ok on flatt ground, but in hills you can forget about overdrive.

If you have ever had your truck fail you, and leave you out in the cold with a spun brg like mine did when I was only pulling 2 snowmobiles. You would think about switching too.

Come to Pittsburgh, then talk about hills. :D

My personal truck has a 5.3 and I had ZERO problems pulling a large trailer loaded with 4 quads and 1 in the bed. This was my last setup I used while going to H/M in WV....now those are some HILLS. I have a 3.73 rear end and kept it out of OD. It pulled 65-70MPG...heck, I damn near got 14MPG pulling that trip too. I dont care what your driving, other than a diesel, you WONT be pullin in OD going through WV.

Sure, the motor rev's a little, but thats how they are built....we are not driving diesels that lug 1500-2000 RPMS. There are plenty of 5.3's out there with 100,000's of miles that are doing just fine.

To each their own....

86350x

12-15-2005, 10:47 PM

If you ever hit the rose city exit,you'll see what I'm talking about.

I just hope you have better luck with yours then I did with mine. 135,000 miles and it went bang. The old school 1994 and older ones go forever. There longevity and quality have gone down hill in a big way, plastic gaskets, piston slapp, flexy frames, tranny failures. I wish they'd get there act together. Because ten years from now, I'll buy the better truck again. My old one must have been built on a monday or friday then I suppose.

MOFO

12-16-2005, 03:28 AM

Originally posted by 86350x
If you ever hit the rose city exit,you'll see what I'm talking about.

I just hope you have better luck with yours then I did with mine. 135,000 miles and it went bang. The old school 1994 and older ones go forever. There longevity and quality have gone down hill in a big way, plastic gaskets, piston slapp, flexy frames, tranny failures. I wish they'd get there act together. Because ten years from now, I'll buy the better truck again. My old one must have been built on a monday or friday then I suppose.

Go push the front clip of your truck in with your hand (its ALL plastic). I know you can do it, a guy I work with had a new F-150 as a rental. Go push in the body panel with your finger, I know you can, I've done that. Look at all of the plastic trim around the door with huge rubber gaskets....I could go on and on.

The new Ford is a nice truck, but dont tear apart chevy for things the ford is worse at IMO. I also wish you luck with your truck. My old boss has a new F150 (loaded) and its been in the shop more than its been on the road. Our family has had fords in the past - one of the biggest reasons why you'll only see GM Trucks in our driveways today.

Now, we can go around and 'round with Chevy vs Ford arguments, but where will we get - nowhere. As I said before, to each their own. I was just providing the other side of the story. :devil:

86350x

12-16-2005, 07:39 AM

Yeah it has a plastic grill. So I have a big stainless steal push bar. Last time I checked the whole front end of a chevy is plastic too.

The whole door thing?

Wtf:confused: I don't have that problem with mine. And I have the rust proofing, so all of the lips were sealed up ect. Look how much beefier ford door hinges are then gm's are.

I take it that you won't admit that the new chevy's aren't made as well as the old ones were. There old trucks were excellent. If I was buying an old one to use it would be a chevy. 1994 and older. But ever since the makeover year, the ford is the better truck for half tons. More torque,power,fuel economy,9 times stronger frame. According to the truck test, the chevy was the slowest truck also. My ford feels slow, but its faster then a 5.3 equiped chevy. You wanna see real test numbers, I'll show you.

The new gm half tons suck, and aren't built as well as the old ones, that is my whole point mofo. Again, this is why chevy has been finishing dead last in the truck comparisons also. Because they are not as good as what the others keep updating and improving. So far I have 8 thousand miles, with no problems. Stop putting sugar in your buddy's gas tank:p

parkers30

12-16-2005, 09:12 AM

better gas mileage out of the ford?

sorry no dice, my dad is breaking 20 with the cruise set running 75+ for a whole tank and is averaging 18 on mostly highway some city mixed tanks by the way he has 87,000 on his 04 with no problems other than the factory stocks were to weak and bouncy, his favorite truck he has ever driven out of the 5 trucks he has had and daily driven for the last 17 years, every truck has been sold off with atleast 180,000 on the odo. the 1990 Ford was in the shop more than any other

Alberta_Qaudin

12-16-2005, 09:52 AM

k from my experience working in the oils patch in canada here is my input.......for torque from a desile the chevy duramax has the ford beat, but the dodge with the manual tranny beats them both, realiability so far i'de say they're all the same accept the fords and dodge's are f***in rattle boxed, i've seen the fenders rattle right off a dadge on a rough road, chevy by far has the superior ride and handling, but fords can turn on a dime......milage is soemthing i never really worried about as gas is payed but with my tank and slip tank i get get in the area of 1400km's (dont know what that is in miles but about 800 i assume)

desil vs. gas......all i can say is that we had all chevy 6L power plants before, and didnt run into all that many problems with them, we switched to chev desil to save $ and that backfired. you will love a duramax untill you blow some injectors, at somewhere around 4000 a piece + labor, and i cant count on both hands how many trucks we have had all or atleast some of the injectors go, from there we went to ford power stroke-offs again injectors, and tranny problems and as i said before they'll rattle yer fillings out. so to the ford 5.7's we went......cant even compare to the chevy 6L in any way, the chevy runs smoother, pulls harder, and i dont see much of a diff in feul economy especially when the 5.7 is hauling any weight. NOW THAT SAID, power award goes to the ford V10 dualy, that is pulling power right there and you can kicker sideways on dry pavement if ya feel the need and try hard enough.

no i know people will dissagree with all of this, but let me say, our trucks are used to haul drill bits and tools to oil and gas rigs, 90% of the time these truck will have in the area of 2000-3500/4000 lbs in the box running on rough graven and mud roads and the guy who drive arent easy on em beins they dont pay for s*** if anything goes wrong. so this is my view from a canadian cold *** work environment prespective

Toadz400

12-16-2005, 10:22 PM

Originally posted by 86350x
I think the 5.3 is hopeless as far as a truck motor goes (towing/hauling) and they need to bring back the old 5.7 and make some changes. Btw, I pulled over 6,000 pounds from detriot to traverse city a little while ago with no problems what so ever. I'm willing to bet I end up towing more **** then the majority of the users on this board, and am just sharing my personal experiences with different trucks. We wouldn't even try pulling the 4 place with my brothers 5.3 equiped silverado. Pulling 2 snowmobiles or quads and it does OK, but thats about it.

I don't think you're giving the 5.3 as much credit as it deserves.

Just 2 quads and it does OK, but that's about it?? Come on...It's a V8.

I've pulled 3 quads with my 2.2L 4 Cylinder! That did OK. Had to drop it down into 3rd going up hills and I even pulled 5th gear on flats, and this only puts out 130 ft-lbs of torque (brand new, the engine has 120k on it so I'm sure it's less). I have also pulled 5 quads on a 23' trailer (not the lightest...) and it pulled it just fine. Of course it's not going to stay in OD going up a hill, but it pulled OD just fine on flat surfaces and only had to drop down into D going up hills and drop into 2nd on steeper hills. This was a '90 Chevy 5.3 that has a very tired engine.

86350x

12-19-2005, 10:12 PM

I thought the 1990 had the 5.7???

Look I like the old ones, if I was buying an older truck, it would be a chevy. I believe I said that earlier. The older ones run forever, and were built much sturdier in from a mechanical standpoint.

Toadz400

12-19-2005, 10:22 PM

Originally posted by 86350x
I thought the 1990 had the 5.7???

Look I like the old ones, if I was buying an older truck, it would be a chevy. I believe I said that earlier. The older ones run forever, and were built much sturdier in from a mechanical standpoint.

Yea sorry about that I skipped past most of the posts, I just was replying to your post about the 5.3's being pretty much worthless.

Actually I take back the 1990 part, I believe it was a '92. The engine has well over 200k miles on it and it's in desperate need of a rebuild, but it pulled that 23' trailer with 5 quads no problem.

Our family is GM, we've owned all 3 and I doubt I'll ever switch over to Ford or Dodge, it'll be Ford way before Dodge though. Also, older GM's are great trucks, my next truck will probably be an older Chevy and I'll just rebuild the engine myself.

86350x

12-19-2005, 10:32 PM

till 98 I believe they all had the 5.7 other then bigger or smaller engine options. 98 was the first year of the 5.3. I will never be a fan of the newer 5.3's. Unless some major changes are made. Being stranded in the cold has truametized me. I get nervous anytime I tow with a gas powered gm truck now. Just waiting for that oil pressure guage to drop everytime it shifts.

Older chevey motors are outstanding. And would be my first choice for a hotrod. But for towing hauling, ya know real truck stuff. A newer 5.3 is way down on the list. The only other(newer) half ton I'd try other the the ford(wich I bought) is the nissan titan. I didn't get to drive one, but know its the fastest truck. And did very well in the tests. I figured nobody would want to work on it if it was something major other then a dealership. And it might take a while to get parts. And, the people in detriot wouldn't like me much either.

Toadz400

12-20-2005, 07:45 AM

I think you just had some major problems with your truck. Are you sure you didn't have a lemon or something of that nature? We have never had problems with any of our Chevy's, towing or driving in the cold. Why are you afraid of being stranded in the cold? I think something was majorly wrong with your truck if it was making you feel that way.

86350x

12-20-2005, 10:15 PM

Originally posted by Toadz400
I think you just had some major problems with your truck. Are you sure you didn't have a lemon or something of that nature? We have never had problems with any of our Chevy's, towing or driving in the cold. Why are you afraid of being stranded in the cold? I think something was majorly wrong with your truck if it was making you feel that way.

I blew 2 intake gaskets. But caught it right away on both occasions. The newer vortec motors have a cheap **** intake gasket from the factory. The only real fix is an aftermarket gasket from somone like carqueast because it has a crush bar in it so you can torque it down more. I put one on my factory rebuilt motor (wish also gets better mpg, and has more power then the factory motor ever did) before I sold the truck to my dad. I changed the oil every 3000 or before and only used valvoline and car quest (wix) oil filters. Changed the transmition fliud every 30,000 air filter every 15,000. Ran 89 octane gas pretty much all the time. Kept it above half a tank, and changed the fuel filter a couple of times a year. I kept up everything on the truck, and in no way was this major mechanical failure my fault.

Being stranded in the cold was embarassing, a waist of a vacation day. A cancelled snowmobile trip, and something I hope none of you have to experience. You have the tougher older chevy's. I had a newer pos. I hope the factory rebuilt tranny (wich went out at 70k) and the factory rebuilt motor hold up for my dad. I took as good of care of that ****box as I possibly could.

TheLadiesMan

12-20-2005, 10:44 PM

Originally posted by MOFO
FYI...the Vortec MAX option is a 6.0L in the 1/2 tons.

thanks for correcting me. i wasn't exactly sure.

Toadz400

12-20-2005, 11:09 PM

Originally posted by 86350x
Being stranded in the cold was embarassing, a waist of a vacation day. A cancelled snowmobile trip, and something I hope none of you have to experience. You have the tougher older chevy's. I had a newer pos. I hope the factory rebuilt tranny (wich went out at 70k) and the factory rebuilt motor hold up for my dad. I took as good of care of that ****box as I possibly could.

Care to explain what happened?:confused:

duke416ex

12-21-2005, 07:11 AM

5.3 motors started in the 99 models, this was the new body style, you could also buy the old bodystyle that year and you could get either style with a 350, but not many of the new style trucks had them. If it was an 88-99 model truck it either had a 5.0(305) or a 5.7(350)

I can see where people are coming from on both sides, I like chevys, they are good trucks, and have the best ride of the trucks out now. The vortecs motors are good motors, but have problems when they get miles on them, I have one right now that has 172000 on it and is a 97 model. This arguement can go either way, just don't always think just because your truck or someone you know is having trouble all of that brand is. Some will tear up no matter how good you take care of them and others will go forever no matter what.

Toadz400

12-21-2005, 07:35 AM

Our Vortech has 206,000 miles on it and still running strong. Only problem we've had is the EGR keeps getting plugged up, but it's a stupid thing to have anyway...damn hippies.

Correction to my previous posts: The truck I drove was a 5.0L 305. But it still pulled that trailer with 5 quads no problem. Don't know why a 5.3L would have more trouble than that?

And it's not true that 99 was the first year Chevy put the 5.3L into one of their trucks, we've had a truck from either the 70's or 80's that came with the 5.3L in it and I don't believe it was swapped out.

86350x

12-21-2005, 08:00 AM

Originally posted by Toadz400
Care to explain what happened?:confused:

I was towing a trailer(2 snowmobiles), had a buddy and our gear in the truck. The oil pressure dropped, and it sounded like a diesel right after I merged on the free way. So I chugged up the linwood exit, shut it off and coasted into the gastation. The lower end went kaboom after 135,000 miles.

My egr valve also clogged up on me, the trick is to get a mechanics one, that has a wire mesh gasket in it. The old 5.3's are better then the new ones! There are some differences! I already went over this stuff earlier. If you drive an older one keep it and drive it, they are good reliable trucks. The newer ones are not as GOOD!

Our family tractor puller has a built up 5.3 that makes over 500hp. But this is old school, I'll post a pic for ya.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/oldbanshee/100_3315.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/oldbanshee/100_3313.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/oldbanshee/100_3316.jpg

86350x

12-21-2005, 09:55 AM

I forgot to add that we also had a chevelle malibu that ran 11.970's n the 1/4 mile wich also started out as a 5.3 And it was a true street car, everything was there, and that was also on street tires, not slicks.

Neither one of these motors are now 5.3's though:devil:

Toadz400

12-23-2005, 07:09 PM

Nice....lawn tractor?:huh Sweet though.

That sucks though about the 5.3 going out on you, we have never had bad luck with any of our Chevy's or known anyone around here that has had trouble.

As for the EGR valve...don't get me started about that useless piece of crap, that stupid device just got me late to work today because my Bravada killed on me. I've had problems with it before, but we just usually left it unplugged. Do you know of anyone that makes a block-off for it?