questions on the chevy 4.8

[hotrodbelair]

a friend of mine is selling a 02 chevy silverado and is giving me a realy good deal on it since i rolled my truck a month ago im realy interested in this truck cause the price is just right. the only problem is its a 4.8 v8. i got to pull a 7x14 inclosed trailer with 2 quads, tools, and gear. if i wasnt pullin a trailer id buy this truck in a heartbeat. i just figure ask around and see if anybody on here ever dealt with them.

[mineralgrey01gt]

my friend has one, he used to haul his g/f's 6x12 enclosed trailer while she was racing go karts, he would also haul around his trans am with it. Never gave him problems, but the trannys in those trucks go out easily so be careful with it

[Which 450?]

trannys go easy? I bet your hear of one that the tranny went out of and all of a sudden they are junk.

What was your truck you had before? the 4.8 isnt that powerful of an engine compared to the 5.3 and the 6.0. But I dont know what you are comparing it to. Nonetheless you will have no problem pulling the trailer, you will feel it im sure, but shouldnt have a problem. If my '04 crew cab 5.3 can pull 4 big *** utes, with 4 big *** guys, and enough supplies for a week no problem, you wont have a problem hauling what you are.

[hotrodbelair]

the truck i use to have was a 98 silverado 1500 with the 350 vortec bone stock only a add a leaf, would throw some pics of it after the wreck but camera took a dive. also the whole tranny issue ive heard of people having tranny problems thats mostly cause they tow heavy loads with it in overdrive. my old silverado i always had it in third while pullin the trailer. she also just rolled over 180k miles before i totaled it.

[Rich250RRacer]

The 4.8, 5.3, and 6.0 are great motors, there are a couple things to be aware of on the older ones (99-03). Keep an eye on the oil drain plug when you drain the oil, it's magnetic, and if you see little needles stuck to it, you have bearings coming apart in the rocker arms. Alot of the earlier motors will knock on start up (some VERY loudly), which it may have done from when it had as little as 100 miles on it. The oil pick-up is not pressed or welded to the pump like the original small blocks, it bolts on with an o-ring to seal it. It seems these o-rings were distorted or not seated properly when assembled, which causes the oil system to suck air and cavitate, creating the knock. It usually goes away in a minute or two. I believe there's a GM service bulletin on the rocker arms, but the o-ring problem was listed in a few engine machine shop trade publications. I took my '01 GMC (still under warranty) to the dealer with a copy of the article, but they wouldn't do anything about it. GM considers it "normal" engine noise. Normal or not, it's not a pleasant sound.

[underpowered]

they are great motors, and will have no problem pulling your trailer.

teh 4.8,5.3, and 6.0 are all LS1 based engines and share many parts.

and as for weak trannies, yeah the 4l60e is not the strongest tranny out there, but usually last a while. mine has 120k on it, with not troubles. and it sees a trailer and heavy loads quite often.

[mineralgrey01gt]

Originally posted by Which 450?
trannys go easy? I bet your hear of one that the tranny went out of and all of a sudden they are junk.




actually i have 9 friends with them and all of their trannys went out. That 4L60E or whatever tranny is in them is absoulte junk, sorry but its the truth. The OP asked for an opinion and I gave it to him

[hotrodbelair]

yea i know what your saying about the trannys ive seen my fair share have problems i just got lucky with my truck just over 180k on my old one with the same tranny and motor never rebuilt. i might be goin to test drive the truck this weekend might bring it over here and hook it up to the trailer just to see for myself how well it pulls it.

[underpowered]

Originally posted by mineralgrey01gt
actually i have 9 friends with them and all of their trannys went out. That 4L60E or whatever tranny is in them is absoulte junk, sorry but its the truth. The OP asked for an opinion and I gave it to him

well everyones tranny eventually goes out.

the 4l60e is actually a decent tranny, my truck has 120k, my dads has 170, my bros has 150. all three with original motor and tranny.

did your friends take care of them? you do realize you are not supposed to tow anythingin OD. and how often was the fluid changed, if ever? Preventative maint. goes a long way. sure, they are junk if not taken care of, but so is anything else.

[hotrodbelair]

yea most of the ones i seen go out has been linked to some what of abuse that lead to them later on tranny goin out. my truck never realy has been beat, it had some heavy loads pullin trailers of fertilizer some times hauling wood for my dad always kept up on maintence.

[JJs450r]

i have the 4.8 in my truck and personally id rather just have the 5.3 my 4.8 sucks down gas pulling a 6x12 and thats with a chip only good thing is i get about 25 mpg not pulling a trailer

[mineralgrey01gt]

Originally posted by underpowered
well everyones tranny eventually goes out.

the 4l60e is actually a decent tranny, my truck has 120k, my dads has 170, my bros has 150. all three with original motor and tranny.

did your friends take care of them? you do realize you are not supposed to tow anythingin OD. and how often was the fluid changed, if ever? Preventative maint. goes a long way. sure, they are junk if not taken care of, but so is anything else.

I do know of a few people that havent had any problems with theirs.

Now some of my friends do drag race with the trannys, well 3 of them. One has a single cab chevy with a LS1 (runs 11.90's) Another has a single cab with a 6.0 in it (runs 12.00's) and the other one has a single cab Z71 (runs 12.50's). There's are all built and still giving them problems but thats common with what they do with them.

The other friends I have just normal drive and theirs have messed up. I have no clue what the problem is with them but they did give them problems.

[toomeyshee87]

Originally posted by JJs450r
i have the 4.8 in my truck and personally id rather just have the 5.3 my 4.8 sucks down gas pulling a 6x12 and thats with a chip only good thing is i get about 25 mpg not pulling a trailer

25 mpg on a trip maybe. i could only get 17 with my 5.3 on a 9 hr trip and 14-15 in normal driving so i doubt a 4.8 would get that much better

[Moded86R]

My mom drives a 2000 chevy extended cab.It's 4wd with the 4.8/auto in it.

It has over 220,000 on it right now and the tranny hasn't given her problems yet.It does shift weird and probably won't last a whole lot longer.She doesn't abuse the truck and doesn't tow anything.Pretty easy life.

I have a 2003 chevy z-71.It has the 5.3 with a automatic in it.Right now it only has 55,000 on it.So I have no clue about the reliabilty.I know that truck has plenty of power though.

I do HATE the way it shifts.If you want to pass someone or make it downshift you have to literally put it all the way to floor.I don't like running it that hard.It will just take off a little harder and not downshift.It's not that it don't have the power.

That is why I like my 5 speed in my little s-10.I can choose when it shifts.Much better that way!

[underpowered]

Originally posted by Moded86R
My mom drives a 2000 chevy extended cab.It's 4wd with the 4.8/auto in it.

It has over 220,000 on it right now and the tranny hasn't given her problems yet.It does shift weird and probably won't last a whole lot longer.She doesn't abuse the truck and doesn't tow anything.Pretty easy life.

I have a 2003 chevy z-71.It has the 5.3 with a automatic in it.Right now it only has 55,000 on it.So I have no clue about the reliabilty.I know that truck has plenty of power though.

I do HATE the way it shifts.If you want to pass someone or make it downshift you have to literally put it all the way to floor.I don't like running it that hard.It will just take off a little harder and not downshift.It's not that it don't have the power.

That is why I like my 5 speed in my little s-10.I can choose when it shifts.Much better that way!

you could have the computer re-tuned for better shift points. also get a little more power and milage while you are at it too.

but only 55k on a 2003 Z71? my 2003 Z71 just rolled over 120k lol

[ZSK]

When I was recently truck shopping I drove every V8 Chevy/GMC had to offer in 1/2 and 3/4 ton trucks. The 4.8 and 5.3's were not impressive at all and the 4.8 felt no better than the 4.0 that was in my Ranger. The 6.0 and 8.1's felt great in the 3/4 ton trucks but the mileage wouldn't have been great at all.

[Moded86R]

Yeah I bought it in december with 48,000 on it.I got a pretty good deal.Paid 16,500 for it.

ZSk I don't know what you are talking about.I have a 1999 s-10 with a 4.3/speed.(Pretty much stock but optioned right)I don't even worry when I line up with a 4.0 ranger.There slow and get bad gas mileage.My z-71 has alot more power than my s-10.

A stock 5.3 makes around 285-300hp.A 6.0 makes around 340-360hp.

Yeah I agree the 4.8's are weak.So far my mom's has been a great motor.

[ZSK]

Originally posted by Moded86R
Yeah I bought it in december with 48,000 on it.I got a pretty good deal.Paid 16,500 for it.

ZSk I don't know what you are talking about.I have a 1999 s-10 with a 4.3/speed.(Pretty much stock but optioned right)I don't even worry when I line up with a 4.0 ranger.There slow and get bad gas mileage.My z-71 has alot more power than my s-10.

A stock 5.3 makes around 285-300hp.A 6.0 makes around 340-360hp.

Yeah I agree the 4.8's are weak.So far my mom's has been a great motor.

I didn't say the 5.3 was slow compared to my Ranger, I just wasn't that impressed with it in a half ton truck I thought it would be quicker it was probably just the gearing.

What exactley is bad mileage? My Ranger would get a consistant 24 mpg when I was commuting to classes and I could still hook 4000lbs behind it and be ok.

If I was to buy a Chevy or GMC it would have to have the 6.0 to be enough for me in that chassis. The new 6.0 really looks tempting compared to previous years.

[JJs450r]

Originally posted by toomeyshee87
25 mpg on a trip maybe. i could only get 17 with my 5.3 on a 9 hr trip and 14-15 in normal driving so i doubt a 4.8 would get that much better

i got 25 high way and around 16-20 in town it also had a chip as well

[toomeyshee87]

Originally posted by JJs450r
i got 25 high way and around 16-20 in town it also had a chip as well

really? that was with the 4.8 correct?

[quad9]

i work for gm, and we hardly ever have problems with the newer 4l60e trannys. and if there is a problem it is from the owner pulling with it in overdrive.

i have a 07 4x4 crew cab with a 4.8 w 3:42 gears and i have pulled a 7x14 enclosed trailer. it was loaded pretty heavy, and it was a windy day. and yes it only got 10mpg. but a 3/4 with a 6.0 engine would do that on every day driving.

[hotrodbelair]

is the 4.8 thats in your 07 any different than what is in the 02 like anything with the engine that is redisigned? thanks for all the info guys


Originally posted by quad9
i work for gm, and we hardly ever have problems with the newer 4l60e trannys. and if there is a problem it is from the owner pulling with it in overdrive.

i have a 07 4x4 crew cab with a 4.8 w 3:42 gears and i have pulled a 7x14 enclosed trailer. it was loaded pretty heavy, and it was a windy day. and yes it only got 10mpg. but a 3/4 with a 6.0 engine would do that on every day driving.

[quad9]

yea, mine has the cylinder deativation and it has more hp than the earlyer engines

[JJs450r]

Originally posted by toomeyshee87
really? that was with the 4.8 correct?

ya chip was probably my best investment in my truck

[toomeyshee87]

Originally posted by JJs450r
ya chip was probably my best investment in my truck

yeah im thinking i should get a chip also. i have a 6.0 but ill do almost anything to boost my mileage

[hotrodbelair]

yea i might be gettin this truck do you think 8500 is worth for an 02 silverado with the 4.8 ext cab shortbox very well taken care of almost 130k miles on it?

[underpowered]

4x4?

that is an ok deal, not a great deal, but i would pay that for it.

[hotrodbelair]

haha yea forgot one of the most important parts yea its 4x4.
found an 02 with 5.3 100k ext cab shortbox 4x4 for $10k.