Learn me first gen Chevrolet Avalanche.

Because I just bought one. 
 

We needed an occasional second car and probably a tow pig in our future, but the price of used trucks is insane right now. We managed to get a 2004 Chevy avalanche yesterday for $3400, high miles but runs strong, a bit of rust which is normal for Cleveland, needs a few little things but nothing major. 
 

The google tells me that this is basically a suburban with the back turned into a truck bed, and the 5.3 LS in it will last forever with regular maintenance. Other than the gas mileage it seems like a great vehicle. 
 

Since new front brakes are in the near future anyways I thought I would ask here: are there any bolt-on upgrades I can snag from a junkyard? Anything else I should grab while I'm in said junkyard? Also, anything else I should know?

I daily drove an 03 for 18 months.  It was cheap and I needed a vehicle after my E28 was totalled. 

I strongly disliked it but that was more because it was the antithesis of what I value in a car rather than its faults. I managed 9mpg average with my in town, short trip driving. 

The actuator on the transfer case went out and stuck it in 4wd for months without me knowing,  the light on the dash said 2wd. It drove poorly and wore out the tires quickly before I realized what was going on. 

There was a ventilation fan above the headliner that buzzed constantly that drove me batty and the rearward visibility was terrible. 

It did go down the freeway wonderfully.  Smooth, quiet and comfortable.  

In reply to Trent :

That was probably a speaker in the headliner. Common issue.

Gmt 900 front brakes are bolt on with 17" or larger wheels

Good rotors, pads, calipers, and proper bleeding are all you should really need.

The dealer level water leak video is on YouTube probably good viewing

Non 2500 ones have surprisingly low payload capacity, ~1320lbs for 4WD.  That's not to say they won't handle more, but you have to watch when you are hauling near their towing capacity that you don't overload the vehicle.  

2004 Avalache.  Is displacement on demand a "feature" on that years 5.3L?

Rode to work on a job in AZ in one. He got it due to the p. o. Not wanting to put the 3rd rear end in it. Derick told me known problem the pickups did not have. Trouble free for him for 2 years. I believe his was AWD, not 4x4 (huge difference in some circumstances)  I assumed all the low gvrw ones were. 
Another friend was needing a tow pig, and best bang for the buck he found at that time was a 8.1, RWD only 2500 avalanche. Apparently very rare - we didn't even know till then that that made any 2wd! He loves it for his needs. Not a fan of the styling, but found the versatility a nice plus. 

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

It was apparently the cabin temperature sensor. Another well known issue

In reply to John Welsh :

No, I believe that started two years later

In case anyone searches for this later, I'll post a few links.

GMT900 front brakes are 13", versus GTM800 front brakes at 12" Both trucks have 13" rear brakes.

https://www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com/cafcna/index.php?threads/gmt800-to-gmt900-brake-upgrade-w-pictures.122524/

Swap looks fairly straightforward, and users report it's an excellent upgrade. I'll have to raid some local junkyards and check for whatever I can get that will swap over to the older truck. 

Thanks for all the replies, guys. A front brake upgrade would be excellent, as this will likely be towing a travel trailer 2 years in the future. 

Everyone I know that had one has had to replace most of the brake lines due to corrosion and leaks. 

In reply to Apexcarver :

An '04 probably had it done five years ago, at least.

Dorman sells a complete stainless line set for only $200ish.  And it actually fits.  Installing a line rack on one of these is pretty easy once you remove the left inner fender and move some wiring harness out of the way, it all gets loaded over the frame through the wheelwell.  Have done... many.  Only a couple of the Dorman sets, usually it was making new lines by hand with poly coated line after removing the old lines intact to be duplicated on the ground, before the Dorman kit was available.

In reply to Pete. (l33t FS) :

Yeah, most likely already done by now, still worth a mention to look at how it was done. Factory Gm brake lines of that era are steaming garbage.

We bought an '02 Z71 brand new, still going strong. We still love it, daily driven. 15mpg normal, highest ever was 21. Replaced the long brake line, the above-mentioned temp sensor because I smashed it, the transmission at 210k, fuel pump ages ago. Ujoints have been a pain. Rear brake pads wear out twice as fast as the front. DRL sockets replaced like many GM products, we use LEDs now, no problem. 

The ride and comfort is great, it handles well for 5700 lbs. Tows well up to 5k or so. Rust is getting ours; once it started, it's been rapidly devouring it.

5 stars, would buy again.

Why didn't i know you are local?

i had an 05.  It was very nice for what it was, but the steering stuff needed rebuilt way too early for my tastes and the diff exploded spectacularly.  Rear track bar bushings are made of play-doh and the QA1 tubular bar was cheaper than a gm one.  I think a lot of the issues with mine were related to gm rating it to tow 8600 pounds and I regularly got close, and it really hated that

Check the fluid level in the transfer case. NP246, known for the "pump rub" issue. It's apparently not a terrible fix, and one I am looking at doing preventatively on my Suburban.

The 1500 means you have the 8.25 front diff and the 10 bolt 8.6 rear end. They don't handle abuse all that well, but they get the job done for most people. The front diff is 2 pinion and can fail if you go from spinning tires to sudden grip. The rear is usually killed by heat from being overloaded or towing something with a lot of drag for long periods on the highway. I've personally stopped just short of killing one from being over payload/axle weight - ate the axle shafts and the R&P was excessively worn and noisy. If it has the G80 locker in it, it tends to blow up if you light a tire up and then it locks on pavement/grippy surfaces. Otherwise I think it's actually a decent diff if you avoid that.

Steering parts will probably have to be replaced regularly. It is just the nature of GMT800s. The pitman and idler arms and idler arm support are usually the main problem.

Patrick said:

Why didn't i know you are local?

 

i had an 05.  It was very nice for what it was, but the steering stuff needed rebuilt way too early for my tastes and the diff exploded spectacularly.  Rear track bar bushings are made of play-doh and the QA1 tubular bar was cheaper than a gm one.  I think a lot of the issues with mine were related to gm rating it to tow 8600 pounds and I regularly got close, and it really hated that

Yessir, Cleveland Heights. We'll move to Beachwood in about a year if we can afford it.

We'll be towing with ours in the future, so I want to do a few upgrades to help with that. The GMT900 front brakes will help, and I'd like to get a transmission cooler and maybe a few bolt-on power mods to help with towing, since we'll be towing a travel trailer here and there (in a perfect world). New shocks are on my list, too.

In reply to gearheadE30 :

That's a lot of great info, thanks!

In reply to infinitenexus :

I'm in valley city, was in Cleveland heights a few weeks ago for work.  

In reply to Patrick :

You certainly do drive around the area a lot! That is one heck of a hike, locally speaking

gearheadE30 said:

Check the fluid level in the transfer case. NP246, known for the "pump rub" issue. It's apparently not a terrible fix, and one I am looking at doing preventatively on my Suburban.

The 1500 means you have the 8.25 front diff and the 10 bolt 8.6 rear end. They don't handle abuse all that well, but they get the job done for most people. The front diff is 2 pinion and can fail if you go from spinning tires to sudden grip. The rear is usually killed by heat from being overloaded or towing something with a lot of drag for long periods on the highway. I've personally stopped just short of killing one from being over payload/axle weight - ate the axle shafts and the R&P was excessively worn and noisy. If it has the G80 locker in it, it tends to blow up if you light a tire up and then it locks on pavement/grippy surfaces. Otherwise I think it's actually a decent diff if you avoid that.

Steering parts will probably have to be replaced regularly. It is just the nature of GMT800s. The pitman and idler arms and idler arm support are usually the main problem.

Huh. I've been lucky, I guess. Haven't had any of those issues. I did rebuild all the steering at 230k, but it was more preventative than needed. The new GM UCA failed within 10k, went with moog next time and it's been good. Tie rods and ball joints were all that it really needed.

Bilstein 5100 shocks for the win