New to me 2013 Suburban
February 20th, 2018, 5:01 PM
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New to me 2013 Suburban
Hello all, greeting from the east coast of NC. I just purchased a 2013 Suburban for my wife and family ride, upgrade from a 2000 Accord.
Its an LTZ model with all the goodies and I love how quiet and smooth it is compared to my Ram 2500 Diesel, I’m most impressed with the stereo quality, unbelievable for a factory GM System.
At any rate this Suburban represents a very serious investment for me and my family and I’d like to keep it for quite awhile. It already gave me a scare with a check engine light soon after I bought it, ended up just being the oil pressure sensor screen, what a pain to lay across that motor to change right? Thankful for this forum so it made it as easy as it could be.
What kind of items outside basic maintenance should I be on the look out for? I’ve already changed engine oil and filter and was gonna work my way through the rest of the systems, Brakes, Differentials, Transfer Case, Transmission so everything was replaced and easy to track. I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews of the Active Fuel Management System, are people disabling this system for better reliability, increased power? I’ve got quite a few teaks into my Dodge but don’t want this Suburban to get any louder or less smooth, is a ECM tuner something to look into? Any other areas I need to watch out for?
thank you all in advance
Its an LTZ model with all the goodies and I love how quiet and smooth it is compared to my Ram 2500 Diesel, I’m most impressed with the stereo quality, unbelievable for a factory GM System.
At any rate this Suburban represents a very serious investment for me and my family and I’d like to keep it for quite awhile. It already gave me a scare with a check engine light soon after I bought it, ended up just being the oil pressure sensor screen, what a pain to lay across that motor to change right? Thankful for this forum so it made it as easy as it could be.
What kind of items outside basic maintenance should I be on the look out for? I’ve already changed engine oil and filter and was gonna work my way through the rest of the systems, Brakes, Differentials, Transfer Case, Transmission so everything was replaced and easy to track. I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews of the Active Fuel Management System, are people disabling this system for better reliability, increased power? I’ve got quite a few teaks into my Dodge but don’t want this Suburban to get any louder or less smooth, is a ECM tuner something to look into? Any other areas I need to watch out for?
thank you all in advance
February 24th, 2018, 7:58 PM
#2
For one thing, some people treat the front dif, transfer case and rear diff as being on the same maintenance schedule. The transfer case needs more attention, say a fluid change every 40,000 miles. It’s quick and easy. The front diff is also quick and easy but if you you changed it once at 75,000 miles and again at 150,000 miles you’d be doing well. Same for the rear diff, but the back plate has to come off so it’s more sloppy work. I have the dealer do it. Some other owners would do all this more often and good on them. Run only Dexos approved oil for your AGM issues. And yes, the AGM issue is real. Have your coolant changed every 5 years. Stay with Dexcool. You can probably follow your owners manual on the transmission but change it if you start seeing dark streaks in the fluid. I wipe the transmission dipstick once with a white paper towel, put it back in then wipe it on the paper towel a second time. If the fluid is getting darker or leaves dark streaks on the paper towel consider a change. The brakes should last a long time. I don’t mess with tuners. The computers are complicated enough. I use the OLM for length of oil change but it will almost always be in the 6000 to 7000 mile range. That’s it from me. Good luck.
February 25th, 2018, 4:49 AM
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Thank you for the reply, I have to ask what is the AGM issue? Something to do with the active fuel management system?
Im on board with what your saying about the fluid changes, I’m pretty good about keeping everything up on my vehicles. I just wanted to make sure there wasn’t something particular to these newer vehicles I was missing outside of the usual things.
thank you again
Im on board with what your saying about the fluid changes, I’m pretty good about keeping everything up on my vehicles. I just wanted to make sure there wasn’t something particular to these newer vehicles I was missing outside of the usual things.
thank you again
February 25th, 2018, 6:31 AM
#4
Whoops. AFM, not AGM. Yes, the active fuel management is controlled by the varing the oil pressure to specially designed lifters which deactivate the valves in certain cylinders. The lifters are prone to failure and can sometimes damage the cam. If it occurs it can normally be fixed with new lifters and sometimes a new cam. Search AFM on the forum. Like you mentioned you can also have the system deactivated which apparently can improve longevity. The 5.3 has the system. They don’t all fail and Dexos rated oil gives them a better chance of survival.