It seems curious to me that GM went with a 5.3, the smallest in the bunch. Ford's the next up with the 5.4, Dodge, Toyota and Nissan all have bigger engines. Given that people often use these vehicles for towing, etc.. well..it just seems curious. Any knowledge on this?

 

Size isn't everything. I'd take the 2000-2006 5.3 over any Ford 5.4 or even the Hemi 5.7 every day, and twice on Sunday. IMHO, that was one of the best, most reliable engines ever built. Too bad they screwed it up with AFM starting in 2007.

I'm sure the reason for it was that the bore and/or stroke was common to other platforms, so the blocks and/or cranks could be shared with other platforms/vehicles.

The old GM 3.8 V6 was basically a 350 small block V8 minus two cylinders.

 

I don't mean to sound like I'm complaining. I like my old 5.3 Suburban (2000 model). I tow about 6500 pounds worth of travel trailer with it. My brother has a Tundra and it feels more powerful than the 5.3 GM. I think the Tundra is a 5.6 liter. At some point in the future I'd love to get a 2500 Suburban. It's not a critical issue. I added Sumo super springs and the 1500 Burb gets us and the camper where we need to go.

 

Not sure if you do short trips or long pulls with your trailer, but keep on eye on the rear axle. Make sure it doesn't get too hot. My '01 Burb is on rear axle number four, specifically because I was towing 6500-7000 lb trailers long distances. And that's the main reason I upgraded to the 2500.

 

I feel ya. I just had the entire rear-end rebuilt. Everything but the housing is brand new from the pinion to the half axles. That was spendy..