Resurrecting a sleeping thread to seek counsel from the burb gurus. What's the difference between the 1/2 ton, 1/2 ton z71, and the 2500? Did they make a 2500 z71?
Mainly looking at 98-99 (cheaper), 2002-03 (interior and electronics updated, supposedly better front diff)
Enjoyed the knowledge in this thread. Didn't feel like I was reading about a bunch of teenagers with half cocked ideas on how things are done.
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OK, so you probably know that the 98-99 would be the older (GMT-400) series. Those had 5.7 V8s (which I think is just an EFI or maybe TBI version of the venerable 350 Chevy) in the 1500 models, I think the 2500's came with either the 5.7 or the 7.4 (AKA 454) and for a while they were available with a diesel but I think that had been dropped by 1999.
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The 2000-2006 would be the GMT-800, which was pretty much new from the ground up (though AFAIK they used the same 4L60 and 4L80 transmissions.) Those had the 5.3 Vortec on the 1500's and the 2500's had either the 6.0 Vortec or the 8.1. There was no diesel option on Suburbans of this generation. The 5.3 seems to be a pretty reliable and long lasting motor, at least I see a lot of them around (I've only been in the GMT-800 "club" since December so I can't really speak to longevity.)
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As far as model year updates go, when I was shopping for mine I found out that 2004 was the year that the 1500's got Hydroboost brakes, in the 2000 - 2003 years I think they may have been an option but starting in 2004 they were standard (the 2500's always had hydroboost as I understand it.) For that reason when I went shopping I was specifically looking for 2004 and up, even though as others have said, they are notably more expensive on the used market.
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Z71: The Z71 was an option package that included skid plates, different wheels (I call them "snowflakes") a higher, heavier rear suspension (thicker and longer springs), a thicker plastic roof rack and probably a few other things. Z71's seem to sit about an inch or so higher than LT, LS and base models.
From what I saw on the used market, Z71's tended to be "loaded" with options, typically including leather seats, sunroof, 2nd row captains chairs (i.e. twin buckets, not a bench.) They often (but not always) had the rear seat DVD. I specifically did NOT want either a sunroof or the 2nd row buckets so I ended up with an LT which is the 2nd highest level (I believe there were four trim levels: Base model, sometimes called WT for "work truck", LS, LT and Z71.
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To my knowledge, the Z71 package was only offered on the 1500 models, at least I've never seen a Z71 2500.
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Some people say all Z71's have the G80 rear locker but my understanding is that the locker was not specifically linked to any particular package - some trucks have it, some don't. My LT does (in fact, my LT has pretty much every option available except the sunroof, 2nd row buckets and rear-seat DVD entertainment system.)
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The 1500 models have a four link rear suspension with coil springs, while the 2500's have leaf springs. The other big difference is the fuel tank size, the 1500 gets a 31 gallon tank while the 2500 has 37.
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When you are shopping, look in the glove box for a white sticker with a bunch of 3 letter/number codes. These are the RPO build codes for the truck, you can figure out exactly what the truck is equipped with from this sticker, including what axle ratio it has, whether it has the locker, etc.
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2000-2004 models could come with either the rear liftgate or the cargo doors, AKA "Barn doors." Barn doors were not an option starting in 2005. From my seat-of-the-pants observation, 2500's seem more likely to have barn doors than 1500's but that is just a guess, really. Not sure what the ratio of barn doors to liftgate is but, again, my off-the-cuff guess would be about 1 barn door truck for every 7 or 8 liftgate trucks, IOW, the liftgate is much more common.
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One final note, if you are shopping for Suburbans, don't skip the Suburban's doppelganger, the GMC Yukon XL (XL = "extra Large" - to distinguish it from the Yukon which is a GMC's version of Chevy's Tahoe.) The thing you have to watch for with Yukons is whether or not they are "Denali" models. The Denali has been described to me as a Cadillac Escalade for people who don't want the stigma of an Escalade - it has the same drivetrain as the Escalade including the 6.0 V8 and the 4wd models are actually non-switchable AWD with no low range. Denali models tend to be loaded up with pretty much every option available (though oddly enough I've seen a few for sale that had cloth seats - I would have thought all Denali's had leather.)
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The Non-Denali Yukon XL's are pretty much like Suburbans, they had the 5.3 V8 in the 1500 models and the 6.0 or 8.1 in the 2500.
