2001 Chevy Suburban 2500 Review - The 8.1L V8 Mountain-Mover!

My thoughts on the 2001 Chevy Suburban 2500 with the 8.1L v8 and 4 speed automatic transmission! _________________________________________________________________________________________
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#Chevy #Suburban #Suburban2500
Timecodes:
0:00 - Intro
1:24 - Engine / Transmission
4:23 - Interior
7:24 - BFB Test
7:42 - Interior
8:15 - Back Seats
9:17 - Trunk / Cargo Space
10:48 - Exterior
11:26 - Final Thoughts
12:49 - Outro

[@sbnsbaker1]

Bought my 2001 suburban 8.1 in 2002 with 8900 miles on a lease return. She now has 306,000+ miles on her and purrs like a kitten!!! I love this vehicle !!!!!!!

[@reallyrandomrides1296]

I think this was the best generation of Suburbans. Capable, fairly reliable and in particular with the 2500 models like this one, excellent towing capacity. I know these were hard to get, new or used, and many owners of larger travel trailers liked them because they could tow their trailer and take their entire family (especially if it's 6+ people), the dog and camping supplies. A 3/4 or 1 ton pickup could tow, but didn't have the seating capacity and interior space.

[@alkarim5890]

The rust is what makes many people walk out from them ! Break lines rust , frame rust, fuel lines rust ……

[@logan9758]

@@alkarim5890 the 2000-2006 Chevy suburbans and Silverados and the GMC twins had far better build quality than the 2007-2013 models

[@alkarim5890]

@@logan9758 yes but what about uncoated break lines and the frame /undercarriage very thin coating layer !

[@OhPhuckYou]

I'd argue that these are far more than fairly reliable. These are on the top 10 list of most vehicles still registered with over 250K miles. The only real weak spot is the trans, but even then they're not the worse. I'm a Ford guy, but I can't fault these Chevys and GMCs.

[@bornvillain6819]

@@alkarim5890 Me in California: "what's rust?" 🤨

[@YouDontWannaFightMe]

GM really hit their peak in the early to mid 2000s in terms of innovations. They gave everything the SS treatment, innovated in their truck department (especially Quadrasteer and the Avalanche as well), and came out with weird stuff like the SSR. Now most of what they sell is boring and cookie cutter.

[@fordmuscleluis9710]

Awesome 9th generation Suburban with the big block 8.1 Liter V8 also the barn doors are very desirable

[@GMCJay_lly]

Barn doors baby!!!

[@guitarismike9]

I’ve got the 6.0 2500 with the barn doors and everyone talks about how they want the barn doors. I guess I’m the oddball with wanting the lift gate. Seems more practical unless you’re trying to use a fork lift to throw some stuff in the back of the suburban.

[@bwofficial1776]

My grandfather had a fully-optioned beater 2003 Tahoe with the 5.3L V8 that he used as a plow truck. It was similarly optioned to this one and it was the most comfortable vehicle I've ever been in. The Autoride air suspension was smooth and the seats were thickly padded ultra-soft leather armchairs. It was also the most terrifying vehicle I've ever driven, being massive, poorly maintained, and full of GM's bad quality choices. It got 13MPG on a good day, the best I ever hypermiled it to was 17MPG. Some other family members still have a 2wd 1500 5.3L Suburban just like this one for road trips. As long as you keep it rust free it'll run forever. The engine is simple and the plastics are cheap but durable.

[@bngr_bngr]

That’s great MPG given the specs.

[@dewal5772]

I've got two suburbans, one 2 wheel drive with 400k miles that ones a 2003 and I got another about 6 months back it's a 2000 4x4 ls with 316k miles and the previous owner had the motor overhauled 20k miles ago my guess is it gave out because of the extra weight and he used to tow more I've been looking to get a 496 motor through a reputable dealer with low miles although I've only been able to find a good one in Canada and iam from South texas so it's not worth it

[@ShamuAquatics]

When Chevy still made good vehicles.

[@blackcatback3779]

I would love the opportunity to experience a 8.1L v8 one day

[@GMCJay_lly]

2500 8.1 4x4 LT barn door burb. Very Desirable Classic. Beautiful!

[@sonofthunder11]

I still drive one of these thirsty girls!😁 She has almost 500K miles on the original engine, 2nd tyranny, 4th alternator, 2nd A/C compressor and I have lost track of all the other little things. LOL I have been offered BIG $$$ for it and my answer is NO! I will likely be buried in her.🤣🤣 She has towed and hauled some mighty loads and once even towed a fully loaded semi up a slight upsloped off-ramp. My kids were young at the time but still tell that story! Many great adventures and outings; miles and miles around the scenic Pacific Northwest.

[@marcelluscoleman2988]

Everyone had this car.. EVERYONE. If not this, the Expedition/Navigator was everywhere

[@sebz7248]

Man I still really love the front end of this generation Tahoe/Suburban and Silverado’s plus they run forever

[@42luke93]

Same. The generation after got too blobby for my taste. Kind of like the Buick Park Avenue 1995 vs 2000 in styling if you know what I mean.

[@sebz7248]

@@42luke93 I think the styling is the perfect balance of Square but a little bit bubbly. Not too bubbly just the right amount

[@dewal5772]

Aren't they considered classic? This body style?

[@GMCJay_lly]

@@dewal5772 nbs

[@alphaares6027]

@@sebz7248 IDK about y'all but the Gen after this classic Gen was the better one for me not only because of the boxy bubbly shape but because it looked so much poppin and more big aggressive looking ready to take on the Ford Expedition, Toyota Sequoia and more.

[@Pharto_Stinkus]

I own 3 GM vehicles from this generation: A 2005 Suburban 2500 (8.1), a 2002 Silverado 1500, and - the crown jewel - a 2004 Hummer H2 Luxury package. I bought the Suburban with 110k miles (it currently has 210k), the Silverado with 137k (it currently has 179k), and the Hummer with 53k (it currently has 79k). I daily drive all three, and have done many long-distance road trips and family outings in both the Suburban and the Hummer. I occasionally tow with all three (nothing very heavy), and have done a fair amount of light off-roading with the Suburban and the Hummer. These three vehicles have proven to be the toughest, and most reliable vehicles I have ever owned by FAR, in my total 35-ish years of vehicle ownership. In the case of the Suburban, also the most versatile and useful. GM really knocked it out of the park in the early 2000's.

[@SURENITY]

I love the 2500 Suburban! Especially this generation! As a pretentious kid (I used to hate these. (The 90’s ones.) I always loved the later models. My neighbor had one (1994) parked in our upscale North Dallas neighborhood. My dad called it a riff-raft box on wheels. With dad who drives a Range Rover Autobiography, a mom with a B9 Audi S4, and an Acura MDX Tech as my for first car. (Now have 2 of them. My own custom babies.) I used to hate these. Because I was taught to hate them. But after a good friend bought a 2500, and took me on a road trip to Austin; I now love them! They are reliable, well built American 🇺🇸 tanks! I now appreciate them very much! I want one, especially if I need something to tow with. (Here is the moral of the story.) Something that my parents never learned. But I did after 21 years of life. If you become wise, pretentiousness is a phase. Enjoy what you enjoy. You do you! Even if it is “riff raff” to the snobs! That makes it even cooler! 😆

[@LesabreSuper]

I wish more car people were like you and could get past that phase

[@clockbuilderhg]

Gotta love these tanks! You can't beat those big soft leather seats. They cuddle you quite nicely and make you want to kill some miles! There is a reason so many of them have been loved to death. Those front seats are out of a 03- 06 Escalade, but the rears are original to the Suburban.

[@joshnelson6255]

Owned an 02 Avalanche 2500 4x4 with the 8100. Same chassis as the Suburban in this video. It was the best GM Truck I've owned to date.

[@barnyard9058]

One of my good buddies has one of these we've regularly hauled amounts of scrap metal that weighed in over the stated Max towing capacity in a dump trailer with zero issues.

[@remus4574]

You are seriously killin it with the uploads. Keep up the great work👍🏼

[@dave11686]

My dad had an 8.1 work truck. Thing drank though

[@richfarfugnuven6308]

I had an '02 with the 5.3L(1/2 ton), still kick kyself for selling it to my neighbor. Him and his brother were still driving it well over 300K last time I checked...

[@ShamuAquatics]

This makes me miss the 2004 Suburban that I practiced driving and passed my driving test in. My dad let me drive it to school and all over hell and back with my friends every day until I got my own car. Only thing I don’t miss is the horrible gas mileage

[@codkiller2025]

You did your driving test in a whole ass postal code? What a mad man lol

[@bradleymeyer9775]

I love how it has barn doors.

[@ludovicleroux9190]

This is the largest displacement video I ever seen. Love it & thumb up.

[@SteveUTubesucks]

Slight correction: this truck has a 4L80e (MT1 RPO code). GM didn't introduce the 4L85E (MN8 RPO code) until 2002 for 2003+ model years.

[@rv9990]

An 8.1 liter V8 is unknown here in Europe. Damn.

[@GF-mf7ml]

The road tax in some other country can buy brand new car.

[@billborden995]

I have a 2005 8.1 Chev Suburban that I purchased new with a 4.10 rear end. It's a beast that tows my 10,000 lb boat. I have a new HD Chev truck ordered but who knows when that will arrive with the current shortages.

[@dterik]

Bought one for 3500$ in 2021 with 210k miles. Pulling my 31ft travel trailer. Love that the payload goes up to 2800 lbs! Had a 6.0L Denali 2003 with the 4l60e and it struggled pulling my trailer.

[@CHEECHMUN]

My LT does not have the Autoride. One outlet is for the cigarette lighter. Mine has a TV screen. Had a VCR & DVD. I'll never ever sell it!!!!

[@jdmandsuch6739]

Zach the market on these has been rising, especially the barn door... Fun fact I work at a part store and I have to constantly highlight this category... Yet I rarely get suburbans.

[@t.l.robinson2162]

I have a 2006 GMC Yukon XL with the 8.1. It tows whatever I hook it to.

[@SketchyJrod]

I love suburbans, owned a 97 k1500 and a 96 c2500. Looking to get a suburban of this gen someday. Also holy shit i loved the brookfield zoo as a kid, i actually have an uncle who lives 5 min from there, i had no idea you lived in IL lol

[@alexfonseca1000]

this review was funny and very informative, espeicially the rotisserie chicken unit of measurement

[@WhyDoIDriveAMustang]

This thing is a monster

[@KNIGHTMARE922]

Makes me love my rare 2002 avalanche 2500 2wd which apparently is crazy rare especially with only 136k

[@GMCJay_lly]

I love the gmt800 platform. I have a 2005 Duramax and Curreny looking for a QuadraSteer.

[@garrettraakman6465]

What a tank! I have been excited to see this one! Are you doing that Navigator tomorrow?

[@ShootingCars]

yup!

[@garrettraakman6465]

@@ShootingCars Great! The 2 Tanks of Christmas XD

[@bradleymeyer9775]

It’s also a barn door Suburban, that’s rare, I don’t see many of those. One time I saw a Suburban 2500 with quadrasteer.

[@edan7813]

I wish that the Suburban 2500 had the same trans as the Silverados equipped with the 8.1 did, those had the Allison 1000 5 Spd (prior to 2006) and later on the Allison 1000 6 Spd (2006 and 2007 classic)

[@thirdpedalnirvana]

I bet the problem in your friends Silverado is the gauge cluster thinks 4x4 low range is engaged when it isn’t. That’s why it thinks you’re going so fast.

[@ShootingCars]

A possibility on others, but that’s not the case with his. It said we were doing 45 while stopped, the battery voltage fought the fuel level, and sometimes the speedometer didn’t work at all.

[@adammore2653]

Nice video. I have the same truck, color and all. I put some larger A/T tires on it and deleted the autoride for some Bilstein shocks with resistors inline to override the autoride warning lights. Great trucks. I get 10 mpg towing a large camper and max out at 13mpg doing 80 on the highway. Strange how there's such a little drop in mpg between towing and not towing. I won't sell mine. They don't make them like this anymore.

[@darthdarthbinkss]

When I was around 3-5 years old, my dad had a green Silverado from this time period with the 8.1 in it. I don't remember much of it other than he got rid of it for a Ram 3500 in 2005-2006 a couple years before the gas prices went through the roof. I'd imagine it's still driving around somewhere though, these things are freaking tanks.

[@jeladsnikpoh1289]

The 8100 'Burb actually has a 12,500lb towing capacity (with 4.10 gears), making it the highest towing capacity of any SUV ever. Thats 2,500lb more than a diesel Excursion! I have a 30ft Class A motorhome with the 8100, and it'll do 70+ up ANY hill.

[@jimmcginley2786]

I believe the barn door setup is the base setup, less prone to failure compared to the lift gate.

[@peacemaker9807]

Left side contacts can fail for rear electronics. Like your lights. And last I checked that side is dealer only or a junkyard. Happened to my mom after about 10 years

[@brantisonfire]

The cubby under the tape player is where a cd deck would go. My friend had a 96 Z71 and the cd player mechanism was way down there nowhere close to the head unit.

[@wintermetalhd]

Why would you think it would have a 4l60e? I believe the only SUV/truck platform GM ever used that on was the 1/2 ton. I believe all 3/4 ton SUV's had the 4l80e. Unfortunately GM was unable or unwilling to cram the Allison 1000 inbetween the frame and the body of the suburbans.

[@ShamuAquatics]

Finally !

[@wisenber]

My 2001 Suburban manual says it has a 12,500 towing capacity. The mpg was only a couple of miles lower than my 1999 K1500.

[@OhPhuckYou]

I'd rather have this or a 7.3 Excursion over a ultra fast and expensive exotic. I just love these asininely huge and thirsty SUVs. They're comical to drive like a tweaker in a 90's Civic. I'll always pay homage to my 04 Expedition Eddie Bauer that I dumped 338K trouble free miles on.

[@kwasia4882]

Had the Tahoe of that same, and thought that was big, but this is humungous. They had a good, not great, level of build quality then.

[@derveallcastillo1075]

I have one of these now with 155k. This thing is a beast but I barely drive it because of the gas mileage lol it’s for sale in Dallas\ FortWorth area if anyone is looking. The vehicle is from the Midwest though and it does have some rust but I drove it gear 18 hrs from Wisconsin while towing my car with the truck as well. This thing is a monster 🙌🏽

[@chadly1337]

have a link?

[@youngestson65]

Great truck.

[@CHEECHMUN]

12,500lbs. with the 410 rear.

[@brewcrew5854]

depending on where u live - steel brakes lines !

[@grimreaper5521]

My uncle had one but black paint but same interior color as this one

[@oblivion._.8294]

The only difference for the seats is the cadillac ones we're perforated.

[@JoshiJosho-mf8oi]

Install some good push bars that's the perfect zombie apocalypse suv. 👍

[@merrittmcdowell8675]

Did they offer the allison in the suburban like they did in the trucks?

[@randysullivan5723]

No trucks only

[@SGTNinja-ee6rw]

Next you should try to find a "quadrasteer" model. Pretty rare truck. But the 8.1 in these 2500s are awsome

[@GMCJay_lly]

Agreed!

[@codkiller2025]

Love seeing the Duramax killer in a suburban. I don't know why it sounds so weird to me

[@thomasthompson2084]

I have 2 99 suburbans 1 1500 and 1 2500 with a 5.7 and a 7.4 they get almost the same fuel mileage during road trips but my 2500 is a beast and will pull anything and I have the 4l80e transmission in it not the 4l85

[@americanmambi]

In 20yrs we haven't just lost towing capacity but we have also lost our Menhood, our balls, our testosterone, our guns, our freedoms, our cities, our borders and our families...

[@OhPhuckYou]

I'd argue that we lost our cities about 50 years ago. Our cities were the most dangerous during the 80's, but they're almost as horrible now. I sure as shit ain't lost my freedom's or guns. I ran a liquor store during the peak of the Plandimic, and told the city to go fuck their mask mandate since they couldn't enforce it. My customers loved it, and I love being a free and heavily armed American. Laws only work when people pay attention to them.

[@HemiChrysler]

Guns Privately owned in USA : 2004 : approx. 218,000,000 2024 : approx. 393,000,000 A lot of guns were sold during the pandemic. Cities : Statistically, urban violent crime peaked in 1991. Different studies may report a different peak year for violent crime, but they all show a crime bulge from the early 70s to the early 90s. Cities have not become less safe since 2004, and all studies show steady improvement from around 1997 onward. Manhood : You must speak/write only for yourself. It's not our place to judge others, except by jury. Testosterone : If you're taking T, your body's ability to naturally produce it will decline. Unless you have a really low T score, I advise against it. Families : I don't understand. Do you mean divorce statistics ?

[@42luke93]

Depressed the new ones aren’t the same and with reliability too.

[@alexcortez3357]

no they 4l60 and 4l80 are two completely different animals. the 4l85 is just str8 cut gear version of the '80e

[@denvera1g1]

Its sad that a 2001 OHV V8 is worse than a 1970 OHV V8, in a front wheel drive car The 1970 Cadillac Eldorado had an 8.2L V8 that made 400HP and 550lb*ft of torque

[@12masterr]

Not really, hp numbers in that times were calculated differently, they were "sae" numbers, not net,as now, so in reality the cadillac probably have something around 330 hp,or less.

[@merrittmcdowell8675]

They also didn't have to pass emissions and fall in spec with efficiency.

[@JDMintegraVTEC]

Actually, not air suspension. Just electronically damped shocks.

[@samuelhelderman]

I just looked up 8.1 liter suburbans near me. $18k, yikes.

[@Dankcatvacs]

BBC?!!

[@csh000]

Calling the 2500 a beefy workhorse trim of the Suburban is funny. The 1500 and 2500 are different vehicles. Just look at the Silverado "trims".

[@agoodballet]

I would actually say the head rest is all that’s used out of the Escalade seats.

[@mromatic17]

Anything with that much weight and engine needs at least 2 overdrive gears!

[@samsquires2877]

03-06 clusters were the problem childs not 99-02. Aftermarket radios in these are garbage compared to the factory unit.

[@mromatic17]

It’s an FBI mobile

[@miket2172]

4l85 is 10x better than the 60

[@skazariants]

2.0 l diesel engine can tow 10 000 pounds!

[@YENKOGT]

Wich one? I own a lot of diesel pickup trucks. , dmax , rangers, f250, f350, 3500 etc etc , my 3.2 td ranger can do like 6k or 7k tops, what car with a 2.0 can tow 10k?

[@mustasheolll2020]

90s car lmao

[@marcelonator]

The needles are democrats they tell you misinformation 😂