The head gasket went at about 13,000 miles.
The transfer case needed rebuild at 21,511 miles.
I needed three (3) transmissions in the truck, they seemed to last 10,000 miles on average.
Two fuel pumps failed on the truck, the first went bad at 17,000 miles and the other soon after that due to the improper installation of the first pump.
The radiator sprung a leak at 20,000 miles.
I know what your thinking, three transmissions? That guy must have beat that truck to death! But each time the transmission failed, it was for something different, unrelated to the previous failure. I found out that GM uses the "good" transmission parts from the other broken transmissions to make one "new rebuilt" transmission. So that was probably the problem, and the transfer case failure might have been caused by one of the transmission failures, but no one was sure. The Yukon left me stranded four times-once in the middle of nowhere in Arizona. Not a fun vehicle to own and make payments on.
Hmmnn...interesting about the transmission. Just wondering if you had a transmission cooler installed. I could be wrong, but possibly your transmission fluid was getting too hot and breaking down- especially in the Arizona heat. Just an idea..
We recently purchased a used 1999 GMC Yukon GT SLE and so far so good. It's a real beauty and it has the auto 4WD option. Since we purchased the truck in January, we were able to try out the 4WD option due to the slick, nasty roads. Very nice and very trustworthy.
The previous owner sold it for a brand new 2004 for his wife. He himself was in a brand new GMC full size pick-up. All mechanical records checked out and our mechanics inspection before we purchased it was tip top. He claimed he couldn't find anything wrong with the truck if he had to. This was good news to us and the only warning we received was that at around 125,000 miles, we could possibly expect a minor problem costing us a mere $100.00. Something referring to a seal.
We'll see and keep you posted.
Lots of power and very sleek too! We love it!
I've owned a 1999 Yukon SLE for 3 years now. It has been a great investment. Took it in for a tune up at 83k and much to my surprise, the truck was low on anti freeze. Upon closer inspection, intake manifold gasket problem. Why should this occur? I've owned V8's for years and NEVER experienced this problem prior to the vehicle reaching 150K miles.
I own a 1997 YUKON which is a great truck, but 3 sets of U JOINTS, 3 fuel pumps (2 were cheap new not used) now I have a CLUNKING noise when I come to a complete stop someone told me it's a clip in the transfer case PLEASE HELP ME.
One of my co-workers owns a '99 Yukon SLE with all options. I drove it one day when it only had 109000 miles on it. At that point, she had already replaced the fuel pump ($$$), countless door lock solenoids, door handles, and window regulators. The driver's interior door handle was already broken meaning you had to put down the window (assuming it worked) and reach around to the outside handle to get out. Also, it drove like crap. All of the front suspension parts seemed to be badly worn and the brake pedal response was terrible! I had to press the pedal all the way to the floor to stop. This vehicle did not inspire much confidence when I drove it and I was not impressed with the ticky-tacky interior bits. The sound system was excellent however. One day recently, she came to work and told me that her turn signals, brake lights, and the A/C blower fan had all stopped working within a week of each other. Tsk tsk, GMC.