I have an Avalanche with the 5.3 with 171k miles. I’ve had it since 150 k and it’s developing an intermittent tick. It’s usually on colder mornings on startup and goes away within a few minutes. However recently it’s become louder and continues for about 10 minutes then goes away. I know those engines have a ticking problem but I’m hoping it’s not a collapsed lifter. I do my own oil changes every 3k miles and I haven’t seen any bits of metal or anything out of the ordinary. What do you think?
Start the truck up and listen underneath it. Is the tick louder there, the same, or quieter? The 5.3 is notorious for lifter problems due in part to letting oil changes go too long but they also just fail randomly too. If the noise is "high" on the engine my bet is a lifter. If its low it could be a flex plate, knock, or the now notorious pickup tube o-ring.
@inthedetails
I think it’s coming from the driver side valve cover, one of the 2 forward cylinders. Not rod knock for sure
The forward cylinders on the driver side are very very common lifters to go. The lifter issue is tricky and it definitely sucks but if it goes away when warm and doesnt cause problems with the oil pressure youre OK for now but I would start budgeting for a replacement or sell it.
@inthedetails
When I eventually get that fixed what else should I have done in the engine for maintenance. I’m not sure what was done before I got it. Should the timing chain be replaced?
The sky is the limit here really. The timing chain is located in a separate part of the engine assembly since the GMC 5.3 is a pushrod engine. If you are looking at problem-prone areas I would look into deleting the AFM (Active Fuel Management) at that point. There are several kits on the internet that allow you to safety delete it without a CEL (check engine light). The consensus is that the AFM might be the root cause of several oil-related problems that plague the 5.3 Vortec and could be easily removed/modified when the lifters are done. Its also considered "best practice" to do ALL of the lifters at the same time because it is difficult to tell for sure if/when a lifter is going to collapse in these engines and wiping out a cam lob is much more expensive than a lifter. That being said typically the lifter tick will be continuous once its getting so bad that there is a major risk to the cam lobs. The truth is the 5.3 is a bit of a crap shoot - some go 300,000 miles some destroy themselves by 150,000. I personally own a 2006 Silverado with a 5.3 and its stressful owning it even for a mechanic of 15-years.
I have an 02 Avy with 275k on it, my driver side lifters have been ticking on cold start up for a long time....
Not my primary vehicle (was purchased and used to coach baseball in 02) and the only reason I haven't fixed it is I would pull engine and take care of other wear items... which I really can't justify since I got other things to get done.
Keep changing that oil and enjoy ; )
