5.3 lifter ticking

[Cdshinne]

I have a 2000 z71 5.3 that ticks every morning when i start it up! I have just changed the oil thinking that might help but the sob still ticks on a cold start. The truck runs great but i was wondering if this could cause more problems down the road? Should i fix it or just let it go?

[truckdude239]

what brand of oil filter did you use? i've seen this when people use fram or another cheap filter i've always corrected this by either installing a pruatlor filter or an ac delco. what happens is the anti drain back vavle inside the filter doesn't seal right and the it allows the lifter to seep down. other thing is what wieght of oil did u use should be 5 w30 the heaver oils take alittle while to warm up and get back into the lifters

[Cdshinne]

I used the puralator classic oil filter and 5w30 castrol gtx motor oil. I understand what ur getting at on the filter because i bought the cheaper puralator instead of the one that keeps oil in the top of the motor at all times. i appreciate ur input truckdude and will take a shot at another filter!

[STOCKISH]

Could also be the infamous piston slap you're hearing. Sounds alot like ticking lifters. Not an issue as far as longevity goes but pretty annoying. If it is piston slap there is nothing you can do to fix it short of a rebuild.

[jxnslotcar]

I have a 2000 GMC Sierra with 5.3 that has piston slap. Sometimes it is bad enough to kick in the knock sensor It has been doing this for 60,ooo miles. I pull a trailer with it fully loaded with 4 choppers and assorted gear. I would not hesitate to drive it to California if I had to. I have an engine sitting on an engine stand that I bought 5-6 years ago. Thought I would change it once it blew up,well still going.... I have decided to change it witin the next 2 weeks and go through it once it is out. I am thinking about putting it into a 52 Chevy AD that I am picking up this weekend. I need to find out what it is going to take in order to do that. I was going to keep the 216 engine in the old truck but am giving some serious thought to doing the swap. Good luck with your truck but unless a lifter is sticky from getting Dexcool in the oil from a leaking intake gasket,I wouldn't worry about it. If it is a sticky lifer,put in a qt of Dexron ATF and leave it in there until your next LOF Hope this helps!

[truckdude239]

puralator classic oil filter is a fine filter i run powerflow filters at work and it is the same filter never had any problems. you could have got a bad filter though

[Cdshinne]

I will give a new filter a shot just so i can figure out whats going on with the 150,000 mi 5.3! This is the first time i have heard of piston slap and after some researching, it makes sense especially during these cold mornings when i hear it the most. I will keep everyone posted, thanks for the help!

[67ChevyRedneck]

My truck didn't "start" until about 110K, but a good filter and mobil one 5w30 seems to really help. It's only really noticable in the winter and only on a "cold start." Once it's been run and I start it 4 or 5 hours later it doesn't do it. It only seems to be from cold overnight starts.

[truckdude239]

try geting an ac delco filter pf47 i think is the number but dont hold me to it

[70k52wd]

pf47 is 6cyl filter. Pf59 is 8cyl.

[tvblazer78]

I have a Yukon with 78k and I was thinking it was a lifter, so I put some Lucas oil in it and that fix it!

Here is some info that I found about it.

Lucas Oil Stabilizer is a 100% petroleum product formulated to eliminate dry starts and reduce friction, heat and wear in any type of engine. It allows motor oils a higher degree of lubricity which reduces oil consumption and operating temperatures. Use Lucas Oil Stabilizer in gear oil to stop leaks, reduce operating temperatures and increase the life of the gear oil. Since it is pure petroleum, it can safely blend with all other automotive lubricants, even synthetics, ATF and mineral oil. It keeps old engines alive and new engines new.

http://www.lucasoil.com/products/dis...?iid=4&catid=6

Trav

[LEEVON]

GM did some replacements on these early on in GMT800's life because of the knock straight out of the factory. Supposedly it was then determined that the knocking is not detrimental. I believe it was the result of wristpin tolerances. They addressed it in later years, maybe '03 or '04? Each of my early 5.3's has done this and none of my later ones. Annoying but if you look around you won't find one that has bombed because of it.

Good to know about the filters.

[truckdude239]

accord to my local parts store pf46 is the ac delco filter that fits that year model 5.3 in o7 they went to a pf 48 or an l12222 in puratlor

[chevysbest92]

same thing with my old 03 5.4, took it to the dealer, said it was piston slap and its a "characteristic of the engine", after some mulitiple cylinder misfire codes and a messed up tranny, traded her in for a truck with the 4.8, i love the engine, plenty of power, good fuel economy, and it sounds so much better with a flowmaster than the 5.4, less engine noise

[Cdshinne]

Chevysbest was your 5.4 a ford or is that a mistype?

[chevysbest92]

mistype, sorry, 5.3, haha, ford, your funny

[Joe67]

Originally Posted by Cdshinne

I have a 2000 z71 5.3 that ticks every morning when i start it up! I have just changed the oil thinking that might help but the sob still ticks on a cold start. The truck runs great but i was wondering if this could cause more problems down the road? Should i fix it or just let it go?

More than likely 'pistion slap' or 'cold start knock'.
My 2000 5.3l GMC has done it from day one, over 210K later zero issues. I have yet to see any motor that has seen any type of damage/failure related to it. Some truck owners had their motors replaced by GM while it was covered under warranty, but I believe those were few and far between.

It is annoying and there is no real remedy (filters, oil, etc)

[ybnaford]

I currently have an 04 silverado with the 5.3. I switched to synthetic at 15,000 which was Mobil one with the Mobil one filter. At 78,000 I recently changed to Royal Purple with the associated Royal Purple Filter. I Have not noticed any lifter tap at crank up. I also, between oil changes, use the Zmax mircro lub which past use has done well. My previous truck was an 01 Silverado 2wd with the 5.3. Had it 4 years and when I sold it, it had 365,000 miles on it. That particular truck always seemed to have a lifter tap at crankup on cold mornings no matter what oil. But it never missed a beat when I jumped in to get down the road. I spoke with some GM engineers some years ago in WV doing a road test with new GM suvs. I mentioned to him about the mileage I had gotten with the truck and he told me they had received some engines in the previous week that were 5.3's that had over 500,000 miles on them. When they tore them down he said most everything was still within tolerance. He said with the routine maintenance they keep running. With the mileage I got out of the 01' I said that I was truely impressed. The only thing replaced on the motor was the altenator at 265,000.