5.3L LM7 Lifter Tick Solution

[Hemi_Time]

Hello BITOG,

I thought it would be helpful to pass on how I significantly reduced my lifter tick on my 2004 5.3L Tahoe. Here is the history (I picked it up with 160K miles, 1 owner):

0w40 Mobil and Purolator filter - First time I noticed ticking
5W30 Pennzoil PYB and Purolator - Ticking became noticeable at 2000rpm and up
5w30 Pennzoil Platinum with PF61E filter - Ticking like a boss at all RPMs (sounded like an exhaust leak)
Removed valve covers and sprayed B12 Chemtool down pushrods, soaked for 1 hour (no change)

And my final solution turned out to be pretty cheap:
5w30 Mobil Super High Mileage with Rislone Engine Treatment Concentrate and PF61E filter!

I'll probably use 10w40 Mobil Super HM this summer, although I'm very happy with the results so far. I had tried Seafoam in the oil and I'm sure it helped clean the engine although it had no effect on lifter noise.

 

[JHZR2]

Try a little of that restore product. If at most add the quantity recommended for 4 cyl cars.

 

[racer12306]

Back when I worked at a quick lube, I remember someone came in with 6qts of M1 for this LS1 Camaro. 4qts of 10w30 and 2qts of 15w50. I asked about it and he said that maid about a 10w40 and that those engines like it better.

Never looked it up, never really cared to look it up, but if your 10w40 plan works for you then maybe there was something to be said about it.

 

[HighMileCummins]

Good find! I have a 4.8 with 375,xxx miles on it. It still runs just about perfect lol. I'm a huge fan of the LS engines! But I too noticed a small tick, and tried different products. I have heard go lighter viscosity and I have heard go heavier lol. Right now I have 5w30 PYB with 6oz of the Schaeffer's #132, it sounds and performs the best with that combo.

 

[ls1mike]

10W-40 is fine in that all day long. Lots of guys run German Castrol 0W-40 in their LS1s.

My old Z28 always had a mix of 10W-30 and 20W-50, but it spent a good portion of it's life on the spray at the track. :0

 

[Hemi_Time]

The Rislone concentrated treatment is a 7.8 cSt viscosity at 100C (close to a 20 weight oil). I'm only using the 5w30 because of the cold winter temps here in Illinois and short trips not warming up the oil much.

http://barsproducts.com/system/pdfs/401/original/4102 Tech Sheet.pdf?1377268534

 

[Hemi_Time]

UPDATE:

Unfortunately the tick returned after a few hundred miles. So I gave in and filled it up with 15w40 Mobil Delvac. That reduced the ticking by 80% and is now barely audible! I make sure to let the engine warm up before driving off in these colder temps to be safe. My oil pressure is also up 5-10psi across the range which is nice. I know the benefits of thinner oils, although the 5.3L engine design is not very exotic or tight on the tolerances. I'm hoping if 15w40 is good enough for a diesel engine to live a long life then it's good for my old V8.