Best oil and oil additive for a Silverado 5.3 lifter tick?

2007.5 1500 NNBS 5.3 AFM LY5 engine
i wouldn’t write off a oil pump pickup Oring and/or the oil PRV in the pan. i did my buddies parents 08 suburban. new HP/HV oil pump, new PRV and the GM shield and a new pickup O-Ring. sounded like new again after 280k. dealer said they needed a new motor. did an EPR flush after.
 
i wouldn’t write off a oil pump pickup Oring and/or the oil PRV in the pan. i did my buddies parents 08 suburban. new HP/HV oil pump, new PRV and the GM shield and a new pickup O-Ring. sounded like new again after 280k. dealer said they needed a new motor. did an EPR flush after.
My oil pressure stays above 40 on the dash. If this engine needs a rebuild I'm thinking of installing a 4.8 LY2 and never have to worry about AFM again. An AFM delete $2500-$3000. I can get a remanufactured engine 4.8 for $2300.00 and 3 year/75k warranty. This isn't a work truck it's just my daily and sometimes haul a small load of lumber or pull my riding mower on a small trailer so HP isn't a concern.
 
My oil pressure stays above 40 on the dash. If this engine needs a rebuild I'm thinking of installing a 4.8 LY2 and never have to worry about AFM again. An AFM delete $2500-$3000. I can get a remanufactured engine 4.8 for $2300.00 and 3 year/75k warranty. This isn't a work truck it's just my daily and sometimes haul a small load of lumber or pull my riding mower on a small trailer so HP isn't a concern.
pressure will stay up. but there will be air in the oil. my truck still sat at 40lbs meanwhile zero oil made it to the top end before i did my oil pump/pickup tube.
 


Oil addictives are garbage.

If it’s from low oil pressure it might be pick up tube o ring. Mine started to when it got really bad and dropped to 10 pounds. Fixed it immediately. Went away and oil pressure has been perfect.
 
My oil pressure stays above 40 on the dash. If this engine needs a rebuild I'm thinking of installing a 4.8 LY2 and never have to worry about AFM again. An AFM delete $2500-$3000. I can get a remanufactured engine 4.8 for $2300.00 and 3 year/75k warranty. This isn't a work truck it's just my daily and sometimes haul a small load of lumber or pull my riding mower on a small trailer so HP isn't a concern.
Have you tried anything additive to see if it would unstick yet?
 
My 5.3 had cold piston slap for the 9 years I owned it, and wasn't so bad when I sold it to deter the new owner. I'd hate for you to take drastic measures on some AFM campaign for what might be piston slap and keep going just fine.
 
My 5.3 had cold piston slap for the 9 years I owned it, and wasn't so bad when I sold it to deter the new owner. I'd hate for you to take drastic measures on some AFM campaign for what might be piston slap and keep going just fine.
This isn't piston slap. My 2011 did that at 16k miles and the dealership installed a new engine fresh from the crate when the Service Tech said someone from Detroit called them and said replace it. It had been in the shop for 2 months. I think they were afraid I was going to make them buy it back. This is a cold start in 70 degree weather. Does it at any temp.
 
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Maybe just maybe, go with something in the SAE 40 viscosity range. Something that stays in that range not a lighter 0W or 5W - 40 which could drift down to upper SAE 30 viscosity range.
 
Never believed in additives. The guy who does The Motor Oil Geek on YouTube actually replied to me and said DO NOT use an additive as it can break down the detergents and such that are in the Oil I use.
Well it isn't going to fix itself if it is just stuck and not collapsed. Plenty of quality additives out there that could help. Rislone, EC30/40, LiquiMoly, BG, Gumout Multisystem Tune Up and MMO that could help.
 
If you conclude it's a lifter, and you seem to be already sure of that, there is little harm to trying one of the magic additives and see what happens. I had a head gasket leak in my Chrysler 3.3L and put in K-Seal and it worked. That was at about 150K miles. It's over 220K now and still running. But with GM lifters, the lifter can rotate in the plastic tray and score the other parts, and then you have to start replacing the hardware. If you start on that path, a hardware AFM delete is very much worth considering. Good luck, maybe you can get that lifter back to doing its thing.
 
Watch the video in the above post someone else posted. He pretty much runs through most of them.
I agree with his overall premise however I can’t force myself to listen to 24 minutes of that video. I was just wondering about the chemistry of how they break down the detergents. I’m a bit shaky on that part.

Not to be confusing here I don’t use any additives nor do I think I need any. I just happen to have a minor in chemistry and when I see things like it “breaks down detergents” I get interested. A lot of people don’t even know what the detergents are in a motor oil and what they actually do. Also when I see someone using a latte frother to demonstrate a point about motor oil I tend to lose interest, there are no frothers in an engine. Many people do things like this in their ad hoc “tests” which aren’t necessarily representative of what’s going on inside an engine. It makes for a good county fair presentation but that’s about.
 
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I agree with his overall premise however I can’t force myself to listen to 24 minutes of that video. I was just wondering about the chemistry of how they break down the detergents. I’m a bit shaky on that part.

Not to be confusing here I don’t use any additives nor do I think I need any. I just happen to have a minor in chemistry and when I see things like it “breaks down detergents” I get interested. A lot of people don’t even know what the detergents are in a motor oil and what they actually do. Also when I see someone using a latte frother to demonstrate a point about motor oil I tend to lose interest, there are no frothers in an engine. Many people do things like this in their ad hoc “tests” which aren’t necessarily representative of what’s going on inside an engine. It makes for a good county fair presentation but that’s about.
I'm no chemist or scientist or anything close but I would assume the detergents in a motor oil would be for cleaning purposes since they use the detergent. IDK. I just asked a question and have people's opinions that say use an additive and others saying don't use an additive. They guy in that video reached out to me and said he wouldn't suggest it in any way and he seems to know a little about these things from what I can see and read.
I just take the knowledge and apply it as I see fit. Nobody is wrong as they believe what they choose to believe. Some believe Walmart oil is bad but it's been proven it isn't any better or worse than any of the more expensive oils. Oil brands are like car brands, everyone is going to tell others that one is better than the other.
 
Fix it now or pay more later. A lifter most likely collapsed unless it is the classic version of truck. Oil, additives or oil regimen does not fix it.

If you keep driving with it ticking it will destroy the cam. Just the lifters and oil manifold can be replaced if it is caught early enough.
My buddies dad's has had the same issue. Can't repair it due to the cylinder deactivation whatever. I'm more of a believer that a shady shop can fix anything. Anyway he's put about 150k miles on it since it had the issue. Thing has like 375k and still going so just saying the LS engine can surprise people.

Having said that. I'd flush it like crazy. Bring the engine oil up to temp letting it idle for 30min, drain 50% of the oil then replace it with diesel, let it idle for another half hour. Not saying it's a real cure but if it's stuck valves or gunk buildup it will make it sparkly clean.
 
Have you pulled the valve covers off to inspect movement of the valve springs or look for excessive movement of the rocker arms? Your video clip indicates this isn't an oil issue, it's mechanical, and nothing from a bottle is going to fix it. Probably time to throw that 4.8 in there.

The LS rockers aren't adjustable so if anything is loose but the rocker arm bolts are tight to spec, the lifter(s) has/have failed.
 
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