GM 5.3L V8

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ctc

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The one in Suburbans...

Any sludge issues or other known defects?
 
nope and it's a great little engine-change the oil every 5K and you'll get rid of the truck before the emgine ever has any issues.


Steve
 
What year? In the 99-02 the GM V8s did have a piston slap problem. Some say it doesn't cause a problem, others say it does. Google Chevy piston slap. Tons of info.
 
Got one in a 2002 Silverado. 73k on it now. Has been a good engine. No piston slap or any other issues. Has done a fair share of trailer towing. Seems to like PP or Mobil 1 5 or 10 30w every 6k.
 
Originally Posted By: daddi
Got one in a 2002 Silverado. 73k on it now. Has been a good engine. No piston slap or any other issues. Has done a fair share of trailer towing. Seems to like PP or Mobil 1 5 or 10 30w every 6k.


My brother in law has a 2002 and he has the piston slap, started at 15,000 miles. At first he used dino of some sort, but changed to M1 5-30EP at 20,000 miles and the slap has quited, he says 50%. Now has 60,000 miles. Nice truck.
 
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great engine. got one in my suburban. great gas mileage for the size truck. only "defect" is dex-cool. make sure you change the dex-cool every 4 years.
 
I'm looking at years 04-06.

Thanks for the replies...
 
Well...........

My '04 Silverado 5.3 @ 151,000 miles failed a bearing in one of the roller cam lifters. Destroyed the block and crankshaft. Despite my apparently rare failure, many techs that I spoke with tell me this engine is generally bulletproof. Made a early noise just the the famous "piston slap" except pop, that she blows. An apparently very rare failure.

P.S. the reman engines have a better warranty than the GM replacement engines. 3/36 vs. 12/12.
 
IIRC, 2004 was the first year of the "non slappers".

I have a 2004 with a 5.3, and am just stunned as to how much more "get up and go" that it has, when compared to my buddy's 2004 F-150 with the 5.4.

I change my oil every 5,000 (or so) miles with Pennzoil Platinum 5w-30 and a Wix filter.

Dad has a 2000 Sierra with the 5.3, and it slapped with 5w-30, but Platinum 10w-30 made a significant difference. As far as I'm concerned, problem solved.
 
The 5.3s including the 4.8s and 6.0s do have problems with intake gaskets.They blow out and suck in air causing a miss.The intake gaskets are made out of plastic which GM did a mistake doing.Jasper warrantiess their reman 5.3s with a 3 year/100,000 mile warranty.Use 5w 30 oil only or the lifters will rattle.The 5.3 also gets better fuel mileage than the 350.
 
Originally Posted By: wafrederick1
The 5.3s including the 4.8s and 6.0s do have problems with intake gaskets.They blow out and suck in air causing a miss.The intake gaskets are made out of plastic which GM did a mistake doing.Jasper warrantiess their reman 5.3s with a 3 year/100,000 mile warranty.Use 5w 30 oil only or the lifters will rattle.The 5.3 also gets better fuel mileage than the 350.


The older 5.0 and 5.7 truck engines did this but not the newer ones. The 4.8, 5.3, 6.0 truck engines are extremely durable and perform very well. I have maintained and owned several. Currently own a LQ4 6.0 and LH8 5.3.
 
Originally Posted By: o2man98
Originally Posted By: wafrederick1
The 5.3s including the 4.8s and 6.0s do have problems with intake gaskets.They blow out and suck in air causing a miss.The intake gaskets are made out of plastic which GM did a mistake doing.Jasper warrantiess their reman 5.3s with a 3 year/100,000 mile warranty.Use 5w 30 oil only or the lifters will rattle.The 5.3 also gets better fuel mileage than the 350.


The older 5.0 and 5.7 truck engines did this but not the newer ones. The 4.8, 5.3, 6.0 truck engines are extremely durable and perform very well. I have maintained and owned several. Currently own a LQ4 6.0 and LH8 5.3.



They are more durable because they no longer have coolant flowng through the intake. There have been some reported vacuum leaks, however.
 
Have about 82K on my '04 Sierra with a 5.3L. It's been a fantastic engine, no problems whatsoever, the whole truck has been super reliable.

I noticed a slight piston slap when I used Mobil oils (M1 and Clean 5000). I no longer use their products.

When I've used 10W-30 in Chevron Supreme or Pennz Plat, the noise decreased or subsided altogether. GC 0W-30 seems to work best for me in all aspects so that's what I prefer and recommend. Piston slap is almost zero, oil consumption is zero, I get long OCI's, and good mileage.

The truck has been so good, I'd buy another one in a heartbeat.
 
FIL has an '04 Silverado w/a 4.8. Has about 80k miles on it. Runs very quiet and smooth, his V-8 truck is half as quiet as my '02 Cavalier I-4! Also hasn't had any engine problems yet. I love the engine note when he winds it out.
 
I have replaced intake gaskets on 5.3s,run like [censored] with a missfire code including map and oxygen sensor codes.All parts stores and the dealer stock the intake gaskets due knowing it is common problem.They clip on the intake.The 5.3 is worse to work on in the fullsize vans
 
The one in our 2002 Suburban is quiet and smooth. The plugs were a bit worn at about 85000 when I changed them. It does use a bit of oil, it uses about a quart every 2000 miles.
 
The intake gaskets are made out of plastic and I did hear Dorman was coming out with metal intake gaskets for the 5.3,6.0 and 4.8 engines.
 
I had a 2002 Suburban with a 5.3 piston slapper. Traded it on a 2006 GMC 6.0L piston slapper....now I drive a Toyota T4R

GM engines are not as good as they used to be.
 
Thanks for all the info!

How about that 4 spd tranny in the 05-06 Suburban. Are they prone to failure (more than other AT)?
 
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