I bought my 2003 GMC 1/2 ton pickup new. 80 - 90% of miles are on the highway. OCI has been 5000 mi, using synthetics (M1 5W-30, GC 0W-30, Havoline Synth 5W-30, and PP 5W-30). Total miles on truck are about 81,000. Not sure when I first started to notice the lifter noise - maybe the last year or so.
A guy I knew where I used to work had a late model S10 with the same engine. He said he'd had no problems with the truck except for noisy lifters. He also did mostly highway driving and used synthetic oil - I'm not sure of oil brand or OCI. I do know that his truck at the time had well under 100,000 miles on it.
Do the GM roller lifter 4.3 L engines have a reputation for developing noisy lifters at so few miles? I would think that a roller lifter design would have very low wear rates compared to the many flat bottom lifter Chevy small block V-8s I have driven through the years. So this doesn't make any sense to me. Thanks for any input.
A guy I knew where I used to work had a late model S10 with the same engine. He said he'd had no problems with the truck except for noisy lifters. He also did mostly highway driving and used synthetic oil - I'm not sure of oil brand or OCI. I do know that his truck at the time had well under 100,000 miles on it.
Do the GM roller lifter 4.3 L engines have a reputation for developing noisy lifters at so few miles? I would think that a roller lifter design would have very low wear rates compared to the many flat bottom lifter Chevy small block V-8s I have driven through the years. So this doesn't make any sense to me. Thanks for any input.