5.3 more metal in motor than anyone has ever seen before still running

[certified22]

Gotta give it to the boys at GM my 04 Z-71Tahoe 5.3L is running strong still I had the low oil pressure issue 10psi @idle 10-15psi @ 1000-1500 rpm 15-20psi @1500-2000 rpm sometimes I might get up to 24 psi but never more usually maxed out at 20psi I ignored it for a little bit till due to wife spending money she was not supposed to that's another issue but the first time it sounded the low oil pressure alarm sitting at a red light I parked it got my parts drove it to my shop started pulling the front differential got it out the way drained the oil when I pulled the plug there was more metal shavings on the plug then I cared to ever see pulled the pan the pick up tube screen covered in big metal shavings went to clean the pan I have never seen that much or that big of metal shavings in any motor still running cleaned everything up in solvent tank put new o ring on pick up tube put it all back together and I have an increase in oil pressure but not much get 30psi on the highway it doesn't drop below 10psi at idle or red lights anymore the low oil pressure alarm sounds at 6 psi I think and it not doing that and running fine but it was running strong before as well I've never had a loss of power my check engine light has stayed off and it comes on randomly due to intake gasket replacement needs but turns off when it warms up I only run royal purple oil and and Lucas oil stabilizer in it 5 RP 1 LOS and an AC Delco oil filter every oil change I only run premium gas in it I care for this truck like I care for my children so now I have to decide motor rebuild or motor swap I was gonna pull the rod caps but I was so fed up with the **** bullshit of the whole situation (and that's not a racist comment) and I'm sure it's the main barrings so I didn't well that's where I'm at any input is very much welcomed although I doubt anyone will comment for sure no GM technicians will even though the forum is called Ask a GM technician cause I've been posting all kinds of questions about this project before I started and I've gotten nothing but crickets chirping on those questions so comments are welcome as a reminder to those who have this same issue I'm not ASE certified but I am certified to take anything apart and put it back together in better working shape than it was been wrenching on cars since I was 5years old been around the world 3 times met a man with a wooden cock drove every kind of truck there is 2wheel 4 wheel 6wheel 8wheel even those big mother truckers that go pssh pssh when you step on the brakes I'm a huntin fishin hot lady ****in rootn tootn shootin double cap crimpin motor building red neck from iKS that's going back for more every time and if you made it this far DO NOT!!!!! IGNORE THE LOW OIL PRESSURE FOR EVEN A FEW DAYS I GNORED MINE FOR 8 DAYS AND HERE I AM my last oil change was in late February no metal on drain plug then started getting low oil pressure for 8 days no low oil alarm till the 8 the day didn't drive it day 9 and on day 10 drove it to my shop and tore it down and blah metal blah metal **** me running so don't ignore low oil pressure

[certified22]

Should the two dots on the timing gears align cause the camshaft gear dot is at the 5 o'clock position and the crankshaft gear dot is at the 10 1030 position

[Doug_Scott]

Looking at their website it appears that they use the idea that low mileage means low average yearly mileage. They look for vehicles that are at about 50% normal annual mileage. To me this means that the engine for your 2004 may have up to 100,000 miles on it and still be considered a "low mileage" engine to them. This may not be the case, but, all we can go on is what they say on their site. I would want them to start the mileage on the engine before purchasing it. Warranty only covers the parts, not the labour. If you are doing the labour yourself, they may not warranty the engine. Most warranties do not cover self installed situations.

[certified22]

Here is where I found that $1100 crate motor

[Jsdirt]

Ahh, used - that makes sense.

 

Thought it was a brand new crate. Can hardly get a 350 for that price these days.

[certified22]

[certified22]

The blue arrow is the tooth with the dot on the crank gear the red arrow is the dot on cam gear. Is this the correct alignment

[certified22]

[00Silverado4x4]

I'd say you need new plugs. That one looks like it's had it's day.

[certified22]

Put mechanical gauge on again and it's same as in dash gauge I'm now going to pull the front of the motor off again pull the radiator as well and put new cam bearings in it I'm going to attempt this with motor still in truck any reason why I shouldn't little up set that everyone I talked to and everything I read not once anything about cam bearings and apparently a tell tell sign your cam bearings are going out is no oil pressure at idle and oil pressure when you step on gas would have been nice to replace them when I had it apart the first time can't blame no one but my self but it's rather frustrating that this was not brought up before

[txab]

Guess I got the idea you set them to.045 from your earlier post.

 

 

 

Ac- delco platinum part number 41-962 only been running them about 25000 miles so they didn't get left in to long and I gapped them about .45 and when I checked them they are all about .60

[Jsdirt]

#1 should be at TDC - that's the way it's been since the dawn of the V8, unless GM decided to change that too ( wouldn't surprise me one bit! ).

 

Plug looked good to me, aside from the gap looking a little wide, and the plug slightly worn. Color is about perfect.

[certified22]

So the low mileage motor place turned out to be a scam along with swengines sw meaning south west even though they located in Wisconsin lol and every other low mileage selling place with a warranty on the net so far best I can do is 114000 out of 04 5.3L $887 off eBay from a 98.7% good feedback seller and covered by eBay money back garuntee I've pulled the rod caps since I last posted and looked up in the motor best I coin from the bottom and cam looked good from what I could see crank looks good from what I can see no hot spots the bearings looked fine at least on cap side smelled a little burnt but no excessive wear or missing metal were do I go from here where did the metal come from.

[Doug_Scott]

I never heard of that happening with the 350. Always hidden gremlins in anything modern. I'm still learning these LS engines. First one I ever saw was in '07 in my Silverado - had owned nothing but 350 V8s prior.

 

Gotta love GM. They design a bulletproof lower end, then install crap cam bearings, crap lifters, faulty oil pumps and finish the assembly off with hit-or-miss piston/cylinder clearances.

 

Not really a fair comparison between the 350 and the LS series. The 350("Gen 1") has been around since 1954/55. As with any product, there is a time period needed to debug it. The original small block was pretty advanced engineering for the day, but, by today's standards, it was just a basic engine. Compare that to the LS series of engines. Its too bad they changed the way engines power output was advertised in 72. Would be interested in hearing a comparison between the two generations of engines using the same system in both cases. The L84 327 was advertised as having 375 hp @6200 with the torque being 350@4600. Same engine but with a 4bbl instead of FI was 10hp less, but same torque peak, but at 600 less rpm(4,000 rpm). GM produced this engine after about 10 years of production and research with the small block engine.

 

In my opinion, I think the LS series engine will eventually overtake the GEN 1 design in dependability and performance. Advancement in engine design progresses at an exponential rate. The advancements in the last 20 years far outstrip the advancements made in the first 100 years.

[Doug_Scott]

Put mechanical gauge on again and it's same as in dash gauge I'm now going to pull the front of the motor off again pull the radiator as well and put new cam bearings in it I'm going to attempt this with motor still in truck any reason why I shouldn't little up set that everyone I talked to and everything I read not once anything about cam bearings and apparently a tell tell sign your cam bearings are going out is no oil pressure at idle and oil pressure when you step on gas would have been nice to replace them when I had it apart the first time can't blame no one but my self but it's rather frustrating that this was not brought up before

 

I do not recall ever hearing of an engine failing due to cam bearings. By this I mean having to replace cam bearings as being the reason to open an engine. I would also expect roller camshafts to put less load on the cam bearings as well. Reading Jsdirts post leads me to think he also feels this way. I have always treated cam bearings as the root to an engine build. Not a typical serviceable part.

 

Before you begin, make sure you have a tool for pulling the last bearing out. You will not be able to push it out due to engine still being installed.

 

As long as you have enough pressure to keep the oil pressure light from turning on, you are good to go. As I have said before, I would just keep driving it. Maybe start putting some money away every week, and by the time it finally fails, you may have enough saved to do something impressive with the engine.

[Jsdirt]

No - they should be facing each other: crank at NOON, cam at 6 ... ONLY when #1 is at TDC.

 

 

 

There are a couple of detailed videos on changing oil pump and timing gears and chains on youtube. Saw one the other day that was 7 minutes long and it showed replacing oil pump and timing chain and gear on a LS engine. Look for "5.3 timing chain".

 

Did I just see the oil pump IN the front timing cover, like on 4-cylinder econoboxes? That's how they do it now? Oh boy ...

 

Noticed the chain is super-sloppy now too. Wow ...