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

certified22 · April 12, 2016

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

txab · May 9, 2016

If it runs ok and it's quiet, drive it 'till it drops dead from something else. meanwhile save your money for possible replacement engine

txab · May 9, 2016

Without me re-reading this whole thing.. have you installed a mechanical pressure gauge to confirm your readings? If you install new plugs leave them set at .040 no need to mess with them and open the gap

Why would you put it back together with timing off "one tooth" as you say? Why not set it properly and be done?

certified22 · April 30, 2016

Got my oil pump don't quit on me now fellas any thing I need to pick up before I start tearing it apart gaskets should I replace my water pump and I can't believe I let this slip my mind but this winter on really cold f'n days I would have a lifter tick for 30 seconds or so and then would stop only did it on cold days and hasn't done it in a while also any one ever hear about this disappearing coolant castech head cracking issue

Doug_Scott · June 22, 2016

I hear we're approaching (or have already passed) "the singularity", where what once took 5,000 years for man to create, will now be done monthly, or something like that. It's exponential. I hear in the next 10 years, the things we'll be seeing will blow our minds. Whether or not we'll be able to afford them is another story ...

Wasn't really comparing the 2 engines - just their respective reliability. The 350 never had the problems the LS's are having right out of the gate (burning oil, oil pump failures, etc.). I don't think that's the fault of the design - no argument the LS is leaps and bounds ahead of the 350 in every way - it breathes like a fully modified 350 except right from the factory. The problem today is the "make a buck" attitude of society with less emphasis on helping your fellow man, which has trickled up to manufacturing, and our government.

I was not around when the overhead valve v8s became commonplace, so have zero first hand knowledge of quality. I do know that it was pretty much normal thinking back in the early 50's for the middle class that once a car hit 20k it was time to get another new car. That usually meant every 2 or 3 years. Having a car go 100k miles was something rare. Even in the sixties and early seventies it was pretty much common knowledge (to those in the hobby or industry), that at 7 years old, the car had 0 value for trade in or commercial sale. That was when you could buy an 8 year old car with low mileage for $100.

I think what is happening now is that there is far more pressure on manufacturers to meet standards that are defined by legislation that was created by some pretty narrow minded people. Manufacturers have pressure applied from all sides of the marketplace. You need only look at some of the features that are now being sold to consumers. For example, who figured that drivers needed an option to help them in case they forgot to brake when traffic slowed? That one feature goes against one of mother nature's population controls. Every time they add in one of these "features" it can impact hundreds of other systems. Anyone that has worked in software quality assurance testing can attest to that one point. Anyone happen to catch the episode of Top Gear where Jeremy was driving one of those cars that helps you avoid rear end collisions? He apparently found this feature by accident during the shooting of the episode, the car stopped on its own before he had managed to get to the brake pedal when parking the car. He was so surprised he just had to show the others so he aimed his car at one of the others cars and drive right into it. Apparently he did not meet the criteria for that system to engage automatically. That one point should tell everyone that there is going to be a problem with this feature. People will come to rely on it, and one day you will not meet the criteria for it to engage and the crash will occur.

There is also one major change to absolutely everything we do now, the internet. Before internet you only ever heard about what was common in your little slice of the world. You had no idea if the spark plugs were coming loose in Ford modular engines everywhere, or was it just the few that you saw? If we had the internet back in the 50's there is no telling where we would be now.