Jay Ratliff

I had a '98 Silverado with the 4.3 in it. Traded it off when it had 268k miles on it and would have driven it anywhere without worry. Have a friend who had pretty much the same truck at the time, only his had the 5.7 in it. From a dig he couldn't put more than a truck length on me until I shifted into 3rd gear, then he'd start driving away. The 4.3 is, in my opinion, about the best pushrod v6 ever made.

All of them were under warranty to one extent or another. First under 100k mile extended warranty, they wanted to put a used one back in it but I paid the dealership the balance to put a crate unit in, which came with its own 100k mile GM warranty. That one got me to 187k miles before it crapped the bed. I offered to buy the billet converter myself but they wouldn't have it, said they had to do it GM's way or nothing at all. So I was stuck. So this trans has about 116k miles on it o far, but running it much cooler than the previous two so we'll see how long that lasts. I kind of thought the motor would be next and I'd deal with the transmission upgrades at that time, but it has yet to happen. But yeah, in Texas we don't get much salt on the roads so mine is still rust free. I've managed to keep it pretty nice for it's mileage too. Obviously, it sees a ton of hwy miles. I think it's been to about 31-32 states so far.

I generally wouldn't resurrect such an old thread, but I have to come back and brag a little bit. So from the above post, in the past year I have replaced the valve cover gaskets, they got bad enough that oil leaking from the passenger side soaked the starter. But I did find the driver side tick, it wasn't a lifter at all, but the plug on #1 had backed out. Of course it can't turn much with the wire on it, but it did just enough to sound like a tick on the compression stroke. Easy fix. Most recently did work-around on the dreaded P0420 and P0430 codes that have been intermittent for the last year or so, but constant since about October. Let's just say park plug anti-foulers worked magic, lol. So I got it passed emissions inspection yesterday. The guy inspecting it had to take a second look at the mileage, he thought it was 30k and change at first, then saw it was really 300k+. He was even more amazed that it is the original engine with DOD/AFM still active. Good oil changed often helps, I guess. I did go to 5w30 oil a few changes back. Oil pressure was a few psi lower than it had been all its life, now it's back up to where it used to be with the specified 0w20 and doing just fine. Even better that it's the same oil the LS3 in my Camaro uses, so easier to manage inventory in the garage. But I have decided my path forward. Next week I'm going to pick up an L83 pull-out with 50k miles on it and wrap it up in the shop. At the first sign of failure I'll swap it into the truck and then start the build on the one that in it now. I'm now more curious about how far I can get this one to go. Anyway, 302k miles and still going strong. She's nickle and diming me on bolt-on parts but the heart still beats strong.

She's over 275k miles. Oil pressure isn't bad, just not what it used to be. Very light tick at idle from around cylinder #1 for the last thousand miles or so, doesn't seem to be getting any worse, yet. It does it at operating temp after a run on the hwy when dod is cycling on and off. If I keep it in town town under 50mph it never does it. Needs valve cover gaskets, not a biggie. Up to about 80k miles on the current transmission (its 3rd), which is a GM reman'd unit with the dreaded OEM JMB converter. Previous converters failed at 97k and 187k. Radiator tank is weeping where it meets the core. And there's a few other little items to deal with as well. Time to show her some love, again. So here's what I'm thinking..... Yank the engine out and do a DOD delete with OEM grind cam and LS7 lifters, and all that's involved with that. Putting a new oil pump on it, GM or Melling. The motivation behind pulling the engine to do this is, besides it being easier to do the engine work itself, I'm planning on swapping out the torque converter with a billet unit. I probably won't take much to turn this into a full rebuild/refresh should the internals look sketchy in any way. And of course a tune at the end to disable DOD/AFM and a few other minor changes I want to make, but no real performance changes. Looking to keep it pretty much as-is, just freshen her up a bit. Anyway, anyone with experience on this endeavor please chime in with any advice or constructive criticism that's pertinent. Thanks

Now I'm not picking on anybody here. Who could have known, right? But I almost spit tea on my screen when I just read this response from 2013.

I have no experience pulling the engine/trans from these trucks, yet. Will be pulling mine before too long as it's getting close to yours on mileage, on my 3rd transmission. But I will offer this piece of advice....If the new(er) combo has the OEM converter I'd swap it out now. Nothing good will come from leaving it in there and it's a lot harder to do once it's all in the truck.

I'm doing all of the same research for my '18 L83 right now, for different reasons. It's why I clicked on the thread. My truck has a few more miles than yours, 275k in fact. Still on the OG engine with DOD/AFM and all. I love Valvoline. I have fought the transmission issue these trucks are plagued with, twice now. I'll just say this on that subject.....Get that converter out of there. Keeping the temp down should help, and even some good tuning, but eventually that converter will fail and take the transmission out. My first one went at 97k (in extended warranty, cost me $1,100 for a crate unit instead of LKQ), second one at 187k (in crate unit's warranty, tsb done at this time with the 145degree trans-stat). Within 1k miles on number 3 I deleted the stat and added an aux cooler with a fan on it under the truck. I rarely ever see my trans over 155 degrees anymore, usually runs around 130-140. I still want the oem converter out of it since it's getting up there where the others failed. But I digress. On the dod delete, I'm on the fence between BTR and Texas Speed on where to source the kit. Each being within about $50 of one another and reputable companies. Given the mileage on mine I'll be doing an oil pump, at least, and going thru the whole thing if something in the bottom end looks terrible. I am going to take the engine out on mine for the work, I also want to change the converter so it just makes sense. But I can certainly see the advantage of doing a simple cam swap/delete job while its in the truck. Although it's so much easier to work on out of the truck. So it's all preventive for me at this point too, it's just a race for me to get it done before inevitable happens. I'll be going back with an OEM grind cam myself. I did look at the numbers on a few stage 1&2's and just didn't see enough torque gain in a usable rpm range to justify the added costs involved for my needs. If I wanted it to go faster, then yes, but that's what my Camaro is for. Honestly, for money spent I'd bet a simple rear gear swap would be more practical for my use. But she's been a good truck so far, transmission issues aside, so I'll be showing her some love pretty soon.

I replaced my rear pads at about 100k when they were getting pretty thin. At 260k miles now, and will be doing all four rotors and pads this weekend. Fronts are still factory, I'm shocked they lived this long. Starting to get some vibration on braking and figured they're all due.

I took several blades out of mine a while back. The motor will have arms connected directly to some blades, the rest will be driven by arms from the primary drive blades. I removed all secondary blades, about half of them, leaving only those connected directly to the motor. I was experiencing slight temp spikes on the hwy, I guess the blades would cycle closed, temp would spike, then they'd cycle open to drop the temp. Got tired of seeing this happen, and it doesn't happen any more since the mod.

Update: Currently at 260k miles and counting.

My 2018 L83 is currently at 260k miles. No delete, no disable, I just change the oil every 5k miles with Valvoline 0w20. She just keeps on going, no ticks, knocks, or other scary noises.

Had my truck since new, currently at 260k miles. I've been religious about oil changes throughout its life, feeding it Valvoline 0w20 every 5k miles. I do add between a 1/2 and 1qt at about 2500 miles between changes. Lately the oil pressure is running a bit lower than usual at operating temperature. Cruising on the hwy it's running about 34-37psi per the gauge, and idling about 16-20psi. It used to run north of 40psi cruising and north of 20psi idling. Not getting any noises, ticks, or knocks, she still runs fine. I'm sure what I'm seeing is a result of the mileage, just wondering if anyone has taken one this far and what their experiences were along the way? I know the old 10psi per 1,000rpm rule, and it's certainly maintaining that. Just wondering if what I'm seeing is a sign of something eminent on the horizon? Also, I've considered running 0w30 or 5w30 in it, as I imagine the bearing clearances could handle it. But don't want it to cause any lifter issues since I've managed to get these this far along without problems. Opinions? Thanks, Jay

I modified them on my '18. I removed the grill, then the shutter assembly. On it you'll find there are three blades with arms connected directly to the actuator motor, let's call those primary blades. I left those in place. I completely removed the remaining blades that are actuated by the primary blades. Reassembled everything and now it thinks it's closing the entire assembly when only part of the assembly is present. No codes, and better cooling for the engine and transmission. My original reasoning for modifying this system was, at highway speeds and sometimes even surface road driving my coolant temps would spike up and then drop back down to normal. I know these engines like to run "hot", but looking down and semi-regularly seeing temps around 230 degrees just wasn't for me. Since doing the mod over a year ago I have yet to see engine coolant temps exceed 215 degrees in Texas heat while towing.

A few things could be going on. Worn out/sagging motor mounts, worn out/sagging cab bushings. Either and or both can cause linkages to be slightly out of their intended locations. Linkage pivot points can wear as well over time. Stack all of these smaller possible misalignments and it can add up to interference issues or things not residing exactly where intended. You say "headers", do you mean tube headers, or are they cast manifolds? If true headers, then no they aren't factory. And yes, headers can present clearance issues if not just the right model (sometimes even if they are), or if other stuff is not exactly where its supposed to be (see paragraph above). If cast, they could be factory, or on a truck this age they could have been replaced with just about anything over the years. These 50yr old trucks can be a lot of fun in this regard. Welcome to the club

2018 Silverado Custom Crew Cab L83/6L80E. Zero Mods- Well, I did trim the tabs off of the lower front air dam to add a bit of approach angle after tearing one side loose on the deer lease. 187,000 miles as of 5/31/22 Failures to date: * Water pump about 50k * Transmission at 97k (covered under extended warranty, cost me an xtra $1k to get a crate unit instead of LKQ, so got a 100k warranty with the replacement). * Hail Damage at 120k, replaced roof panel and hood, PDR multiple other dents. * Water Pump about 140k. Went ahead and replaced t-stat at the time. * Rear brake pads at 175k. *Transmission a week ago at 187k, barely under warranty, no warranty on crate unit but no cost either. On my own in 9k miles. Maintenance: Oil change every 6k with Valv full Syn 0-W20 and Puralator Boss filters. Trans service at 50k mark, both times. Air filters as needed, checked every oil change. On my 4th set of Cooper Discoverer AT 275/55/60's. This weekend she'll be getting new spark plugs and wires, and full service, including rear diff fluid change. Only three things nagging at me now. One is a slight engine temp fluctuation, floats between 207ish up to about 215ish on occasion at hwy speeds, suspect the grill shutters, looking into mod'ing them. Modified the shutter system last weekend. Took 2 long blades and 2 short blades from each side of the assembly, leaving only those necessary for the motor/linkage to function. Temp swings have disappeared, sits right on 207 now, and transmission cools down faster on the hwy than it used to. Second is prolonging the life of these JMBX torque-converter failure-prone transmissions. Thinking of the pill flip mod and possible trans tune. Third, it almost feels like I have a motor mount failing. Feels like a slight movement in the drive train somewhere when I start from a dead stop, like it's taking up slack before power is applied. Surprisingly, I am happy with and love my truck. I'm sure I'd be a little more grumpy if I'd have been out of pocket for two transmissions at this point.