Piston Slap

Irv · August 28, 2009

Ok, I got to say I am getting a little annoyed/embarassed with this clackity clack I hear everytime I fire up my new truck!

It is also getting embarassing when people say, your "NEW" truck sure is noisey, is anything wrong with it?

In the manual it states to exclusively use 5W-30, nothing more or less even in the hot summer months? Just curious if anyone has and if so, did it cure this clackity clack noise?

My 97 Sierra purred like a kitten, hardly any noise what so ever and too hear anything at all, you had to lift the hood and in which case it was normally the whir of the fan and belts, never any engine noise!

I am currently running 5W-30 S-1000 Mobil dino oil and the next oil change I will be switching to Mobil-1 synthetic, can I expect the noise to be less noticable or completely gone?

Sorry, I am sure this question has been asked many times before but I just had to vent!

brandon_guzzo · August 28, 2009

Ok, I got to say I am getting a little annoyed/embarassed with this clackity clack I hear everytime I fire up my new truck!

It is also getting embarassing when people say, your "NEW" truck sure is noisey, is anything wrong with it?

In the manual it states to exclusively use 5W-30, nothing more or less even in the hot summer months? Just curious if anyone has and if so, did it cure this clackity clack noise?

My 97 Sierra purred like a kitten, hardly any noise what so ever and too hear anything at all, you had to lift the hood and in which case it was normally the whir of the fan and belts, never any engine noise!

I am currently running 5W-30 S-1000 Mobil dino oil and the next oil change I will be switching to Mobil-1 synthetic, can I expect the noise to be less noticable or completely gone?

Sorry, I am sure this question has been asked many times before but I just had to vent!

My truck has miner piston slap upon start up so i decided t change from normal conventional oil to mobil 1 synthetic oil. I have found that since running Mobil 1 Synthetic i have heard less to no piston slap. In the winter i run 5w30 and in the summer 10w30 and yes my truck calls for 5w30.

More Info

Excessive piston slap occurs when the clearance between the piston and the cylinder bore is too great. The piston to cylinder bore clearance becomes too great either through wear, mismatched pistons and cylinder bores at manufacturing or, a combination of both. The audible noise associated with excessive piston slap is due to the perpendicular impact of the piston against the wall of the cylinder bore. In many cases, piston slap is engineered into the car by the use of hypereutectic (high silicon content aluminum alloy) pistons, reduced or eliminated piston skirts (to reduce reciprocating mass), and a higher ring pack to reduce unburned fuel mixture on the sides of the piston crown, principally for more fuel efficiency. Piston slap is an unfortunate but not necessarily harmful by product of this design. A key issue with piston slap is whether it is resulting in lost compression and oil burning. If not, it is just an annoying engine noise but is not affecting the durability of the engine. No additive I know of is going to reduce piston slap as it is "baked in to the cake" so to speak. A heavier engine oil might actually do more damage to the engine. Amsoil or Mobil1 synthetic oils will help the engine last longer, but they may or may not reduce the slap or related noise. Good luck!

Irv · August 28, 2009

Thanks Brguzz, it is good to know it isn't causing engine damage but personally I can't see how it isn't? With the piston skirt slapping against the cylinder walls, one would assume some scuffing, although probably minor, is happening?

You experience sounds promising, I plan to switch my dino out this coming fall (Oct/Nov) with Mobil-1 5W-30 synthetic.

Coureous on the second part of your reply? Heavier oil may cause engine damage? I could understand a 20W-50 or a 15W-40 maybe but not a 10W-30?

Hopefully when I switch to Mobil-1, I won't have to be concerned with running a heavier weight in the summer.

Thanks again for the info and sharing your personal experience

brandon_guzzo · August 28, 2009

Thanks Brguzz, it is good to know it isn't causing engine damage but personally I can't see how it isn't? With the piston skirt slapping against the cylinder walls, one would assume some scuffing, although probably minor, is happening?

You experience sounds promising, I plan to switch my dino out this coming fall (Oct/Nov) with Mobil-1 5W-30 synthetic.

Coureous on the second part of your reply? Heavier oil may cause engine damage? I could understand a 20W-50 or a 15W-40 maybe but not a 10W-30?

Hopefully when I switch to Mobil-1, I won't have to be concerned with running a heavier weight in the summer.

Thanks again for the info and sharing your personal experience

To respond to the second part of my reply if your engine is having piston slap upon start up the heavier viscosity oil you are using the harder the engine has to work in order to get it uo into the cylinders of the engine. The lighter the oil such as a synthetic oil is less dense and is a lighter weight thus allowing it to rise to the top of the engine much faster. The faster the oil reaches the top of the engine the less metal on metal there is thus reducing engine wear. Gm is prone to the piston slap, i own a 2000 silverado with piston slap as-well as a 2008 with piston slap. plus my 2000 has over 200,000 kilometers on it with no problems with the engine.

Brandon

jhm · August 28, 2009

When I bought my "01 after a few months it started making a tapping noise. I bought it in, they wouldnt even look at it just said it is piston slap and it is normal. I called GM and they gave me a 5 yr 100K extended warranty. Later found the noise was the 4wd selector mechanism vibrating. They fixed it and I still had the warranty.

Draenor · August 28, 2009

Is this on the '09 in your profile? I thought GM has taken care of CSK by now.

Irv · August 28, 2009

Is this on the '09 in your profile? I thought GM has taken care of CSK by now.

Yes, it's an 09 5.3L with 4,800 km's, just changed the oil last night.

To me, it sounds noisier than it ever has, I am going to check my level soon but I know I can't be out by more than 100-200 mil's?

Jansen · August 28, 2009

Not to start a controversy but I've run Mobil 1 15w50, no issues (seen -9F in ohio) starts and drives fine. Based on oil analysis, the 15w50 did a better job than a 10w40 Mobil 1 full synthetic at wear protection based on metal particulate in the sample. I only used 10w40 because the store was out of 15w50.

My truck is a 2004 Sierra with the 5.3 with no AFM.

Jansen · August 28, 2009

Still slaps for 1 to 2 mintues when cold, heavy oil will not help

98 Z71 SLT · August 29, 2009

You guys are confusing the OP with 2 different issues...the "old" piston slap, and the "new" lifter tick noises

The OP needs to start researching all the Active Fuel Management / AFM Lifter threads and info on here, and also sounds like he needs to schedule a service visit right away...

His '09 does NOT have a piston slap issue, it most likely has an AFM issue.

brandon_guzzo · August 29, 2009

You guys are confusing the OP with 2 different issues...the "old" piston slap, and the "new" lifter tick noises

The OP needs to start researching all the Active Fuel Management / AFM Lifter threads and info on here, and also sounds like he needs to schedule a service visit right away...

His '09 does NOT have a piston slap issue, it most likely has an AFM issue.

it is possible that he has piston slap but not likely because my 08 and my brothers 09 has piston slap and the dealer offer to redo the engine cylinders...so i said id live with it lol

Irv · August 29, 2009

You guys are confusing the OP with 2 different issues...the "old" piston slap, and the "new" lifter tick noises

The OP needs to start researching all the Active Fuel Management / AFM Lifter threads and info on here, and also sounds like he needs to schedule a service visit right away...

His '09 does NOT have a piston slap issue, it most likely has an AFM issue.

Can you point me in the right direction SS? I just (briefly) checked out the AFM section and through 4 pgs, there was not 1 title about lifter noise?

You suggest a service right away, please explain, are my push rods going to come off my lifters or rockers?

Irv · August 29, 2009

You guys are confusing the OP with 2 different issues...the "old" piston slap, and the "new" lifter tick noises

The OP needs to start researching all the Active Fuel Management / AFM Lifter threads and info on here, and also sounds like he needs to schedule a service visit right away...

His '09 does NOT have a piston slap issue, it most likely has an AFM issue.

it is possible that he has piston slap but not likely because my 08 and my brothers 09 has piston slap and the dealer offer to redo the engine cylinders...so i said id live with it lol

Do you mean "it is possible he has lifter noise/issues" instead of piston slap?

Just typed in piston slap in Google and hole sh*t, there's a lot of info about this issue!

It goes way back too, I had no idea?

This is just 1 link, not sure how old it is but it has some great info, did anyone go through this, did GM ever offer a fix?

http://www.pistonslap.com/index.html

brandon_guzzo · August 29, 2009

You guys are confusing the OP with 2 different issues...the "old" piston slap, and the "new" lifter tick noises

The OP needs to start researching all the Active Fuel Management / AFM Lifter threads and info on here, and also sounds like he needs to schedule a service visit right away...

His '09 does NOT have a piston slap issue, it most likely has an AFM issue.

it is possible that he has piston slap but not likely because my 08 and my brothers 09 has piston slap and the dealer offer to redo the engine cylinders...so i said id live with it lol

Do you mean "it is possible he has lifter noise/issues" instead of piston slap?

Just typed in piston slap in Google and hole sh*t, there's a lot of info about this issue!

It goes way back too, I had no idea?

This is just 1 link, not sure how old it is but it has some great info, did anyone go through this, did GM ever offer a fix?

http://www.pistonslap.com/index.html

No i was saying that it could be possible that he has piston slap but like SS said it could be something else. In my case with my 2000, 2008 it IS piston slap not the lifters and i looked at your link and this was similar in my case they did offer to fix it but considering it does not cause any damage i would prefer them not fiddling with my engine and i am a contractor on the side so i always need my vehicle

Irv · August 29, 2009

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Do you mean "it is possible he has lifter noise/issues" instead of piston slap?

Just typed in piston slap in Google and hole sh*t, there's a lot of info about this issue!

It goes way back too, I had no idea?

This is just 1 link, not sure how old it is but it has some great info, did anyone go through this, did GM ever offer a fix?

http://www.pistonslap.com/index.html

No i was saying that it could be possible that he has piston slap but like SS said it could be something else. In my case with my 2000, 2008 it IS piston slap not the lifters and i looked at your link and this was similar in my case they did offer to fix it but considering it does not cause any damage i would prefer them not fiddling with my engine and i am a contractor on the side so i always need my vehicle

Thanks for the clarification, do you know what the fix is? Surprising, after seeing how far back this issue goes that it is still remaining on the 09's?

Maybe SS is on to something, maybe it is something else? I just wish I knew what and if I should get it in asap?