06 Silverado Internal Engine Noise

burnthefurniture · October 10, 2011

Hey everyone,

I've always had good luck on here with suggestions related to my truck, so I have another one to throw at you guys.

I have a 2006 Silverado 1500 5.3 liter motor. I'm just shy of turning over 80,000 miles. Within the past 10,000 miles, my motor has started making a strange noise once the motor warms up. I never notice this when I'm first leaving in the morning, but whenever I get to my destination, I can hear a distinct "swishing" noise from the driver side fender well. I also can hear it through the exhaust now that I have a corsa system. The best way I can describe it is to just barely audibly whisper "choochoochoochoo" and slur it together. I apologize for the crude description of the noise, but its definitely internal and it varies with engine speed.

Does anyone have any ideas? It seems to have gotten slightly louder as I can now hear it on the right side as well. I can hear it through the fender wells better than underneath the truck.

Is this cause for alarm? Or normal engine noises? My dad and brother and friends who have this motor don't have any such noises. Of course, as of March of this year, I was outside of my 5 year, 100,000 mile extended powertrain warranty I purchased.

It receives regular oil changes and is well maintained.

Thanks

pm26 · October 10, 2011

A leak in the exhaust manifold gasket somewhere? This usually causes a rumbling noise when the engine is cold, and tends to disappear when the engine warms up.

Gryphon · October 10, 2011

Yeah, my 05 Sierra with the 5.3L L33 does the same thing. I even heard this on a brand new (09 or 10) Silverado rental vehicle once. I think it's lifter noise. I was able to quiet mine down from a hard tick to a soft choochoochoo by throwing some Seafoam into the oil.

It bothered me at first but then someone asked me, "Does it run ok?" "Yeah..." "Then don't worry about it."

Now I just pretend I have a Duramax.

jtstacy77 · October 10, 2011

Yeah, my 05 Sierra with the 5.3L L33 does the same thing. I even heard this on a brand new (09 or 10) Silverado rental vehicle once. I think it's lifter noise. I was able to quiet mine down from a hard tick to a soft choochoochoo by throwing some Seafoam into the oil.

It bothered me at first but then someone asked me, "Does it run ok?" "Yeah..." "Then don't worry about it."

Now I just pretend I have a Duramax.

You might want to read my post in the engine and powertrain section, I think it is titled "strange sound under acceleration" it actually ended up being bad lifters and I had all lifters and the cam replaced, luckily one month left on warranty! My sound was more of a ticking though, hopefully this isn't your problem, I would have hated to pay for the repairs.

burnthefurniture · October 10, 2011

I'm going to try to get a sound clip tonight to post up. The noise is only when the engine is warm, which to me rules out exhaust leak...

burnthefurniture · October 10, 2011

Hopefully I don't have to replace anything internal, as it is all out of pocket. I've run royal purple synthetic 5w30 since about 20,000 miles at change the filter every 3,000 miles. Oil gets fully flushed at 10-12k.

burnthefurniture · October 10, 2011

This is the video of the noise I just made. Any feedback is appreciated. Thanks.

Gryphon · October 10, 2011

Yep, sounds like mine. Have heard it on several Vortecs, I think it's just intrinsic to the design. Try Seafoam in the oil for 30-50 km before it gets changed and it should settle down. I wouldn't fret over it.