Engine Tick - 2015 GMC Sierra 5.3

r47tgp · July 19, 2017

Just got home from the GM dealer/ garage. Technician heard the sound, took it in for a look, and replaced a clamp on the exhaust. Did nothing to improve the situation. Have another appointment in 2 weeks to get it checked again and get the oil changed. During the ride the technician said that these vehicles were made from cheap parts and are basically high priced junk. I appreciate his brutal honesty, and will definitely be taking it into consideration when looking for a new vehicle. If the people fixing/selling these vehicles (who are employed by GM) don't even like the brand they sell, how can the consumer? I will keep everyone updated.

riake · July 28, 2017

UPDATE: I had an appointment at the dealership yesterday to diagnose this along with another issue and unfortunately, the dealer wasn't much help. The tech. that I spoke with was insistent on the "exhaust leak" being the vacuum pump making the noise, so it sounds like that's going to get replaced first. The vacuum pump does make a terrible ticking noise at idle but there is definitely an exhaust leak while driving but it is shadowed by the vacuum pump at idle. I guess I can understand where they're coming from with not wanting to immediately tear apart the manifold but it's frustrating that I'm going to have go through some headaches to get all of this resolved. My biggest upset was a recent clunking issue in the rear which has been more and more present lately. It's obviously a suspension issue in the rear and I could replicate the noise all day to the dealer who kept saying it's "play in the axle" which it most certainly is not. The appointment was only supposed to be diagnostic and they didn't seem to find anything to fix with the few issues my truck has so I'm scheduling an appointment to drop it off in a week with a list of everything that needs fixed. If I can't get my brand new truck to perform the way it should then my next step will be filing a complaint with the BBB, which will hopefully get GM moving more seriously towards resolution.

DorkWeedCashMeOutside · July 31, 2017

Mine makes a ticking noise seems to only happen in V4...I recall one night I thought my engine was going to blow up it was ticking so rapidly and loud....my dealer looks at me as if I'm short a chromosome.

Gotsumpnferya · August 1, 2017

2015 Silverado 1500 LT 5.3L 21900 miles now 24K Bought as a lease return from Chevy Dealer . Love the truck , but the below concerns me greatly .

Mine does it when first started and cool until it gets it's first sustained revs . Sounds like a slightly collapsed lifter , and it's not

usually constant . It sort of fades in and out . I notice it when I stop into the drive thru for coffee in the morning and roll the window down . If I raise the idle , it goes away . It goes away completely after the truck's been driven for a few miles . I have changed the oil to a high quality synthetic which seems to have helped it a little . Expensive oil changes but I've worked on marine diesels for 30 years in my own business before I moved and know the value of clean oil .

Right after I bought the truck I mentioned it to a salesman and he was quick to tell me it's the high pressure pump .

Ummm no . That isn't the sound . I'm wondering if one of the AFM lifters isn't sticking a little in the collapsed position . Not enough to cause a misfire , but enough to cause the noise .

Edited August 1, 2017 by Gotsumpnferya

SippiSierra · August 2, 2017

The tick that my 2014 does is faint at idle and goes away with load. I am assuming this is the normal tick that I have heard?

cmillerr · August 5, 2017

First Post...

So my 2014 5.3l ticking is starting to get the best of me. I wanted it gone soo bad that I took the plunge and did the DOD delete with 16 lifters, springs, new cam w/ headers back with 5w30 oil. Ported the L83 heads too, Dynoed at 395rwhp at LMR. It still ticks under load at low rpm. The only thing I didn't change is the oil pump or oil pickup in pan. It sounds like the lifter (all new) has air in it, its the first lifter on driver side. When I hit a bump it goes away for a sec or if I floor it, it goes away for a sec.

It's not DI ticking, its sounds like a POS truck with a header leak, but ticking comes and goes. At first I though it was the headers being thin, but it come and goes.

Next is Oil Pump replacement

O, and yes I have been to the dealer, no help, I stopped wasting my time, I'd rather just upgrade the parts if they're on the work bench already. Truck pulls hard to 6,000 redline but ticks like a bitch

Edited August 5, 2017 by cmillerr

Bxnanaz · August 5, 2017

First Post...

So my 2014 5.3l ticking is starting to get the best of me. I wanted it gone soo bad that I took the plunge and did the DOD delete with 16 lifters, springs, new cam w/ headers back with 5w30 oil. Ported the L83 heads too, Dynoed at 395rwhp at LMR. It still ticks under load at low rpm. The only thing I didn't change is the oil pump or oil pickup in pan. It sounds like the lifter (all new) has air in it, its the first lifter on driver side. When I hit a bump it goes away for a sec or if I floor it, it goes away for a sec.

It's not DI ticking, its sounds like a POS truck with a header leak, but ticking comes and goes. At first I though it was the headers being thin, but it come and goes.

Next is Oil Pump replacement

O, and yes I have been to the dealer, no help, I stopped wasting my time, I'd rather just upgrade the parts if they're on the work bench already. Truck pulls hard to 6,000 redline but ticks like a bitch

What about vacuum pump?

khoeman · August 6, 2017

I have a 2014 sierra with the 5.3. It has recently started to have a ticking noise only when starting for the first 1 minute of the idle. Anyone else seen this?

riake · August 8, 2017

I dropped my truck off at the dealer yesterday and told them to take it for a drive and inspect the driver's side exhaust manifold, without mentioning anything else(lifters, fuel pump, vacuum pump.) I received a call a few hours later stating my vacuum pump was bad so they replaced that. They are also replacing a bad leaf spring in the rear today so when I pick up my truck I'll update you all on the conclusion. I'm hoping this is the fix but it's hard to be optimistic when my truck has 23,xxx miles and a bad vacuum pump and leaf spring...

Hey_Fam · August 8, 2017

I've been dealing with this since i bought mine in 2015. i have a BB tune with AFM delete. My tick sounds just like the recording previously posted. Here's what I've noticed.

Tick happens when pushing accelerator only.
Tick doesn't occur when vehicle isn't at operating temp.
Higher the RPM the faster the tick.
Having high RPMs when downshifting doesn't produce the tick. Only pushing the accelerator to get high RPMs does.
Active grade braking kicked in and the tick is present.

Anyone else?

sk · August 8, 2017

Have the dealer check for fuel line pulsation:

http://sandyblogs.com/techlink/?p=7569

r47tgp · August 10, 2017

Update: At the second appointment the dealership said this is a normal sound, and a lot of trucks do it. I call bullshit, and will be getting away from the GM family ASAP.

Sean Neilan · August 10, 2017

Just got home from the GM dealer/ garage. Technician heard the sound, took it in for a look, and replaced a clamp on the exhaust. Did nothing to improve the situation. Have another appointment in 2 weeks to get it checked again and get the oil changed. During the ride the technician said that these vehicles were made from cheap parts and are basically high priced junk. I appreciate his brutal honesty, and will definitely be taking it into consideration when looking for a new vehicle. If the people fixing/selling these vehicles (who are employed by GM) don't even like the brand they sell, how can the consumer? I will keep everyone updated.

No mechanic likes the brand they work for. I was a Ford mechanic for a few years and told everyone not to buy Fords cause the suck.

riake · August 14, 2017

Update for everyone after having the truck back for a week:

There was a significant decrease in the idle and engine ticking after the dealer replaced the vacuum pump, however, I still notice the faint "exhaust leak" that has been present since ~2,500 miles on the truck. I paid extra attention to the loaner I drove during the two days mine was in the shop and never heard a noise similar to what mine makes. The dealer stated they checked all around the manifold for any sign of leak and did not notice anything while test driving, but I can say that the loud vacuum pump far overshadowed the exhaust leak. The vacuum pump replacement indeed fixed the rough sound at idle, but I still believe there is a minor exhaust leak that the dealer didn't notice. I think my next step is going to make an appointment at the Chevy dealer down the block from my office to see what they can do.

Side note; my rear passenger side leaf spring went bad(made a terribly embarrassingly loud noise while driving) so they replaced both leafs in the rear, and I now have a creaking noise coming from the driver's side front wheel. I can recreate the noise just by rocking the truck side to side but I have the ProComp 2.25" level kit on the front so I'm kind of weary about bringing the issue up to the dealer and them telling me I'm out of luck due to the added leveling kit, any advice?