First, I primarily have built fords so not current on chevys. Had a supercharged fox body mustang and now a supercharged 1st gen expedition that I built myself so have some experience in the field. Just not with chevys. I am here to find options for my neighbor's 2001 Chevy Silverado 1500. 4wd





Yesterday I was helping him service his 2001 silverado. It has the ticking lifter that after some searching online seems somewhat common with a high mileage 5.3 motor.

Pulled the valve covers to remove the rocker arms and spray solvent down the pushrod in hopes of freeing up the lifter if she is clogged.

Too late!!! After we pulled the valve cover checked the rockers and one was really loose so knew it was the offending lifter. I pulled the rocker arm the push rod cup was definitely enlarged. Then pulled the pushrod out and it was physically damaged on the lifter end so knew something happened but not sure what. Looked down the pushrod hole and you can tell the lifter came apart.

Bummers.... Told him its not a simple fix. Unfortunately you have to pull the heads on the 5.3's to get to the lifters?!? Can't simply reach them from the valley. Looking at all new lifters, push rods, at least one rocker arm and all gaskets, fluids and labor to repair.

Told him to consider his options as he has 270,000 miles on the motor. How much does he want to spend on it vs a rebuilt motor or possibly rebuild the motor he has. Maybe looking at $400 - 500 + labor to simply repair what is broken but your still stuck with a 270,000 mile motor. Told him I could do a leak down test to tell the condition of the rings but that does not tell me anything about the bearings.

Since I am not really current on chevys. I really do not know his options. He really likes his truck and is considering replacement motor but does not know whats available. He would even consider installing a "healthier" motor as in larger displacement LS etc......

But cost is obviously a concern!!

Although he is mechanically inclined he really does not know motors so I would likely be doing much of the work.

Options?? Opinions? Advise??

 

Great stuff well he can pick up a motor with tranny for anywhere from 800-to 1200 bucks from a decent junkyard. I would try to repair it myself it would cost him a few dollars if there was no damage to the head but replacing the engine would be cheaper can be done in about 4 hours

 

Kind of depends on how much work you or he wants to do.

Price wise, the money is the same on finding a good, used 5.3 engine vs. changing out the lifters. Of course every used engine is a crap shoot. Odds are on your side that one you find will work.

If he wants to upgrade to a 6.0; find a '03 and up lq4 or a lq9. Basically any gen III 6.0 with a set of 317 casting heads would be what you want, and would be what people call "plug and play". The '99-'02 6.0 had iron heads. Long story short, you don't want one of those. Gen IV 6.0s will work, but not without additional parts. And if you come across a 6.0 with 243s, that is a LS2. Probably going to be out of his budget.

Everything from the 5.3 will fit on the 6.0. Same with any gen III LS V8.

A L33 is also a good engine to keep an eye out for. Its an aluminum 5.3 with flat top pistons. Its gen III, so the harness will plug right in.

 

Thanks for your replies!

That should help greatly for exploring potential replacement motors.

I assume the 6.0 is a longer stroke version of the 5.3 ??

Does this mean the heads, etc... are interchangeable but the intakes are not (taller deck, wider valley)??

When you say the 6.0 is "plug and play" does that mean it would bolt right in, harness work, etc... If so I assume you would need to reprogram the pcm??

 

6.0 has the same stroke but has a larger bore. I will bolt right in harness will work. Not sure but guessing you would want to reprogram with a performance tune.

 

All gen III intakes are interchangeable with cathedral port heads. All gen III truck intakes are the same. If y'all go with a 6.0, the 90mm truck/trailblazer ss intakes are a nice option. Not a direct bolt on though.

Yes, plug and play means pretty much that. The motor mounts, , intake, harness, accessory drives, brackets, hoses, sensors, etc will work on any gen III v8. If y'all do run a 6.0 from a HD truck, use the flywheel from the 5.3.

I've read several times where people run a 6.0 on a 5.3 tune after a swap. They are leaving power on the table. But the stock 5.3 tune will work fine with the 6.0.