Tell me about the 5.3 V8 in the Silverado, Suburbans, Tahoes...etc.

[BGCarrera32]

I'm noodling on picking up a Silverado crew cab or possibly a Tahoe with decent interior and exterior but perhaps high miles (over 100k). I am not against going through the engine if it makes some economic sense at the time and would do the work myself.

Have you owned a 5.3 in one of these vehicles? Issues, comments, likes/dislikes? Probably looking at like a 2005-2007 model year.

Thanks

[ErVikingo]

I own an Avalanche (2003) with the 5.3. Not problems at all with it. When cold starting these engines they will make noise (piston slap) which apparently has no long term effects and goes away in 2-5 seconds.

Depending on your rear end ratio, gas mileage ain't bad either (18 city, 22 hwy and 11 towing).

[porsche4life]

I think it is very similar to the older Vortec V8s.... Dad had on still going strong in a suburban with 200k on the clock...


A V8 is one thing that chevy does very well... The rest of it may be junk but the V8 is good...

[Jim Bremner]

Originally Posted by ErVikingo

I own an Avalanche (2003) with the 5.3. Not problems at all with it. When cold starting these engines they will make noise (piston slap) which apparently has no long term effects and goes away in 2-5 seconds.

Depending on your rear end ratio, gas mileage ain't bad either (18 city, 22 hwy and 11 towing).

I have one in my '02 Silverado. It has 170k miles on it. The Piston slap sounds pretty bad the first 10-15 seconds if I don't let it warm up

I've towed some very heavy loads with it! I overloaded it so badly once that I made sure not go over any steep over passes for fear that I couldn't stop at the bottom.

I've towed 20k plus miles with it. It's moved one friend 3x his girlfriend once my cousin once,and everyone in the family has borrowed it.

The only issue is that it lost the fuel pump at 15ok ish

[legion]

What year are you looking?

All of these engines are good, but there are some MAJOR changes from 2007 model year on. I have the new 5.3, and it has coil-on-plug ignition and will shut down 4 cylinders when not needed. Much better gas mileage than the "old" design, but also more complicated to work on.

[stomachmonkey]

Have an 01 new from dealer. Gonna miss that thing when it gets traded in next year. Coming up on 100k and it's been rock solid which is saying something considering it's the wife's DD and she does stupid stuff like letting the pads eat the rotors for a week before I hear about it.

Drove it from NY to TX loaded to the gunwalls and felt perfectly comfortable cruising at 80+ for hours at a time. Great drive ability, very predictable and pulls like a freight train.

Plus it's a Cheby, you can get just about every part at your local 7-11.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

I think it is very similar to the older Vortec V8s.... Dad had on still going strong in a suburban with 200k on the clock...


A V8 is one thing that chevy does very well... The rest of it may be junk but the V8 is good...

Not even close to the Vortec.... different motor completely. The 5.3 is based on the 'LS' architecture that started with the 1997 Corvette and continues today.

The 5.3 is a great motor and there were running changes over the years that addressed things like piston slap. By 2005 they were fairly mature, having come out in the Silverado in 1999 and the Sub/Tahoe in 2001. By 2007 both the Silverado and Sub/Tahoe had new bodies but same motor with small changes (like Displacement on Demand). I assume you're looking at 05/06 and maybe an 07 'Classic' pickup.

The LS motors are very DIY friendly and rebuilding one isn't much different than it was a few decades ago except there is no distributor shaft to help prime the oil pump, and most bolts are stretch-to-torque and one-time-use.

They go forever if they're maintained.

If you do rebuild it, you can upgrade to nearly any displacement and stay 'small-block' from 4.8L to 7.0L with factory parts or up to 8.0L with aftermarket.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I had one in my 2000 Silverado, great motor. If only they did everything as well as powertrains......

[ja78911sc]

I owned a 2001 Tahoe (5.3) which had the piston slap issue as described above.

I also owned a 2005 Tahoe (5.3) which did not make the piston slap noise during start-up.

Personally, I would have no problem buying a 5.3 with 100K and running it up to 200K -- if you can find one with documented service history.

The only problem is the little stuff will start to nickel and dime you.

[widgeon13]

Have a 2005 Silverado Crew cab w/ 5.3L, 115000 miles, engine has been reliable, my complaints have been more mechanical, front hubs and door locks have been problematic.

[ODDJOB UNO]

change the oil at 3000, put a K&N on it and go like hell. distilled water in radiator.


212K hard dezert miles as of this AM. new 4L60E w/tow converter kevlar bands blah blah going in today.


plan on about 120K to 150K on the 4L60E if you dont maint it frequently.


i tow ALOT!

i can get new crate engines w/3yr/36K warranty for btwn $1279 and 1679 depending on who has them in stock.

[David]

I had no problems with my '01 although another guy at work with a '99 had some piston slap on start up. No problems so far with my '08. And I use full throttle more than 99% of the population

[fastfredracing]

Well, I have a lot of these trucks come through the shop, and I still have never seen the insides of one of the motors . I think the motors must be pretty durable, and they seem to run a lot stronger than the old vortec 350's. I was super impressed at the first one I drove .

[GWN7]

I have a 08 Silverado 5.3 only problem I had is replaced battery & alt in 44,000 miles. Battery went 3 months past warranty and alt went 1 month after warranty. I thought my 98 Silverado 5.7 was a nice truck to drive and tow with 340,000 km on it now but the 08 rides and tows much better.

[Jim Bremner]

Originally Posted by 125shifter

I had no problems with my '01 although another guy at work with a '99 had some piston slap on start up. No problems so far with my '08. And I use full throttle more than 99% of the population

yup, but I use more than 99.1%!

[onewhippedpuppy]

I have dreams of eventually putting one of these in my Land Cruiser. The engines are dirt cheap, well under $1000 for a good low mileage example. There are adapters available for everything else, even down to motor mounts designed to mount a SBC into an FJ80. Double the HP? Yes please.

[mattdavis11]

The Denso 10s17f a/c compressor that comes with the 5.3 (some 99-02, all 03-present) are complete crap. Some genious at Denso didn't think valve retainers were a good idea. Those trucks also have problems with the actuators/servos that operate the blend doors in the HVAC system, but what GM didn't.

[911boost]

I had a 2001 Tahoe with the 5.3L in it, and it was rock solid. I changed the oil every 3,000 miles, and changed the plugs around 95K, and it ran perfect.

In right at 105,000 miles I never even had to do the brakes.

I towed a lot with it, and the transmission was starting to show some signs of bad mojo. That is the only reason I got rid of it.

Bill

[UconnTim97]

Originally Posted by legion

What year are you looking?

All of these engines are good, but there are some MAJOR changes from 2007 model year on. I have the new 5.3, and it has coil-on-plug ignition and will shut down 4 cylinders when not needed. Much better gas mileage than the "old" design, but also more complicated to work on.

We have the same engine in our truck, gets 20+MPG on the highway and plenty of low end torque when needed.

It also has the cool American V8 sound.

[chocolatelab]

had an 07 crew cab 4x4 5.3 silverado

it was my work truck and put 110k miles in 2 years

replaced the tranny at 40k. I was towing my travel trailer. The truck with the tow package was supposed to tow 7.1k lbs and i was probably towing around 8k lbs. Stopped towing the trailer after that.

Truck held up really well. still super solid.

I think the tranny issue was my fault.

One issue I did have was the front brakes. They rotors are prone to warping. Happened twice on long curvy downhills.