engine replacement in 2005 Avalanche

[dmcummins]

Well I was getting ready for my first camping trip in my old trailer. I pulled the trailer to the local scales to check out my weights. Everything was fine, trailer weighed around 5000 lbs with a 660lbs tounge wt.

Pulled into driveway and my wife said the engine was making noise, I don't hear very well. I opened the hood and sure enough there was a very noticable tapping. I didn't think much of it. Truck ran fine and oil pressure was ok. Dropped it of at a local shop and they said I had a bad bearing. $3000 for new crank or $4,500 for crate motor.

Truck has 140,000 miles on it and I am the only owner. I am going to the shop to see for myself, but I'm sure I'll be buying a new motor. I was planning on getting a new truck soon, but I guess now I'll have to keep this one for alittle while longer.

Of coarse now I'm wondering what my engine options are. It currently has a 5.3 in it.

[speedracing944]

Ls7?

[cbush]

Bummer. Sorry to hear your engine went bad with such low miles. On the other hand it is an opportunity to polish and balance everything, and look for some performance mods. I had a performance shop rebuild a V-8 I had, and man that engine ran sweet!

I really don't know what your options are for a crate motor, but they seem to have some nice ones out there for reasonable prices if you want to bump up the horsepower.

Don't you love the prices on American car rebuilds though? I can't hardly get my 993 tuned up for $3000

[porsche4life]

No offense.... But I wouldn't spend that much on an Avalanche....

[MotoSook]

I disagree. A new truck doesn't make sense when a new crate engine will give another 100K+ miles of towning. A new truck capable of towing that trailer in comfort will be $40k plus when for a new engine is 1% of that.

It's a tow vehicle. I'd get a crate from GM Performance and not look back.

[Tim Walsh]

well it's an 05 so I'm assuming the rest of the truck is ok? That would make the difference for me. For instance I've had 2 F150's in the last year. a 99 and a 97. The 99 that I had if the motor blew up I would replace it and not think twice since it was exactly what I wanted no more no less(5.4L auto 2wd, limited slip, work truck with cruise, 95K). The current truck if the motor blew I'd think real hard about just parting it out or scrapping it. It's REALLY rusty underneath, and has all the wrong options for what I do with it(4wd, 4.6L MANUAL 3.08 gears, no cruise, 140K)

[vash]

tough call. my friend in el paso, tex..just bought an 05 duramax truck for $18k or so. my brother found the truck..and like a pecker little bro..didnt tell me. saved me from having a diesel in the san fran area, which would suck slightly.

[kaisen]

The 5.3Ls aren't known for having those problems.

First, are they SURE it's a bearing? All you have to do is drop the oil pan (easy) and look for a darkened area on the rod caps, pull those caps, and see if a bearing appears damaged. Be careful just taking their assumption, the 2005 5.3 and 6.0s were known for piston slap that could sound like a rod knock. So be very sure. Listen with a stethescope. Bring it to a GM dealer if you need to.

IF it truly needs repair, consider having the current motor partially rebuilt. At 145K, unless it has seen abuse, there should be very little wear. If it were me, I would pull the motor (4 hour job), pull the crank, pull only the affected rod/piston(s). You can purchase a re-machined crank kit with fitted rod and main bearings for about $200 exchange. Resizing the affected rod(s) runs about $15 a rod. Then you reassemble with new stretch bolts and gaskets and you're good for another 100K miles. There should be no need for a 'full' remanufacture job. Or a crate motor. YMMV.

Or, the 5.3L is part of the LS family that includes 4.8, 5.3, 5.7, 6.0, 6.2, 7.0 and custom configurations up to 8.0L. Both iron and aluminum blocks were used in most. If you're interested in hopping up the power, the possibilities are endless.

You could also trade your Avalanche in as-is. If it is a mild knock, you'll still lose less than spending a ton on repairs then trading afterwards. A 2005 Avalanche is still worth plenty of money.

[porsche4life]

I'd trade it off... For towing that kind of load a 3/4 ton would be better anyways.

[tangerine911S]

I agree a new engine is a good idea. Maybe get one with a few miles on it out of a wrecked avalanche or other truck. You could build yourself a sweet tow vehicle. How much does it cost to intall a new engine though? Doesnt strike me as very hard to do in that type of vehicle.

BTW Soukus $4K is 10% of $40K, not 1%. Still a smart decision though.

[Jim Bremner]

junkyard 6.0 for $1k to $1,500

FS; LS3 Pull-out Motor 2009 w/ 200 miles 58X reluctor wheel - Corvette Forum

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

I'd trade it off... For towing that kind of load a 3/4 ton would be better anyways.

For 5000 pounds? Are you serious? A 1/2 ton Avalanche is rated to tow 7000 lbs

Might as well go with a F550, that would be better anyway

[dmcummins]

I just got back from the shop. I had them pull the pan and its the main bearing. everything else looked good. You could see where it was hitting on each side of the main bearing. The truck is in very good shape, just lots of highway miles. The transmission was replaced not to long ago, and I just had a trans cooler and upgraded brakes and rotors put on.

The crate motor with 100k 3 year warranty is $3200, Labor price was around $750. New water pump, gaskets, seals, oil, coolant, and tax brings the total to $4700 out the door.

Reground crank, new timing chain, water pump, ect would be around $2500. $1500 of that is labor.

[dmcummins]

Originally Posted by kaisen

For 5000 pounds? Are you serious? A 1/2 ton Avalanche is rated to tow 7000 lbs

Might as well go with a F550, that would be better anyway

7300 with the 3.42. Over 8000 with 4.10 rear end. 13,000 total wt.

Its not like I'll be towing a trailer alot. But It should pull what I have.

[vash]

tranny is fresh? oh, dump a new crate motor in it.!!

screw a new truck payment.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by dmcummins

7300 with the 3.42. Over 8000 with 4.10 rear end. 13,000 total wt.

Its not like I'll be towing a trailer alot. But It should pull what I have.

I hope you sensed my sarcasm. Your Avalanche is certainly up to the task for a 5000 pound trailer.

I think you are paying too much for the engine, both parts and labor. Is this a dealership or independent shop?

A GM Goodwrench 'new' 5.3L (LM7 or L59) is available for under $2500 including GM's 3 year / 100,000 mile warranty.

I would still rebuild the current engine. There's no excuse for $1500 in labor or $1000 in parts all for a bad main bearing.

YMMV

[BGCarrera32]

Agreed. $4500 for a crate motor installed sounds a bit steep for a 5.3.

[fastfredracing]

I don't know, labor does not sound that bad, I just looked up labor on that job, and it is quoting 20.9 hours to do a long block on your avalanche. This is not the hardest job in the world, but it is not exactly a 78 chevy pickup either. Best of luck

[kaisen]

The OP listed R&R labor at $750, which sounds very fair based on your 20.9 hour book. Alldata isn't that high. And it doesn't take that long. They're actually pretty simple, and there's lots of room.

Then why would a tear-down and rebuilt double that? $750 in labor to rebuild a short-block?

[dmcummins]

Here is the breakdown of cost.

OEM GM Goodwrench Engine, part # 12601056 $3182.
OEM GM water pump $206
Gaskets, seals, ect. $130
Mobil 1, coolant, oil filter $85
Labor $775
tax $286

I don't know if it makes a difference, but the 2005 is a flex fuel engine.
I had one other quote and they wanted over $4000 for the motor alone.

The truck is still just sitting in the shop waiting for me to make up my mind on what I want to do. I'm pretty sure I'll just keep the truck for a while now, so I would feel better replacing the engine than just doing the crank.