Chevy Silverado 1500 5.3L V8 Engine | Top 5 Issues **Heavy Mechanic Reviews**

I Review a 2022 Chevy Silverado 1500 with the 5.3L V8 LS Vortec gas engine and explain the top 5 issues with this engine. I explained the major issues and problems with these 5.3 liter LS v8 engines over the years and detail what exactly is causing these known issues. Is the 5.3L v8 Chevy engine a reliable engine?

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week! As I mentioned at the beginning of the video I was hoping to have a ram 2500 with the Cummins this weekend but those plans fell through so I got this Silverado and figured I could talk about some common issue with this very popular v8 engine.

the so first major issue and what I think is the most important issue is the lifter failures on these engines. it all seems to stem from the active fuel management system or the cylinder de-activation system which uses engine oil to control the lifters. what can happen is those lifters can become stuck and ruin your cam shaft. this is an expensive and time consuming repair and the worst part is the newer trucks seem to be more prone to this large issue.

the second issue on the newer trucks is the consequences of having direct injection fuel system. this can result in carbon on your intake manifolds and valves from your EGR. the second issue is that the injectors seem to be failing at a faster rate then the 5.3 v8 engine that are not direct injection engines.

the third issue has to do with the second gen 5.3L engines. Oil Consumption was a huge issue for these engines and there is a class action lawsuit still again gm for this issue. basically the cylinder de-activation was letting oil pass through the intake and burning it. the other issue with heavy oil consumption is that your spark plugs will foul pre-maturely.

the fourth issue with these engines is with the 1st gen. they would have heads crack and internally burn coolant. they also would have intake manifold gaskets fail. but that seemed to be more based on longevity of the engine.

Those are some of the major issues with this gm 5.3L LS V8

As always I hope you enjoyed the video!

[Warmachine-tuzo]

I had a 2021 trailboss that had the 6.2. I always had the oil changed at 5k miles and the dealer took care of that. Lifters failed at 16k miles. I told them I wanted to trade in and lease. I don't know if I will ever actually buy a GM ever again. They know about this problem and they dont fix it. Its honestly mind blowing.

[jonlikesmail]

On the window sticker of my 22 Silverado "CREDIT - NOT EQUIPPED WITH DYNAMIC FUEL MANAGEMENT." Think she's a keeper.

[tigermanmccool]

this is what is stopping me from upgrading to a new truck, good news is the 2005 silverado is still running great

[careycraig]

My 2007 Silverado has the optional " 5.3 Litre " Hi performance engine, this engine was only offered in the 2005-2007 model years. The most significant differences from the standard 5.3 engine are that the BLOCK IS ALL ALUMINUM and it has a higher performance Cam Shaft. I am not sure whether the Lifter Problems of the Standard 5.3 apply to this engine but my own truck is not showing signs of lifter problems at 255, 000 KLM.

[alphazulu]

Great video, but I've gotta correct the record because I've dealt with them... The lifter failures that were occurring with the GM LS engines with AFM/DoD equipped was actually a lifter collapse.

Here's how the AFM/DOD lifters work. The computer monitors for when the engine is working the least and can shut down cylinders 1, 4, 6, 7 "displacement on demand" hence the DoD. The computer then activates the VLOM(Valley Lifter Oil Module) that sends engine oil into the special lifters found on those cylinders. These lifters are unique in that they are two piece lifters with locking pins and a spring on them that allows the lifter to collapse onto itself when oil pressure is sent to those lifters from the VLOM.

Oil pushes in the locking pins on the lifter, the lifter can now collapse on itself, and the lifter is allowed to ride on the cam without transferring that movement into the pushrods and then to the valves. Once the power is required, the oil pressure is released, the spring pushes the lifter back to the fully extended position to its full size, and the locking pins snap back into place. The movement on the cam to lifter is now transferred to the pushrods, and the valves open and close.

The failures: The failures were happening when lifters in the DOD/AFM engines were being 'activated' and then they would not return to full size (extended) because of debris in the oil, oil starvation, lifter wear, etc. So now you have a lifter that is remaining collapsed and no movement is being transferred to the pushrods. The fix was expensive in that getting a lifter out involved removing heads, etc.

There is a simple workaround to avoid this problem. Use a tuner to deactivate the AFM/DOD and ensure that your lifters never do the contract and extend thing. I deactivated my AFM/DOD at around 60, 000 miles on my 2009 Tahoe and am now on 230, 000 miles.

The oil consumption was tied to two issues. The first one was the location of the PCV valve on the left valve cover when facing the engine. There is a replacement one that GM introduced down the road to prevent this. The second oil issue is because of the oil pressure relief valve located in the oil pan. This valve was required because the AFM/DOD required higher oil pressures to deactivate the lifters, so a relief valve was needed to relieve pressure above 60PSI. The relief valve was spraying the oil up into the bottom of the rotating assembly and pistons, causing excessive oil consumption. GM made a part that fixed the problem. It was a plastic shroud that installed over the relief valve to deflect oil back into the pan.

[lynheydt]

I think you hit the nail on the head with maintaining your vehicle. I’m retired mechanic but there is no cheaper thing that you can do to keep your oil changed. The idea of running till your oil monitor goes to zero is ridiculous. I realize that know matter what you do things fail at times. I have seen this throughout my years in the business. If we are talking about Chevy engines I can think back to the cam problems they had on the 307s way back and the plastic timing gear on the cam that would self destruct. I’m not just picking on GM every vehicle manufacturer had or has problems at one time or another. Hopefully when you purchase a vehicle your one of the lucky ones that doesn’t have a problem child.

[robertshaver]

1st generation 5.3L owner (2006 GMC Sierra) Love this truck... Not for sale... Ever! Zero oil consumption, 300+ HP (plenty), 6 speed automatic is Wow super-nice! 20 MPG on trips which involved a sizable grade up and down each way and @ 70 MPH, 18 MPG for home/usual driving (not bad). I use Mobil one oil + Mobil one filter which I researched for particle "and flow"
Not for

[sammccanless]

With the chip shortage my 22 gmc is full time 8 cylinders and I'm not mad about it

[JohnSmith-evsm]

Another great video! Just a quick note that GM has "AFM" which is the old system, and "DFM" which is the new system. AFM is 4 cylinders deactivaton, DFM will deactivate 2 though 7 depending on engine load. Depending on your trim, even the 2019+ GMs with the 5.3 can have the older system, most use DFM though. Some engines built recently don't have either (chip shortage). Also I think the hemi tick is different than GMs tick, hemi lifter failures even happen on hemis that don't have MDS (like the manual 6 speed challenger).

[racefaction]

2001 Chevrolet Silverado. 5.3 385, 000 Miles. None of the Garbage on this Engine today. 4 Speed Transmission. I get 16+ MPG. I change my Oil every 4, 000 Miles with High quality oil and reputable Oil Filter. Daily Driver and still going strong! Like a Rock Baby!

[kevincougler]

i’ve got a 04 5.3 1500 with only 130, 000 miles and i have to say the engine is definitely out living the body ( I live in New England)

[jamesgrubbs]

Excellent video. I have a 2014 Silverado, High Country. Love it. Currently 136, 000 miles in 9 years. 0 engine problems yet. 95 % of miles are highway. Average of 20 mpg on highway. Found out was recommending synthetic blend oil, but could not find out % of synthetic. Changed oil to Mobil 1 at 500 miles, and every 7500 miles. Have never added a quart of oil. Never used more than a 1/2 quart between oil changes. Am now changing oil every 5000 miles as of 130, 000. I have never had a engine code *money light*. 3 a/c issues. 2 compressor failures. Replaced. Condensor replaced due to leak at historical wear weld in drivers side lower corner, at 130, 000. I have 0% rust in undercarriage, or anywhere else. No salt on roads during winter. Sterling, Colorado.

[hueypilot]

You guys are scaring me from buying anything new, or even less than 10 years old. (You guys include several channels ). You provide a great customer service. Thank you.

[thomasfeinstein]

I agree, I had 3 pickups (all 3/4 tons) with 350 engines drove them all over 200k, with no problems. I had a 2000 3/4 with a 6.0L--known as the "cold knocker" g.m. decided to eliminate skirts on pistons about 3 years--yet drove it over 200k, and no problems. Had a 5.3 in a 2004 no problems. I then bought a 2016, and drove it 40k, no problems but heard about the lifter issue and sold it. Now have a dodge with a hemi--no problems, but again it is not that old--took out the extended warranty--100k, 8 year, 100% everything and no deductable. There is a search you can do "GM lifter lawsuit", you can find some reading about their lifter issues(that's why I sold the 2016--because driving less now being retired and knowing the extended was going to be up). However the last 5 trucks, I always get an excellent extended warrenty, even though, I not really used them much, in the days of expensive repairs, it just gives me piece of mind.

[robswisher]

I have had great luck, I had a 2002, 2007, 2013. 2017 and put around, 150000 on all of them and never had not 1 problem with any of them. Now I'm driving 2020 which will be my last truck

[paulcondie]

I bought a used 2017 Chevy Silverado with 46, 000 miles and immediately deactivated the AFM then also did the sure cool transmission thermostat delete. Changed all fluids front to rear. Hopefully i make it past 150, 000 miles before any serious problems

[Al-qjhk]

I have a 2020 LT and recently had the misfire issue at 70k miles. At the end, I discovered the cause was a dirty throttle body. I cleaned it and changed the plugs and the engine coils and the issue ended. The air filter needs to be replaced regularly, and change the oil every 5k miles or after a long trip. Maybe a bottle of ATS before changing the oil will keep those valves in shape.

[richardtaylor]

I own a 2011 Suburban with a 5.3 with 216000 miles on it. It has never used oil or had lifter issues. I also own a 2017 Silverado with a 5.3 with 103000 miles on it and so far have no lifter issues. I do change oil every 5000 miles.

[rickb]

I just bought a used 2019 Silverado 3 days later the engine had a failure. The lifted started to sound loud and the truck started to shake. It would drive just ruff. Good thing that I had the 500 mile 15 day limited warranty. Saved me about 3-5k in repairs.

[TheKlamminator]

350 TBI for the win. My favorite chevy/gm engines. I also can't believe how modern manufacturers set their maintenance intervals. Change your oil every 3-5k miles