For a long time at cold temps my 01 with 191k on it at cold start up I would get one lifter I guess it is that made the little rattle sound. It went away really quick. Now it seems that more than one are doing it now. After about a minute or so the sounds go away and the motor sounds just fine. Should I be concerned about this> That more than once is making noises now? It now almost sounds like a diesel at start up.
2001 Lifter rattle
- Thread starter 1yesfan
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rockola1971
Full Access Member
Pretty common on the 4.8, 5.3 and 6.0l engines. Also sometimes people confuse piston slap which also very common the LS series design engines. If an exhaust manifold bolt is broken it will mimic the same sounds as lifter and piston slap noise.
If you do your own oil changes run a full quart of tranny fluid in your engine oil and let idle in driveway for 15 mins or so and then drain and oil and filter change. DO NOT DRIVE WITH TRANNY FLUID IN YOUR ENGINE! See if it quiets down or totally goes away.
If you do your own oil changes run a full quart of tranny fluid in your engine oil and let idle in driveway for 15 mins or so and then drain and oil and filter change. DO NOT DRIVE WITH TRANNY FLUID IN YOUR ENGINE! See if it quiets down or totally goes away.
I know this was a problem with these motors. I just only seemed to be dealing with one doing it. Now it seems like Multi. I change the oil regularly and the oil pressure gauges reads fine. Is it ok to drive will they are doing this or should I let them shut up before driving? Right now they shut up pretty quickly, like in less than a minute.
What is the trans fluid doing for me?
What is the trans fluid doing for me?
rockola1971
Full Access Member
You should let engine warm up for a couple mintues before you go anywhere with any engine....Unless its a rental.
Transmission fluid is a coolant, detergent, lubricant and hydraulic fluid while inside a tranny. In your engine it is a detergent and will clean the hell out of everything including the internals of your sticky lifters. There is a seal inside them similar to the internal shaft seals in your tranny. It will treat them while cleaning out your lifter guts. And tranny fluid makes for great carb cleaner on your motorcyle, atv, lawn mowers, tractors, etc. Itll smoke a little but wont hurt the engine while its cleaning out the carbs.
The lifter noise is a common complaint, as Mike said. The better oil you use, hopefully full synthetic, and better oil filter, the better. You do have 191k on the engine though so you may well be at the ending of the life for those lifters. Attempt the cleaning and drain and new oil and filter and report back with results.
10-15 minutes. Drain when oil is hot and do a complete oil change with filter, like Mike said. This is an attempt to help with cleaning the inside of the engine. This is not a guaranteed repair.
Yes, I have used trans fluid thru a vacuum hose before to help clean this out. When you do that it has be added very slowly and keep the rpm's up and be prepared for the white smoke that will roll out. I did that on older carb engines without cats and O2 sensors. I personally would not do that with cats and sensors. It would be safe to try it on your 72 Buick if you want to.
Yes, I have used trans fluid thru a vacuum hose before to help clean this out. When you do that it has be added very slowly and keep the rpm's up and be prepared for the white smoke that will roll out. I did that on older carb engines without cats and O2 sensors. I personally would not do that with cats and sensors. It would be safe to try it on your 72 Buick if you want to.
Not gonna hurt seals. At least I have never heard of the trans fluid doing that.
rockola1971
Full Access Member
Dont worry about your oil needing to be low and you DO NOT drive while cleaning out inside of the engine when you run tranny fluid in your oil. Let engine run idle in driveway for 15-30mins and then do a regular oil change. Filter and oil. Anything with a carb just add the tranny fluid to your fuel tank (Mower, Motorcyle, etc.). If you just dump tranny fluid down the throat of your carb in wont be cleaning out the fuel bowl and passageways within the carb. On motorycles, mowers, etc. just run fuel low to 1/2 to 1/4 gal left in fuel tank and then add 4-8oz of tranny fluid and run them. You can use the engines if you add tranny fluid to the fuel but NEVER if you add it to the oil. Just idle only, no working load like mowing or riding a motorcyle. To clean your piston crowns and valves just let engine idle and using a spray bottle mist water into the throat of the carb. This works on any engine. Never just dump water out of a container into a carb.
rockola1971
Full Access Member
Transmissions have seals made of same type of material that your rear and front main seals are made out of. Wont hurt a thing. I can confirm that GM tranny fluid is good to go on the 5.3 and 6.0 Tahoe and Yukon Denali and the 5.7L Gmc Sierra among many other Vehicle ive had over the years. I actually learned this trick from an old timer. It was a common practice used of all the old farmers on their tractors and personal vehicles. This maintenance practice is atleast 70yrs old. Works fine for fuel injection too.
07YUKONXL534x4
TYF Newbie
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If you like your truck, put a new cam and lifters in it and roll on. Your mileage is low...for that engine. The factory lifters are the problem and now your factory cam is likely worn.
01subCT
Full Access Member
I have to say from personal experience.use a ac Delco oil filter.in my last 3 oil changes I was having same issue.oil pressure was all over the place I thought my motor was starting to go out.once it got all the way up to temp it went away.talking to a friend of mine he suggested trying the filter on my next change.i immediately went bought the AC Delco filter an did an oil change an got fantastic results..at start it climbed to 40 psi instantly..before this it would climb to under 20 an clank and click away.i would have to rev it up to get the psi to even climb sometimes..I couldn't believe the filter was causing my issues
Same issue in my 03 Yukon. I used marvelous mysterious oil and it cleared up. It took weeks for it to work. I just used the guidance on the bottle. Car dealers use that stuff all the time. On one of my other vehicles 5.4 it didn't work. I ended up rebuilding that motor. Trans fluid may be better, I was afraid to experiment with it.
hope this helps.
hope this helps.
