2004 5.3 lifter tick what's the fix?

[Doubeleive]

so as the title say's the ol'ladys burb has developed some lifter tick over the last couple of weeks, seems to be fairly heavy in the mornings when it's cold and then goes intermittent or goes away during the day as it is driven. seems to be on the drivers side. I know it's common but this has been rather sudden and I am wanting to know what it takes to fix it hopefully without to much tear down it has 240k on it and has had regular oil changes and maintenance I did a shotgun tune up on it a couple years ago plugs, wires, coil packs, maf, knock sensors so that part is all good. doesn't burn any oil and no leaks, shifts good.
option #2 is I can get another engine for $750 (used) then it would be whatever the cost is to have it swapped out.
options?

 

[wjburken]

I can empathize with you on this.

How many miles on the used motor? Does it come with any kind of warranty?

Have you tried putting ATF or something in the oil right before an oil change to see if that clears things up?

I’m assuming your oil pressure is good at start-up?

 

[George B]

My 03 had a tick that came and went. Never bothered me enough to do anything about it but if I did I would have tried the carb cleaner down the push rod method. Saw a video of it on YouTube.

 

[avalonandl]

Tyry replacing the LS rocker arms? the bearings fall out on those trunnions. You can try taking the rocker cove off and wiggling the rockers as you turn the engine over by hand.

 

[iamdub]

Being an active TYF'er, I'm sure you've checked the exhaust manifold bolts already, right? Don't forget the ones at the collector. How does the oil look? Any sparkles in it? A spun bearing can sound like a lifter tick. I'd try running a quart of ATF for a little while to see if it makes any difference. As @avalonandl mentioned, checking under the rocker cover only takes minutes and you can get an idea of how clean the inside is. If you're sure it's just a lifter and the engine is worth it otherwise, lifters, head bolts, exhaust manifold bolts, lifter trays and all associated gaskets should only be around $350 and you can swap them in a day. But, just know that if you open it up and find a lifter went sideways, the cam could be wiped.

 

[Doubeleive]

I can empathize with you on this.

How many miles on the used motor? Does it come with any kind of warranty?

Have you tried putting ATF or something in the oil right before an oil change to see if that clears things up?

I’m assuming your oil pressure is good at start-up?

haven't tried any fixes yet because it just started happening, I guess I can try a quart of transmission fluid and see what that does, if it keeps it up I guess i'll have to crack it open and see whats going on. when I went to get the running board for the yukon the other day the yard said they had a engine with 105k on it 6month warranty, but that could be gone already.

 

[Doubeleive]

Being an active TYF'er, I'm sure you've checked the exhaust manifold bolts already, right? Don't forget the ones at the collector. How does the oil look? Any sparkles in it? A spun bearing can sound like a lifter tick. I'd try running a quart of ATF for a little while to see if it makes any difference. As @avalonandl mentioned, checking under the rocker cover only takes minutes and you can get an idea of how clean the inside is. If you're sure it's just a lifter and the engine is worth it otherwise, lifters, head bolts, exhaust manifold bolts, lifter trays and all associated gaskets should only be around $350 and you can swap them in a day. But, just know that if you open it up and find a lifter went sideways, the cam could be wiped.

ya that was the first thing I looked for was missing bolt heads but I also know the difference in the sound it makes for the most part it can be hard to tell but it sounds like it is right under the cover on the drivers side, I'll throw some trans fluid in it-how long should I leave the trans fluid in it? that part I don't know

 

[iamdub]

ya that was the first thing I looked for was missing bolt heads but I also know the difference in the sound it makes for the most part it can be hard to tell but it sounds like it is right under the cover on the drivers side, I'll throw some trans fluid in it-how long should I leave the trans fluid in it? that part I don't know

It varies because what it's intended to do is dissolve gunk. If it's just a little piece that broke off from somewhere and got lodged in a tiny oil passage, the idea is to dissolve it so it stops blocking the flow of oil to that lifter or rocker. It may take a few hours, days or weeks. Unless you have time to look under the rocker cover, pour in a quart and let 'er rip for a day or so.

 

[OR VietVet]

If t was me, I would try the trans fluid, a quart, with new oil and filter and drive it for 10-15 miles under different loads and see what happens. Drain all of it and add new oil and a new filter after that drive. Some here say, and I have agreed at times, to just let it idle for 15-30 minutes and then redo the oil change but I have done the drive under different load conditions with no problems before. Good luck.

 

[George B]

If t was me, I would try the trans fluid, a quart, with new oil and filter and drive it for 10-15 miles under different loads and see what happens. Drain all of it and add new oil and a new filter after that drive. Some here say, and I have agreed at times, to just let it idle for 15-30 minutes and then redo the oil change but I have done the drive under different load conditions with no problems before. Good luck.

This sounds like a good plan to me.

 

[Fless]

I'd try the tranny fluid first. You might look at using BG EPR: https://www.bgprod.com/catalog/engine/bg-epr-engine-performance-restoration/
Use it per the instructions, right as you do an oil change. Run the engine for the recommended amount of time and RPM, then drain and change oil & filter immediately. The oil gets hot so be ready for that. I've used it on my daily driver (not the Hoe), once at 100K on the clock.

 

[07YUKONXL534x4]

I would try the trans fluid flush, but ultimately, new cam and lifters will likely be the only thing to truly fix the tick.

 

[swathdiver]

so as the title say's the ol'ladys burb has developed some lifter tick over the last couple of weeks, seems to be fairly heavy in the mornings when it's cold and then goes intermittent or goes away during the day as it is driven. seems to be on the drivers side. I know it's common but this has been rather sudden and I am wanting to know what it takes to fix it hopefully without to much tear down it has 240k on it and has had regular oil changes and maintenance I did a shotgun tune up on it a couple years ago plugs, wires, coil packs, maf, knock sensors so that part is all good. doesn't burn any oil and no leaks, shifts good.
option #2 is I can get another engine for $750 (used) then it would be whatever the cost is to have it swapped out.
options?

Option 3:

 

[Matthew Jeschke]

I didn't read whole post, but I fixed my tick. It's due to varnished ports on the lifters. The oil ports on the lifters are very small and prone to oil varnishing. You need to be careful to change your oil regularly and use a decent oil. Here's how I fixed mine..

- Bought 2 spray cans of Berryman B-12
- Bought a 16 oz can of seafoam
- Pulled both valve covers off.
- Sprayed entire can of Berryman B-12 on each side of motor.
- B-12 is sprayed using the straw down into the hole on the push rod. This takes it directly down into the lifter.
- Then pour sea foam down onto lifters in similar fashion, using up entire can of seafoam.
- Put your valve covers back on.

Let this soak for a 1 or 2 days. Then...

If you want to be super safe, you can change your oil and immediately put another can of sea foam into the new oil. I didn't do this....

- Start truck but don't drive it. Let it idle with that seafoam in the crankcase for 1 hour.
- Change your oil.

This took away my lifter tick. I found a guy on Youtube that did this, however, he used a stronger crankcase cleaner. I just used seafoam. If you're feeling rich you can get KanoLabs - Kroil and put it in the crankcase. I didn't want to spend the big bucks lol But saw a lot of people had success doing that.

 

[JonnyTahoe]

My 03 had a tick that came and went. Never bothered me enough to do anything about it but if I did I would have tried the carb cleaner down the push rod method. Saw a video of it on YouTube.

Never heard of that. Great idea sure beats removal of the Intake and replacing the lifters.

 

[rockola1971]

I didn't read whole post, but I fixed my tick. It's due to varnished ports on the lifters. The oil ports on the lifters are very small and prone to oil varnishing. You need to be careful to change your oil regularly and use a decent oil. Here's how I fixed mine..

- Bought 2 spray cans of Berryman B-12
- Bought a 16 oz can of seafoam
- Pulled both valve covers off.
- Sprayed entire can of Berryman B-12 on each side of motor.
- B-12 is sprayed using the straw down into the hole on the push rod. This takes it directly down into the lifter.
- Then pour sea foam down onto lifters in similar fashion, using up entire can of seafoam.
- Put your valve covers back on.

Let this soak for a 1 or 2 days. Then...

If you want to be super safe, you can change your oil and immediately put another can of sea foam into the new oil. I didn't do this....

- Start truck but don't drive it. Let it idle with that seafoam in the crankcase for 1 hour.
- Change your oil.

This took away my lifter tick. I found a guy on Youtube that did this, however, he used a stronger crankcase cleaner. I just used seafoam. If you're feeling rich you can get KanoLabs - Kroil and put it in the crankcase. I didn't want to spend the big bucks lol But saw a lot of people had success doing that.

Cheaper and faster to just use some tranny fluid mixed with oil...run engine at idle for 15 - 20 mins...drain...new oil and filter....done.

 

[Doubeleive]

Cheaper and faster to just use some tranny fluid mixed with oil...run engine at idle for 15 - 20 mins...drain...new oil and filter....done.

ya were going to try that today and see what happens, my 03 silverado had a lifter tick for years it would come and go and when it was present it would only do it after it sat idling for a few minutes so I never really looked into trying to fix or what could even be done just lived with it.

 

[Matthew Jeschke]

ya were going to try that today and see what happens, my 03 silverado had a lifter tick for years it would come and go and when it was present it would only do it after it sat idling for a few minutes so I never really looked into trying to fix or what could even be done just lived with it.

I dont think the tick hurts much. mine did it at cold startup after sitting for a couple days. I would let it idle for a couple minutes and it would go away.

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[Matthew Jeschke]

I didnt diagnose much deeper. what probably would be worse is a loose rocker.... ailly ignition packs were such that i couldnt start up motor with valve cover off to see if any rockers were loose or starved of oil.

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[bradyjames]

I had a lifter tick too. Before I used any fuel additives, I did some research on a forum, BITOG, and on a recommendation, I decided to change my oil to Castrol Edge and change my cheap microguard oil filter to a WIX.

Problem solved. It turns out that not all 5w30 oils are created equal as well as oil filters. I was using a cheap oil filter that had a leaky anti drain back valve.

Haven't heard any weird noises since.