Are Chev 5.3L,6.0L, and 6.2L all oil burners?

[cchase]

The Impala SS with 5.3L V8 appears to be an aluminum block and uses AFM.

So, you may be on to something there.

This wikipedia entry seems to have all the answers:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Vortec_engine#5300

 

[SSGSTbirdtoyman]

Had a 2008 Impala ss with the 5.3L V8 aluminum block. when driving mostly hiway it was using 1 qt every 1100 miles, had it checked at dealer for excessive consumption but the test was during city short runs when the AFM system was not as active and it could go 2400 miles or so before It lost 1 qt. so it was not covered for excessive consumption which is 1 qt per 2000 miles. However the dealer did fix my tranny issue as it was slipping.
Any how I sold the car at 38000 miles last spring

My buyer knew it used oil and he didnt care for just a city runabout.

 

[wapacz]

Originally Posted By: Jim Spahr
I thought the rule was if it is a car, it had an aluminum block and if it was a truck,it was iron block. Now I am hearing a few of the trucks do have aluminum blocks.


a lot of time 4x4 trucks get the aluminum block to offset the weight of the transfer case and all the other equipment needed.

I have a 2009 aluminum block that has 30k on it. Haven't really noticed any oil burning from that one.

 

[LAGA]

2007 Silverado 6.0 AL block 50K miles and does not burn a drop of oil. I do 6 month OCI with Castrol 0W-30. Mostly city driving. Recently, we did a 2K road trip, and when I kept it under 75 MPH I was getting 20 MPG. That dropped to 16 MPG at 80-85 MPH.

 

[DriveHard]

2011 Silverado 6.2L E85 Al block and heads. (NO AFM)
51,xxx miles decent amount of trailer towing during the summer...never burned a drop.

 

[NHHEMI]

I have had 2 GM's with the 5.3L. A 2005 Silverado with the HO aluminum block 5.3L and then a 2007 Silverado with a 5.3L w/ AFM. Neither engine burned a drop of oil that could be seen on the dipstick during 5K OC's.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: 05Blazer
It sounds to me that the baffles are for noise. Just like a muffler in the exhaust has baffles. This is probably to address the piston slap and valvetrain noise that is common on every 5.3L that has been built since day 1.


I had a 2002 5.3L and 2006 6.0L both horrible piston slappers...GM built some awful engines when they stopped having the pistons hand fitted on the assembly line. I had a 99 5.7L that was perfect and kick myself in the butt for ever trading it.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Doog
I had a 2002 5.3L and 2006 6.0L both horrible piston slappers...GM built some awful engines when they stopped having the pistons hand fitted on the assembly line. I had a 99 5.7L that was perfect and kick myself in the butt for ever trading it.



That was a silly comment. A bunch of those "awful" engines are in my driveways, one with 400k miles on it that works daily!

Piston slap is a hugely overblown issue that has never adversely affected engine life at all.

 

[edhackett]

I bought a used 2003 Sierra HD with the 6.0 for a work truck last spring. It has 127K on it. No piston slap and does not use any oil in 5K.

Ed

 

[Tzu]

I would not call those year engines awful (as I own one), but I understand the reasoning behind a hand fitted piston being a better idea. My '00 5.3 truck, 230,000 miles, has piston slap and even though it will easily outlast the body, it makes me want to use our '91 Camry more when it gets cold out so I don't have to hear the noise. I could care less if it is wearing 10 times faster than normal, just make it sound like my old 350 when started cold. My boss just traded in his '10 Silverado 5.3 AFM after two years because he was only getting 15-16 HGWY mpg. Did not use much oil as far as I know of, but then again it only had 25,000 miles on it. Bought a '12 Acadia instead. My truck usually gets 17-20 mpg with the "old" 5.3? I would disable AFM if I had it. This AFM stuff worries me in the long haul, repair cost wise. Now new trucks will have direct injection and variable valve timing to boot. Aluminum engines in trucks sound wrong. Cars yes, trucks no. That's just me though.
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: Doog
I had a 2002 5.3L and 2006 6.0L both horrible piston slappers...GM built some awful engines when they stopped having the pistons hand fitted on the assembly line. I had a 99 5.7L that was perfect and kick myself in the butt for ever trading it.



That was a silly comment. A bunch of those "awful" engines are in my driveways, one with 400k miles on it that works daily!

Piston slap is a hugely overblown issue that has never adversely affected engine life at all.

 

[NYEngineer]

My 09 Suburban has an aluminum 5.3 in it. It has 60,000 on it now and still doesn't consume any oil.
On my last trip to Florida, it got 20.5 average mpg.
I have nothing but good things to say about this truck.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: Doog
I had a 2002 5.3L and 2006 6.0L both horrible piston slappers...GM built some awful engines when they stopped having the pistons hand fitted on the assembly line. I had a 99 5.7L that was perfect and kick myself in the butt for ever trading it.



That was a silly comment. A bunch of those "awful" engines are in my driveways, one with 400k miles on it that works daily!

Piston slap is a hugely overblown issue that has never adversely affected engine life at all.


Real engines don't knock for 10 minutes when you start them. Might be overblown for you but I'll never buy a GM vehicle again. I have had over 20 GM vehicles and none ever knocked until my 2002. So if losing customers is silly so be it. Robbing taxpayers to build junk is even more silly. How many people would buy GM trucks if they were told they would piston slap before they bought them? Maybe you? Not me.

 

[Seventh]

I had an '02 Tahoe 5.3L for a few years. Bought it with 70k or so on it and sold it at about 130k.

It didn't burn any oil so to speak, the only time it got topped off in between changes was if I was going out of town towards the end of an interval.

I used M1 5 and 10w-30 and changed it when the light came on, typically anywhere from 5-6k miles.

Piston slap wasn't too bad in that one, but if it sat parked for more than 2-3 days it would make the most terrible deep knocking noise for about 0.25 seconds upon startup. Really irked me.

Otherwise I loved the truck. Got me through some pretty hairy situations when out hunting/camping/fishing. It was like a luxury tank, handled like one too.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: Doog
I had a 2002 5.3L and 2006 6.0L both horrible piston slappers...GM built some awful engines when they stopped having the pistons hand fitted on the assembly line. I had a 99 5.7L that was perfect and kick myself in the butt for ever trading it.



That was a silly comment. A bunch of those "awful" engines are in my driveways, one with 400k miles on it that works daily!

Piston slap is a hugely overblown issue that has never adversely affected engine life at all.


Real engines don't knock for 10 minutes when you start them. Might be overblown for you but I'll never buy a GM vehicle again. I have had over 20 GM vehicles and none ever knocked until my 2002. So if losing customers is silly so be it. Robbing taxpayers to build junk is even more silly. How many people would buy GM trucks if they were told they would piston slap before they bought them? Maybe you? Not me.


Good. More for me!

But seriously, you haven't ever owned a really hot car with forged pistons and lots of clearance? They knock like crazy when first started, especially in the old days.

And for the record, we own MANY GM products (not "a couple"), went through all the slapper days, and never had a problem. Also never had a single one knock for more than a minute or so, because if it IS a piston it warms up very quickly!

Sure you had piston slap? I had dozens of 5.7's and they were generally quiet and long lasting.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: Doog
I had a 2002 5.3L and 2006 6.0L both horrible piston slappers...GM built some awful engines when they stopped having the pistons hand fitted on the assembly line. I had a 99 5.7L that was perfect and kick myself in the butt for ever trading it.



That was a silly comment. A bunch of those "awful" engines are in my driveways, one with 400k miles on it that works daily!

Piston slap is a hugely overblown issue that has never adversely affected engine life at all.


Real engines don't knock for 10 minutes when you start them. Might be overblown for you but I'll never buy a GM vehicle again. I have had over 20 GM vehicles and none ever knocked until my 2002. So if losing customers is silly so be it. Robbing taxpayers to build junk is even more silly. How many people would buy GM trucks if they were told they would piston slap before they bought them? Maybe you? Not me.


The piston slap issue is LONG GONE so not sure why you would say not to buy GM trucks/vehicles now? Btw - other car mfg's have had piston slap issues too.

 

[cchase]

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Btw - other car mfg's have had piston slap issues too.


Our Honda has piston slap so loud it would make the GM piston slap run and hide.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: Doog
I had a 2002 5.3L and 2006 6.0L both horrible piston slappers...GM built some awful engines when they stopped having the pistons hand fitted on the assembly line. I had a 99 5.7L that was perfect and kick myself in the butt for ever trading it.



That was a silly comment. A bunch of those "awful" engines are in my driveways, one with 400k miles on it that works daily!

Piston slap is a hugely overblown issue that has never adversely affected engine life at all.


Real engines don't knock for 10 minutes when you start them. Might be overblown for you but I'll never buy a GM vehicle again. I have had over 20 GM vehicles and none ever knocked until my 2002. So if losing customers is silly so be it. Robbing taxpayers to build junk is even more silly. How many people would buy GM trucks if they were told they would piston slap before they bought them? Maybe you? Not me.


Good. More for me!

But seriously, you haven't ever owned a really hot car with forged pistons and lots of clearance? They knock like crazy when first started, especially in the old days.

And for the record, we own MANY GM products (not "a couple"), went through all the slapper days, and never had a problem. Also never had a single one knock for more than a minute or so, because if it IS a piston it warms up very quickly!

Sure you had piston slap? I had dozens of 5.7's and they were generally quiet and long lasting.


I have owned 5 GM 7.4L V8 engines with forged pistons, crank & cams. All were pre 2000 and all never had the [censored] piston slap like my 2002 and 2006 did.

 

[Doog]

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Originally Posted By: Doog
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: Doog
I had a 2002 5.3L and 2006 6.0L both horrible piston slappers...GM built some awful engines when they stopped having the pistons hand fitted on the assembly line. I had a 99 5.7L that was perfect and kick myself in the butt for ever trading it.



That was a silly comment. A bunch of those "awful" engines are in my driveways, one with 400k miles on it that works daily!

Piston slap is a hugely overblown issue that has never adversely affected engine life at all.


Real engines don't knock for 10 minutes when you start them. Might be overblown for you but I'll never buy a GM vehicle again. I have had over 20 GM vehicles and none ever knocked until my 2002. So if losing customers is silly so be it. Robbing taxpayers to build junk is even more silly. How many people would buy GM trucks if they were told they would piston slap before they bought them? Maybe you? Not me.


The piston slap issue is LONG GONE so not sure why you would say not to buy GM trucks/vehicles now? Btw - other car mfg's have had piston slap issues too.


GM stuck me with a $3,500 differential repair that they refused to cover. They don't care about their customers. I got screwed twice. Never again. Never.