2001 Silverado Lifter ticking with cold

[1yesfan]

Seems that I have a lifter ticking on my 01 with 163k on a 5.3 motor. After about a minutes or two of driving it goes away, does not come back till the next cold morning. Any reason to wory?

 

[D is for DENALI]

Benign piston slap possibly?

 

[Doubeleive]

my 2003 silverado did it for a couple years then about a year ago right after a oil change it stopped ticking and hasn't done it again yet. I have seen it on various gm's my friends van ticked pretty good probably still does but he sold it that way, it's annoying but unless it gets worse I would fret over it to much.

 

[RED TAHOE LS]

Typical lifter noise,

David g.

 

[David Smith]

Mine does the same thing. Only when it is pretty cold outside. I normally just let it warm up for a minute before I drive off.

 

[PG01]

Normal gm lifter tap, surprises me that it just started at so many miles, usually they start earlier in life...seafoam in the oil may quiet but rallly nothing to worry about...is very typical

 

[ScottyBoy]

My 2001 has had both the "piston slap" and an intermittent lifter tick ever since I bought it back in 2006. It hasn't gotten any worse over the years, so I don't worry about it. Yes it does sound a bit worse in colder weather (especially the piston slap) but once the engine warms up for a minute it's fine. The lifter tick comes and goes. I sometimes don't hear it for several months, but then it comes back. I've also noticed that when the lifters are ticking, sometimes if I rev the engine up to 2000-2500 rpms for a few seconds, then the tick immediately stops. I'm not sure why this would sometimes cause the lifter tick to stop, but it does. Regardless, I have expressed my concerns about this lifter tick to several mechanics and they ALL told me that if it doesn't get worse, or noticably louder, then it's nothing to worry about.

 

[RaiderRodney]

Same here, I have an 01 Hoe 5.3 and it ticks for maybe a minute on startup but then quietens down. It's pretty common as everyone has said.

 

[rockola1971]

They all do it. Its worse in the winter because the lifters and pushrods contract in the cold which increases valve clearance and as the engine warms up the metal expands and decreases valve clearance back to in spec. The oil is a little thick when cold and takes time to do its job of fully pumping up the lifters and lube the valvetrain. The Gen3 and 4 engines all do it...eventually. My 6.0 and both 5.3L do it and are noticeably more pronounced at making noise now that its winter. Just drive until the wheels fall off or the chassis rusts in half.

 

[1yesfan]

well my truck is rust free to the motor needs to keep up the pace withthe lack of rust. ha ha