Burning Oil 5.3 suggestions?

[TysonTrost]

Leaky valve cover won’t cause smoke out the pipe. You may be loosing oil there but you’d see drips on driveway

I don't have drips on drive way but there are some on oil pan but they are very slow. Oil is also on sides of Bell housing and I just changed my trans.

 

[TysonTrost]

missing bolts can cause a tick that goes away once the engine is warmed up...ive been there. even took it to the dealer and they "surprise" could not figure it out. i was doing brakes or shocks and saw the black soot from the leak on the head. i got lucky and my bolt just came out. ive had to remove the manifold to remove 3 busted bolts on the work truck tho. got lucky there too, just the heads came off and i was able to get the bolts out with vice grips.

they also sell a clamp to bolt in place of the busted bolt on the rear and the front.

I'll be heading to work at operating temp and she'll start ticking proportional to rpm. no real pattern on occurrences however. And after a bit it'll work itself out or if you turn it off for a while.

The rear bolts are gone but I don't have any signs of soot I'll look in the morning maybe post a few pics too.
How would I tell if I need new manifolds?

 

[TysonTrost]

I also have a new mysterious rattle sound if anyone would like to indulge...
Audio clip was taken at operating temp on a downhill with a little bit of throttle think it's exhaust??? Can't really replicate it not moving. here's a quick audio sample about 2 seconds in.

 

[iamdub]

... plus i think she's got the lifter tick so if im pulling the heads new lifters and cam???

lol

 

[iamdub]

If it were me, I'd do a compression test first to determine the condition of each cylinder. Worn rings lead to excessive blow-by which causes more oil in the PCV system which is then burned. Lets hope that it's not worn rings but just worn valve seals allowing oil into the combustion chambers. If it's been maintained well, the cylinders and rings should still be in great shape even at 200K+ miles. A leak-down test would help to confirm the condition of the heads. If the heads have to come off to be reconditioned, it'd be cheap insurance to replace the lifters and trays (about $120 for all). Inspect the rollers of the lifters and cam lobes. Check the push rods (I roll them on a piece of thick glass to ensure they're straight). The intake manifold will be off so it's a perfect opportunity to deep-clean it, including the PCV valve and other ports. Since they'll be easily accessible, with the manifold off, you can see if the oil pressure sensor and/or valley cover gasket is leaking which could be the cause for the oil on your bellhousing. At least check the knock sensor holes to ensure they're clean and add RTV to the seals when you pop them back in place. With the heads off, removing the broken exhaust bolts would be much easier. Removing the heads means the valve covers are off so right there is more gaskets that will be replaced, fixing those small leaks.

So, just the job of reconditioning the heads would lead to a thorough top end inspection and refreshing and would eliminate oil and exhaust leaks, two possible causes for ticking and likely your oil consumption issue. It would also give you a solid idea of the condition of your engine. You may notice smoother operation and possibly regain some lost power.

 

[TysonTrost]

If it were me, I'd do a compression test first to determine the condition of each cylinder. Worn rings lead to excessive blow-by which causes more oil in the PCV system which is then burned. Lets hope that it's not worn rings but just worn valve seals allowing oil into the combustion chambers. If it's been maintained well, the cylinders and rings should still be in great shape even at 200K+ miles. A leak-down test would help to confirm the condition of the heads. If the heads have to come off to be reconditioned, it'd be cheap insurance to replace the lifters and trays (about $120 for all). Inspect the rollers of the lifters and cam lobes. Check the push rods (I roll them on a piece of thick glass to ensure they're straight). The intake manifold will be off so it's a perfect opportunity to deep-clean it, including the PCV valve and other ports. Since they'll be easily accessible, with the manifold off, you can see if the oil pressure sensor and/or valley cover gasket is leaking which could be the cause for the oil on your bellhousing. At least check the knock sensor holes to ensure they're clean and add RTV to the seals when you pop them back in place. With the heads off, removing the broken exhaust bolts would be much easier. Removing the heads means the valve covers are off so right there is more gaskets that will be replaced, fixing those small leaks.

So, just the job of reconditioning the heads would lead to a thorough top end inspection and refreshing and would eliminate oil and exhaust leaks, two possible causes for ticking and likely your oil consumption issue. It would also give you a solid idea of the condition of your engine. You may notice smoother operation and possibly regain some lost power.

If i have a pit in a roller do you believe i should replace the cam as well just because, would i even need to take out the cam, also should i mess with timing chain etc. Also are there stainless manifold bolt replacements?
I will start with compression and leak down before i get too crazy

 

[iamdub]

If i have a pit in a roller do you believe i should replace the cam as well just because, would i even need to take out the cam, also should i mess with timing chain etc. Also are there stainless manifold bolt replacements?
I will start with compression and leak down before i get too crazy

"A pit in a roller" doesn't necessarily mean the cam lobe is damaged. Sometimes a roller can be improperly case-hardened and have a weak "skin" and it can come apart. There's a chance it won't harm the cam. You won't know until you closely inspect it.

How far you wanna dive in is up to you and your time and money budget. We've covered what NEEDS to be done based on the problem(s) at hand (oil consumption and leaks, ticking). If you can and wanna go further, it certainly could only be for the good. Let's consider the aforementioned as "Stage 1". If you wanna step into "Stage 2", that would be opening up the front and replacing the timing set, oil pump, possibly the cam, and all associated gaskets (water pump, oil pickup O-ring, front crank seal, etc.). I'll call pulling the engine to replace the rear main seal and cover gasket "Stage 3". With the heads off, getting at those top bell housing bolts is really easy, so pulling the engine isn't much more work. You could pull it, replace whatever, reseal it and drop it back in. Front and rear cover and oil pan alignments would be much easier outside the frame rails. All said and done, you'd pretty much be guaranteed your motor will have no oil leaks nor will it consume/burn any beyond normal reason. After doing this to my brother's 185K+ mile 5.3 (and then some!), I can tell you it's quite refreshing to get under a high-mileage engine and it be as clean and dry as the day it rolled out the factory. It's almost creepy, actually.

But, yes, confirming that the bottom end is up-to-par is the first step.

 

[TysonTrost]

"A pit in a roller" doesn't necessarily mean the cam lobe is damaged. Sometimes a roller can be improperly case-hardened and have a weak "skin" and it can come apart. There's a chance it won't harm the cam. You won't know until you closely inspect it.

How far you wanna dive in is up to you and your time and money budget. We've covered what NEEDS to be done based on the problem(s) at hand (oil consumption and leaks, ticking). If you can and wanna go further, it certainly could only be for the good. Let's consider the aforementioned as "Stage 1". If you wanna step into "Stage 2", that would be opening up the front and replacing the timing set, oil pump, possibly the cam, and all associated gaskets (water pump, oil pickup O-ring, front crank seal, etc.). I'll call pulling the engine to replace the rear main seal and cover gasket "Stage 3". With the heads off, getting at those top bell housing bolts is really easy, so pulling the engine isn't much more work. You could pull it, replace whatever, reseal it and drop it back in. Front and rear cover and oil pan alignments would be much easier outside the frame rails. All said and done, you'd pretty much be guaranteed your motor will have no oil leaks nor will it consume/burn any beyond normal reason. After doing this to my brother's 185K+ mile 5.3 (and then some!), I can tell you it's quite refreshing to get under a high-mileage engine and it be as clean and dry as the day it rolled out the factory. It's almost creepy, actually.

But, yes, confirming that the bottom end is up-to-par is the first step.

thanks i do not have the tools to complete a full engine rebuild right now but maybe in the future the water pump was replaced a few years ago so that's good thanks for your time i will look in to all of this
also i don't know if you listened to the video i sent but that is another random noise that has appeared recently

 

[Big Mama]

I couldn’t get it to play but I’m in a poor reception area right now.

 

[iamdub]

thanks i do not have the tools to complete a full engine rebuild right now but maybe in the future the water pump was replaced a few years ago so that's good thanks for your time i will look in to all of this
also i don't know if you listened to the video i sent but that is another random noise that has appeared recently

It wouldn't be a full rebuild, just removal and replacement of covers. Required specialty tools would be ft-lb and in-lb torque wrenches, breaker bar, gear puller and torque angle gauge or protractor and permanent marker (what I used). Regardless, if nothing in the front or rear is leaking or leaking badly, keep it simple and stick to "Stage 1" to at least resolve the pressing issue.

I listened a bunch of times with my ear to the speaker. I didn't hear anything but what sounded like steady engine or road or wind noise other than a loud click at the end.