O/T 5.3 Chevy engine??

[Goose]

I'm looking to upgrade my pickup, and a few ads I've seen on Chevy pickups have the 5.3 engine.

Any problems? Do they pull? I'm not looking for a heavy duty puller, but I have an 18' car trailer, and I may want to haul a vehicle or equivalent load once in a while.

I only put a couple thousand miles a year on a pickup, so I can't justify tying up a whole lot of money in one.

Any thoughts? I'm not against trying a Ford or Dodge, either.

 

[bob15]

I have a 2006 Silverado with the 5.3 in it. Have zero complaints. Plenty of power for what you will want to do. Depending on the rear end ratio, you could get 19-20 on the highway. My truck has 125,000 on it, and it doesn't burn oil(knock on wood), also has the HD towing package on it which has the oil coolers on it. I wouldn't hesitate on buying one.

 

[The Red]

I have the 5.3 in my 2005 Silverado. It is the old 327 but has plenty of power. Only thing that has been replaced so far was the thermostat which wasn't cheap. Have 48,000 miles. Just getting broken in.

 

[cannonball]

The 5.3 is a 325 and a completely new design engine...

 

[GT65]

If I had a choice and could afford it I would go with the 6.0L and the 2500. Sometimes you can find the 6.0L in the 1500HD!
The 5.3 will pull it OK,but the brakes are so much bigger and better on the 2500 than the 1500!

 

[Anonymous-0]

I have a 99 with the 5.3, 122k I bought with 53k on it. Plenty of power, no problems. I load it down with logs which I then cut up for firewood. Have pulled 20' trailer carrying 2N, disc and Brillion seeder all on the one load. I am happy with it.

 

[Anonymous-0]

meant to add, Vortec seems to be real good engines. Also have 4.3 Vortec in wife's 2002 Blazer and SIL had 4 cylnder Vortec in 2001 S10.

 

[Tx Jim]

One problem with the 5.3 is after a while the intake gaskets require replacement. I was amazed how light weight the intake was. Definitely not as heavy as the old cast iron intakes. My '99 5.3 pulls my loaded 16' BP cattle trailer fairly well.

 

[Mark-Ia]

I have a 2000 with 218,000 miles. Pull a 18' trailer. No problems, no oil usage,Tow package, 17-19 mpg highway. Been a good truck...

 

[Robert NC]

2008 and up have a problem with oil consumption. Bad design on the lifters and problem with rings and pistons. Shop has replaced the lifters that cut out so the engine runs on 4 cyliders and not four when cruising. Also replaced alot of pistons and rings. Believe the newest one should be getting the right parts during build.

 

[molinebob]

Brother has one in a 2003 chev 1500...personally i can out pull and out power him with my 2003 ford F150 with the 5.4 triton in it...I think the ford has way more low end torque...just my opinion though...however the chevy does get 6 maybe 7 more mpgs than my Ford...Bob

 

[Anonymous-0]

I have owned a 2000 Chevy 1500 with a tow package and a 4.8 engine (I believe that it is the same basic engine as the 5.3) since new. It has over 230,000 miles of absolutely trouble free driving. It has needed a waterpump, radiator, spring shackles, one U-joint, brakes a couple of times, brake lines, fuel tank straps, an alternator, and of course the normal fluid changes. Items like the radiator, fuel tank straps, fuel lines, brake lines, and spring shackles can directly be traced to extreme salt on the highways of upstate NY and only washing the truck once or twice a year. The engine has never given me any problems and doesn't burn or leak a drop of oil. The front end has never had any repair and never had or needed an alignment. Good engine.....good truck!!!

 

[Blackhole49]

My 08 1/2 ton almost always has a trailer behind it. Anything from a 24" travel trailer to a wave runner. Plenty of power for towing. +- 18mpg empty falls off depending on the trailer. Two sled enclosed snowmobile trailer or 18" flatbed with an 8n +- 13mpg. Travel trailer, +-10mpg. While I only have 25,000 miles on it, been very happy. Didn"t buy it for the mileage.

 

[tomNE]

depending on what year your looking for; they can have tranny problems. other then that; they last along time.

 

[rankrank1]

(quoted from post at 13:19:53 03/10/13) The 5.3 is a 325 and a completely new design engine...

Cannonball is correct the 5.3 is a 325 and debutted in 1999. Not really like the old generation 327 in any way.

That said they are good engines. If you are looking at used I would recommend trying to buy a late 2003 or newer. The 1999 to early 2003's (4.8's. 5.3's, and even the 6.0's) can be prone to piston slap when they get some miles on them on cold start (it kinda sounds like a diesel clatter). Really it does not hurt anything as the sound goes away once the short skirt pistons expand a little as the engine warms up. Starting in late 2003 a design tweak was done to correct the annoyance.

For towing run the code in the glovebox and see which rear end ratio the truck has. It will be important as these engines like to rev to make power. Here is my experiences with the 1999-2007 generation with 4 speed auto's

4.10 (Will be rare but is a towing beast. Downside is the empty mileage suffers about 1.5 mpg).

3.73 (will provide best balance of towing capability and empty mileage)

3.42 (will provide optimum empty mpg but really only suitable for light towing and I doubt it will ever reach overdrive even towing light).

3.23 (You could not give me this ratio especially if equipped with the common 4 speed automatic tranny).


Regardless of rear end the towing mpg will almost always drop to the 9-12 mpg range. I currently have a 2003 GMC1500 Ext cab longbed 4wd with 4.10 rear axle. Just towed a 1946 Farmall m home (140 miles) 3 weeks ago on a heavey 12,000 GVW trailer and it handled it like a breeze. Tows my campers fine too. 95k miles on truck and not a single problem with engine.

 

[Rick Kr]

I have a 2010 5.3 4x4 crew cab and can get 18-19mpg all day long if I drive it right. 78,000 miles so far. Run synthetic and it does fine.

2010 was the first year of the 6 spd trans with the 5.3. That should get you 2mpg over the 4 spd. The 4.8 still came with the 4 spd auto. Typically badged as the W/T model.

You are right on, except 2007 and newer you cannot get a 4.10 with the 5.3.

Deepest gears you can get are 3.42. Max towing is 9400 lbs with the towing package and 3.42

You can get a 3.73 with 6.2L, raised towing to around 10,200lb.

Glove box codes
GT4 -- AXLE REAR, 3.73 RATIO
GT5 -- AXLE REAR, 4.10 RATIO
GU4 -- AXLE REAR, 3.08 RATIO
GU5 -- AXLE REAR, 3.23 RATIO
GU6 -- AXLE REAR, 3.42 RATIO
G80 -- AXLE REAR, LIMITED SLIP

Rick

 

[MSM]

Have 2 '012 1/2 ton 4x4's at work with the 5.3's. Not the best for gas mileage averaging 15 empty mixed driving,drops down to 9-10 pulling a trailer with 5000 lbs on it. Require synthetic or semi synthetic oil,and dealer said don't stretch the oil changes out to the factory recommendations, engines sludge up and have cam/lifter problems.They said 7000 max with synthetic oil. Oil filter is about the size of a v-8 juice can.
They are comfortable trucks,ride well,but I feel they are basically a car with a pickup bed on them,macpherson strut front suspension, small drum brakes on the rear,and 20" tires. Maybe they are ok for a suburbanite that runs to Lowes or Home Depot,but for a work truck there isn't alot of meat to them. Both of ours have had monitor screen/sensor problems,shifting problems, uneven tire wear(dealer recommended rotation at every oil change) I look for them to be a high maintenance truck especially when they get up in miles, just too cheaply built for heavy construction or farm use.JMHO

 

[The Red]

Good information from all of you. Mine is GU6 G80. It was actually built in late 2004. Been a good runner overall. I have never towed with it but I recall the owners manual stating not to use overdrive when towing.

 

[KYGarrett]

It is not the old 327! It's a 325 with a totally different design. About the only thing they have in common is 8 cylinders in a V configuration. They do however have plenty of power.

 

[David G]

ECO boost Ford, good mileage good power.

 

[The Red]

Definitely more power than the 1998 Silverado with the 5.7L engine I owned prior to this.

 

[GVSII]

(quoted from post at 06:24:07 03/10/13) 2008 and up have a problem with oil consumption. Bad design on the lifters and problem with rings and pistons. Shop has replaced the lifters that cut out so the engine runs on 4 cyliders and not four when cruising. Also replaced alot of pistons and rings. Believe the newest one should be getting the right parts during build.

I don't know much about the GM 5.3 engine but everyone that I know that has one is happy with it. I've seen one pulling and hauling a heavy load ,too heavy in my opinion,nephew said it did just fine.The problems Robert NC speaks of are a surprise to me.

 

[G1355]

Great motor, and I'm a dodge guy

 

[farmer boy]

You might consider buying a 1500HD, 2500 or 2500HD. Any of these will have a 6.0L, 4L80E, and 14Bolt rear end.(Only the 2500HD has the FF axle) It might be worth considering, as you lose your savings on the 1/2-ton pretty quick when rebuilding a $2000+ transmission. I'm not a fan of the 5.3 because of the revs(which kills said tranny even faster), but the engine itself is durable and trouble free. I'm not a fan of Chevy 1/2-tons mostly because of the transmission.

 

[Hay_Man]

Are there any new trucks nowadays that you can get a manual trans. in?

 

[Anonymous-0]

I like engines that make torque at low rpm's, a 5.3 makes max torque at something like 4800 rpm which usually doesn't help longevity of course a chev small block never did make much torque and the 5.3 continues that tradition, 6.0's pull ok but don't pass many gas stations, I like the 5.4 in my F150 and the 5.9 dsl. in my Dodge 2500.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I laugh every time I hear a chev guy say "They brought the 327 back!" The 327 was a quick winding engine more suited to a Chevelle or a Camaro than a work pickup.

 

[farmer boy]

Dodge still offers it in their 3/4 and 1 ton diesel trucks. It's not offered behind the gas engine. I've heard that they're dropping that option soon too. There's nothing wrong with automatic transmissions when their built correct and the application is correct. The Allison 1000 which is the only transmission offered behind the Duramax and now discontinued 8.1, is an indestructable transmission. (somebody will call me out on this, so, the Duramax when in a van got the 4l80E and the 8.1 when in a GMT400 3500HD got the 4l80e.) I don't trust the nv3500(GM manual tranny used in 1/2 tons) anymore than the 4L60E. GM hasn't offered a good transmission in their 1/2 ton trucks for a long time, if ever. I have no experience, but I don' think the TH350 was that great either. The 4l80e is also a great transmission. Built tough and can work hard all day long for 200,000 miles, as long as it's not overpowered. Any diesel other than the 6.5 or 6.2 would overpower and destroy it sooner than later. I can't imagine they did that great behind the 8.1 in the GMT400 3500HD's, unless those engines were seriously detuned.

 

[Trkr]

Not trying to hijack this thread,but we have 5.3 in a 2004 Yukon,60k miles,nice engine,runs great,powerful,but terrible mileage.Avg.12.2,driving gently.Is this normal?

 

[farmer boy]

Any codes.? Do a live scan to check activity on 02 sensors. Post cat sensors DO NOT matter for mileage so don't bother with them.

 

[Rick Kr]

One thing I need to add, but cant verify at this moment.

You might have been able to get the 3.73 or 4.10 in the 2007-2009 since it had the 4 spd.

But 2010 and newer I am sure you cannot get anything deeper than the 3.42 with a 5.3.

Rick

 

[farmer boy]

That's only on the engines with Active Fuel Management.

 

[Russ from MN]

We have an 07 60,000 miles, plan to trade this fall. We like it very well, 20 mpg empty, 12 pulling a big trailer, 15 pulling a 16' boat. plenty of power for what I need.

 

[GordoSD]

The 5.7 gets better mileage, is more dependable (higher total miles) and pulls much better. Most came with trailer pkg and 3.73 gears.

 

[G1355]

Yup the one the only dodge

 

[Hobo,NC]

(quoted from post at 19:55:42 03/10/13)

(quoted from post at 06:24:07 03/10/13) 2008 and up have a problem with oil consumption. Bad design on the lifters and problem with rings and pistons. Shop has replaced the lifters that cut out so the engine runs on 4 cyliders and not four when cruising. Also replaced alot of pistons and rings. Believe the newest one should be getting the right parts during build.

I don't know much about the GM 5.3 engine but everyone that I know that has one is happy with it. I've seen one pulling and hauling a heavy load ,too heavy in my opinion,nephew said it did just fine.The problems Robert NC speaks of are a surprise to me.

They are out their along with those with castech head issues... If I were looking at one I would remove the oil fill tube from the valve cover if it was slugged up pass on it.. If not strongly question oil usage... The small coolant leak is a sign of the coolant mixing with the oil are poor maintenance.

http://www.fullsizechevy.com/forum/...enance/415693-coolant-loss-castech-heads.html

 

[Tx Jim]

(quoted from post at 22:05:40 03/10/13) Yup the one the only dodge

Were you referring to having 2 spark plugs per cylinder?

 

[Anonymous-0]

(quoted from post at 13:36:16 03/11/13)

(quoted from post at 22:05:40 03/10/13) Yup the one the only dodge

Were you referring to having 2 spark plugs per cylinder?

hat would be the HINO engine, the one with such a bad combustion chamber design that they had to add a second plug just to meet emissions! If you can't fix it, feature it!

 

[Hay_Man]

No he's saying the only new truck you can get a manual trans. in is the Dodge.

 

[Texasmark1]

I have a '11 4.8 in a 4 door Silverado. A couple of things about this engine that are different from the old 3 +/- liter engines of yesteryear is that the engine has been redone internally. For one thing I have roller lifters. Second it has a max rpm rating up around 6,000 meaning it breathes freely. Third, like my Dodge hemi did, when you get on it, it just begs to let it have it's rein. In passing gear, if you didn't know you had this engine, you'd swear it was much larger. I was duly impressed with GM's remake of this small block V8.

With a trailer, I pull a cord of wood or an 18' stock trailer. I have the 4 speed auto tranny with the tow/haul function electric shift. The combo works really nice.

I like the LS truck with that combo as it is a straight forward pushrod engine, no funny business, gets all around high 16 to 17 depending on ethanol content and seems to fit my needs nicely. The other thing by getting the LS with this engine is I got the soft ride chassis but still 6200 GVWR. Not as sloppy as yesteryear, but not the spine jarring ride I got in my 1500 Dodges. I don't know what it would do with a gooseneck and a dozen cows behind it but I don't need to.....don't have a gooseneck. Ha!

Mark

 

[IndianaRed]

600,000 trouble free miles on mine. Tow/haul 90% of those miles.