Tearing Down TWO Bad GM 5.3's! A Double Feature! Two Similar Engines, Two Different Failures!

[@vamaggs]

I don't know which is sadder, Eric releasing a video on a Saturday night, or me sitting here waiting for it.

[@srobertweiser]

I've thought about this, and I figured that we're probably sadder. At least Eric's making some money.

[@fitfogey]

Yeah we’ve covered this kinda. Like we said getting old is funny. Used to party every Saturday night now I watch Eric’s teardown videos. Actually happier doing this instead of the bar scene that got old quick.

[@Yankee7000]

Nothing sad about it sir. A hobby is something in which to delight!

[@bretthoomana2541]

@@fitfogey I'm forced to agree. Apparently something is wrong with my face, or I'm just a douche or something. I'm too old to recover from drinking AND getting my ass kicked.

[@factorism100]

Neither

[@hydrocarbon82]

Funny how your misfire probably adds 50-100hp and another 1000 rpm to the redline... I'm more a fan of exhaust blockages that make whirling noises, but both are better than no misfire.

[@fitfogey]

(Engine makes a weird clinky sound turning over) Us all giddy: “POSSIBLE MAX CARNAGE INCOMING!”

[@huntergosz4257]

I think I would be kind of interesting to see a filter cut open and inspected on a engine that had a catastrophic failure.

[@alexfooify]

Everything I know about engines I've learned from this channel. Started out barely knowing how an engine actually works and now I still don't, but I know how to (theoretically) find the problem with an engine. Thanks for uploading. Love all of these videos.

[@JamesSterling]

That's quite a nasty "misfire" in that Tahoe! 😁

[@pantygnome]

Sounds about as stock as Cleetus's Murauder.

[@randystegemann9990]

Looks great, sounds terrible. I was half expecting it to blow up.

[@DanielDoub1eDDunn]

"Completely stock" .. yea right ;)

[@willfixthingsfordonuts]

"Misfire" AKA Dumpster fire cam

[@jimbusmaximus4624]

I thought that misfire sounded an awful lot like a cam!

[@ouch1011]

Although I’m definitely on Team OEM parts, one reason why a shop may choose to use aftermarket parts in some cases is parts availability. Even a lot of podunk towns have a NAPA, Carquest, O’Reilley’s, etc , but they may not have a car dealer in town. So, getting OEM parts may be more difficult.

[@pgbpro20]

"Buy Delco" I asked my parts counter guy (work at a dealership) what he would do if he didn't have access to our employee discounts. FWIW, he said he would "just go buy Delco."

[@timb8373]

6:05 Partially-blocked coolant passages are probably due to someone having run Bar's Leak or some other radiator stop leak product.

[@1stockcam]

Strange one this time. The one that looked significantly cleaner inside was destroyed. The filthy one looked like a usable shortblock. Would be interesting to see the ring gap comparison on those two.. give you an idea on the miles. Oil pump gear comparison was awesome 👏

[@tobiaskarlsson9094]

The filthy one seems to be a usable engine except that some asshat tried to hodge bodge a headgasket on it. Hade the headgasket been properly changed that engine wouldn't be there.

[@aesthetic3616]

@@tobiaskarlsson9094 asshat here and I know how to change a head proper. Devalue my name why don'tya

[@xluke2416]

Love coming home to this. Keep up the good work! I own a 2015 Silverado, love seeing these apart.

[@matthewtucker1519]

More double teardowns please. One engine teardown is awesome but two is even better.

[@edwardschmitt5710]

two. unless you mean "also"

[@alext8828]

From a guy that worked on GM motors in the 60s, these engines are light-years ahead of the crap we had to work on. You wouldn't believe it.

[@garfield89dude32]

Awesome set of teardowns Eric! I was in St. Louis last Sunday, would've loved to stop by your store but you're not open (don't blame you one bit either, you need some time for yourself!) I know they're boring as hell but would really like to see a teardown on a Ford Duratec 20 2.0L 4 cylinder non turbo sometime. I have two vehicles with that engine and am curious as to how they look inside. Anyway, keep the teardowns coming, you rock!

[@slow_r3188]

That would be a cool tear down

[@cablrus1885]

What is name of the business not seeing it on here anywere or am i just missing it

[@garfield89dude32]

@@cablrus1885 Importpart is the name of his business St. Louis Missouri

[@garfield89dude32]

Importapart, sorry, missed the A

[@cablrus1885]

@@garfield89dude32 thank you. Looking into an s10 build this spring with ls transplant

[@Hagemann666]

I've been enjoying your teardown videos SO much. You've got a beautiful formula here. You're extremely knowledgeable about IC engines and it comes through in every video. But you're still excellent at breaking things down for the layman. You've got a great sense of humor, you're humble and self-effacing. No whizbang graphics or annoying music. It's wonderful. If I could make one small request: The next time you have an engine with "spun" bearing can you explain exactly what the means, what happens to the bearing and/or crank/cam? What is the usual cause of a spun bearing? Thanks so much for making these informative and entertaining videos!

[@ponycar9116]

I’m sure Eric would say this better, but notice how crank, cam, and rod bearings are stationary and something spins inside of them (crankshafts, camshafts). The bearings are slightly crushed into their spaces in an interference fit, but the spinning items inside them have a very small clearance and that space is where the oil lubricates the bearing/item. Think bearing backside dry, front side wet (with oil). If something bad happens (bearing isn’t crushed enough when built, tolerances are too tight with rotating item when built or running, or oil starvation occurs), the bearing can “catch” more on the spinning object than how it’s locked in and the bearing itself will spin. You see the results of that here.

[@ekscalybur]

Automatic thumbs up for the "ding, fries are done" reference.

[@ronaldwilliford301]

5.3 engines are great 👍 runners. Mines is in my GXP Pontiac Grand Prix, It runs very good, its fast, runs quietly doesn’t rattle. Has 101 thousand miles. I take good care of the oil nothing but the best and change oil and filter every 3,000 miles, I change transmission fluid every 15,000 thousand miles. Just a Great Super car looks Very cool too!

[@AlwaysBeSmart674]

Please do a 5.7 Hemi I’d love to see one and I’m sure many others would since it’s basically one of the top 3 most popular v8s (Ls, coyote 5.0 & 5.7 Hemi) I’d really like to hear your take on the lifter issues found on I believe 2010 and newer

[@cyrenecai]

I second this. I found the prior 6.1L Hemi teardowns interesting because of how different they were in design to the LS engines, I'm wondering if there's any difference between the 5.7 and those older ones or if it's basically the same engine with a different bore/stroke.

[@chrisspurdle1192]

That's what I'm waiting for as well

[@03mm24]

@@cyrenecai basically the same I own both, only difference is the mds found in the 5.7, the 6.1 and 6.2 hellcat didn't have it. The "hemi tick" however is found in the 5.7 6.1 and 6.4 but not the 6.2 hellcat

[@TechGorilla1987]

Each time you tear down one of these engine, I am thankful that I change my full synthetic after 5K without fail.

[@SilasHumphreys]

Interesting to compare! I'd be interested in a teardown of a "recent" (read: mid-90s or later) Volvo engine. The old cast-iron red blocks are unremarkable except for their extreme durability, but the more recent stuff has some design decisions in it that I'd love to hear your take on.

[@christophercasale7961]

You mean the Volvo Whiteblock engine? There are several iterations and it evolves a fair bit from it's P80 origin to the P2

[@SilasHumphreys]

@@christophercasale7961 Whiteblock and the SI6, yeah.

[@volvodoc01]

The K (1989 only!) redblock has entered the chat (the only engine, Volvo or otherwise , that I have catastrophically blown up…. To its credit, it ran minus no.1 rod (sheared at wrist pin and then at crank), and no oil pump for plenty enough time to get up my rather steep driveway.

[@volvodoc01]

I was a Volvo master certified technician for the early 2000’s. The white block is an absolute unit. This was originally made as a diesel, then converted to a gas engine. Extremely reliable engine as long as you did timing belt every 100k miles

[@agenericaccount3935]

I keep thinking you’ll make a giant welded statue out of all those “save for later” timing chains one day 👀

[@thomasrowell6569]

A+ on dipstick removal you have now reached Zen mastery level

[@ggeimer]

I find driving a screw driver through an over torqued oil filter to be the most reliable removal tool.

[@winstonsmith313]

I used to do this on old Detroit iron but nowadays they cram so much stuff in the engine bay that you can’t get a clear shot at anything. Back in the day if a screwdriver pounded through the filter started to tear out, I’d just ram another one through at 90 degrees to give me two “handles”.

[@beaudupont4028]

Lol with miss fire 😂 sounds nasty. I work on those Tahoe's for the sheriff's department here where I live. Nice to hear one with a cam!

[@jackc5293]

There is just something to the sound of cam cap bolts breaking free on an LS that does it for me.

[@garyb5796]

The first one looked like it was overheated a few times before it met its end of life, it looked Cooked Well Done!! Good Show Man!!

[@trentdawg2832]

Your engine dismantle videos are soooo satisfying. ...

[@TrueCanad1an]

I'm curious in about 10 years when some auto manufactures today are switching to thinner and thinner oil what will turn up in your shop.

[@joeblow5037]

Great stuff, Eric. Good to livestream with my fellow motoheads :-)

[@Dragunov1185]

I see that S54 in the back in the intro! Excited to see you tear that down!

[@syty747]

im 9/10 certain those overtorqued headbolts were felpro replacement. I made the mistake of buying those before and the schmoo they put on there fucks up everything and makes them feel overtorqued because that stuff jams up the threads and twists the bolts. I switched to OEM and learned from my mistake.

[@gusrubio489]

I hereby nominate "single-cheek it" as the expression of the year, it's that good.

[@robertwest3093]

I see you remove the cylinder head bolts in a pattern also....NICELY done, especially with aluminum heads.

[@Belktronix]

So on the timing chain guides, whats up with them breaking? Lack of oil? Is there something better out there that won't fail after a 100k? I'd hate something that simple breaking and showing up somewhere else

[@andylockhart3867]

Look forward to this every week thanks

[@anthonybertone2336]

What a treat, 2 tear downs, Waited all day for this video, Thanks

[@nonamesplease6288]

PEW PEW PEW PEW I love the soundtrack to your videos! Cheers!

[@ChumpyChicken2]

Dude! I found this channel just before Christmas!! Love it so much!!

[@alanrlocklear]

A teardown double feature. AWESOME with a capital A! This LS fanboy is satisfied with these teardowns. That Tahoe PPV sounds like a train chugging down a track.

[@QueensGTO_Viper]

LS heads also have letter markings. I understood it that vettes got the "best" heads and they were marked "A". GTOs, Camaros, etc got B, and C. However, on the second engine I noticed "F" and "B" markings on each head respectively. Does that denote front and back? Does anyone know?

[@rogerweller1266]

Great tear downs, it’s always interesting to see the many different types of failures that can take place inside an engine, and how most people seem to view oil as optional. I don’t know how often you see them, but it would be great to see either a 2.7 or 3.0 Ford Nano V6 apart. I know you did a 3.5 RWD Ecoboost once, but the Nano’s I’m sure are a completely different creature from the Duratec predecessors.

[@edwardschmitt5710]

Not always the owners fault. I found out my "Ecoboost" engine has a GM design flaw that causes it to burn oil the hard way.

[@jdenoncourt243]

Had a 2008 Impala SS with the LS4 in it.. Never a drop on the ground but definitely had to keep adding oil between changes. Took it to the stealership while under warranty for a consumption test and was deemed to be normal. Could very well have ended up like the one in this video with just a little bit of neglect! Great Video!!

[@tommywatterson5276]

I really like the single cam push rod valve engines. Decades old time tested, simple, less complicated, and they work. These two engines are more " complicated " than the last ones I saw from GM. Oil pans with all the different " compartments " in them, and the cam cover top and not opening up to hydraulic lifters, cam and push rods " in the valley " .

[@jeffterrell3325]

Thanks for the two-fer Eric. How about adding some slow-mo of the large scrap items as they crash into the scrap bins? Great channel!!

[@carbontetlabs8606]

24:20 Never let anyone tell you you need a new fluid catcher pan... that's a perfect fit. Prop both of those up on the engine stand and between those pans and your towels you can do whatever you want to a "drained" core

[@WYLENMENDUNEN]

9:41 "These are really expensive!" Tosses the part in the trash! Lol

[@johnjunge6989]

Always look forward to finding out the difference between FWD and RWD parts!

[@fuyang7104]

“This is very expensive” And jus throws it in the bucket from like ten feet away😂😂😂

[@geoffreyanderson2285]

"Single cheek it..." gold, totally gold.

[@rdsledge]

Dang right! On over heated engines;Send the heads to Machine shop out to be inspected and reconditioned completely! Send the radiator out to be inspected and completely reconditioned. Back in the day 70’s 80’s that’s what I did, as a service advisor. If the customer thought it could be done cheeper they could take it somewhere else. I didn’t have come backs for over heated engines! I would do half a$$ repairs!

[@sixhunt]

i enjoy your tear down vids man, they relax me lol. its like mechanical asmr :D

[@WeekendWrenchTurner]

Thanks for the great videos Eric! Keep it up🍺👍

[@RussellBooth1977]

I used a fine grade aluminium oxide sandpaper to clean any traces of cylinder head gasket off the engine block & deck of my 5.7 litre Chevrolet LS1 V8 engine to avoid scratching the sealing surfaces in late 2018,3 years & 30,000 kilometres (about 18,000 miles) later it's still going good. Your Chevrolet Tahoe sounds like it has a bigger than stock camshaft in it because it sounds a bit wild !

[@MrJeffyb69]

Those 5.3 "front drive" engines/ transmissions would make awesome Pontiac Fiero upgrades :-)

[@drtidrow]

Absolutely, it's been done multiple times. IIRC, the engine/trans combo is only about 50-100lbs more than the original iron-block V6, but over double the hp in stock form, and can be fairly easily modded to ~400hp or so (ie, triple the V6's power) I'm thinking about putting one in my '88 Fiero Formula. :-)

[@killerdoxen]

I was thinking about S10 builds for those. Pull the trans forward to avoid having to clearance the firewall. Or get you more room at the radiator.

[@jdeltoro518]

Great job on the monte she looks great. Nice to have friends that help and love to fix cars.

[@patrickmorrissey2271]

Great job! I like that Tahoe... Nice!

[@dblerman]

For what it's worth, when I did a head/cam swap on my LS1 the GM head bolts had thread sealer from the factory. And they are torqued super tight.

[@Thomas63r2]

I am an original owner of an LM7 Avalanche, which now has 263,000 miles. Runs great, gas mileage and power are pretty close to when new. After driving for about 20 miles it starts fluctuating and dropping oil pressure. I did the easy fixes; new oil sender, pick up tube o ring and a new oil pump. No change in symptoms. Where would you expect I would find a problem?

[@Wagonman5900]

Timing tensioner relocation, bearing deletes, and Tahoes with misfires. Did I remember to subscribe?

[@KECOG]

That second engine, I'd say, they drove it "til the wheels fell off". While we haven't driven ours quite that far, we have had some of our cars until the end of their usefulness.

[@violetdoeslife]

hey man, i hear you say “why do people buy these” to aftermarket gaskets, i work at a shop and the reason my shop uses aftermarket gaskets (although i don’t agree with the use) is because we get our part supplies from napa or car quest before even checking dealer inventory

[@jaredkennedy6576]

"That looks pretty good" *Chucks it across the shop into the scrap bin* Lol.

[@sargepent9815]

Not too bad. See this all day everyday. Seen cranks with bearing spun so bad that the bearings are practically welded to the journal. Yes, the cranks can be saved (we save them to .040 rod/main, but not more than that. Seen some that look like a hand grenade went off in it, and as long as there's not a hole in the block we can save it. If course, it helps having machine shop equipment in-house. A smaller operation would he wasting their time trying to save cranks/cams/blocks/heads that require alot of time. Entertaining to watch since I usually only deal with engines from "the big three".

[@scottkissinger5763]

That misfire sounds right in tune sounds good always enjoy the videos

[@MrNunna]

Since you see the insides of tons of motors, do you have an opinion on what brand of oil filter seems to work best, or at least maybe which ones to avoid? Lets face it, it does no good to change your oil often if your filter is garbage.

[@Spudchucker92]

I reckon that Tahoe PPV motor will be making an appearance sooner or later. She sounds ill to put it mildly.

[@snappers_antique_firearms]

It's funny I remember in the early 2000s any LS block was insanely priced. Now they're worth a dime a dozen. But it is still my favorite engine to build and make power on

[@allenbeaulieu7077]

Eric, great video buddy. A pair of Knick knacks. Too bad. Spun bearing makes a real mess. First one wasn’t bad at all. Like you said, a lot of good parts. Really enjoyed seeing a pair get torn down. Be well. Big Al.

[@joannaatkins822]

Those 5.3 engines are always interesting to see pulled apart, there's so much variation in maintainence and condition! I'm wondering if you ever have any Jaguar engines coming through? I'm guessing there isn't much of a market as they're sort of financially totalled.

[@Slane583]

Honestly, since the second one came from a car I wouldn't be surprised if its' internal damage was caused by a driver who was hot on the pedal all the time. And when it started making clacking noises they just raced it until it failed.

[@permutatechguy]

I lol forward to every one of these!

[@austincjett]

Thank you. A pair of LS engines and they were already half naked.

[@uncleTedK]

I bought a 06 Monte SS new in 2006. That car surprised a lot of people.

[@rayshutsa6690]

Thank you Eric for the duo year downs. Enjoyed the video very much. 😀❤🇨🇦

[@boofintuna]

The first engine looked like it had head gasket stopleak in it or something along those lines. Never actually seen it work but it does clog up the heater core, and usually, you end up having to blow water through them to unclog them (or replace them if it gets too bad).

[@edwardsuchon9563]

I had a 2002 silverado 178k miles, cold start misfire, after 30 seconds it would clear up, did a grocery run, stop two more places ran good as it always did for years, (I did put a radiator in it 2 years ago) started it the next morning it broke a connecting rod at idle! still running drove it into the garage shut it off, intake had anti freeze in it (green) o well, bought a used motor done.

[@badazz2969]

By far my most favorite v8 ever stupid reliable and powerful as a mechanic these engines don't die even with piston slap they still keep going 300k plus miles terrible on fuel though I have a customer with over 500k on the og 5.3 daily work truck it refuses to let go

[@lopincol]

I have a L33 5.3 V8 at 160k miles and would like to know what I have to do as maintenance goes for it to stay in good shape. You said the first engine lacked maintenance and I don't want the same to happen to mine. Thanks and great video

[@Evanx373]

Change your oil and don’t run super long oil change intervals. That will do a lot to keep the inside of the motor clean and make it last as long as possible.

[@GenetrySolar]

Very common for the LS4 to be starved of oil. Usually it will result in a stuck or collapse lifter before it hits the bottom end but if it was regularly run low on oil thanks to the DoD blowby then it will slowly kill the bottom end.

[@majobis]

Those 5.3 motors, with or without the active fuel management they seem to be having oiling issues. I have friend of mine that owned two different GM/Chev trucks with the 5.3 and active fuel management and they had oil starvation issues in a couple of different areas inside the block. Plus they never seem to shift correctly on the transmission's. Both of these engines you tore down one was dry and the other was a sludge puppy of oil chunks. I wonder why the heads are so popular, and I will bet most of them are cracked from these issues. Correct me if I am wrong or ignorant of this subject,

[@Dis-Emboweled]

Dang! The Taho sounds like its missin' 5 of 8 of them cylinders!

[@parent49]

Those headbolts are actually aftermarket head bolts, the felpro headbolts for those engines come with loctite like that.

[@jimmypage4162]

Your my car guy twin. Daily built LS….love yotas 4Runners land cruisers Buick olds Pontiac. Keep up the good work man

[@everettamador9870]

Who would of thought that GM crapped out in basic quality

[@josephschulte1073]

I know they're not that common and are pretty durable, but I'd love to see you tear down a 8.1L GM Vortec.

[@bassiclymike]

Very informative teardowns as usual. I'd like to see a Ford SOHC 4.0L V-6 teardown someday. Between the Rangers, Explorers and Mustangs, there has to be lots of them out there. I have 2 Explorers ('01, '02, both 2-door) that have so far avoided major repairs and would love to see more about how these engines are put together and operate, especially the timing chain design.

[@w41duvernay]

thanks for finally doing an LS4.

[@user-ji3yi4oq1m]

If you roll the cam over after the pushrods are removed the lifters are suppose to lock in the black holder and come right out if not damaged

[@mrkrzt]

Love the channel and videos bro!

[@lawxx6]

On the second teardown I thaught I was watching you pan for silver until you zoomed in "Nope just metal"🤪🤪😂😂

[@RANDOMNATION907]

" _Right_ in the oil" . . . I love what a normal, everyday kind of guy you are. As far as the LS4 FWD engine. I'd love to retrofit a complete front cradle under/into an early eighties Riviera or Toronado. Or even a Fiero!

[@CheezyDee]

Or an Eldorado? I was wondering if I could shoehorn one into an 80s/90's FWD Caddy to replace the Northstar. I've seen a couple of those goofy little late 80s Coupe Deville's recently and the look is kinda growing on me; tiny little Caddy with Caddy interior, but not built on a Cavalier chassis like the Cimmaron.

[@RANDOMNATION907]

@@CheezyDee ... exactly!

[@mattcat231]

Love the sound of your "cough, cough" stock Tahoe.....

[@jeffreykielwasser3637]

The only thing stock is the body😁😁

[@everettamador9870]

Eric...when you started that 2011 Tahoe with a misfire...Hope a bearing didn't flip out due to the rough idling...😖😖 That's what happened to a friend of mine in his 2012 truck GMC...

[@joelpalmer]

I am learning a lot watching you disassemble engines. Two questions 1 How did you learn to do all this? 2. Where do these engines come from?

[@brianmathew09]

salvage yards are littered with them

[@oldtanker4860]

I am wondering if the market on used cams might not be starting to go up. I follow another you tube engine person who helps build racing engines, mostly Dodge / Plymouth. He reported that they ahve been getting a rash of bad cams and valve tappets that fail;, sometimes catastrophically, as soon as during the break in period. He indicated that a ton of chinese parts are the culprit in his experience in the last year. Thanks for the teardown. Interesting video please keep them coming.

[@noanyobiseniss7462]

Second engine got replaced when volume knob would not go up anymore. :)

[@radiogareth]

The 4l60 out of a 90's Camaro with a 60 degree V6 will bolt up to the short FWD LS. Some even had removable bell housings so you could swap a 'normal' 4L60 onto it. Cheap HP, just a bit of engine mount fab to mess with. Same with a Northstar, but they need an extra boss welding onto the housing and a bit at the top removing.

[@dominator1276channel]

I own a 2004 2nd gen Durango that has a 4.7 in it. If you ever get one in shop and do a teardown I'd love to see it. Much love and keep up the content I love it.

[@rudolphna54]

First one was probably a fleet vehicle. Pretty long distances between regular oil changes with meh quality oil, and lots of mileage, regular wear you'd expect from a 250-300K mile engine cheaping out on repairs. Second one typical clueless owner who ran it low on oil. Great video as always. Would love to see you pull apart a VW 1.4 TSI (the 2012+ ones with the timing belt). Not many vidoes on those floating around out there.

[@brandonrobinson2268]

👏 you’ve got my subscription. 👍 Thanks for the educational videos. With every engine that I see torn down my preference moves further and further away from anything after 1999. VLOM smh. Plastic timing chain “tensioner” smh 🤦‍♂️. Engineering for failure. Pretty easy to see the evidence of it if you’ve ever been inside something built by GM prior to 2000 (I don’t know much about other manufacturers). Tisk, shame on those automotive manufacturers for trying to make more money off of the consumer. 😂

[@bruceanderson3057]

So how do you determine the health of coolant???? The only tools I can find determine it's freezing point. Visual inspection appears healthy; but I'd like to be sure. Thank you Eric...

[@jonwatkins254]

Thank you for the informative videos.