Total Teardown! GM 5.3L LH6 Aluminum Gen4 V8. Change Your Oil Folks!

If you haven't seen the other engine teardown videos, here's the playlist!
• Blown Up Engine Tear D...
If you're looking for parts from this engine, or others that I have torn down, feel free to shoot us an email at
[e-mail]
My name is Eric and I own and run a full service salvage operation in the Saint Louis MO Area. Part of my model are parting out bad, blown up and core engines. We dismantle a few hundred engines a year and we specialize in niche market cars and engines.
This particular engine is a 5.3L LH6 Aluminum Gen4 V8, found in 2007-2009 Trailblazer chassis vehicles like the rainier, Saab 9-7x, and Envoy Denali. We get these engines with no back story, no mileage. Sometimes we pre-inspect but many get shipped in which makes that a challenge. Join me as I take this engine apart and discover the reason or reasons as to why this engine was removed.
As far as the tools I use.
The harmonic balancer puller I use is the OEM Tools 25090 Harmonic balancer puller kit. I don't think this is the only one that works well.
Thanks for watching!
-Eric

[@bones007able]

Yup... a lot of engines or models get blamed for being junk ... when it is the owners that ignore the proper maintenance

[@ezracamilo425]

i know Im randomly asking but does anybody know of a tool to log back into an instagram account..? I was stupid lost my password. I love any tips you can offer me!

[@terrytheodore5150]

@Ezra Camilo instablaster =)

[@ezracamilo425]

@Terry Theodore i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site through google and I'm in the hacking process atm. Looks like it's gonna take quite some time so I will get back to you later with my results.

[@ezracamilo425]

@Terry Theodore it did the trick and I actually got access to my account again. I am so happy! Thank you so much, you saved my account!

[@terrytheodore5150]

@Ezra Camilo You are welcome :D

[@OgamiItto70]

"Deferred maintenance." That strategy had "limited success."

[@kevinbialkowski3694]

Which most likely resulted in a "negative cash flow situation"

[@OgamiItto70]

@@kevinbialkowski3694 "Sub-optimal" judgment led to an "environment" where "mistakes were made."

[@robertslegers257]

I think DOD engines get a bad rap because oil is not changed enough. My son has 125,000 on his GMC Sierra 5.3 no problems.

[@adotintheshark4848]

good for "the life of the engine"

[@norman_sage2528]

I love engine autopsies. For the inner doctor in all of us.

[@kevinbialkowski3694]

"Theres no pickup, that kinda sucks" no, no it doesnt...it cant...lol

[@Vittinable]

Underrated joke right here!

[@DeerKoden]

nice one! ahah

[@MrDankstarr]

Where did it go?!

[@tava780]

I'd love to see a teardown of a Coyote. Great videos. Lot's of fun to see these engines taken apart.

[@tjstoness4983]

Next teardown probably is a coyote I love them to death they’re just overly complex in some aspects making it a pain

[@PotatoeJoe69]

@@tjstoness4983 they're a f****** pain in the ass to work on and like everything else Ford makes, many parts of the engine just don't make any damn sense.

[@sapphir8]

Something satisfying about these teardowns. Great job, keep it up!

[@Moonraker11]

Extremely therapeutic...

[@kraemerdustin]

Doesn’t take forever, no time laps, doesn’t overtalk about everything. Simple and efficient and tells you what’s wrong

[@VicReinz52]

Yeah, this guy is awesome!

[@grngs1]

You seem like a younger guy, I applaud you for having your own business, it looks like you enjoy it!

[@joshuamcguire4709]

Can you please show us the aftermath of the chemical cleaning process of the engine parts and do a side by side comparison?

[@upon1772]

Have one of these in my 06 Envoy Denali. Only have 90k on it, but I've had no issues with anything, including the DOD. Use full synthetic and replace it every 5k miles, or every 6-9 months, which ever comes first. Take care of it, and it will take care of you.

[@glyph241]

Thank God It’s Not A Saab. They’re All Sob 😭 Stories.

[@rabesbird]

Love watching these tear downs. I also do appreciate the Billy Madison reference.

[@austincopeland9504]

these videos are going to take off! Super cool to learn about used engines and the failures within when maintenance isn’t taken

[@MultipliedByZero]

Eco-enthusiasts should LOVE this channel! This guy's checks every one of the triple-R's (reduce>reuse>recycle).

[@DH-gt4dn]

I always enjoy watching you tear down Motors you learn something new everyday. 👍👍

[@jamesmcdonald2680]

Watching your channel grow makes me really happy. You're doing awesome.

[@justsumguy2u]

I always look forward to a new teardown video, we never know what we'll find! I like how at the end you talk about whether you came out ahead or behind, depending on the cost of the engine and the amount of usable parts

[@projectpat47]

I asked for a 5.3L and you delivered! Thank you sir

[@31dknight]

I really enjoy the teardown videos. Great job.

[@PeteLenz]

Great video! Your commentary is interesting, humorous, and engaging!

[@CaptainMirro]

Cool to see the difference between engines that get oil changes on time verses ones that don't.

[@robertslegers257]

I wish we knew how many miles were on these engines.

[@michaelpatterson5385]

From a very young age, I'm in my 60's now, I was always told that an old change was the least expensive insurance policy for long life of an engine. When did that stop being taught?

[@BruceLee-xn3nn]

When cell phones took over kids lives.

[@rshettle123]

Absolutely. I know some people who will push the oil to the max and think it's fine. You can't change the oil too much. Don't let it get black. 3k or sooner if you do a lot of city driving.

[@A________]

Since oil companies started marketing oils that can be used till 20,000 miles and more.

[@tom7601]

“You didn’t change the oil!” “Actually, I’m practicing deferred maintenance.”

[@jamiemullen8772]

This is great content for the novice. You do a great job teaching.

[@TheDanno81]

A quick run in with a cylinder hone might help clear the rust out of those bores to get the pistons out easier. Especially if you're not planning on keeping the block.

[@travissmith2211]

Looks like that 5.3 is ready to send to Cleetus to install in Ruby.

[@VicReinz52]

Lmao

[@LichaelMewis]

Keep 'em coming. These tear down videos are entertaining.

[@dirtfarmer7472]

You’re very grateful for whoever developed the cordless impact wrenches@ least I would

[@slowstang88]

As soon as you said AFM, I was like yep, there's your problem

[@unums]

Commenting for the algorithm! Keep up the awesome work bro!

[@pete1323]

This channel is almost as good as spraying Fluid Film... Almost. Keep up the good work 💪

[@RussellBooth1977]

My 5.7 litre Chevrolet LS1 V8 engine was as varnished up as that when I pulled the oil pan off to replace the oil pan gasket as I expected I think that it was neglected as far as oil changes go as well. I replaced the hydraulic lifters in it in 2018 which "clacked" once the engine warmed up with LS7 items which supersedes the LS1 lifters, they were mushroomed & getting jammed up in the lifter bores, note I never got the cylinder heads resurfaced in it, over 2 years later - no problems. Note that I checked the oil pressure which was o.k. so the crankshaft & camshaft bearings were o.k.,it has done 363,500 kilometres now so that's why I change the oil. I would give the 5.3 litre engine block a hone to see how it cleans up !

[@johnfranklin5277]

I have a 94 Trans Am I bought new. 350 LT1 engine, never been touched, even the timing chain is original. 338.000 miles on it. Runs like new, uses no oil. 3000 miles oil changes, Castrol GTX.

[@cdc194]

Its okay to store motors outside, but cover it with a cheap tarp at least.

[@OgamiItto70]

Or a trash bag.

[@cdias3272]

That's fine they are GM motors! You don't cover trash with a trash bag ! Plus there's plenty of those around .

[@OgamiItto70]

@Yirlani Well, of course, the trick is to wrap the engine in the trash bag *before* leaving it out in the rain. That way that impermeable plastic traps all the moisture *outside* he engine.

[@datgamerboy123]

@@OgamiItto70 water will find its way into everything if it does t have a perfect seal. And moisture can build up on cold metal surfaces. An engine with multiple cylinders usually will not have a single time we're all valves in the engine are closed at the same time. There will almost always be at least one cylinder with the exhaust valve open, or the intake valve. Usually both.

[@johnjunge6989]

Glad it was not junk, you needed a break! 🎉

[@gt1man931]

I'm early on this. I have been waiting for the next teardown.

[@stacydornan9765]

Love the channel bro,keep them comin

[@kungfucommando1642]

The 4.8 in my ‘06 Sierra has had its oil changed every 50,000 miles whether it needed it or not. It has 397,000 miles, and still runs excellent. Just passed smog with flying colors. Most reliable vehicle I have ever owned. It has been abused mightily, and refuses to acknowledge it! What oil goes 50k between changes, you ask? Mobile 1 5W-30 synthetic.

[@deansapp4635]

I have this engine in my 2007 Buick Rainier, Runs great

[@teaches2010]

Ooof is never a good description of a rod bearing!! Love your videos

[@QueensGTO_Viper]

Love the content. I'd watch a live stream of a teardown

[@victoroneill7924]

If you want to keep the inside of your engine clean use synthetic oil. I drove a '78 Chevy pickup for 21 years. When I replaced the valve seals at 200k there was no sludge around the valves or valve spring or inside the valve covers.

[@fitfogey]

This is the hardest working tool on youtube. The drill of course.

[@blakehintz3207]

... have you made the NEXT teardown video yet?? Love your vids.

[@camdenbrown9267]

Y’all ever get a Chrysler pentastar v6 in there? My friend had one in a ram pickup that he beat the snot every time he drove it and she never gave up the goose. I would be very interested in seeing one of those torn down!

[@kravmaga7070]

i just got an 5.3LS for 200cdn and maybe another 80 when he finds the ecu, starter and exhaustt manifolds, it turns over by hand although it had spot in middle where it was stuck and had to be cranked back n forth to get past this. hopefully it will runs well as is w/o a rebuild.

[@pattistilwell7424]

Hi, how are you doing. I hope you are safe and in good health. I'm Patti from California, looking for a new friend and i saw your pic here. I hope you don't mind, thank you.

[@descent815]

It would be awesome if you did a repair video. Tear down and rebuild in your style, and LIVESTREAM IT!

[@datgamerboy123]

Come on KAREN'S! If you want to keep driving your car, CHANGE THE OIL! MAINTENANCE PEOPLE! MAINTENANCE!

[@Jmac746]

i would love to see a teardown on the GM 4.2 inline 6 from the trailblazer/envoy

[@chrisyoung6689]

Love the content man

[@Mikey-jm3dc]

A wire wheel on a die grinder is the best way I found to clear the rust from cylinders to take old rusty engines apart

[@kirkpowell6161]

Another great video!

[@shedred1967]

I just found OEM Tools in late 2019. They have a very good tool and shop equipment inventory. Very happy with quality control so far...

[@nathalieadams]

It would be interesting to see what the engines look like after you've cleaned them. Kinda a before and after thing. Also not sure why you have to keep explaining why you prefer not to use engine stands, if it bothers some they can simply not watch. I'm here for the teardown, not the stand. Keep up the great videos!

[@afmoa]

The pickup tube oring is a big problem with these engines also. I was not surprised when it was missing.

[@colchronic]

Another teardown niceeeeee

[@Moonraker11]

Would love to see a video on the parts cleaner; before and after transformation...

[@ronniecardy]

Nice job

[@jkirk7811]

I had a Buick Rainier with this engine in it. When I first saw the oil pan I was like that is freakin weird with the axle going through it. Was a tank though.

[@danielharris4373]

Took me too long to realize DoD engine means displacement on demand and not department of defense.

[@PureCountryof91]

More like destroyed on demand..

[@alanrlocklear]

Nice teardown video. If I were to guess the engine you're gonna teardown next, the one you said you hate; i guess either something German or Ford.

[@Fldavestone]

I have an older 5.3 and have changed the oil religiously. It has used oil from the day i bought it new in 02. But i like to change the oil after it has cooled down. Have had fluctuating oil pressure and bad oil varnish in the system. I am currently running mmo and changing the oil every week. Had used a heavier oil because of a leaking rear main i eventually fixed .I am back to recommended 5w20.No synthetic .I am going to drop the oil pan and replace pickup gasket .Have replaced the pcv. and flushed the system numerous times. It blows blue smoke at takeoff occasionally ,i suspect heads as it has 250k.miles.

[@RANDOMNATION907]

Deferred Maintenance. That's a good one.

[@Mrbumbons1]

Love your vids.

[@chrischiampo7647]

I Bet the Oil Pump Pickup Was Plugged With Carbon Deposits From Lack of Oil Changes That’s Why The Pickup Was Missing 👨🏼‍🔧😮😳 Love These Teardown Failure Analysis

[@Cambpro]

I really didn't need or want another channel to subscribe to, but I love these videos. Sub'd!!

[@dirtbike9003]

Good advice, deferred maintenance bad idea.

[@robertdavis6708]

If I owned one of these engines, it would be 4000 mile oil changeouts and full Syn. DOD really was a decent strategy for saving a few gallons of gas annually . Lifters look like they came out of a Duramax. Nice engine if taken seriously.

[@FatAznAznWithCake]

It’s amazing that someone gave that engine away and labeled it as non-rebuildable. As a home-gamer I’d bore it out to a 5.7L. If the crank really was trash, summit sells rotating assembly kits for not too much. Hell, those guys over at roadkill probably would have just cleared the rust out of the cylinders, threw a high volume oil pump on it and drove it across the country.

[@michaelb.5345]

Enjoyable videos to watch....

[@IronDragonSC]

Dang, I watched the teardown on the other trailblazer motor you did and I must not have caught it there but I do see what you mean by the oil pan having a legit hole in it for the front driveline.

[@davidrobins4025]

I knew a man who owned a Chevy Vega who said, "I change my oil and filter once a year whether it needs it or not." I change synthetic oil and filter every 7,000 km. It is a 2013 Pentastar 3.6-liter V 6 VVT and has almost 170,000 km on it.

[@t-yoonit]

I think a lot of folks don't know that hemi engines use a fair amount of oil even brand new. I've always known them to have some amount of oil consumption to where you would have to add some by the time a typical oil change of 3k miles arrives. Aside from the pretty well known block design starving the cam for oil at low RPM, there's no reason why people can't check their oil and top it off. Especially if you idle a lot.

[@jonathansim678]

Curious, does that consumption shorten the life of the catalytic converter?

[@t-yoonit]

@@jonathansim678 of all the problems I have seen and heard of folks reporting, catalytic converter failure is not high on the list. I've never seen it. "Typical" consumption rates are pretty low. Last I knew, Chrysler basically had an allowable consumption rate of like a quart every 3 or 5 thousand miles. So it's not like these things are puking oil into the cylinders or anything. More than likely it's just due to slightly loose tolerances on the oil control rings of the pistons resulting in a film on the walls that burns off slowly over time. It's nothing wild. And if it was a severe enough situation to affect catalyst longevity, I would imagine they would have to look into some sort of TSB to rectify it or bring it down to a level where it didn't actually affect other systems on the vehicles. I don't think I ever saw a plugged cat in a hemi powered anything in the couple years I spent as a mechanic. One and a half of those years spent in a CDJR dealer.

[@curtiscross8906]

The LS2 in the TBSS were known to have oiling issues.

[@billhackley3540]

bought a gen 4 with vvt from J&J auto wrecking to replace my daughters failed (oil related) suburban 5.3 and spent a few hours on you channel hoping for a vvt 5.3 teardown no luck awesome channel though, trying to build courage to replace vvt timing chain

[@erniew5805]

my first tear down of junk engine 425 Buick nail head broken piston.bought a 85 LTD 302 down to copper on bearings ..30 cleaned up the crank ..40 overbore ran fine for years sold it for a derby car.

[@nickbell8634]

Oil changed on mine at half the recommended intervals. Better to be safe than sorry.

[@TheBeingReal]

The oil rarely is the problem, it is the filtration that matters.

[@alexstromberg7696]

@@TheBeingReal oil oxidation is something changing the oil can prevent.

[@TheBeingReal]

@@alexstromberg7696 Oil changing is important for sure at recommended intervals. Oxidation is typically an over heating caused issue. Water /fuel, etc contamination is another situation best solved by proper filtration, prevention is the best way though.

[@matthewkendall7791]

I change my oil once every 20 minutes!

[@TheBeingReal]

@@matthewkendall7791 ExxonMobil thanks you!

[@kerryb2689]

Oil pickup tube to-ring went bad causing low oil pressure. #1 rod bearings are the last to get oil. Lifters going tappy tap tap, are the first symptom.

[@Sherman62]

My 07 5.3 Silverado DoD has used oil since new, had DoD issues before first oil change. I always change the oil at around 5000 miles, but it still comes out black and nasty. It sticks in V4 mode till I press the gas a little harder. At 100,000 miles it is still smooth, quiet and powerful otherwise. DoD sucks. My 2011 4.8 Silverado does not have DoD and the oil comes out much nicer.

[@nerd1000ify]

Displacement on demand is a good argument in favour of engine downsizing and turbochargers.

[@speed3971]

I have an 07 avalanche 5.3 bought it used, about 20,000 miles on it. At 60,000 miles had to replace the lifters.

[@punker4Real]

that is because at 20k miles it was still on the original oil change

[@nickma71]

Throwing the lifters away is the right move. In one of the dozens and dozens of GM TSBs it says if you don’t like the lifter noise, here is the part number to comp cams lifters that don’t bleed down.

[@mrdumbfellow927]

"Light scratches at level 6 with deeper groove at level 7".........Every bearing surface in this engine.

[@hebson21]

Ive got an ole 03 suburban with like 225k on it. No problems with the motor, regular oil changes... Have gone to buy a few newer suburbans, but whenever i test drive them they either smoke, knock, or have low oil pressure. A new oil pump costs like 5k+ on them, so nobody wants to do it. Displacement on demand is a mess.

[@Misterfairweather]

I always look for those aluminum 5.3's for cheap but have yet to stumble on one yet, that engine looked pretty good overall those fel-pro gaskets make me a little sad though.

[@scottdoubleyou563]

What's wrong with Fel Pro? I've never used a head gasket yet, but all 3 of my Jeeps have Fel Pro valve cover, and oil pan gaskets. They work really well, no leaks after a few years.

[@Misterfairweather]

@@scottdoubleyou563 Sorry that came out as negative against Fel-Pro I run Fel-Pro on some of my engines it's the fact that it was a composite gasket and not an MLS. I just don't like seeing an aftermarket composite gasket when you can get a factory MLS. Sometimes I think people see the cheaper or same price fel-pro and think it's an upgrade not realizing that in this case it's an inferior choice.

[@scottdoubleyou563]

@@Misterfairweather It's cool. I genuinely didn't know about the head gaskets. I'm in the process of rebuilding a 350 SBC, and i was going to use Fel Pro, because that's what the machine shop has for the master rebuild kit. It's not going to be a HP build, but a basic .030 overbore, otherwise stock rebuild. Should I use different head gaskets?

[@Misterfairweather]

​@@scottdoubleyou563 I've got Fel Pro gaskets in my 350 SBC they've been good for a long time but like all things they make some higher end line items and some lower end items. What he pulled off of there looked like their economy composite gaskets which seems like a bit of a waste since the cost difference isn't much.

[@punker4Real]

maybe the person thought the word pro meant it was high quality

[@4wdiesels]

No doubt that with regular oil changes with a quality oil, that engine would still be running.

[@chadausburn4832]

Love the videos. Confused on the aluminum block but with a single bolt cam. Is that later LH6 thing?

[@jnucci1]

I'd love to see a vintage slant 6 torn down

[@deere3321]

Full synthetic every 3000 miles for me. New paper air filter every 15000. I do my own service work.

[@markbennett6860]

Are you Matt the master lube tech? The almighty lube tech we all look up to?

[@radoliz2]

My guess, is the a hole that had the one cylinder head off! Used scotch bright pads to to clean up the surfaces and it got into the oil!

[@secondthought2320]

Absolutely. Oil really helps. My ex wife got an oil change on her Toyota at the dealership and they did not tighten the oil filter. 4 miles later the engine lockup. Only 12k miles on the vehicle. We had to hire a lawyer and 18 months later we had a new Toyota. The lawsuit was on a local newscast and guess they really didn't want the State Attorney General to step in. The next day they were ready to negotiate. I stood firm. No money from us because we down a car for a year and a half. Brand new. No taxes, no tags, no nothing. The actual owner of the dealership stepped in, fired the GM and we drove away with a new Corolla. They refused to end though to show me the disabled engine after a complete tear down. I would of liked to have seen it.

[@Moonraker11]

Damn, talk about an epic F up on their part...

[@09corvettezr1]

I once tore apart a 5.3 with a truck oil pan that only had room for about 2 quarts of oil below the windage tray, the rest of the space was filled with sludge. How it managed to run up to that point I have no idea.

[@drewm1318]

I wonder if the oil was changed at 7k or whenever the notification comes on the dash, that could’ve also led to the oil starvation issues if it had a leak or was burning some.

[@user-wr3vt8uq4s]

I have a Toyota, reminder comes up at 5k but I usually handle it before then. I'm glad to see what can happen. It makes the oil changes that much more satisfying.

[@balcorn9211]

Had a friend who hates Fords because his broke down a lot, but he also ran it with the change oil light on for an entire summer. Some people just don't get it.

[@jonathancunningham2686]

Probably the O-ring in between the oil sump and the pump

[@jamesweber1827]

I am surprised that deferred maintenance didn't lead to rapid unscheduled partial disassembly!

[@johnreid859]

To bad about the pickup tube. I would’ve like to have seen the o ring.

[@cheezyrider1111]

I’d like to see a gen 2 lt1 tear down, or a l98 maybe

[@wayoutwest4944]

When you are referring to trashing something. I am assuming you mean not keeping for clean up and resale. Of course damaged beyond profitiable reuse use, you mean recycled?

[@VicReinz52]

I love watching these! Do you ever get any Honda/Toyota or Korean motors? Just curious! Or a 7.3L Godzilla!!?

[@I_Do_Cars]

I have another video of a k series I’ve torn down. No godzillas yet, those are a lot too new for me to get my hands on.

[@sdcoinshooter]

I used to think I was smart, and knew a little bit about engines, then I watched this man. He lost me at 52X.

[@tomnekuda3818]

GM 5.3's are as common as fleas on a dog. Pretty good motor is built/treated correctly.

[@vincentshelpfulhints4085]

Wish we knew how many miles were on the engine.. Must have been a huge amount.. My reasoning is aftermarket head gaskets someone had issues before the last straw

[@surfside75]

Rebuilt heads on a original bottom end w/ 200÷ miles .. owner drives it like its new😁 and it blows its bottom out.

[@painedragon128]

Howdy. I am kind of surprised you have not made a handle yet to remove the cams. Is the threads different between the different GM V8s?

[@rustycowll5735]

I just used an appropriate sized piece of all-thread, and screwed another old cam into it and butted it up against the cam to be removed, so cam snout to cam snout. Then you have some leverage and it's perfectly balanced, making it easy to remove without Harrington up the cam or the bearings.