2011 GMC Sierra 1500 4x4 Lifter noise

daviddgmctruck

I have a what I believe is a lifter noise in the left side of engine. Always been there since new and now 7500 miles and getting louder. U can hear it at idle, cold or warm does not matter. I hear it better when you slow to a corner tick tick tick, and goes faster or slower with engine rpm.I get worried when in tow mode, when the engine shifts down to help whith braking and the rpms come up WOW its pretty loud. Kinda funny I hear it best slowing to a corner. But I can always hear the tick tick tick if its quiet around. Any advise? I am going to take it to dealer for 1st time this week and will place a bet they say its normal. I have purchased over 13 new GMC s in the last 25 yrs and 1 of them had a tick at start up but never all the time. Anysugestions will be appreciated. Thanks Dave

ceb66

David,

I have a 2011 Sierra.

I know you said the tick is always there. Mine ticks and taps in the morning just after start up.

It also has a "vacuum" sound on the left side when the AFM is lagging as the truck struggles and growls when moving from 4 to 8 cylinders.

I'd let the Dealer know. Just don't be surprised when he says he can't hear it or he says it's "operating as designed."

Many of us new Sierra Silverado Escalade owners have heard that response. The Sale Managers and MX staff (especially the Sales Folks) aren't allowed to think for themselves. GM tells them what to say to make you disappear!

That appears to be GM's new montra.

daviddgmctruck

I have always been very mechanical minded, I know for sure I have a or a few lifters that are ticking. I am sure they will say its normal. I have had 13 new ones and no ticking except for one that did it when it was cold. We shall see. Dave

gmcustsvcsarah

Good morning Dave,
Please keep us updated on your dealership visit, and we're available to assist in working with the dealership and following up with them if you are not satisfied.

Regards,
Sarah
GM Customer Service

daviddgmctruck

Thanks Sarah, I hope things will be good. I am going in tomorrow. I have been doing business with this dealership for a many years and would hope my doing so much business with them will help a little. I just have a small fear because when I first noticed this in my new truck the manager said it sounded typical. But we will see what the service manager says. Thanks Dave

daviddgmctruck

Well as normal these days , service said I hear nothing. Kinda funny a lady at a walmart parking lot walked by and said you know you have something ticking. Also on the way in my instrument cluster went dead except for volt meter. As I pulled in in came back to life. The service said well drive it till it dies again LOL. What if I am 500 miles from home they going to come get me. For sure if they would , onstar diagnostics I pay for would have picked that up or detected it, wonder if it will be in the report next time? Hear is a real winner for all to read, The body side molding were defective I discovered after a week of ownership. They had severe pitting in the plastic under the paint and were real rough. 7 months they are still not fixed. One blew off that they put on on the way in also. They said they did not have time to fix it. I wonder since I have purchased over 17 new GM vehicles(13 new 4x4 trucks) over the last 25 years if they would just give me a new Truck? Why not ? I am a very poor working man but I save my dollars just so I can drive nice trucks instead of eating out or wearing fancy clothes. I really and truly doubt GM has very few great customers as me in all honesty. I even sold many many cars for GM at the dealership I am working with. Every Time I come to a corner I wonder when the knocking noise will just break inside the engine. They would tell me that's normal at 8000 probably. Not for sure what next :mad: Dave Note:By the way the service did not even want to take a ride and listen.

daviddgmctruck

A new update for my situation. I took my truck to a couple non dealership mechanics and they both said the same, the knocking noise is coming from underneath the engine and could be either piston slap or connecting rod noise. Still also having problems with body side fender moldings that were to be replaced falling off and after 6 months they still are not fixed. After reporting the instrument cluster failure , I now have a new problem. I have had the truck take off after braking by its self. Yes accelerates on its own.I came to a corner and after coming to a rolling stop it accelerated by itself through a intersection. Went strait to service manager and they just wrote a little note not testing the truck in any way. Of course it has to be doing this at the time to diagnose lol. I am totally just wordless. Not so long ago I remember some people with similar problems with cars that had acceleration problems and now one cared till someone died . I was on a country road when the truck took me through a intersection on its own, could have been on a busy road and who knows what could have happened. The new car sales manager I have known for years said he noticed his truck he was driving would serge once in a while by itself also. Is no one concerned? My hypocrisy for GMC trucks is coming to a end fast.

gmcustsvcsarah

If we could please set up a Service Request with you, it would allow us to follow up with your dealership and hopefully help move this towards a resolution. Please send us an email at the address in my profile with more information including:
your name/Edmunds username
phone and mailing address
last 8 digits of your VIN and current mileage
the name of your dealership and, if you can recall, the dates when you went in for this concern

My coworker Christina will assist you from there.
All the best,
Sarah
GM Customer Service

obyone

Sounds like you need a new dealership rather than a new truck.

I suspect that if they continue to give other customers the "too busy" to help you line they won't be busy much longer.

daviddgmctruck

. I believe that not Just car Dealers but many types of business think good customers are always there and sometimes forget them. Till the time they no longer exist or have to file a formal complaint.

daviddgmctruck

Letter has been sent to you. Thanks David

naskarr

I had the ticking noise I thought it was lifter. Turns out it is broken exhaust bolts.
My 2003 Silverado pickup truck has ben found to have a common and recurrent problem. Exhaust manifold bolts break, and on the driver side rear, they can be expensive to repair. A few miniutes of web searching on this topic produced a number of results and my conclusion is the issue is common.
The online complaints also indicate that the success rate for the repair is not good, with many repaired vehicles having subsequent bolt failures. My vehicle is in an authorized Chevy service garage having the bolts replaced. The original estimate was for $486, if cylinder head did not need to be removed. The service technician broke a tap off in the rear most bolt location. I don't know if it happened before head removal or after. It became necessary to remove the cylinder head and was requoted at $1600.
A call was made to GM 3-6-12. The response was that my truck was out of warranty and there fore they could be of no assistance in the mattrer. I am certainly aware of the warranty terms. My issue is with the scale of this engineering/manufacturing defect and the cost to the owners.

naskarr

My 2003 Silverado pickup truck has ben found to have a common and recurrent problem. Exhaust manifold bolts break, and on the driver side rear, they can be expensive to repair. A few miniutes of web searching on this topic produced a number of results and my conclusion is the issue is common.
The online complaints also indicate that the success rate for the repair is not good, with many repaired vehicles having subsequent bolt failures. My vehicle is in an authorized Chevy service garage having the bolts replaced. The original estimate was for $486, if cylinder head did not need to be removed. The service technician broke a tap off in the rear most bolt location. I don't know if it happened before head removal or after. It became necessary to remove the cylinder head and was requoted at $1600.
A call was made to GM 3-6-12. The response was that my truck was out of warranty and there fore they could be of no assistance in the mattrer. I am certainly aware of the warranty terms. My issue is with the scale of this engineering/manufacturing defect and the cost to the owners.

chuck1

How many miles on your '03?

jdtrucksorrows

I don't blame you, I'm just as disgusted with GM dealers as well, they quote what corporate tells them to, refuse to fix a thing after they blow you off best they can. From everything I've read, it doesn't matter which dealer you go to, they all give you the same response and treatment. I've had a clunk noise since 1500 miles (V6 trans has issues), they will never admit to it nor fix it! I'm told it's still learning my driving habits!!! After 20k mi, PLEASE, it's not a BMW. Now the new noise which I can't determine exactly what it is, sounded at first like lifters ticking, then as time has gone by almost sounds like a chain dragging or metal to metal grinding. GM dealer told me it was a belt and they replaced it, LOL. Took it to outside mechanic for opinion who told me it's in the exhaust. And then the back passenger door is clicking for a day but I didn't bother taking it in-I already know they can't do anything if it's not doing it when you have it in front of them. The truck is smarter than them. Do these new models not store the codes when something happens, they can only give the code as it happens??? It will come down to class action or recall, one of the two. There are too many having issues. Not to mention they had a recall on the thing before I bought mine they didn't bother to tell me about!

gmcustsvcsarah

Good morning jdtrucksorrows,

If I can look into any open recalls ("Not to mention they had a recall on the thing"), I'd be happy to! Please email the last 8 of your VIN to socialmedia@gm.com and we'll look into that for you.

Best,
Sarah
GM Customer Service

chuck1919

I asked how many miles you had on your 03. If driven yearly average it has over 100k on it. How long do you think manufacturers should be responsible for their vehicles?

willz06jw

I fixed this problem on my truck by changing the Oil Pump Inlet Tube O-Ring. The lifters are the first part that don't get enough oil after this o-ring breaks down. All Chevrolet mid 2000s era 5.3L O-Ring fails around 150-190K.
Oil Pump Inlet tube O-Ring Replacement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1e3kx3mOMY