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Reliability Of Vehicle Right After Lifter Replacement
Hello Everybody, I am new to this, but I have a fairly simple question.
A few weeks ago, our 2004 Chevy Suburban with just over 100,000 miles started to make a very strange noise out of the blue. We diagnosed it to a stuck lifter. The motor is a Vortec 5.3L. Next week, we are going to have a mechanic, who can do this kind of work in his sleep, replace all the lifters on the one side that the problem lifter is on. However, this is where things get tricky.
In a few weeks, we are taking a very long road trip, about 900 miles round trip. We will have the car with the lifters replaced for just over a week before the trip. The question I have is, will the car be reliable with the lifters freshly replaced to go on such a long trip? Will we have to worry about any issues that might arise, if any? Like I said, the mechanic we are going through has done this work a thousand time and is extremely reliable. Also, other than the lifter, the vehicle and the motor are in pristine condition with no other problems whatsoever. But, even so, should there be any doubt in the reliability being that it is going to be freshly repaired and reassembled?
Any recommendations or advice would be extremely helpful.
Thanks,
Adam
A few weeks ago, our 2004 Chevy Suburban with just over 100,000 miles started to make a very strange noise out of the blue. We diagnosed it to a stuck lifter. The motor is a Vortec 5.3L. Next week, we are going to have a mechanic, who can do this kind of work in his sleep, replace all the lifters on the one side that the problem lifter is on. However, this is where things get tricky.
In a few weeks, we are taking a very long road trip, about 900 miles round trip. We will have the car with the lifters replaced for just over a week before the trip. The question I have is, will the car be reliable with the lifters freshly replaced to go on such a long trip? Will we have to worry about any issues that might arise, if any? Like I said, the mechanic we are going through has done this work a thousand time and is extremely reliable. Also, other than the lifter, the vehicle and the motor are in pristine condition with no other problems whatsoever. But, even so, should there be any doubt in the reliability being that it is going to be freshly repaired and reassembled?
Any recommendations or advice would be extremely helpful.
Thanks,
Adam
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Comments
Is the "mechanic" that you have chosen a full time pro actively working in a shop who has worked on these engines? Anyone who knows these and the issues that arise would be very hesitant to attempt to only throw some lifters at this, especially when any lifter service requires removal of the cylinder head on that side. Did this mechanic diagnose this failure or did he/she simply provide an estimate based on someone else's opinion on the failure?
For the record, what kind of service intervals did the engine see, and specifically what oil was used? Did you switch to a dexos approved product back in 2011 when that specification came out?
If that flushing and cleaning doesn't quiet the lifter then the head has to come off (you can't extract the lifters on this engine without doing that). I'm also not keen on putting new lifters on an old camshaft, although you might get away with it short-term.
If you plan on keeping this vehicle a long time, then when you open the engine you might as well do it right--both heads off, new camshaft, new lifters--what it called a "top end rebuild". Not a cheap repair but cheaper than a new car or a completely new engine.
As to your direct question---if the repair is done "right" you should have no problems on the road--but of course take a day to run the car and check for leaks, etc.
I don't think the mechanic has been privy to all of the details. But a day or two to check for leaks isn't being responsible from the vehicle owners when it comes to heading out on a trip right after a repair, and especially one this complicated. One minor issue and the car is close to home is unfortunate but that's life. A small problem away from home easily becomes a much bigger one especially when the ability to warranty ones work is now compromised.
They need to rent a vehicle.
Again, thanks for the advice!