Hey guys,

I have a 2000 Chevy Silverado 1500 4WD 5.3L with about 223K miles on her. About a week ago I began to hear a knocking noise coming from the engine. I started looking into it and thought it may be piston slap. I'm really hoping it's not a broken rod but since the sound goes away after a few minutes of running I don't expect it is.

I'm wondering if a change in oil may help. I haven't noticed an abnormal drop or rise in oil pressure and oil level is staying constant. The last oil change I had was about 1000 miles ago with Valvoline MaxLife 5W30. I try to change the oil about every 3000 miles since she's getting older. I've heard that putting a heavy oil like Rotella 15W40 in these older engines can benefit them. Any thoughts on that? It's beaming hot here in central Texas and I think the 5W30 may be a little too thin.

Here is a video to hear the sound for yourself < https://photos.app.goo.gl/4N91NRsMNdn3a2PNA >

Thanks for the help!

 

Well the knocking as subsided for the time being. I think I will put in 6 oz of Seafoam in and let that run for a few hundred miles then change the oil to something heavier.

I currently have Valvoline MaxLife 10W30, not 5W30.

 

I have the identical problem you have. My 2000 Silverado has 230000 miles and it was running great until last week I went out and cranked it up and got the same ticking noise you have. I had the piston slap which only last about a minutes and it would so away. This piston slap has been there forever. My friend said it sound like the lifters are bad. I pulled off the valve cover and hand checked them on the driver side and they all seem to be good, no play or loose rocker arm. I even started it and all rocker arms and push rod were opening and closing. I am no engine expert so I may have missed something to check.
I change the oil around 3000 -4000 miles and I used Valvoline MaxLife 5W30.
Let me know how your engine sound now or how you solve the problem. It might be an option for me.

 

I too have piston slap at start up, it used to be only when it's cold, but I've noticed it also happens if I don't run the truck for a day or so.



Lifter tick tends to last longer, but it may also go away after a couple of min.



Oh, I just saw the vid. um, wow. You're saying that goes away? Sounds more like a solid knock than lifters or piston slap to me.