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More Work! any help or suggestions?

dbrannon79

dbrannon79

I'm getting there!
Messages
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Location
Seguin, TX
Hello again, I got myself into more work for the next few weeks. My daughters father n law and very good friend's burb now sits in my back yard. we just got the fuel pump replaced and towed to my house. It's issue is after running for a while, it will suddenly just loose all oil pressure until it sits and cools off. It doesn't over heat or anything, drives fine, even the 4x4 works. It's a 2001 Chevrolet Burb with a 5.3l vortec and a 4l60E 4x4. as far as I know it's a 1500 or 1/2 ton but had 6 lug wheels.

I have read and heard others talk about the infamous 0.50 cent o-ring on the oil pump pickup tube cracking and loosing it's prime. not sure if this is the case but it has been verified loosing oil pressure since when the gauge goes from around 40 psi to 0 the lifters start clattering. I'm hoping that I will be able to drop the oil pan without pulling the engine since it's a 4x4 but I guess I will find out. I told him that it would be best to just pull it all down and replace the oil pump, timing chain, water pump and all going into it. any pointers, tips, tricks, or opinions? any input will be helpful.

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Stop driving it until fixed.
Possibilities I know of with these:
2 issues outside the engine, 3 issues with these inside the engine.

1. Improper oil filter believe it or not. Spin on an ac delco filter.
2. Oil pressure sensors known to fail

1. Oring failure,
2. get the add on clamp to hold the screen level to the block when you do it.
3. The pump itself can be bad.
 
it hasn't been driven since he bought it. it sat so long in his back yard that the fuel pump died and the gas in the tank started turning ripe!

he had gotten discouraged and wanted to sell it for parts, I finally talked him out of parting it out and would work on it for him.

as for the issues, right after he bought it about two years ago, we changed the oil and added some seafoam, tried it out running for a bit with no change. then changed to using some lucas to thicken up things. still no change. on a cold start up it will have good pressure up around 40 and run for about maybe an hour or so. then suddenly just loose all pressure.

I have not put a mechanical gauge on it yet but when it drops pressure the lifters start to clatter. I was going to do the gauge until I heard the clatter for the first time. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do with it so it just sat there until now.

Fast forward to now. New fuel pump installed and clean fuel, charged the battery and it fired right up! towed it over to my house where there's some concrete to work on it.


@Will L. what is this add on clamp for the pickup screen? I have not heard of this. and how difficult is it to pull the pan off without pulling the engine? since it's a 4x4 someone mentioned that it can be done by loosening the front suspension and lowering the axle. I plan to get it up on a set of ramps in the next day or so to crawl under the front end and have a look.

I know the oil pump is mounted on the crank behind the timing chain so I had suggested to him to replace it all. WP, timing chain, and oil pump in one lick.

I had done this kinda job to an old Lincoln town car way back in the day, had pulled the pan and found the pickup tube partially clogged with goop in the pan, so I ended up pulling the intake and valve covers off too. there was so much crusty crud in under the intake I had to break chunks off with my hands and used a chisel and hammer. gooped up valve train too. ended up washing out the engine with diesel and a parts brush. New oil pump, pickup tube went in along with timing chain and all. that car came to life after that but it was a big job to say the least. The sad part was this was my grandfathers old car. he had always taken it to bradzoil in town reguarly to have oil changes and services. I learned then about what Penzoil does to an engine even with proper oil changes.
 
I've lost count the amount of 5.3s that have come into the shop with low oil pressure. First place to start is usually the sending unit and screen under it. Very common issue with these. BUT since yours is making noise, more than likely its not a sender and its actually running low on oil pressure. If you over fill it by 2-3 qtrs and lift the rear end up 2-3ft. Oil will cover the pick up tube o-ring and prevent it from sucking air if that's the problem. Easiest way to test that without pulling the pan off. Its too old to have AFM so you don't have to worry about that causing a low pressure issue. We run into all sorts of AMF issues on the 07+ trucks. Also the newer ones have an electronically controlled oil pump! So far I've done a few of those already for the solenoid failing. But I haven't seen too many of the normal oil pumps fail like the ones on this engine. Just a heads up, you can replace the oil pump without pulling the pan. Its no fun but it can be done. I've only fixed one or two that way and normally we put a high pressure pump in them that is a band aid for the failing engine bearings. If you want to pull the pan with the engine in the truck, then the front diff will need to come out.

More that likely the engine bearings have worn out and it looses pressure warm. We replace ALOT of 5.3 engines for low oil pressure issues.
 
Thanks Rockabillyrat. I hope the mains and rod bearings don't have too much wear on them. the rig has over 200k miles on it, don't know the exact mileage though. I am curious to try jacking the hind side up in the air and over fill the engine and see what happens. but at the same time if it starves itself of oil too much it will surly be the end of the engine.

the way it can run for around an hour and then suddenly just looses all pressure was kinda baffling me. it only takes about 20-30 minutes to get up to operating temp. I actually watched it loose it when we had it running after replacing the fuel pump. it had been running parked in the yard for quite some time. I was siting in the cab watching the gauges, occasionally revving the engine. it sounded good and strong, then all of a sudden I watched the gauge fall flat to 0 from right at 40 and the ticking began. he told me to let it sit and cool off a while and try it again, sure enough after a while it started right back up and with full pressure again!

I will have to look at it and watch some youtube videos and see just how hard of a job it is to pull the front diff. it will be a good experience, I plant to drag my older son out there with me so he can learn and help tear it apart. LOL hopefully we can put it back together again HAHA. I was pretty good at tearing things apart seeing how it worked as a kid. Not so much when trying to re-assemble things! But I have gotten better at that part over the years.
 
Ok guys, I am putting together a parts list for it, I was looking on RA for oil pumps. as @Rockabillyrat was saying about a high pressure pump I see there is a couple of different options available. I am curious which is the best one to go with here. I am assuming to go with the Melling 10296 pump.

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1693406693872.png
 
There is also an overwhelming number of options on timing chains listed for it too! not sure which I would need. I assume to go with a Cloyes set, but there are several options to choose from. any help with this would be great.

2001 CHEVROLET SUBURBAN 1500 5.3L V8 Timing Chain & Component Kit | RockAuto

RockAuto ships auto parts and body parts from over 300 manufacturers to customers' doors worldwide, all at warehouse prices. Easy to use parts catalog.
www.rockauto.com
 
I am not sure about that engine and the oil pan configuration.
My 1993 K1500 pickup, pulled the through bolts on the engine mounts and popped off the distributor cap and jacked the engine tall enough to place a stubby 2X4 between the two engine mount halves. Was then able to pull the Oil Pan without a hitch of a problem.
 
Well I started tear-down this evening. didn't jack it up yet but My son and I pulled the whole front of the engine down. got everything off and had to stop at the HB. apparently you need a different type of puller to get it off. So we picked up our mess and will plan more fun for another day LOL.

after looking at the engine and seeing the parts come off really easy, I can tell that someone was in it replacing the water pump not too long ago. the pump was clean and looked kinda new. although the block and timing cover along with the oil pan is kinda grimy. so I think our next job will be to get it up on some stands and power wash the engine off as best we can.
 
I believe that a standard HB removal puller will take it off okay. I also believe it is worth the extra money to have Leroys HB removal/installer tool in order to reinstall the balancer, not only does the kit pull the HB back onto the cranking shaft but it also has a device to keep the crank shaft from turning while torquing down the HB bolt.
 
MrMarty51 said:
I believe that a standard HB removal puller will take it off okay. I also believe it is worth the extra money to have Leroys HB removal/installer tool in order to reinstall the balancer, not only does the kit pull the HB back onto the cranking shaft but it also has a device to keep the crank shaft from turning while torquing down the HB bolt.
Click to expand...
Do you have a picture of that HB removal and installation tool?

I might have one, but I'm not sure.

I know I have one that works. I think mine's a GM tool
 
This HB doesn't have threaded holes like most. it has three ears where jaws would grab. I looked online and see two types. one with three stubby jaws and one that is a cup with three J hooks. as for the installer, I'm not sure which one will work for this one yet.
 
Well folks, I did some more disassembly today. Last night I pulled the power washer out, put the burb up on some stands, capped off the throttle opening on the intake and washed everything off best I could.

Today I went out and gave it a good look. the whole engine looked really clean other than I can see the end caps on both sides of the fuel rail that connects the fuel injectors are leaking fuel. not sure what to do there.

I decided since I don't have the HB puller yet, I went for the lower end. pulled the front diff out. that was an easy task. only held in by 4 bolts after the rear cross member was pulled. the only connections it had was one electric harness and a vent tube along with the drive shaft. it would have made it easy if that rear driver side bracket was removable though. I had to pivot and rotate the diff to get it out from the drivers side area and clear the steering center link.

now I will attempt to tackle the pan removal. One thing I noticed is that the oil filter is attached to the pan! I went in to take a break and look up a photo of the pan gasket just to make sure there were no bolts behind the trans bell housing. from the looks if it, there isn't any.

curiosity got me thinking and wondering if the pan gasket could also be a cause of the oil pressure drop outs since the oil runs though into the pan to the filter and back into the engine. anyhoo I will find out soon enough. About to try removing the pan to get a look inside for some inspection tonight.
 
that sludge was over an inch thick in the bottom of the pan! we called the previous owner (distant friend of the family) and asked her where she had her service work done. she informed us that she always took it to Bradzoil on a regular basis. they use Pennzoil exclusively. Well this is another look at what Pennzoil does to an engine even with regular changes!

Sad.... I know this thing has seen it better days already but he wants to try to push a little more forward. we talked a bit and discussed the cost of putting another engine spending up around 2k for a decent used one or a rebuild spending up around 4k or more. given the fact that it's paid for and all. also taking into account what it will take at the bare minimum to get it registered and on the road. needing new tires, shocks (one blew up sitting here oil leaking all over) also finding that the fuel rails are leaking. I figured at minimum if this engine runs again it's gonna take at least 1k to 1200 to put it on the road.

So the plan is now to clean out the pan, and pickup tube (if that can be cleaned) also clean out the cover that is between the pan and the crank, put it back together with fresh oil and see what the engine does. I mentioned that for this engine the best thing is to pull it out, open it up top to bottom and clean out everything. new bearings, pump, timing chain and all but I couldn't guarantee it would work or be worth it in the long run.

he doesn't want to spend much more on this engine, just to clean it up and see how it runs, then determine if another engine is in the works. Maybe it will last a few months to a year, also they would get to see if there are any other issues like trans or axle issues.

I'm not sure what to do on the fuel rails though. I need to see if there is a fix for them or if this is also a common problem leaking fuel out the end caps.
 
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