This guy knows engine repair. He is not a parts changer that throws your money at a problem until its accidently fixed.

Salute.... There are very few mechanics like you left in this world..

Diagnosing the actual problem is so hard for many of us garage warriors. Love the thought process training. Thank you!!

Darned outstanding video.!!!! No drama. No click bait. No BS. Your presentation is spot-on perfect. It’s as if a normal person is giving the information. And, that’s rare on the tube. Thanks for the EXCELLENT VIDEO!!!!

Best mechanic I have ever watched on KZfaq. Very knowledgeable and straight forward. He actually fixes the problem from theory to diagnostic and then section and finally to the issue. My favorite channel now.

As soon as you started it I knew exactly what it was. The sound was the key here. That is no lifter. You can hear the exhaust escaping from around the manifold. Very distinct sound compared to a valve or lifter tick which is more metallic in nature as well as internal and sometimes muffled. This is external by nature. Either a broken stud/studs or cracked manifold itself. Like he said very common. Especially northern exposure vehicles due to snow and salt emulsion. Death by CORROSION. Truthfully I have repaired only a dozen or so lifter jobs on these due to the fact that they were caught early but if left alone you are looking at cam and lifter replacement. Once it starts it just progresses from there to total carnage of the cam. It’s good that this man is around for him. Good ear as well as knowledgeable about these engines. But most importantly EXPERIENCED. Just because they went to school to learn how it works doesn’t meant they are experts. Experience is gained by years of working on them. Not a text book. Good example of old school vs new school. Very informative video. 👍

When i listen for noises on any engines i use 3/4 heater coolant hoses 3' long and listen through the hose by using rubber hose it drowns out all other noise and makes it real easy to find any noise. You nailed it.

When I worked in the oil patch we had a cheap and fast way to fix most problems with our trucks... Turn up the radio LOUD!!!

I just got a 2022 5.3 Tahoe….good thing to look for in a few years! Glad to see some mechanics that don’t just keep throwing parts at the problem…at customers expense of course!

Respect from northern Ontario Canada. You saved my 6 ltr V8 HD I was going to change the knock sensor then if that did not work I was thinking it was lifters and I may need to also change the cam. I was going to try a knock set delete. Here the entire time it was the muffler guys not fixing the issue. I got under it and made the repair after watching. You saved my thousands. Your a rock 🌟. Respect from northern Ontario Canada

Its so good to see someone who does their job the right way

And once again. You have not failed me! A lot of the other mechanic guys could learn a lot by watching you. You get straight to the point. You don’t stretch the video. You give a brief history. Some comparisons and then your thought process. That information alone is priceless! Thank you again sir 🙏🫡🥃

Most mechanics around here in the Seattle area just refuse to work on stuff like this that. Either that or they say new engine. You are one of the good ones. Crappy mechanics around here pushed me to learn most of this stuff on my own (and with help from KZfaq). This still sounds like a pain in the ass repair to get a broken bolt out of the head.

This showed up in my feed and I'm surprised to find I have the same bad bolt broken in same spot! Thanks for putting this out there.

I am lucky and still drive a 2004 Silverado with the 5.3l back when GM made good 5.3l engines. I would not pay my hard earned money on any domestic made vehicle right now. If I had to buy a new truck I would get a Ram. I know they have their Lifter/Camshaft issues, but near as bad as GM. Ford Eco-Boost engines are really hit or miss. Real crap shoots you either get a good one or a bad one. I had a bad 2015 Ford Fusion for my wife and planned on buying a GM made vehicle to trade it in on and my buddy that is a GM service tech warned me and said just don't do it go buy a Toyota or Honda these new direct injected engines are very problematic. Domestic cars are designed to last just until the warranty goes out then they start failing. He had replaced 3 engines in Trail Blazers that month. We got a Toyota and man are we glad we did. As far as trucks are concerned they are all a crap shoot now. They charge you 60-90 grand and put a crap warranty on them. For as much money as they are selling them for you should have a warranty that goes to 200k miles IMO.

I’ll tell ya another way to check for those exhaust leaks if you can’t see any traces of carbon tracks, works well, spray those areas with soapy water with squirt bottle, then take a shop vac and reverse the airflow, put it at the tail pipe assuming you don’t have any large exhaust leaks underneath, and you will see bubbles/foaming between the head and manifold, it works very well too

I stumbled on your previous video in regards to the ticking 5.3 that was related to the plug wire issue. At the time I had been chasing down a ticking noise with my wife's 2013 Yukon which I had just recently rebuilt the entire top end. DOD lifter had failed and ate the cam. Needless to say I was having flashbacks. While the new noise wasn't caused by a plug wire issue it did get me snooping around a bit more and I caught a glimpse of some soot at the manifold near the firewall. There were two exhaust manifold bolts that had either work their way loose or I had failed to fully tighten them. Snugged them down good and checked the rest. The engine is back to purring like a kitten. Crazy how something so simple is so easily missed. Thank you for the other video as it got me to look into it more and eventually got me headed in the right direction.

Love the fact he literally brainstorms out loud during diag! Awesome video :)

As an old former muffler mechanic, I can tell you if you're lucky (or the customer) the bolt isn't broken, it just fell out. Back in my shop days, that was the case about half the time.

I bought an 01’ GMC 2500HD with the LQ9 in it for $350 several years ago because the guy claimed the lifters were bad. As soon as I went to see the truck, the guy hit the key and I knew it was an exhaust leak instantly. Gave him his $350 and drove the truck away smiling ear to ear. I recently sold it for $7500 with only 167k miles.

Came across your video.straight to the point ..my 5.3 Had broken bolts and a bad lifter , Worned cam lobe. Retired tech now..thanks for the help.

Wow, if he does his own work, I'm shocked that he couldn't find THAT. He's lucky to have you fixing it for him Kenny!

Thank you for posting this video. This is EXACTLY what is happening with my GMC Sierra (same bolt, even). Your video was very helpful in understanding what was going on and I appreciate your followup video on how to do the repair.

When looking for noises, it's handy to use a piece of tubing--large vacuum hose is good for this--you stick one end in (or close to) your ear, and then probe around to where the sounds becomes louder. It's an easy way to pinpoint the location of the sound. I have this motor, and I was able to track a light knocking noise to the . . . fuel pump, using this vacuum hose method. In the case of this video, it would sure beat finding an exhaust leak with your hand!😱

That's a bingo with the exhaust leak. I bought a low mileage Chevy Tahoe from the auction claiming it had engine noise. Got it cheap. Upon examination discovered a major misdiagnosis. Two broken exhaust studs driver side rear. Took a stethoscope to the engine itself and it was quiet as a church mouse. Oil pressure good. long story short I bought a beautiful 2016 low mileage Chevy Tahoe for $3,000 at auction, replaced the two exhaust studs and the vehicle runs and drives perfect. Exhaust leaks are very common problem on L Series Chevrolet engines. Hope you all get a great steal yourselves out there, but make sure it is an exhaust leak because some 5.3's have lifter issues and they don't come out from the top either.

The newest 5.3L we have is a 2002 Yukon XL, wife’s transportation, I love my 1993 Chevy Silverado pickup truck with 5.7L. Thanks for what your doing

Wow. Makes me that much more comfortable with the van I have on the way to me to be delivered with an exhaust leak. I won’t be thinking the engine is no good. Thank you

I'm amazed these vids still pop up; these are known issues with LS for the last 20 years. Ticks are rarely ever lifters in the LS or cams (99 to 06/07). They are generally pushrods having drilled out the rocker arms or sheared off exhaust manifold bolts(almost always the very front or very rear bolts). Probably 90% of ticks in the Gen III motors. 08 and up add the DoD/AFM failures to those tick sources. This engine also seems to have a lot of piston slap(likely aluminum block, which transmits that sound better) but while annoying it's a non-issue.

I switched from my beloved Valvoline to the OEM GM oil and I was amazed how much more quiet the engine ran when idling. Night and day difference.

Yea, that’s common. Ls exhaust manifold bolts are just too small diameter. They need changed before you hit 100k miles or they’re likely to start breaking in my experiences. Unless you throw some arps on. Another common “tick” is that crush gasket on the drivers side exhaust manifold (pretty sure it’s the driver side) , they go out around the same time the exhaust manifold bolts start going. If they start breaking, don’t take it to a shop and get got for about $2k cash. Throw the front end up on jack stands, remove the wheels and fender liners, and steering column section, (do the following work from the fender area) remove the headers. already have the new gaskets, bolts and thread locker, and spare nuts, something like 1/2” and 3/8”. Even if the bolts are not broke flush and stick out, go ahead and weld a nut on it, and run it out with a little patience, you’ll get everyone of them, with ease and no problems. When putting everything back together, do NOT put anti seize on the exhaust manifold bolts, they WILL back out after a couple months and cause another exhaust leak, instead use high strength or removable high strength loctite or vibratite. If you go arp, you should be sat for the life of the vehicle, if you go with gm or other brand, change them before you hit the next 100k miles and you won’t have to deal with this again (or before what ever mileage interval you just when they started breaking. Flux core welders do work for this repair too, just turn the wire speed down and heat up, put some heat in the weld

Stumbled onto your channel I will be watching your info

My 2001 Suburban had a mysterious tick which was emanating from the #1 plug wire, but would quit when I lifted up on the wire. Turns out the spark plug had loosened up and was arcing on the head. Took it back to the shop that had installed the plugs and they replaced three plugs, fixed it.

GM cheaping out on metal quality is the real reason for this. Never used to happen this soon (Or in most cases, at all) on the older 350 / 5.7 engines.

I heard the tell-tale ting ting of the exhaust leak the moment the engine cranked. Heard this many times on many different vehicles.

Thanks for your support

Just wanted to make a comment thanking you dearly thought I had a destroyed 5.3L from a 2003 Silverado was puzzled on what to do with it and found your lovely video made my headache go away almost instantly after looking at the exhaust!!

I used to find exhaust noises with a piece of heater hose. Put one end to your ear and run the other end around the manifold. When you get to the leak you will know without any doubt.

Your video description told me everything I needed to know. Now to get the manifold off and weld a nut to the broken bolt in the head. Done these alot.

Keep up the good work. My son and I Enjoy your KZfaq we often watch if were hung up on a problem trying to fix cars for our KZfaq channel. thank for sharing.

This helped a lot. I have 17 Sierra 1500 and this is exactly what it sounds like. Started to other day. I hope this is all it is

Very common issue on those engines. Have repaired a ton for the same problem. I usually just weld a nut to the stud if broken off inside block. Firewall bolts are always the ones to break. I don't understand why GM hasn't corrected this well known defect.

A few exhaust studs on my 97 f150 looked like rivets when I changed them out. They rusted out so bad I had to grind them down flush with the manifold to get the manifolds off, then heat up every stud on it to pull them out of the heads. The manifolds themselves were so bad, there was no reusing them, they had to be replaced. Out of all that though, they never leaked although it was getting there. Now with new studs and manifolds, it's good to go for years to come. The one noise I can't stand is leaky manifolds.

WOW..... I have this exact same issue, when the guy that repaired my transmission gave me my truck back, that noise was prevalent. Beautifull, Thanks

Nothing replaces wisdom. Nothing adds to wisdom more than experience. Our greatest gift are older citizens who’ve had a lifetime of experiences.

Easy fix, part store sells a bracket just for this problem that bolts onto the back of the motor and tightens to the face of the exhaust manifold. Same thing will happen to the other side as well, they make a braket for that as well. Of course could you could go the expense route if u like, which if you have the 706 heads you will be doing anyways. Good luck!

Thanks for being an honest mechanic

well you just got a subscribe! dude is one of the most honest guy i've seen yet

great video. sound and looking is all we had I started in 1974 working in mechanic shop. today they rely too much on a machine to diagnose their work.

i could tell as soon as you started it that it was an exhaust leak. good to know about that particular problem

I owned an 2002 Silverado with the 5.3L, and when my ticking issue arose, it was the catalytic converter. It was actually covered under warranty at a Chevrolet dealership. Not sure if GM ever issued any bulletins or recalls about the issue. I was actually surprised that I didn't have to pay anything.

That ticking comes from the ticker. That engine addon that, you know, ticks. Like the Monty Python medical "thing that goes PIIING!"

Very informative this guy knows a thing or two about these engines

Those ls are notorious for the front and rear bolts on the exhaust manifolds breaking off. I've been thru 3 spools of wire to date removing these for people.

Awesome work sir. I was having the same problem.

...brilliant...!!! thanks for taking us along.

OMG thank you for this!!! I have the EXACT same issue on my 2014 5.3 and couldn't for the life of me understand why it was considering the noise location!!!!

My friend had an 09 5.3. He had a tick that ended up being the camshaft. Supposedly the camshafts on those years were hardened 2 different times causing a few of the lobes to get wiped out. One lobe was obvious to see with your eyes.

I knew what it was before you started it. Mine does the same and I’m missing studs. I just put in those easy adapters on

Ya gotta love these 5.3’s I have a 2000 LM7 5.3, I’ve had it 21 years. It’s got 207K on it and I just changed the plugs and wires. At 100K the plugs were in perfect condition and showed no wear. So when I did the recent plug replacement I got a good look at the exhaust manifold bolts. The heads of them look like chocolate chips 😂 I’m expecting an exhaust leak sooner or later. And I’ll address that when it is needed. Unfortunately my truck will probably crumble into a dust pan before that happens. Gotta love the northeast…. Great videos 👍

My 01 has the same issue. I noticed the exhaust leak with the hood open but never realized what the ticking at startup was from. Thank you!

Our 5.3 engines are known for that bolt. They have a work around adapter to fix that on the ones you can't get to.

Well, the sound was different. It had two separate ticks going on - completely different than a lifter tick. Auto Repair is 90% diagnostics and 10% changing parts. Kenny knows how to diagnose so he is a golden mechanic.

Going to check my engine right now, thanks bud 👍🏽

@wrenchingwithkenny thank your for your long battle with machines to provide is with honest knowledge

I believe more times than not I have seen people's "ticking" to be exhaust leaks. Otherwise... ignition issues, bad pulley bearings, intake leaks, a light tick sound from injectors and of course a loose spark plug (exhaust/system leak). More times than not it is repairable without major work.

I build alot of these motors, ive never had the after market bolts break!

I had ticking in my 63 Chevy Impala convertible 283 54 years ago I would adjust the valves and in no time it would start again ....Chevy has a history of ticking.

I have a 2019 Silverado 5.3l and stopped using 0w20. I went to 10w30 and much of the tick and tap noises went away. I have about 119,000 miles on the truck, all highway, and I've done every oil change myself. If you have a stealer doing your oil changes, make sure they don't try to sneak you out the door with 6 qts of oil in an 8 qt system. Yeah, I do all my own oil changes. I used to drive it in 7th gear to hold out all of the valve timing and emissions crap, but I installed a Pulsar LT unit. One of the best items I've every purchased for one of my trucks. The truck runs great so far.

I had a ticking noise on my 17 Tahoe. Dealer caused so many excuses. I found another KZfaq video where it was the vacuum pump on the front lower drivers side of the engine. Sounded just like a lifter or exhaust leak. Finally got the dealer to change the pump and quiet as a mouse.

Good old heat expansion and contraction

My 13 RAM does the same thing. Been doing it forever. Broken exhaust manifold bolts. I knew where you were going from the start of the video.

The 2016 GMC Sierra Denali I own with the 5.3 is the most problematic vehicle I’ve ever owned. I have the ticking in the drivers side cold and it’s the purge valve by the throttle body. The passenger side is notorious for leaking, especially after GM does the AFM lifter failure repair and re uses the original bolts. Nice job!

You would think as many years as this engine design has been around you would think GM could figure out you need bigger manifold bolts and possibly a redesigned manifold. I think every single one I've ever worked on had atleast two of the back bolts brake off, anywhere from 40k to 200k miles.

You are one of the greatest mechanics sir

Huh! Thanks for this video. I noticed a ticking on my gmc and thought the lifters were going out. Gave a look and saw the black carbon on the exhaust like this truck has but mines on the drivers side.

My mother has an 08 suburban with a 5.3. We had lifter failure, and a few other issues which lead to a total engine replacement (not my suggestion) and after 20k, I was driving it, changed the oil. All was well, 50 mile drive home after, and it sounded like lifters again. But after using a stethoscope on both heads, I couldn't determine a metallic noise comming from the valve train. Checked coils and they appeared to be fine as well. Now I'm wondering if this is our issue. Problem is it doesn't change once it gets to op temperature. Thanks for this, now I feel dumb and have something to trace down now lol.

There is a special bracket that is available that bolts on & holds the manifold in tight. I've had good results with them.

Ticking noise is very common when sitting and idling for a few min, main reason I have found and fixed 3 trucks so far is the oil pickup tub seal.I dealt with the issue for 2 years before discovering this. Fixed it 3 years with new seal and hasn’t done it since. I tried to find help from GM techs and they couldn’t even help me. New oil pick up seal and oil pan gasket and not another embarrassing drive through experience at Burger King since I did it

Wise and honest Master Mechanic ...!!! My respects. 🙏🔥💯🔥

Loose spark plug also could also cause that squeaking noise. That was my immediate thought when I heard the squeak. When I do lifters I always replace manifold bolts. I hate when people don’t do that.

i got rid of my ticking on my 05 5.3 just by changing to 10w40 conventional Castrol GTX oil with K&n filter. Been 3 years now with no tick and better oil pressure. Engine has 290K

4:20 BINGO!!!!!!!!!!!!! My rattling noise comes from the passenger rear area of the engine!!! Mine doesn't sound as loud as yours and it seems to go partially away after a couple of minutes. I just drove it over two hundred miles with no problem, but I think the noise is worse after the trip. Last year I had the exhaust manifold removed on that side because I saw that, three bolts where broken. It made no noise, however. I had the bolts and gasket replaced!!! Still, no noise. The noise actually Does sound like a few coils are ticking! Thank you for this video. I really thought it was the rear main bearing, $$$, but I thought, why would it be from only one side? Well, just a thought checked it again. It's not the manifold and not the bearing. It seems to ch a new location. Now it seems like it is in the area of the right rear passenger area under the car. I ran it for one minute and it was very loud and then it stopped completely. I turned it off and restarted it and it came back quieter. I think something could be loose in thr exhaust the tightens up when it heats up. Any thoughts on that? Most mechanics just throw parts at the problem because Thinking and troubleshooting is so much harder. Case in point. The directional signal and emergency flasher don't work. Change the flasher, right? Wrong! The fuse was good, but it had corrosion on it. I scrapped it off and they came back on. Another case in point. The P4020 code for the cat came on and the computer wouldn't get the car ready for emissions. The problem was the need for a Drive Cycle after the battery had gone dead for three days and I installed a new one. Another case in point. The entire interior of my Tahoe would go electrically dead while driving. I mean, everything electrical was dead but the truck would still drive. When a mechanic had worked inside the dash, they didn't put everything back in its proper place. There is a small Black Box above your left shin that snaps into a galvanized bracket. It was just floating inside it and moving around and every time I made a hard left turn, the car would go dead and sometimes stay dead. When I made a sharp right turn, the power came back on. Something must be moving! I found the loose box and snapped it into the holder and the problem never returned.

Great Job Kenny with the diagnosis

I knew right when you started the engine what it was. The high pressure injectors will cause a ticking too which everyone says it's normal. I have the 4.3 v6 in my 14 Silverado.

They make a clamp kit for these that uses existing holes in the block and head to push the manifold up tight to the head. Works great saves having to drill out broken bolts.

that's way better than a lifter problem. I have the same issue on my 4.8. going to check it out when I get time. thanks!

My truck is doing same exact same thing glad to see this video

I have a 02 Silverado with a 5.3 and have 575,000 miles. Blowing a little blue smoke on startup. Ticked since I've bought it new at start up an sitting long times and idling

I think id be more worried with one that DOSENT tick

A lady I worked with bought a brand new Mercury Mountaineer around 2000 or 2001 and I drove it once a few months after she got it and it did the exact same thing, but I think it was on the driver's side. I can't say for sure but I think it had the 5.0l V8. She had only just started hearing the noise a few days earlier and hadn't really given it much thought but I told her I suspected it was the exhaust manifold not being sealed to the engine. A few days later she had taken it to the dealer and sure enough, they found a couple of loose bolts and fixed it under warranty.

Learned something new today!

GM put out a TSB stating the noise is the piston rings hitting the carbon build up on the top of the cylinder.

Just had mine fixed. I thought it was the lifters also but turned out to have a cracked flywheel!

Congrats. You differentiated an exhaust leak from internal engine noise

I have a 5.4L Ford Triton. The ticking was an exhaust leak. Broken exhaust stud. Used a Mig welder to weld a nut onto the broken stud. It backed right out. New manifold fixed the ticking. I then heard a ticking on the other side that I didn't know I had! Same thing on the other side. Weld a 5/16" nut onto the broken stud and back it out while its still hot. Piece of cake, sort of.

When mine starts ticking I wait till it's at operating temp and then turn it off and on a few times and it goes away

I had that same engine. I noticed it making that sound one day after I pulled out a spark plug and threw a fistful of sand into the cylinder. I never did figure out what caused it.

Most common issue is if not lifters and after having sat is problems with exhaust manifold leaking! Very common issue with the ls, and dodge hemi's. Both my wifes yukon denali with the 6.2 ls and my dad's HD 2500 Silverado have this exact issue. The problem lies with the head being aluminum and the exhaust manifold being cast iron. The two different materials expand at different rates and causes flexing that break the bolts, or even crack the manifold.

Excellent job I learned something thank you so much

What would cause a 5.3 to blow out black smoke on start ups and high acceleration? I’ve been chasing this problem for months. Truck has 227,000 miles on it. Has also I slight ticking noise. And also if you get on it at 60 or above it spits and spuders and acts like it doesn’t want to go. Any help much appreciated!!