Hello - really just dropped onto this forum to say Thank You for putting such informative videos up.
I do have a question about my suburban, maybe more preventative than not. It's a 2012 Suburban 5.3 with DOD etc. It currently has around 165k on it. Overall it's been really reliable - it's used as both my daily commuter as well as my hunting / up north boat hauler. It's always used some oil and I think I'm going to pull the valve cover after watching one of your videos to see if I can curb some of that usage.
One question I do have related to the valves (I think...). It's always been a quiet motor with no 'ticking' however after my last trip to South Dakota hunting a couple weeks ago, it's developed a quiet, but noticeable tick. This trip was over New Years and was very cold, the suburban did a lot of idling to keep my dogs warm in the evenings.
Is this something I should just wait and see if it gets worse? Most people (if they're not listening for it), probably wouldn't notice the ticking however I do as it wasn't there before. It's nothing like some of the loud ticks in your videos, but I'd prefer it not get that bad... I hope to drive this suburban for 300k+
Any other maintenance I could do/should do to set myself up for long term success?
Thanks!
Sounds like you drive mostly long distance. At least very little of the start it move it and shut of before it's even warm. With that in mind and what you just said, your engine is probably pretty clean inside. It wouldn't hurt to do a flush but might not be necessary. I would see if I could isolate the noise as good as possible first. If the noise happens to be loudest under a valve cover you could pull it and check some things. Start it up without the cover on and see if you can pinpoint what rocker is the loudest. Then, remove that rocker, put a dial indicator on it as straight as possible and start turning the engine by hand. While turning the engine, watch the dial indicator. If it smoothly goes up then down (may need to assist pushing it down) then it has a good roller and cam. At least as far as making noise goes it's not doing that. If however you get a spot where the dial indicator flinches or has sporadic movement then you likely have a problem with the roller.
Oil changes have been every 4,000 miles or so - some a little more, some less. Synthetic 5w30 - brand depends, typically Valvoline or super tech
How often do you do your oil changes? Also, what oil do you use now?
If it's been a while since your last oil change the oil might just be breaking down and getting a bit thin for the engine. You might just need to change oil if that's the case. After all sitting at idle doesn't put miles on but still adds run hours. Also colder weather like here in SD or where I was before MN, can cause condensation in the crankcase. This of course can lead to interesting situations I'm sure. Personally, considering the age and miles I would start to consider a small amount of additives like Lucas stabilizer or changing to thicker oil then the vehicle calls for. This will help fill in any gaps that have grown with age/mileage and may start to tick. If this doesn't help at all then it may be a more serious tick such as a lifter roller failing. It could also be the beginning of a broken manifold bolt. The manifold bolt being broke will typically be much worst a sound when first started though.