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5.3 issues

ak diesel driver said:
You'd be surprised how warm 10 above feels after -40
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Oh yea I bet it is like a heat wave. A week or so ago I had 7 inches of snow on the ground and 5 degrees for about 2 days. Last few days it has been into the 60's, this weather is crazy. Even the turkeys think its spring and are strutting and trying to mate with the hens. For the sake of all the trees and everything else I wished it would get back to 30's and 40's like it should be.
 
Ok back on topic, let us know how this 5.3 deal turns out. I am curious, I have operated 2 (5.3 vortec) different vehicles in the past, a 2003 and 2011. The 2011 model was a SUV and it would haul the mail as they would say. Probably way faster than moms grocery getter, I can promise you.
 
Well it runs :) I cranked it over with no plugs and got a steady 60 PSI oil pressure with 10/30wt. Running cold was the same. I bypassed the radiator and heater core and have some flush in the block gonna let it sit overnight.
 
So as I was driving back from the store yesterday I was thinking about that cylinder and it occurred to me that bad spot was exactly over the block heater. Don't know if there's any connection or not.
Also the AC pump has been locked up for several years but when I disconnected the hoses it was still fully charged. With it still connected to the old engine on the stand I went over and played around with it. It wasn't locked up. Seemed like a fair amount of oil was present. My ? is if I draw a vacuum on the system will it pull excess oil out? Wondering if it was locked up from too much oil or freon?
 
Maybe plugged orifice tube. I don't get into fixing A/C much umm, some oils aren't compatible with other oils, dunno if that would plug something up. But yeah if the oil can't flow it would surely hydro lock a pump.

Curious if the localized heating element caused some sort of electrolysis. Just a guess. I take it the head gasket checked out good.(?)
 
Anytime a system is down for a few years I learned to flush the system. If you had put gauges on it and read pressure is the only way to know if it was static locked due to pressure from over charge. If it was oil- hydro locked, when you disconnected it then turned it over by hand, you would have to get out 1/4 cup of oil for that to have been it.

Oil can pool at the compressor when too much is there. Same with refrigerant, but either usually locks one up at high speed and destroys the compressor. I guess if someone adds to much and circumstances are just right it could lockup without damage.
 
Do some searches, fairly comm9n for the early ls powered trucks to have this happen with the compressor. It's called slugging. With the compressor mounted so low, they were known to have large slugsof oil come through the suction line, and cause the compressor to lockup, and throw the belt off. Theres several "fixes", but none of them work very well. Theres a deslugger you install in the suction line to regulate returned oil, but the other item they don't talk about is to install the 06+ belt that doesn't use a tensioner. And for suburban's, you also need to make sure if the compressor is running, both fans are on if it has dual air. This helpsto prevent the oil from pooling in the rear lines, and a slug of oil forming there.
 
So there's a pretty good chance my compressor is OK? Other than not throwing the belt what does the 06 belt tensioner do? Mine shredded the belt instantly and wouldn't unlock until I broke the system.
 
ak diesel driver said:
So there's a pretty good chance my compressor is OK? Other than not throwing the belt what does the 06 belt tensioner do? Mine shredded the belt instantly and wouldn't unlock until I broke the system.
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Not really. GM says if they get slugged, they need to be replaced as theres a good chance it bent some rods or cracked some reeds inside it. A friend of mine that runs a shop says he has just replaced the belt with the new style belt, and had most all of them work afterwards.
 
So if I wanted to do this I'd need to remove my tensioner and that's it, or can I leave the tensioner and bypass it?
 
He said you removed the tensioner, left the compressor loose to get the belt on, then tightened the compressor down once you had the belt on. I've never personnally done it, but I know he worked for GM before he opened his own shop.
 
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