High oil pressure

2002 Tahoe. 124000 miles. It has been ticking for several months. 2 things is it a stuck lifter or piston slap? Now the oil pressure is steady at about 62 psi. That seems alittle high. Any thoughts?

2002 Tahoe. 124000 miles. It has been ticking for several months. 2 things is it a stuck lifter or piston slap? Now the oil pressure is steady at about 62 psi. That seems alittle high. Any thoughts?

Ticking noises are impossible to diagnose over the internet waves.

However, piston slap is usually more noticeable on cold start ups and lessens after it's warm.

A lifter issue usually remains the same from cold to hot.

Oil pressure can only be verified with a manual gauge installed.

Some posters have recommended "Marvel Mystery Oil". You might do a search for those posts.

Also you need to post what engine.

2002 Tahoe. 124000 miles. It has been ticking for several months. 2 things is it a stuck lifter or piston slap? Now the oil pressure is steady at about 62 psi. That seems alittle high. Any thoughts?

with this vehicle you will in most al cases have the 5.3L V8 engine.. with this you must use 5-30wt oil. also change oil when engine has reached normal operating temp..

these engines do better with synthetic oil because the lifters/piston slap is greatly reduced due to reduced carbon generated by non synthetic oils..

marvel mystery oil added to the crankcase at 1 oz per quart capacity is all you need .this would be 5-6 oz of this product..after a few miles the noise should stop..if this is a carbon issue with the lifters

more is not better ..watch the oil color if it gets black after a few hundred miles replace the oil...and filter..use a wix filter or a pure one purolator oil filter..


normal oil pressure when at normal operating temp is 40-65psi..

40-45psi stoped in gear and up to 65psi in winter doing 80mph..

with synthetic oil it is usually always in this range hot or cold..synthetic flows better in cold temps..

most times I have seen lifter noise on cold start , then fades out ..this is from poor filter design..

Thanks for the info. Yes it is the 5.3 engine and I do use 5w-30. I did try the mystery oil but no change. The knocking does continue after warm up. I will try the synthetic oil. I did a search on the high oil pressure and someone noted a plugged oil pump screen. Any thoughts on that? I have no idea but will try synthetic. Thanks

Thanks for the info. Yes it is the 5.3 engine and I do use 5w-30. I did try the mystery oil but no change. The knocking does continue after warm up. I will try the synthetic oil. I did a search on the high oil pressure and someone noted a plugged oil pump screen. Any thoughts on that? I have no idea but will try synthetic. Thanks

is this a ticking noise or knock ? is it one cylinder or all ?

did this engine overheat or was operating on low engine oil ?

change the PCV ..this could be making the noise..

could be the exhaust manifold bolts rusted out and you can get a noise like this.
This yr engine has the small bolts later yrs used larger sized ..

oil pressure normal..

who made the oil filter ?

sharing 5.3L Vortec with you.

piston slap is piston slap. no snake oil will fix it. it's piston skirt moving in the cylinder bore due to high tolerances permitted by GM standards. the only way to fix it is to remove engine block, rebore cylinders, and reset pistons correctly. piston slap is a known manufacturing flaw in GM engines.
mine has it, but it goes away as engine warms up and metal expends. does not take long, maybe 30 seconds after start up.
here's roughly what it sounds like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ailwsg_mOWE
it's the faint knocking engine noise in the back ground; seriously, why he even stuck microphone to exhaust?

about exactly what mine does. guy's an idiot. don't rev cold engine.

ticking noise is your lifters and your rocker arms. 5.3L is pushrod engine. camshaft is hidden inside the engine and has long push rods connecting cam lobes to rockers via lifters. overnight, all that shrinks; oil drains some out of lifters; takes some time to restore oil pressure and for pushrods to expand to remove gaps that cause ticking.
cold oil is more viscous than hot one. it takes warmed up oil to "wake up" lifters and restore hydraulic pressure.
of course, the higher the mileage.... lobes get worn out, gaps increase, lifters get sticky..

personally, i use synth oil only on my truck. i change it when it starts ticking. usually, takes anywhere between 10 to 12 000 miles. i use Amsoil, it's warranted for 25 000.
but before you go full synth, you want to, or maybe not, it's up to you, to do 2 things:
1. make sure your engine is not taking oil; blow by burn out, leaks, whatever. it is very un feasible to use expensive oil on oil taker.
2. run can of seafoam through engine oil for about 500 miles of normal driving; safe to do; what it will do, it will open lifters. then drain oil, flush with cheap oil from walmart, running engine for about 15 minutes, occasional rev/hold at 2000, with about 4 qrts. drain. will come out pitch black, that's all the gunk and goo seafoam flushed out and did not drain. THEN change oil filter and refill with quality synth oil.

my oil changes cost me around $80 for this engine, but with average 12 000 miles intervals, it's more cost efficient than 3 to 5 000 miles oil changes with cheaper products.

thereafter, run can of seafoam 500 miles before every oil chnage, and once a year via gas tank. be HAPPY with well working engine.

I will try the sea foam. Do you use the full can of sea foam?

i do, if i do not forget to, seafoam full can through tankful twice a year, and 500 miles before oli change. considering i am changing oil about once a year, it does summ up to once a year.
seafoam is absolutely safe to drive on in crankcase. i drove my Ranger with it once for 2000 miles, just out of curiosity.
our engines have about same mileage, mine is slightly less. maybe i'll have it figured how to youtube, and record what piston slap sounds like. turn the key - it's all good - then knock-knock knockkk-knockkkkkk start sounding, depends on outside temperature, and fades away. if it's warmer, it goes away faster, colder - lasts somewhat longer. metal expends faster or slower.
seafoam is a very strong medicine. i had ridiculous success with it. had much good feedback from folks that i recommended it to and they used it. there's only one more additive that i will recommend based on personal experience - Lucas products. that's some good lube!!

sorry, yes, it's a full can per crankcase. for gas, you must have funnel to pour it in, and flush in with gas. good idea is to get on frwy and run engine at 70mph for maybe 30 minutes. just to blow it hard through. cleans everything gas goes through.