Are high RPM's hard on my truck?

[dberladyn]

Hi,

I don't mean to ask a stupid question or to show I am disrepectful to my 2003 Silverado but I've stepped on it a few times lately and I'm thinking I shouldn't be doing that.

I've babied my truck since I got it, but lately I've taken a lot of enjoyment in quick accelerations. Yesterday I watched the Tach display revolutions up to 5500RPM. Up until last month I've almost always kept it under 3000RPM Max.

My question is, am I abusing the 4.8L motor by demanding that much from it?

I appreciate any responses, even if you wish to give me hell for my ignorance.

Thanks.

[Faze2183]

have u replaced ur air fitler? or do u know if its clogged?

my moms 1997 chevy suburban was doin higher rpms because she was havin to go on the gas a bit harder, and when i checked it out and her filter was so dirty and when i replaced it it was a tiny bit better....

also u may wanna replace the tps and ats thought i could be wrong but when i did that it helped my moms i think the ats should be under 10 bucks but u never know and the the tps will be 30ish i think

i could be wrong but i dunnoz just words of advice

if u do do that than before u replace both sensors then unhook the neg. battery cable and or if u just replace the air filter then just unhook ur battery for about 5 or 10 mins

[Faze2183]

might also be that the motor might be breakin in too or somethings i dunno

[huminski]

Faze, I don't think he's saying it's happening unexpectedly, he's saying he's been putting the pedal to the metal lately.

Dber, engines have a redline for a reason. Operation just up to or under the redline as you are describing is fine. Now holding it in first gear at full throttle at or above redline for an extended period is a different story, but you're not doing that. The engine was designed to use all available RPM's when needed, and the ECM shifts the transmission before the RPM gets high enough to do any damage.

EDIT- And in addition, the ECM has a rev limiter that will not allow the engine to operate at a dangerous RPM. You basically have nothing to worry about, even with a manual transmission.

Hope this helps!

Steve

[rositis]

I agree. 5500 rpm is no big deal at all. Alot of people that race there trucks run 6000 or more regularly. Like Huminski said the reason you have them rpms on the guage is because the engine can use them when needed!

[fabrikator]

As others have said, it's not going to kill the motor in your truck if you floor it once in a while. Engines are designed to make many, many revolutions within their life time and opperate within the boundries set by the rev limiter and the components that make up the motor. But you shouldn't abuse it.

Your motor was designed to work in a truck which normally means more low end torque is needed. Torque is that "grunt" you feel just off a standing start and trucks need extra low end torque to haul heavy loads and pull things. This is accomplished, in part, by having a "long stroke" crank. With this type of crank and the other engineering that's gone into your truck, you've been given stump pulling power at a low RPM along with great drivability in day to day commutes. The down side is that you can't turn really high RPMs with it. But you really don't need to.

If you were to take a weight and tie it to the end of a string and twirl it with just a little of the string between your hand and the weight you'd see that you could spin it really fast with little effort. Also stopping the weight wouldn't be too hard. Now allow more string to slip between your hand and the weight. You'd find that it's harder to spin the weight at the same RPM as you were when the string was shorter. And stopping the weight becomes more of a challenge. Less sting=short stoke, more string=long stroke.

So, smoke the tires occasionally. Have fun!

[dberladyn]

LoL, Thank you for the Replies.

[djpbaby]

The only reason your engine can't go at higher rpms (besides the limiter) is because that is the fastest the rockers can go without "floating." If they float, you bend valve stems and misfire and other cool stuff. In NASCAR, they are pushing over 9000 rpms and they say the valve springs are tougher than the springs on the suspension. The only thing you should worry about when you hammer it all the time is your rear end gears. I've shattered about 3 or 4 in my days (decade of driving so far). My new 00 silverado has yet to give out on me though and I have put 60000 on it. And I am hardly ever below 3000 rpms. And you can over rev your truck by putting it in 2nd gear while going 85 mph. Yea, my truck is still fine. I have no idea why it downshifted on before reaching a safe speed. Oh yea, your truck has a built in torque limiter than keeps you from peeling rubber on takeoff. Thanks Chevrolet!

[buttnekked]

if you run higher rpm's very often I would suggest you use good quality oil and transmission fluid. The heat generated by the extra muscle can break down cheaper fluids which create problems of their own.

[djpbaby]

So much for my rear end. I recently blew out the gears doing a one tire fryer up a hill. So it lasted about 90,000, or the same amount of time all my other ones have. The differnence is that I shattered the spider gears this time and usually its the rack and pinion gears. What happens when your doing the one tire fryer, the spider gears spin really fast blowing all of the oil off of them and then they heat up, crack, and then one misses and shatters them all to hell. I drove it 10 miles after that and it made nasty clunking noises every now and then. I put a limited slip eaton rear end in this time. I'm told whatever goes out next will not be the rear end. Just so you know, that is the weakest leak on a factory silverado powertrain.

[chevytrucks92]

High RPMs are bad on ANYTHING unless it's built for it (i.e. race engine with forged or steel internals). Sure, your truck will take the 5500 RPMs for awhile, maybe even several thousand miles, but sooner or later you're going to start seeing blue smoke come out of yoru exhaust, and then you're going to start running into several problems.

The reference of NASCAR running 9000 plus RPMS, they have the best internals, the best valve springs, MUCH more oil then what you have, and they STILL let go on occasion before the 500 mile race is over. So do you see my point? You're 4.8 was not designed to constantly take near redline RPMs, and if you keep doing what you are doing, if you keep the truck, you're gonna start paying some big mechanic bills.

[bigboyblue327]

DJBABY- Just out of curiosity, how much does it cost to replace blown out gears?

[djpbaby]

Ha ha, I have yet to blow my factory engine and I have 98 k on it. My truck is designed to be at the redline all the time, it's an idiot who doesn't change their oil every 3000 and puts fram oil filters and penzoil in their vehicles that blows blue smoke and goes through engines. I have never blown an engine that I didn't build (I think it was the machine shops fault that the lifter seized). Well, one rear end was under warranty, one time I got one from the junk yard it it ran me about $250, that was junk and I blew that one out 70,000 miles later and did a complete rebuild for about $400 (that's paying someone because I didn't have the tools or expertize at the time to do it myself). My last one was pricey (first on my 00 chev) with the eaton limited slip at about $450, and then I had to replace all the seals and bearings because of metal shavings floating around that set me back $200. So if you paid someone to do it, you'd be close to a grand, but I'll tell you what, I can dig like a jeep without switching to 4x4 (ok, I'm exagerating a bit). Detroits are noisy and mainly for off roading. (they click on corners). I'm actually kind of happy I blew it out so I would have an excuse to rebuild it. I'll let you guys know when my engine goes out because I kind of want to build up a real nice 5.3 with roller rockers, trued crank, cam with wider lobes, longer skirts on the pistons, stiffer springs, bored 1 or 2 over with CroMoly pistons and milled to get me close to a 10:1 compression.

[Redneck_Cadillac]

Originally Posted by djpbaby

My truck is designed to be at the redline all the time..... i want to build up a real nice 5.3 with roller rockers, trued crank, cam with wider lobes, longer skirts on the pistons, stiffer springs, bored 1 or 2 over with CroMoly pistons and milled to get me close to a 10:1 compression.

please learn what your're talking about, before you start spouting off a bunch of B.S. and misleading poeple on the site.

1.) 5.3 comes with roller rockers, stock.
2.) trued crank??? vs a bent one?
3.) wider cam lobes? for what??? no gain what so ever....
4.) longer piston shirts??? so their legs don't show? more weight...
5.) stiffer springs....(assuming valve springs) ok....
6.) bored 1 or 2 WHAT over? .1, .01, .001...ect.?
7.) it's not CroMoly...it's Chromemoly and pistons don't come made in it..

Dberladyn,
engines have a redline that's not to be exceeded, or stayed at for too long. it's not going to "kill" your motor to take it to redline, but doing it on a regular basis will cause excessive wear on the internals. if you want to play, you're gonna pay, and that certainly is true here. racing engines don't last forever and have to be torn apart to refreshen them. your motor is stock, and doesn;t have the heavy duty parts in it race engines do. do the math....

what everyone is saying, regarding oil changes and using quality oil and filters, stands true. regular maintanance is important. maxing your engine's capabilities is ok, but will eventually shorten it's life.....

[chevytrucks92]

Originally Posted by Redneck_Cadillac

please learn what your're talking about, before you start spouting off a bunch of B.S. and misleading poeple on the site.

1.) 5.3 comes with roller rockers, stock.
2.) trued crank??? vs a bent one?
3.) wider cam lobes? for what??? no gain what so ever....
4.) longer piston shirts??? so their legs don't show? more weight...
5.) stiffer springs....(assuming valve springs) ok....
6.) bored 1 or 2 WHAT over? .1, .01, .001...ect.?
7.) it's not CroMoly...it's Chromemoly and pistons don't come made in it..

Dberladyn,
engines have a redline that's not to be exceeded, or stayed at for too long. it's not going to "kill" your motor to take it to redline, but doing it on a regular basis will cause excessive wear on the internals. if you want to play, you're gonna pay, and that certainly is true here. racing engines don't last forever and have to be torn apart to refreshen them. your motor is stock, and doesn;t have the heavy duty parts in it race engines do. do the math....

what everyone is saying, regarding oil changes and using quality oil and filters, stands true. regular maintanance is important. maxing your engine's capabilities is ok, but will eventually shorten it's life.....

My point exactly! A stock engine will not handle that kind of abuse. Shoot, a race engine can only handle it for so long! We have the heads freshened every year in our race engine (new valve springs, valve job), and do complete overhauls about every 2 years, and the parts that come out of it, are wore out, and they sure ain't stock!