Thoughts on the GM 5.3L V8?

Started by Steve · March 28, 2026 at 2:58 PM ET

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Steve

March 28, 2026 at 2:58 PM ET

Looking to get into a half ton truck in the next year or two, but am dismayed at the state of the full sized truck market, and have no idea what to get. Just seems like everything has huge problems, and that there's no sure bets anywhere!

I had a 2018 Suburban for six years with the previous L83 5.3L V8 which was fantastic, up until 97k miles when it developed lifter "tick of death" and was also going to need Magneride and air suspension rebuild. A very experienced mechanic took a look at it and recommended full engine replacement. I didn't really need anything that big anymore, so unloaded it while I still could, and picked up a lower mileage used BMW X7. That's been great, but I'm going to need something bigger again.

I know to avoid and have no interest in the 6.2's (no serious towing in the cards.) It seems the newer L84 5.3's are a reasonable choice flying under the radar, especially if one already likes how the GM's drive with the pretty well sorted electronics and infotainment being a nice positive? Not a Ford guy, but open to consider. The RAM's are definitely appealing with either the HEMI or the Hurricane. Are the electronics really such a huge deal? I will eventually be moving to an area where the closest Dodge/RAM dealer will be nearly an hour away, so serviceability favors the Chevy (or Ford) which have local dealerships.

I just had a rental 2025 Sierra SLT with the 5.3L V8 for a few weeks, and was generally pleased with everything. The ride could have been better unladen, but it wasn't bad. A buddy with a 2017 Tahoe that's been quite a bit more reliable than my Suburban was, is joking that it might be worth it to just roll the dice and wait for the next gen GM 5.7L V8 truck engines that are coming out, rather than picking up something with the 5.3. He's in the market for a newer Tahoe, while I'll be going the pickup route.

Sorry for rambling a bit. Open to new or lower mileage used, and can wait a year or two if needed. So confused. Thoughts?

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TheCarGuy

March 31, 2026 at 11:17 AM ET

Honestly your buddy might be right if you are looking at a new GM, it might be better to roll the dice on a new powertrain but that hasn't always been a good idea in the past 😃. I do think they are putting a lot of engineering work into DFM fixes in the new models, time will tell if they are reliable or not.

With GM, it worries me that the 6.2L, the 3.0L are both having issues that feel very...QC related. I'm not sure who is manning the ship in their engine plants but feels very bizarre the quality just keeps going down hill. The 5.3L can be OK, but I still see a lot of folks with 60-100k miles and lifters go. Some have impeccable maintenance, they still go.

I would say to go drive them all, if you aren't towing and really like the GM maybe consider the Turbomax as odd as that might sound. if you are only keeping them through warranty or a little bit past, the 5.3L might be fine...but there's still that chance of lifter issues.

I haven't had really that many electrical issues other than Apple Carplay on my Ram, and it seems that's hit or miss. Currently mine is working as expected, carplay connects wirelessly and works. When I plug in with USB, it's working. Sometimes it does not, requires full reset of the infotainment. The 2025 Rams were an all new electrical platform and they had a lot of bad batteries from the factory, some folks had two bad batteries. I've read many stories of folks just buying two new batteries (larger and aux battery), and having no further issues come up after that. Voltage is a lot bigger deal in modern vehicles, it's not just Ram.

I think Ram has the most solid engine/transmission combo, and best interior/quiet ride and cab. I would go drive them all...see which one resonates most with you, still considering the powertrain issues. And consider how long you plan to keep it.

Ford was my runner up when I test drove all of them, I did like the functionality of the dash/infotainment, I liked the vision and the ride in the Ford, and their powertrains seem to be holding up OK. Same transmission that GM has, but they seem to have a lot fewer engine issues overall. I personally wouldn't get a powerboost, the less complexity the better.

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Started by Steve · March 28, 2026 at 2:58 PM ET