Interesting GM 2.7 Turbomax failure and tear down

[JTK]

I believe this is the first I've seen of one of these engines opened up. Pretty interesting. The 2.7T is a similar design to the 2.0T LSY used in an array of GM products these days as well as the 2.5T used in the latest gen Traverse. They all use a cam tower and all those solenoids sticking out of the "cam cover" to slide the cams back/forth for cylinder deactivation.

His failure theory is interesting as well. I know HP fuel pump internal failures happen on GMs. Hard to believe it was the root cause here, but who knows..

 

[CKN]

Yet-the 2.7 motor has proven to be one of the most reliable in recent history.

 

[Cujet]

I watched the video the other day and thought about posting it. That engine did not hold up well. His observation that the cam lobe with the worst damage is adjacent to the HP fuel pump is interesting. What bothered me most was the cylinder scoring and piston skirt wear. That is long term wear.

The entire engine was trashed. I did a brief search and did not find any very high mile examples of the 2.7L 4. With the highest mile example I found at 175K.

 

[JTK]

Yet-the 2.7 motor has proven to be one of the most reliable in recent history.

We have them in our fleet of plant trucks that see only fleet maintenance at best and we've not had a single problem with them. I find them surprisingly enjoyable to drive.

 

[buster]

GM said this was one of their most durable engines they ever made.

 

[cptbarkey]

My neighbor has one, it sounds awful. Probably an exhaust leak of some sort.

 

[OneLonelyBurrito]

I watch this video over the weekend. I don’t know if I agree with him on what happened to this specific engine. It definitely seemed like a multifaceted failure.

Overall I thought the design of the engine was very robust but it’s hard to draw any real conclusions from a sample of one failed engine of unknown origin, usage case, and maintenance history.

 

[SC Maintenance]

I like this guys tear downs. There well done.

Often his failure mode is pretty speculative. I guess sometimes there is no smoking gun.

 

[We're Metals]

GM said this was one of their most durable engines they ever made.

Its nice to see that GM can still try.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

I watched the video the other day and thought about posting it. That engine did not hold up well. His observation that the cam lobe with the worst damage is adjacent to the HP fuel pump is interesting. What bothered me most was the cylinder scoring and piston skirt wear. That is long term wear.

The entire engine was trashed. I did a brief search and did not find any very high mile examples of the 2.7L 4. With the highest mile example I found at 175K.

They seem to be more reliable than the alternative 5.3 ecotec that they also come with.

I think if I were to get a 1/2 ton truck, this is the engine I'd buy. Pentastars don't have the towing capacity and Hemis are eating lobes, Ford ditched the 3.3 so the only thing left are oil pump belt 2.7/5.0 and phaser-eater 3.5, GM has the cam-lobe wiping 5.3.

 

[CKN]

My neighbor has one, it sounds awful. Probably an exhaust leak of some sort.

You mean it sounds like a 4 cylinder motor? Because thats the only negative owners state.

 

[CKN]

I like this guys tear downs. There well done.

Often his failure mode is pretty speculative. I guess sometimes there is no smoking gun.

It's yet another YouTube video...what does one expect? I hope there comes a day where we don't have to reference these stupid things for conversation fodder. Let the slamming begin....

 

[CKN]

I like this guys tear downs. There well done.

Often his failure mode is pretty speculative. I guess sometimes there is no smoking gun.

Somehow double post...

 

[fantastic]

It can help, if common enough, to pinpoint failure points of an engine. I enjoy his videos and comical nature along the way. Thanks OP! Yes, one example but still interesting.

 

[wemay]

When my Malibu was in for warranty work, they issued one of these to me as a loaner. I absolutely loved everything about it.

 

[hemioiler]

You can find a blown example for every engine produced. Doesn't mean it's a flaw in the engine, everything we produce has the potential to have a statistically weak part or two. The question is, are these engines on the whole, reliable?

I was shocked by the state of that turbo. Hopefully that is not at all common.

I always heard really good things about these engines, especially the updated variant at 430 lb/ft torque.

 

[hemioiler]

And second thought; I find it concerning how many examples of broken engines we can find these days, where they're running roller lifters. It happens to hemi, pentastar, cummins, this 2.7, the ford 7.3 (and presumably 6.8), the two GM v8s (5.3 and 6.2) and probably a bunch more but these are "stuck in my head" as they are the engines I've researched the most and either owned or been interested in purchasing at some point.

Is there something about roller lifters that we can't seem to reliably build these anymore?

 

[I<3oil]

Ouch, that poor engine

 

[cptbarkey]

You mean it sounds like a 4 cylinder motor? Because thats the only negative owners state.

I meant what i typed. It sounds awful. He babies his stuff too, I might take a look at it sometime. I maintain his push mower which sounds much better.

 

[MrHorspwer]

I've watched a bunch of "I Do Cars" videos and it seems like every single one has him doing something that makes me think, "Man, this guy doesn't seem to know what he's doing. Maybe he's not a great source of information."

For example, in this video he has trouble removing a PCV pipe. A very simple plastic pipe that requires squeezing the connection and pulling to remove. He attacks it with a flat-head screwdriver while exclaiming, "How does this work? It looks like it's a one time use? But why would they do that unless you just have to buy a new one?"

Like, really? You're going to give a detailed failure mode analysis of a very complex mechanical system but can't figure out a common plastic pipe connector?