Welp my truck just "dropped" a lifter

[Astro14]

They have been using the new system since 2019. How many trucks are on the road with this tech? In 2019 the Silverado sold a half million units. You can extrapolate the sales to the end of this year. As I mentioned-it's a decimal point followed by many zeros. Any new tech gets bashed on here-either the guys are afraid of it-or based on the few comments above-don't understand it.

And to top it off-this dead horse has been discussed on here many times before. The "really new topic/threads" on this forum are all most non-existent.

I neither fear, nor bash, technology. I’ve been an early adopter on many tech fronts. So, please, leave me out of that broad brush stroke.

But, let’s keep running those numbers you brought up. There are roughly 3,000 Chevrolet and GMC dealers in the US.

@GMBoy does 8-10 a month, so let’s call it, a hundred a year, at his dealership.

That’s hundreds of thousands of failures a year, if his dealership experience is representative.

Further, we know that many trucks will be repaired outside of dealerships because they’re out of warranty.

So, a few million sold - and a few hundred thousand with failures.

Not exactly a decimal point with many zeros…it’s several orders of magnitude worse. whole numbers.

Double digit whole numbers. That’s a very high failure rate. That’s a real problem.

Do you have actual stats? Because my rough math shows an awful failure rate.

 

[CKN]

I neither fear, nor bash, technology. I’ve been an early adopter on many tech fronts. So, please, leave me out of that broad brush stroke.

But, let’s keep running those numbers you brought up. There are roughly 3,000 Chevrolet and GMC dealers in the US.

@GMBoy does 8-10 a month, so let’s call it, a hundred a year, at his dealership.

That’s hundreds of thousands of failures a year, if his dealership experience is representative.

Further, we know that many trucks will be repaired outside of dealerships because they’re out of warranty.

So, a few million sold - and a few hundred thousand with failures.

Not exactly a decimal point with many zeros…it’s several orders of magnitude worse. whole numbers.

Double digit whole numbers. That’s a very high failure rate. That’s a real problem.

Do you have actual stats? Because my rough math shows an awful failure rate.

The truck forums show no excessive failure rates. As you know-those who have issues are the ones that post. GM doesn't publish failure rates. Why would they? just like Fords issues with failures on the 10 speed automatic. You best protection is not to buy one-and recommend to potential buyers to do the same. I don't think ( your numbers or opinion accurate or not) will matter because GM sells a massive volume of these trucks-owners are happy.
I'm out on this topic-it's a dead horse-again.

 

[GMBoy]

I neither fear, nor bash, technology. I’ve been an early adopter on many tech fronts. So, please, leave me out of that broad brush stroke.

But, let’s keep running those numbers you brought up. There are roughly 3,000 Chevrolet and GMC dealers in the US.

@GMBoy does 8-10 a month, so let’s call it, a hundred a year, at his dealership.

That’s hundreds of thousands of failures a year, if his dealership experience is representative.

Further, we know that many trucks will be repaired outside of dealerships because they’re out of warranty.

So, a few million sold - and a few hundred thousand with failures.

Not exactly a decimal point with many zeros…it’s several orders of magnitude worse. whole numbers.

Double digit whole numbers. That’s a very high failure rate. That’s a real problem.

Do you have actual stats? Because my rough math shows an awful failure rate.

That is 8-10 at my small auto indy shop. My local dealer does about that a WEEK.

 

[demarpaint]

Perhaps what should be demanded by consumers of their elected officials, is to subject any and all EPA regs to cost/benefit analyses.
And yes I'm very serious about that. It needs to be done.
Then maybe someone can explain to me, just what is the benefit to me, in having to buy a calif emissions vehicle. Because I tell you that when it comes time to replace the cat converter, this is what I learned:
49 state $1,100
Calif emissions $3,800
now explain to me exactly what is the benefit, can you even measure it?
it is not fair, or right, for the public, to have no say what-so-ever in these issues.
I'll stop there, so as not to get political but you understand my feeling here.

Spot on! Ease up on the idiotic emission and mpg requirements and we'd have some great engines imo. And probably no change in environmental impact.

 

[That John dude]

My best friends truck (2014 Silverado 5.3L) dropped a lifter, and wiped a cam lope about a year ago.
I didn't mention this, but I work at the same dealer as my master tech. We have had some of 2019+ drop lifters, but we see way more of the 14-18 year models, and most are the 6.2.
I also see lots of 14-18 year models with well over 150k, and to our knowledge no failure of any lifters.
Some seem to run forever, and I've seen A brand new 2023 Escalade drop one with less than 1,000 miles.

 

[Soft Cars]

It's a 14 GMC Sierra with the 6.2 with 91,000 I have the afm disabled with a range obd2 plug in.

That goes to show you that you need to delete it mechanically.

 

[ls1mike]

I did it for 2000 dollars with tune and all the parts on L77 (LS based) with good parts and a performance cam. I think I could have gone cheaper. The car was rated at 355 HP to the crank and with just the cam swap I am making just at 400 to the wheels. Go to Brian Tooley Racing (BTR) and buy any of their kits for your truck. Any competent local shop will do it for around 3000 to 5000 dollars. I have never seen a dealer in this area charge more than 6000. Which is still pricey in my book.

Just electronically disabling the AFM will not prevent the failure. It is the actual AFM lifters that fail.

It is going to be hard to get a number of actual failures as there is no rhyme or reason to it. The guy I work with did the delete on his 2014 Silverado with 160,000 miles on it with all the original valvetrain still intact. I have seen police Caprices go 12,000 engine hours on the original components. I have seen others fail at 80,000 miles.

 

[LouC]

Spot on! Ease up on the idiotic emission and mpg requirements and we'd have some great engines imo. And probably no change in environmental impact.

That’s been my point for years. We’ve heard Gore & now Kerry howling about saving the environment; what we don’t hear is how much benefit we are getting, is it going to make a difference & at what cost? Why do you think the less affluent nations are pushing back against the wealthier nations climate policies initiatives? What gets lost in all the rhetoric is the big picture & the law of unintended consequences.

 

[dja4260]

As an owner of a truck with the 5.3 and AFM, this issue bothers me! There doesn't really appear to be any particular reason for a lifter to collapse...I'll continue changing the oil every 5k and keep my fingers crossed!

I'm sorry that you're dealing with this...

 

[That John dude]

I did it for 2000 dollars with tune and all the parts on L77 (LS based) with good parts and a performance cam. I think I could have gone cheaper. The car was rated at 355 HP to the crank and with just the cam swap I am making just at 400 to the wheels. Go to Brian Tooley Racing (BTR) and buy any of their kits for your truck. Any competent local shop will do it for around 3000 to 5000 dollars. I have never seen a dealer in this area charge more than 6000. Which is still pricey in my book.

Just electronically disabling the AFM will not prevent the failure. It is the actual AFM lifters that fail.

It is going to be hard to get a number of actual failures as there is no rhyme or reason to it. The guy I work with did the delete on his 2014 Silverado with 160,000 miles on it with all the original valvetrain still intact. I have seen police Caprices go 12,000 engine hours on the original components. I have seen others fail at 80,000 miles.

Unfortunately I don't have $2,000 to throw at it rn. But I plan to get it running tomorrow at the end of work, and start buying pieces to do the afm delete. I get employee pricing on OEM parts, so it won't be a terrible price to get it going rn.

 

[That John dude]

As an owner of a truck with the 5.3 and AFM, this issue bothers me! There doesn't really appear to be any particular reason for a lifter to collapse...I'll continue changing the oil every 5k and keep my fingers crossed!

I'm sorry that you're dealing with this...

I've seen many go a long time without issues, and some drop a lifter within 1,000 miles. I change my oil every 4-5k also. The 6.2 seems more prone to failure from what our shop has seen.

 

[clinebarger]

Would I need a tune with that kit? Or just slap it in, and go?
Sorry for all the questions I just want to do it correctly the first time.

The Texas Speed & Performance L86 DOD delete cam does not require tuning, But does require you to block the AFM passages in the block & keep the Range Disabler on it at all times.

 

[That John dude]

The Texas Speed & Performance L86 DOD delete cam does not require tuning, But does require you to block the AFM passages in the block & keep the Range Disabler on it at all times.

Thanks for the info!

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

That is a false statement. It is so absurd (unlike you I may add) that I am not even going to argue it or provide links.

No need to, even if it’s “fractional” as you imply, with millions of vehicles with this “technology”, there are literally tens of thousands of various levels of failure (ticking, frozen/destroyed lifters, lunched cam lobes, and even entire engines lost) yet both GM and Chrysler have elected to shrug their shoulders and say “Sorry, it’s a supplier issue”

Meanwhile, at a guesstimated average of $3k for pure OEM repairs, a conservative total would be somewhere between $30M and $300M (just for GM!), mostly out of consumer pocket. In reality, manufacturers would be far ahead on both CAFE and reliability to chop 500lbs from the vehicle and ditch cylinder deactivation(CD) altogether.

Can you point to a single CD application that doesn’t create more problems and costs for the consumer vs. the “plain” engine without it? GM, Chrysler, Honda…. The list goes on and on for failed parts and/or class action lawsuits for a couple tenths of a MPG to please CAFE.

 

[John105]

No need to, even if it’s “fractional” as you imply, with millions of vehicles with this “technology”, there are literally tens of thousands of various levels of failure (ticking, frozen/destroyed lifters, lunched cam lobes, and even entire engines lost) yet both GM and Chrysler have elected to shrug their shoulders and say “Sorry, it’s a supplier issue”

Meanwhile, at a guesstimated average of $3k for pure OEM repairs, a conservative total would be somewhere between $30M and $300M (just for GM!), mostly out of consumer pocket. In reality, manufacturers would be far ahead on both CAFE and reliability to chop 500lbs from the vehicle and ditch cylinder deactivation(CD) altogether.

Can you point to a single CD application that doesn’t create more problems and costs for the consumer vs. the “plain” engine without it? GM, Chrysler, Honda…. The list goes on and on for failed parts and/or class action lawsuits for a couple tenths of a MPG to please CAFE.

There are various examples of GM (probably no certainly other mfgs as well) shrugging their shoulders. The days are waning due to the deployment of LED, but approximately 1995-2013, does anyone remember the days of GM vehicles going down the road with 1 DRL only and the other burned out? And it wasn't the bulb, it was the socket. There was a TSB stating if customer complains, replace the 3157 bulb with a 4114. Anyone who stayed awake during HS physics remembers v=ir, so putting in a higher wattage 4114 bulb isn't exactly an Einstein move, when heat was the culprit. On our car, we started using 3157 LED bulbs that cost $2 each. They go bad due to vibration, and then I replace again. But it's better than having burned out sockets which was happening with the standard 3157 27W bulbs. If GM didn't correct the issue for that many years, on a light bulb, there must be many other cases of this behavior. It's too bad, but as consumers, there's not a lot we can do to move the needle. I am a GM fanboy, so let's get that out of the way in case anyone is listening

p.s. on our car I replaced the sockets on both sides, they were brown from the heat. Then, back then, I was into measuring and verifying--the 3157 LED bulbs are 3.7 watts as opposed to the standard 27, or the 31 of the 4114s. So brighter and cooler was accomplished, just that the LEDs start flickering maybe 8-12 mos later. At $2 ea I am OK with replacing them--I buy a 10 pack for $18-$20.

 

[LouC]

No need to, even if it’s “fractional” as you imply, with millions of vehicles with this “technology”, there are literally tens of thousands of various levels of failure (ticking, frozen/destroyed lifters, lunched cam lobes, and even entire engines lost) yet both GM and Chrysler have elected to shrug their shoulders and say “Sorry, it’s a supplier issue”

Meanwhile, at a guesstimated average of $3k for pure OEM repairs, a conservative total would be somewhere between $30M and $300M (just for GM!), mostly out of consumer pocket. In reality, manufacturers would be far ahead on both CAFE and reliability to chop 500lbs from the vehicle and ditch cylinder deactivation(CD) altogether.

Can you point to a single CD application that doesn’t create more problems and costs for the consumer vs. the “plain” engine without it? GM, Chrysler, Honda…. The list goes on and on for failed parts and/or class action lawsuits for a couple tenths of a MPG to please CAFE.

Which is why the EPA must be dis-armed from their unilateral ability to dictate policy & regulations with no oversight, no accountability, and no ability of the public to question them. That friends is not democracy!
My fantasy if I am able to realize it is to buy only vehicles untouched by these restrictive regulations. Just like my inboard Chevy powered boat.

 

[The motor guy]

Which is why the EPA must be dis-armed from their unilateral ability to dictate policy & regulations with no oversight, no accountability, and no ability of the public to question them. That friends is not democracy!
My fantasy if I am able to realize it is to buy only vehicles untouched by these restrictive regulations. Just like my inboard Chevy powered boat.

The clean air act was passed in 1990 so this is all part of this. So I guess we voted for it in some way.

 

[LouC]

I don’t believe we voted for an unelected EPA to have complete & unquestioned control over either fuel economy or exhaust emissions.

 

[The motor guy]

I don’t believe we voted for an unelected EPA to have complete & unquestioned control over either fuel economy or exhaust emissions.

Good point. The government does that part

 

[OVERKILL]

Not sure what to think. I have read everything about cam/lifter problems on late model Hemis and never got a definitive explanation cause or solution. Mines been fine but it’s the early pre VVT version.

It was the roller/pin on the HEMI lifters in the vast majority of cases, which is why the lifters were revised like 8 times and the current version has much larger rollers and is claimed to have solved the problem.