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6.2L active fuel management and lifer/cam failures.

cuervo

cuervo

Runn'n down a dream!
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So, some of you already know I pick up a 2019 Tahoe RST performance Premier this last week.

I've been told and then did some reading about 6.2s with AFM having issues with lifter and cam failures based primarily because of the AFM and possible bad oil choices. It seems to happen to most between the 100 and 150k mileage mark. I've even heard of some happening with as little as 39k.

Is this a common thing with these motors? Was there any engineering changes to help prevent this? Is there anything I can do now to help prevent it?

Thanks!
 
friend has a ls engine denali suv with around 50k miles and its got a right side engine lifter tick .

lots of reading on the forums a lot say QUALITY oil and reg service changes and 1 qrt synthetic lucus oil stabilizer .

its been over a week now i will have to ask how loud it is now .

edit : he just texted me back . . . . its at the dealer under full warranty service getting the upper half re-done for the noise . there is 1 or 2 TSB orders out for this .
 
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Thanks! Sorry to hear about his troubles. Is there a site that has GM's TSBs for online viewing?
 
We haven't seen the afm issues. But I will say based on the way the afm system works it is highly dependent on clean oil. The stupid oil life monitor gives a driver the idea they can go 8-10k on oil changes. Even with the Dexos full synthetic oil they need the size of the filter is small. They can only trap so much over long mileage intervals. Run long on every oil change and I'll guarantee you'll have problems with the afm system and vvt system. Usually comes in near 100k. Seen in on vvt 3.6l v6 engines by the bucketload.

Pro tip- Change the damn oil on a regular basis. 5-6k for mileage. Always use Dexos oil or a Dexos approved substitute. Mobil 1 is rated, but since the gm oil is full synthetic it's what I'd go with. Oh it holds 8 quarts too. So be ready when the time comes. It ain't a $29.95 oil change anymore.
 
I have 22,000 miles on my GMC pick-up, just had the 4th oil and filter change done at GM. The oil is so damn clean it's really hard to read on the dipstick...but I aim to keep it that way. They charge $79 for the full synthetic 8 quart oil change here, which isn't too terrible IMO. I only drive about 10-12K per year and even if I wanted to do it myself I'd spend almost as much buying the oil and filters etc.
 
ZooMad75 said:
We haven't seen the afm issues. But I will say based on the way the afm system works it is highly dependent on clean oil. The stupid oil life monitor gives a driver the idea they can go 8-10k on oil changes. Even with the Dexos full synthetic oil they need the size of the filter is small. They can only trap so much over long mileage intervals. Run long on every oil change and I'll guarantee you'll have problems with the afm system and vvt system. Usually comes in near 100k. Seen in on vvt 3.6l v6 engines by the bucketload.

Pro tip- Change the damn oil on a regular basis. 5-6k for mileage. Always use Dexos oil or a Dexos approved substitute. Mobil 1 is rated, but since the gm oil is full synthetic it's what I'd go with. Oh it holds 8 quarts too. So be ready when the time comes. It ain't a $29.95 oil change anymore.
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I did look at the filter last night and yes, that thing is way too small and with the cross member there's no way to install a longer filter. I wonder if any one makes a remote oil filter kit for them yet.


tRustyK5 said:
I have 22,000 miles on my GMC pick-up, just had the 4th oil and filter change done at GM. The oil is so damn clean it's really hard to read on the dipstick...but I aim to keep it that way. They charge $79 for the full synthetic 8 quart oil change here, which isn't too terrible IMO. I only drive about 10-12K per year and even if I wanted to do it myself I'd spend almost as much buying the oil and filters etc.
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Thanks for the info. I was just looking for the ACDelco 10-9232 0-20wt full synthetic online and it runs $13 a quart so that x8 plus a filter runs about $111. If the dealer can do it for $80 that might be my ticket.
 
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I've been doing more reading and it seems that using low quality oils or using dexso approved oils but extending the change interval lead to this failure. The added note was using AC Delco dexos oil and then using the in car oil life monitor as the change interval. This oil life monitor can push oil changes out to 7,500+ miles and one guy had it go to 10k on an oil change.

This sounds bad no matter how you slice it. I figure 3 to 5k no matter your driving style is max. Even at $100 a pop it's cheap insurance.

How many of you remember the old filter commercial, you can pay me now or you can pay me later?
 
centexk5 said:
Or do what I did and disable the AFM and DOD with a tune.
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I'm pretty sure a tune will void the warranty. But, I was looking at the Range AFM disabler. It's just a plug in ODB device that tell the computer there is always a 25% or greater load on the vehicle. I'm waiting on an email to see if it supports the L86 with the 10L90 trans.
 
Oh it will. But it solves the problem.

For the record, my 5.3 had a 116k miles on it and no issues with the AFM or DOD or catch can before I tuned it out. While there are issues, change your oil regularly and use quality stuff and you should be fine.
 
Not sure if my wife's denali has it. It's a 2008 Yukon XL denali. It's got the 6.2L. We got it with about 144k and its over 197k now. I'm not great on oil changes. I shoot for 5k but sometimes it runs over by a few thousand before I get to it. It runs good with no issues other than I'm pretty sure it's had a broken motor mount the whole time we've owned it, LOL. It does seem a little noisy on start-up before the oil gets ran though everything. I better start being better and running better oil since this thing needs to last a few more years.
 
Well, learned something new this morning, from the tech people at Range, makers of the AFM disabler.

The 2019 6.2L w/10 spd trans doesn't have AFM but has DFM, dynamic fuel management. Probably the same **** with a different name. The Range disabler wont work with our Tahoe.

edit - I'm not entirely sure if this is correct. My VIN RPO code shows L86 and not L87, the L87 is the DFM.
 
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I have a 2016 L86 with the 8L90 and I change the oil every 5K with full synthetic, either Mobil 1 or Pennzoil Platinum. If you buy at the right time you can get 5 quarts with a $13 filter(Purolator Boss or Mobil 1) for ~$30. I just buy 5 sets, which is enough for 3 oil changes(I use 8-8.5 quarts) and you have two filters left over (I just get some old BBC filters then for the other stuff).

Anyway, I had read that the 2019s had the DFM, which is not the same as AFM where they run on either 4 or 8 cylinders, DFM can actually run on just 1 cylinder at times. I don't know if it actually runs on 2, 4, 8 or what, but they have to do something because I would think running on any odd number of cylinders would cause the engine firing pulses to run out of balance and it might not feel right, so I am not entirely sure of the details and I don't believe everything I read there. I just know it is definitely different than the AFM from 2014 up until the DFM started. I think the version before 2014, was more prone to the problem, but I know people that never had issues with there's even at 200k. So just change the oil often.

I'll tell you this, if I put it on the trip or ecomomy where it has the little V8 symbol in the dash display, it will change from a red V8 symbol to a green V4 symbol when it converts. So if it does that I would guess its AFM, and if it doesn't then who knows?
 
folkenheath said:
I have a 2016 L86 with the 8L90 and I change the oil every 5K with full synthetic, either Mobil 1 or Pennzoil Platinum. If you buy at the right time you can get 5 quarts with a $13 filter(Purolator Boss or Mobil 1) for ~$30. I just buy 5 sets, which is enough for 3 oil changes(I use 8-8.5 quarts) and you have two filters left over (I just get some old BBC filters then for the other stuff).
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Where are you buying the oil and filters? How many miles to you have on your 2016? Any issues with it?

I'm not above buying the AC Delco Dexos oil at $13 a qt. I've heard Ams oil is a good synthetic to replace the dexos
 
you can get a 5 quart container of Mobile1 at wallyworld for $25sh. That's what I run in the SRT.
 
cuervo said:
Where are you buying the oil and filters? How many miles to you have on your 2016? Any issues with it?

I'm not above buying the AC Delco Dexos oil at $13 a qt. I've heard Ams oil is a good synthetic to replace the dexos
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Last time I looked Delco Dexos was a synthetic blend, did they change that? I prefer full synthetic, and both Mobil 1 and Penzoil Platinum are Dexos approved.

I wait until they have the sales at Advance Auto Parts, or sometimes O'Reilly. Occasionally they have the 5 quart jug with filter deal. And it includes the better filters with the full synthetic. I buy 5 jugs and it usually lasts me a while and they have the sale again before I need it. Saves me money on filters for the other rides too since I get 2 extra.

I only have less than 30k on it. The only issue I have ever had with it that popped up recently is the torque converter shutter, I need to take it in to see if the warranty flush fixes it or if they will need to replace the torque converter, the powertrain is 5 year warranty. You have the 10L90, hopefully they finally fixed that issue, seems a little ridiculous to me. We have two 2016s and a 2018 8L90 between myself, father and brother in law, and all 3 of them have done it at some point. The dealer has said the latest fluid will fix it, we'll see, I need to schedule it.
 
Not sure on the AC Delco, I thought that was the recommended stuff from GM. It seems dexos 1, Gen2 is the spec requirement now.

I read about the trans stutter as well. Something like ULV is the new stuff for them. Of course it said AC Delco ULV for it.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
Dexos oil went full synthetic back in '13 or '14.

The DI engines have been out for 5 years now. I've got customers bringing trucks now that are 5 yrs old and over 100k with zero issues because they change the oil regularly, not waiting for the oil life monitor to tell them.

Also, afm on the DI systems don't seem to behave as rough as the older system. Driving our 18 1500 shop truck I don't even notice it working unless I have the screen set to watch what mode it's in.
 
ZooMad75 said:
Dexos oil went full synthetic back in '13 or '14.

The DI engines have been out for 5 years now. I've got customers bringing trucks now that are 5 yrs old and over 100k with zero issues because they change the oil regularly, not waiting for the oil life monitor to tell them.

Also, afm on the DI systems don't seem to behave as rough as the older system. Driving our 18 1500 shop truck I don't even notice it working unless I have the screen set to watch what mode it's in.
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Thanks for the info,it's funny the varying info you get. When my wife bought her acadia in 2017 they told me Dexos was a blend when I asked, so I just assumed it still was, but apparently they didn't know what they were talking about.

I do run a oil catch can in the PCV hose on mine because the DI motors don't ever get the fuel on the back of the intake valve, so I thought it might help prevent carbon buildup(I could see oil pudding in the intake behind the throttle body when I installed it at 1400 miles). I wouldn't bother if it was MPFI. Do you see any of that with the higher mileage motors or what's the latest verdict on the 2014 and later models? When I bought it 3 years ago it seemed it was too early to tell.
 
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