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2008 5.3l AFM "Blown" Lifters & Camshaft $$$$
September 5th, 2014, 8:20 PM
#71
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How many miles were on your 2008? I have a 2008 Burb with 170,000, has the 5.3 with AFM oil burn issue. I've just been monitoring it, stays pretty constant at about 1 qt every 2000 miles. so every 3000k I just add the .5 quart leftover in my 6qt container. I'm near the bottom of the hash marks at oil change time.
September 8th, 2014, 8:32 AM
#72
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I usually put in about 5.5 quarts, gets me to the top of the hash marks. I let it drain for a good hour almost, starting with a warm engine. That leaves me with .5 quart in my 6 quart container.. I add that at about 1500 miles into the oil change.
This works for my average of around town/two trips I'll make during the interval. If I go on vacation, then I add oil much sooner.
This works for my average of around town/two trips I'll make during the interval. If I go on vacation, then I add oil much sooner.
September 29th, 2014, 11:26 AM
#73
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2007 GMC seirra 1500 sle
My 5.3 "M" AFM engine was rebuilt by dealer ship after oil consumption test and splash shields were done on valve cover. They said they had to do the steps that GM requested before they could rebuild. well they rebuilt finally at about 100,000 miles and many trips back and forth to dealership. they gave a 36,000 mile warranty on it after they rebuilt. now truck has 150,000 and the engine has a bad miss and they are telling me the lifters have failed and will need to be replaced and it is going to cost me 4000.00 to repair. I have always been a GM truck man. I had a 2000 that had almost 300,000 on the 5.3 engine and never had trouble from it. This is a engineering issues with these engines and I think that GM should recall and stand behind there product. IF they don't they are going to lose a lot of customers.
September 30th, 2014, 12:50 PM
#74
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After I purchased my suburban with this engine, knowing it had some oil consumption issues, I have kept track of the oil level for the past 10 k miles. The chart below is a summary of these findings.
Purpose:
1. This test was conducted to learn more about rate of oil consumption in the GM 5.3L engines with active fuel management (disabled during the test, but was active for the prior 100,000 miles).
2. To determine if a seafoam treatment prior to oil change provides any reduction in oil consumption.
Notes:
1. This test has been conducted between 2/9/2014 and 9/30/2014 in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Engine had 100,000 miles on it at the beginning of the test. It received new spark plugs at that time. It is using a tuner to disable the AFM system throughout the test. No changes were made throught out test.
2. Oil was added to the engine in 1/2 quart incriments as needed (typically when it reached 5 qts) to keep the level in the appropriate range. This oil is removed from the above chart values to show a clear depiction of what the oil level would do if not maintained.
3. At each oil change, exactly 6 quarts of oil was added with a new filter. However this would read on the dipstick as 6 1/8 quarts due to residual left in the engine.
4. The same full synthetic oil and filter were used at each oil change.
5. 1/2 can of Seafoam was added to the crank case and the engine idled for 5 minutes prior to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd intervals. No seafoam used prior to 4th interval.
Conclusion:
1. The OEM oil change % indicator is basically worthless. Partway through the 3rd interval it finally told me to change my oil for the first time. At that point the engine would have contained less than 2.5 quarts of oil (unless the low oil indicator had warned me first). The oil change % indicator simply does not account for an engine that burns oil. It was designed for an engine that does not burn any oil.
2. The 5.3L engine with active fuel management clearly burns a significant amount of oil. Obviously some engines will burn more than others, but the best advice is to keep an eye on it. At a minimum, check it at 1,500 miles and change the oil at 3,000 miles. You will develop a feel for when your particular engine will need that extra oil dumped in. In my case I know at first I had to add a full quart between changes, but later I would add a 1/2 qt at 1,500 miles and it was due for another 1/2 qt at 3,000 miles when i changed the oil.
3. From my observations, it appears that the seafoam treatment prior to dumping the old oil did provide some limited cleaning ability around the cylinders and pistons. After 3 successive treatments, I had reduced the oil consumption at 3,000 miles from 1.75 qts to 1.0 qt. The 4th interval did not get the seafoam, and it is on track to burn slightly more oil than the 3rd interval.
Further Investigation:
1. I will continue to monitor oil levels, but will switch to a full seafoam can treatment at each oil change.
Purpose:
1. This test was conducted to learn more about rate of oil consumption in the GM 5.3L engines with active fuel management (disabled during the test, but was active for the prior 100,000 miles).
2. To determine if a seafoam treatment prior to oil change provides any reduction in oil consumption.
Notes:
1. This test has been conducted between 2/9/2014 and 9/30/2014 in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. Engine had 100,000 miles on it at the beginning of the test. It received new spark plugs at that time. It is using a tuner to disable the AFM system throughout the test. No changes were made throught out test.
2. Oil was added to the engine in 1/2 quart incriments as needed (typically when it reached 5 qts) to keep the level in the appropriate range. This oil is removed from the above chart values to show a clear depiction of what the oil level would do if not maintained.
3. At each oil change, exactly 6 quarts of oil was added with a new filter. However this would read on the dipstick as 6 1/8 quarts due to residual left in the engine.
4. The same full synthetic oil and filter were used at each oil change.
5. 1/2 can of Seafoam was added to the crank case and the engine idled for 5 minutes prior to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd intervals. No seafoam used prior to 4th interval.
Conclusion:
1. The OEM oil change % indicator is basically worthless. Partway through the 3rd interval it finally told me to change my oil for the first time. At that point the engine would have contained less than 2.5 quarts of oil (unless the low oil indicator had warned me first). The oil change % indicator simply does not account for an engine that burns oil. It was designed for an engine that does not burn any oil.
2. The 5.3L engine with active fuel management clearly burns a significant amount of oil. Obviously some engines will burn more than others, but the best advice is to keep an eye on it. At a minimum, check it at 1,500 miles and change the oil at 3,000 miles. You will develop a feel for when your particular engine will need that extra oil dumped in. In my case I know at first I had to add a full quart between changes, but later I would add a 1/2 qt at 1,500 miles and it was due for another 1/2 qt at 3,000 miles when i changed the oil.
3. From my observations, it appears that the seafoam treatment prior to dumping the old oil did provide some limited cleaning ability around the cylinders and pistons. After 3 successive treatments, I had reduced the oil consumption at 3,000 miles from 1.75 qts to 1.0 qt. The 4th interval did not get the seafoam, and it is on track to burn slightly more oil than the 3rd interval.
Further Investigation:
1. I will continue to monitor oil levels, but will switch to a full seafoam can treatment at each oil change.
September 30th, 2014, 2:21 PM
#75
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I have already related my past experience with this engine. Since I am disabled I cannot afford to have a truck that loses power on the highway. I had a 2009 and traded it in on a new 2014. Could not pass up the deals . With my 5 year old trade I actually lowered my payments with a new vehicle. From everything I read they reworked over the Silverado and it feels like it. In the car ads some dealers are giving 8-10 grand in some deals on the new models. That plus a trade is hard to turn down.
As an aside I don't know how they changed the interior dimensions on the 2014. I'm 6'5" and have always HAD to have my seat all the way back even in my 2009 CC. I now have to bring the seat closer. And it is not just the Silverado. I drove a new Impala that had a sunroof (I was adding a cover and the dealer lent it to me) and I could actually open it up. And when the roof was closed, I had room for a hat!
Engine wise the 2014 is really a fine vehicle. The engine kicks *** and rides even better than the old one. When you had the old one in cruise and then hit reset to accelerate, the tach went up like a formula 1 racer. This new one actually can increase 1 mile at a time. And if you hit reset from a lower MPH, it goes up to your set amount without you even realizing it.
As an aside I don't know how they changed the interior dimensions on the 2014. I'm 6'5" and have always HAD to have my seat all the way back even in my 2009 CC. I now have to bring the seat closer. And it is not just the Silverado. I drove a new Impala that had a sunroof (I was adding a cover and the dealer lent it to me) and I could actually open it up. And when the roof was closed, I had room for a hat!
Engine wise the 2014 is really a fine vehicle. The engine kicks *** and rides even better than the old one. When you had the old one in cruise and then hit reset to accelerate, the tach went up like a formula 1 racer. This new one actually can increase 1 mile at a time. And if you hit reset from a lower MPH, it goes up to your set amount without you even realizing it.
October 1st, 2014, 2:26 PM
#76
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Give it away man
My 5.3 "M" AFM engine was rebuilt by dealer ship after oil consumption test and splash shields were done on valve cover. They said they had to do the steps that GM requested before they could rebuild. well they rebuilt finally at about 100,000 miles and many trips back and forth to dealership. they gave a 36,000 mile warranty on it after they rebuilt. now truck has 150,000 and the engine has a bad miss and they are telling me the lifters have failed and will need to be replaced and it is going to cost me 4000.00 to repair. I have always been a GM truck man. I had a 2000 that had almost 300,000 on the 5.3 engine and never had trouble from it. This is a engineering issues with these engines and I think that GM should recall and stand behind there product. IF they don't they are going to lose a lot of customers.
Well, welcome to my world. After the $4K+ fix, I traded my '08 Silverado in on a '12 RAM and am so glad I did. Didn't realize how much more power the 5.7L Hemi has than the 5.3L oil consuming, lifter failing, GM motor. I know they've already lost at least one customer over this issue. Sayonara baby.
October 2nd, 2014, 7:52 PM
#77
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5.3 AFM excessive oil consumption (2007-2009 vehicles)
Excessive oil consumption on the 5.3 V8 with AFM was a hot topic about 3 years ago. The deny-ers cannot revise the truth about how GM really screwed lots of Americans with either too soft piston rings or a bad AFM design.
The out of warranty cost to replace a 5.3 AFM engine at a GM dealer is about $6500. And, they have you over the barrel! You either pay it, or trade it in on another $40+K pickup.
Lots of complaints on CARCOMPLAINTS.COM indicate the problem starts at about 50-65k miles. My recommendation, is to get a new engine, and have a "tune modification" to stop AFM from activation. Yes, it voids the engine warranty on the new engine, but it will likely re-occur if AFM is allowed to activate. I bought a used 2006 5.3 Suburban...just to avoid the AFM problem.
I have great sympathy for those who have found themselves in this situation. I will never purchase a new GM again because I don't trust them. If they royally screwed Americans once, they will do it again. A $40+k truck should last more than 100K before it is ready for the boneyard.
The out of warranty cost to replace a 5.3 AFM engine at a GM dealer is about $6500. And, they have you over the barrel! You either pay it, or trade it in on another $40+K pickup.
Lots of complaints on CARCOMPLAINTS.COM indicate the problem starts at about 50-65k miles. My recommendation, is to get a new engine, and have a "tune modification" to stop AFM from activation. Yes, it voids the engine warranty on the new engine, but it will likely re-occur if AFM is allowed to activate. I bought a used 2006 5.3 Suburban...just to avoid the AFM problem.
I have great sympathy for those who have found themselves in this situation. I will never purchase a new GM again because I don't trust them. If they royally screwed Americans once, they will do it again. A $40+k truck should last more than 100K before it is ready for the boneyard.
October 3rd, 2014, 12:04 PM
#78
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If I were looking at a truck, I would have seriously considered other options and probably purchased the ram. But we need the full size SUV, so other than the suburban, options are very limited. The expedition and the tundra are both terribly uncomfortable and the interior layout is annoying - need more cup holders and storage.
October 14th, 2014, 11:42 AM
#79
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I just had this issue with my 2008 Tahoe with 60,000 miles on it, the number 6 cam went and had to repair the lifters and engine at a cost of $4700. I had contacted GM for help since the warranty is up and I have been dealing with this for over 3 weeks and today they tell me NO. I'm not asking for a full refund I'm just asking for a little help as I read all over the message boards this is an issue. I even got them the service bulliten the dealership used to fix it and they said well that's not a recall it is just used as a guide, which I understand but there is an issue when your engine needs that much repair at 60K. I'm not sure if anyone of the Chevy Customer Service Reps could help any further, as I asked the GM lady I had been working with if there was a Supervisor I could consult about this and she told me No that GM will not help me.
October 30th, 2014, 5:28 PM
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Mine went also at 67,000 miles. Misfire on cylinder 6, lifter collapsed and destroyed cam. 4 months over the 5 year warranty but well under the mileage for warranty. Gm screwed me around for three weeks asking for service records,consulting with dealer etc and after i supplied everything they asked for they still said sorry.. no help. So I am now three weeks later and no farther ahead. No deal on new motor. NOTHING. They are basically telling me that it is acceptable that their motors only last 67,000 miles! Who would ever buy a vehicle knowing that. Well I know now. SEE YA GM. Ford and Dodge will probobly cut their sales force in half since GM is doing the job for them.