Yet another oil question 5.3l afm

Farmingdales Finest · October 14, 2014

The Friday before last I had an issue with my 2007 Yukon XL. Attached is the link http://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/165420-bb-tune-range-tech-and-oil-consumption-07-53l/.

So I have had my truck back for a week and put 237 miles on it. In the last week since the engine flush and oil change by my mechanic my truck has noticeably more low end torque and on the DIC it showed I picked up .8mpg over my average. I checked the oil when I picked it up and it was full to the top line and now it's showing the bottom 3 of 5 holes on the dipstick having oil in them. This seems excessive even with a truck that has been burning a quart per 1000 miles.

How much Oil does this equate too? Is it too late to do the Range Tech. Module to disconnect the AFM? Am I looking at a big repair bill shortly?

Thanks again!

Bad Bowtie2 · October 14, 2014

Smells like stuck rings in at least the AFM pistons to me.... =(

butzers09silverado · October 14, 2014

stuck oil ring

Farmingdales Finest · October 14, 2014

Smells like stuck rings in at least the AFM pistons to me.... =(

For a non mechanic what does this mean in plain English? Am I going to need to replace the engine or something less serious?

butzers09silverado · October 14, 2014

another guy was just talking about this and it sounds like about a $2,000 job to replace all the lifters so it'll be more than that to try and free up the rings. if you're lucky they can do it by just removing the heads and soaking the heck out of the pistons but you're basically, going to be rebuilding the engine and buying all new parts except for the crank, cam, pistons (if you're lucky) bearings, heads, intake and externals. You'd be better off getting a scrap yard 5.3 engine and doing the AFM delete.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cmb-09-0026

Farmingdales Finest · October 14, 2014

another guy was just talking about this and it sounds like about a $2,000 job to replace all the lifters so it'll be more than that to try and free up the rings. if you're lucky they can do it by just removing the heads and soaking the heck out of the pistons but you're basically, going to be rebuilding the engine and buying all new parts except for the crank, cam, pistons (if you're lucky) bearings, heads, intake and externals. You'd be better off getting a scrap yard 5.3 engine and doing the AFM delete.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/cmb-09-0026

Please forgive me for my ignorance. Approximately what is the cost for a scrap yard engine?

Also curious I never had any codes thrown, My oil Pressure is reading 60psi while underway and 40 at idle. All of my gauges are reading normal. Shouldn't I see some difference?

butzers09silverado · October 15, 2014

I've heard around $2,000, but i'd drive that thing until it gave up.

Folically Challengjed · October 15, 2014

Your oil consumption is excessive: the GM spec is 1 qt in 2,000 miles (and I think even that is excessive). Unfortunately, you're out of the 5 year/100K mile power train warranty, so GM won't pay to fix it.

They chased my oil consumption for quite a while in my 07 Yukon XL (5.3L, LC9 engine). They had the motor out a total of 3 times, and it wasn't until they replaced the pistons & rings (at 75K miles) that it quit drinkin' oil.

Were I in your shoes, I'm not sure which way I'd go. You could buy an awful lot of oil for $2,100. Even at a ridiculous $6/qt., and at 1,000 miles per qt., that $2,100 would take you another 350,000 miles. But that assumes the consumption doesn't worsen, and that another part of the engine doesn't fail, and that the oil being sent out the exhaust doesn't ruin your catalytic converters.

My gut would lean hard toward replacing the whole engine, if I really wanted to keep the truck.

Let us know how it goes.

FC

Farmingdales Finest · October 15, 2014

Your oil consumption is excessive: the GM spec is 1 qt in 2,000 miles (and I think even that is excessive). Unfortunately, you're out of the 5 year/100K mile power train warranty, so GM won't pay to fix it.

They chased my oil consumption for quite a while in my 07 Yukon XL (5.3L, LC9 engine). They had the motor out a total of 3 times, and it wasn't until they replaced the pistons & rings (at 75K miles) that it quit drinkin' oil.

Were I in your shoes, I'm not sure which way I'd go. You could buy an awful lot of oil for $2,100. Even at a ridiculous $6/qt., and at 1,000 miles per qt., that $2,100 would take you another 350,000 miles. But that assumes the consumption doesn't worsen, and that another part of the engine doesn't fail, and that the oil being sent out the exhaust doesn't ruin your catalytic converters.

My gut would lean hard toward replacing the whole engine, if I really wanted to keep the truck.

Let us know how it goes.

FC

I love the truck overall and will likely replace the engine. Not sure when, unfortunately money is super tight right now. My wife lost her job over a year ago and has only been able to get temp work that pays less than half of what she made before and to make maters worse the temp job she had runs out today.

I hope I can get by for a bit before it completely craps out.

butzers09silverado · October 16, 2014

You could try to seafoam it a few a times, and run seafoam in your fuel and maybe it'll break lose the rings, but seafoam isn't cheap.

MaverickZ71 · October 16, 2014

1) Install the deflector in your oil pan and the revised valve cover with the altered pcv orifice. This is GM's first-line fix for the common AFM oil-usage problem. Your GM dealer with know the part numbers.

2) Turn off the AFM function electronically with a Range V8 module or tune.

3) Install an oil catch can in your PCV system.

4) Run a cleaning cycle or two of AutoRX in your motor oil, and subsequent maintenance cycles, to free the 'stuck' oil control rings on your pistons.

5) Run some Chevron Techron Fuel System Cleaner in your fuel tank to help clean up your oil-fouled spark plugs (or change to new plugs).

6) If it is still using oil after doing all of the above, you'll have to have the cylinder heads pulled, and new pistons (with new rings) installed. It would be best to mechanically remove the AFM function at this time by installing a new cam and non-AFM lifters. In my opinion, there would be nothing gained by getting a junkyard replacement engine, as it may have more problems than your current engine has.

Details on all of these steps can be found in this forum. Good luck, and keep us posted.

Farmingdales Finest · October 16, 2014

You could try to seafoam it a few a times, and run seafoam in your fuel and maybe it'll break lose the rings, but seafoam isn't cheap.

$11 per bottle of Seafoam sounds cheap compared to a rebuilt or new engine.

Farmingdales Finest · October 16, 2014

1) Install the deflector in your oil pan and the revised valve cover with the altered pcv orifice. This is GM's first-line fix for the common AFM oil-usage problem. Your GM dealer with know the part numbers.

2) Turn off the AFM function electronically with a Range V8 module or tune.

3) Install an oil catch can in your PCV system.

4) Run a cleaning cycle or two of AutoRX in your motor oil, and subsequent maintenance cycles, to free the 'stuck' oil control rings on your pistons.

5) Run some Chevron Techron Fuel System Cleaner in your fuel tank to help clean up your oil-fouled spark plugs (or change to new plugs).

6) If it is still using oil after doing all of the above, you'll have to have the cylinder heads pulled, and new pistons (with new rings) installed. It would be best to mechanically remove the AFM function at this time by installing a new cam and non-AFM lifters. In my opinion, there would be nothing gained by getting a junkyard replacement engine, as it may have more problems than your current engine has.

Details on all of these steps can be found in this forum. Good luck, and keep us posted.

Thanks for the info!

butzers09silverado · October 17, 2014

the advantage of a junkyard engine, is you buy it with the explicit intent to rebuild it, and drive the one you have and swap them out on a weekend.... then sell the one out of your truck or keep it for parts whatever.

while the advice is good, if I'm the pulling the oil pan off to install the deflector and pulling the skid plates etc... i'm going under the truck once and that is to unbolt the exhaust, the ujoint, the crossmember bolt, and whatever else to yank it out cause i sure is hell ain't going under there again if it doesn't work.

Farmingdales Finest · October 25, 2014

Ok so now I am even more confused than I was when I first posted 10 days ago.

I check the oil this morning and after having to put in 1/2 quart only 7 days after getting the flush and oil change, today it is still at the full line with more than double the mileage of my first post.

Does this mean the people that said I have stuck rings were right and since they have have become unstuck?