Grumpy Bear

GM part # 22579564. 20 mm fender plugs. They cost about $3.50 each. There are six in the rear inner fender area over the spot welded seam. Now installed with RTV black after clean up with solvent. This is the box area trucks love to rust. No wonder. Built in 'salt funnels' with interior 'trap lip' built in. Deaver Spring is behind on orders several weeks. Still waiting. Still getting assurance.

45K and zip for motor or trans. 4.3 V-6 Replaced pinion seal though.

1080.4 hours for 43,283 miles = 40 mph. If the motor is running it's moving. I'm not a fast driver. I am a steady driver. 50-55 all day long.

GOD to ST. FRANCIS: Frank , You know all about gardens and nature. What in the world is going on down there on the planet? What happened to the dandelions, violets, milkweeds and stuff I started eons ago? I had a perfect no-maintenance garden plan. Those plants grow in any type of soil, withstand drought and multiply with abandon. The nectar from the long-lasting blossoms attracts butterflies, honey bees and flocks of songbirds. I expected to see a vast garden of colors by now. But, all I see are these green rectangles. St. FRANCIS: It's the tribes that settled there, Lord. The Suburbanites. They started calling your flowers 'weeds' and went to great lengths to kill them and replace them with grass. GOD: Grass? But, it's so boring. It's not colorful. It doesn't attract butterflies, birds and bees; only grubs and sod worms. It's sensitive to temperatures. Do these Suburbanites really want all that grass growing there? ST. FRANCIS: Apparently so, Lord. They go to great pains to grow it and keep it green. They begin each spring by fertilizing grass and poisoning any other plant that crops up in the lawn. GOD: The spring rains and warm weather probably make grass grow really fast. That must make the Suburbanites happy. ST. FRANCIS: Apparently not, Lord. As soon as it grows a little, they cut it-sometimes twice a week. GOD: They cut it? Do they then bale it like hay? ST. FRANCIS: Not exactly, Lord. Most of them rake it up and put it in bags. GOD: They bag it? Why? Is it a cash crop? Do they sell it? ST. FRANCIS: No, Sir, just the opposite. They pay to throw it away. GOD: Now, let me get this straight. They fertilize grass so it will grow. And, when it does grow, they cut it off and pay to throw it away? ST. FRANCIS: Yes, Sir. GOD: These Suburbanites must be relieved in the summer when we cut back on the rain and turn up the heat. That surely slows the growth and saves them a lot of work. ST. FRANCIS: You aren't going to believe this, Lord. When the grass stops growing so fast, they drag out hoses and pay more money to water it, so they can continue to mow it and pay to get rid of it. GOD: What nonsense. At least they kept some of the trees. That was a sheer stroke of genius, if I do say so myself. The trees grow leaves in the spring to provide beauty and shade in the summer. In the autumn, they fall to the ground and form a natural blanket to keep moisture in the soil and protect the trees and bushes. It's a natural cycle of life. ST. FRANCIS: You better sit down, Lord. The Suburbanites have drawn a new circle. As soon as the leaves fall, they rake them into great piles and pay to have them hauled away. GOD: No!? What do they do to protect the shrub and tree roots in the winter to keep the soil moist and loose? ST. FRANCIS: After throwing away the leaves, they go out and buy something which they call mulch. They haul it home and spread it around in place of the leaves. GOD: And where do they get this mulch? ST. FRANCIS: They cut down trees and grind them up to make the mulch. GOD: Enough! I don't want to think about this anymore. St. Catherine, you're in charge of the arts. What movie have you scheduled for us tonight? ST. CATHERINE: 'Dumb and Dumber', Lord. It's a story about.... GOD: Never mind, I think I just heard the whole story from St. Francis.

Finally got a repair order validation number from Jet to repair/replace the 180 F thermostat. Shipping it off this week. Investigating a 192 F replacement. Still waiting on Deaver. Gave Scott a poke today. We are a week over due. 26.5 MPG is the new life time average. 24 tank average now 27.6 and six tank average a stunning 28 mpg Part of that a 1021 mile run that averaged 29.1 mpg. Yes mostly Interstate running. Closing in on a running 27 mpg average. And it’s getting easier to do. But fun time is coming to a seasonal close. Fall is our second windy season and temps are falling like leaves. I expect tank over tank to take a hit soon and hard. If and when we get this suspension done...ha-ha…I have two more planned projects on slow simmer. A regear and a tire and maybe a wheel change. All moves intended to help efficiency. We’ll see. Body plugs arrived and soon the install.

Evidently we have a total file size limit per person for photo loading. Not just per photo or per thread but per person. One of those things that would have been more useful to know “YESTERDAY” as Adam Sandler said in the Wedding Singer. I was pretty intent on giving good quality photos and used high resolution for most everything. You might want to give that a thought as you build your threads. No I’m not opening a third party photo host nor am I buying another device as a work around. Well it looks as if I’ve exceed my lifetime limit. So…..I won’t be able to show photos of the suspension modifications (or anything else) and we will have to be satisfied with word pictures. I might be able to pull that off if readers can be content with radio instead of T.V. I can. I’m looking at it. That said we are still waiting on the Deaver Springs to arrive. Another week or so. Everything else is here and at the Deegan’s shop. Jason is chomping at the bit and all egger beaver. Me too. ​Different topic: Run you hand carefully behind the rear wheel well seam above the tire. You will find three holes about 21 mm each just above the spot weld area between the tub and outer skin and just above where they join. That nasty little place where salt loves to eat holes in your box. I’m sure GM has a good reason for placing them there and equally sure that the $3.48 a piece plastic plugs are not given much thought during final assembly and inspections. But are glad to sell you the replacements. I have a half dozen on order which will be glued in. Rust and corrosion protection is a relentless task.

Cracked the RPO codes for this vehicle. AE7 SEAT FRT SPLIT, DRIVER, PASS EASY ENTRY DE2 MIRROR O/S LH & RH, MANUAL CONTROL, FOLDING, COLOR JD9 BRAKE VAC POWER, 17" DISC/DISC, W/VSES, 7700 LBS RD6 WHEELS, 17" x 8" (43.2 cm x 20.3 cm) PAINTED STEEL UMN SPEEDOMETER, MILES/KILOMETERS WMF VIN MODEL YEAR 2015 7A9 COMPONENT FRT RH COMPUTER SEL SUSP (7A9) AKP GLASS, SOLOR ABSORBING EF7 COUNTRY UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (USA) KC4 COOLING SYSTEM, ENGINE OIL R5C TIRE BRAND ALL BRIDGESTONE UQ5 SPEAKER SYSTEM 4, DUAL FRT DR MTD, DUAL EXTD RGE QTR MNTD XL7 FREQUENCIES RATING 315 MHZ 8X2 PARTITION SOLID TYPE, W/CTR DOOR, TIE RINGS ALO SENSOR INDICATOR INFLATABLE RESTRAINT, FRT PASS/CHILD PRESENCE DETECTOR E63 BODY EQUIPMENT FLEETSIDE PICK-UP BOX KG4 GENERATOR 150 AMP R9N CONTROL SALES ITEM NO. 89 U2J DIGITAL AUDIO SYSTEM S-BAND "NOT INSTALLED" X88 MARKET BRAND CHEVROLET 9X2 COMPONENT RR RH NON-COMPUTER SEL SUSP AU3 LOCK CONTROL SIDE DR, ELEC FE9 CERTIFICATION EMISSION, FEDERAL K34 CRUISE CONTROL AUTOMATIC, ELECTRONIC SAF LOCK SPARE TIRE, HOIST SHAFT U73 ANTENNA FIXED, RADIO YM8 IDENTIFICATION LIMITED PERSONALIZATION OPTION /LPO AXK VEHICLE TYPE TRUCK FHS E85 FLEX FUEL CAPABLE LV3 ENGINE GAS, 6 CYL, 4.3L, GEN 5, SIDI, V6, VVT, OHV, E85 MAX, ALUM SFE LPO WHEEL LOCKS VH6 BUMPER FRT BLACK ZBZ TIRE, SPARE P255/70R17 ALL-SEASON BLACK WALL AY0 RESTRAINT SYSTEM SEAT, INFLATABLE, DRIVER & PASS, FRT & SIDE, ROOF SIDE FWI PLANT CODE FT WAYNE, IN, USA MAH MARKETING AREA NORTH AMERICA SLM SALES PROCESSING STOCK ORDERS VJG BUMPER RR BLACK ZY1 COLOR COMBINATION SOLID A60 TAILGATE LOCKING GCN PRIMARY COLOR EXTERIOR, VICTORY RED MYC 6-SPEED AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION S2B FLEET INCENTIVE DIVERSIFIED MAINTENANCE SERVICE SOUTH (TRK CKGMLST) VK3 LICENSE PLATE FRONT FRT MOUNTING PKG Z85 CHASSIS PACKAGE, INCREASED CAPACITY BG9 COVERING FLOOR RUBBER GU5 AXLE REAR 3.23 RATIO NK5 STEERING WHEEL STANDARD TG5 HEADLAMPS HALOGEN, PENCIL BEAM VRK VALUE ADDED ASM ROOF TRIM 1SZ DISCOUNT OPTION PACKAGE BWN STEPS CORNER ASSIST, BUMPER H2R INTERIOR TRIM CONFIG CLOTH, LEVEL 1, JET BLACK/DK ASH NT7 EMISSION SYSTEM FEDERAL, TIER 2 UDC DRIVER INFORMATION CENTER VT7 PROVISION OPTIONS, UNREGULATED COUNTRIES 1WT PACKAGE WT OPTION 1 C67 HVAC SYSTEM AIR CONDITIONER FRT, ELECTRONIC CONTROLS IO4 RADIO INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM - BASE WITH CONNECTIVITY N33 STEERING COLUMN TILT TYPE UE1 COMMUNICATION SYSTEM VEHICLE, G.P.S. 1 VV4 CONTAINER, STOWAGE 4D7 INTERIOR TRIM JET BLACK/DK ASH C7K GVW RATING 6,500 LBS I15 ENGINEERING YEAR 2015 RBZ Tires, P255/70R17 ALL SEASON BLACK WALL UJM TIRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM V8D VEHICLE STATEMENT US 6B1 COMPONENT FRT LH COMPUTER SEL SUSP(6B1) ​

Two products that work IMO. 1.) Meguiar's Natural Shine Vinyl and Rubber Low Gloss Protectant 2.) Rain-X Spot Free Car Wash Pepper has a raw flat black natural plastic grill, fascia and headlight surround and huge like finish mirror backs. Hot, humid summer nights it is a bug mine field around here. Combine it will make a grown man cry over the cleaning after a multi-day detailing…unless you applied the #1 product on my list and subsequently clean it with product #2. If you start killer clean then apply the protectant the cleanup is very easy. Add one ounce of Rain-X to two gallons of cold tap water. Yea, half strength. Hard or soft it doesn’t matter. Use a cheap medium nap microfiber. Like the wash cloth size you buy in a bundle at the Dollar General. Wet it in the solution and wring it out as dry as you can and wipe the bugs off like your dusting cracker crumbs off the kitchen counter. The Meguiar’s product, unlike Amoral, isn’t oily. Doesn’t attract bugs (no animal fat based antistatic) or dust. But the surface has to be very, very clean before you apply it. I use a stiff mixture of cheap pine cleaner and microfiber in warm water for that task. I use a damp microfiber to apply the Protectant as well. This may take a few applications to get an even finish as the cloth likes the product more than the plastic until it reaches some saturation point. The spray applicator makes the egg crate grill easy peasy. Light mist and a wet wipe. Do it last. Polymer science is coming along nicely. We went to dinner about sundown last night and cross a river that was teaming with bugs. Sounded like we were getting sandblasted. It was nearly midnight when we got back and took a second hit. They were worse at sundown. Next morning I groaned when I saw the nose of Pepper. Man this is going to be a two hour job I said to myself. Not!! I was done in five minutes so gave her a complete wipe down in ten more. Stunning results is a quarter of a hour. I am more happy with the ease of maintenance than the actual look, which is quite nice anyway. A win/win. On the exposed paint the Rain-X Spot Free is just that, spot free; IF you wet wipe it with the microfiber. My water is nearly 40 grain hard. It test the limits of most claims about spot free anything. Shade is still good. I haven’t tried letting it air dry without a wipe down. It is too much work to remove spots from red paint. On the 3M clear bra the same Rain-X solution works just as good at removing the bugs from it. And on Rain-X coated glass ditto. I may never use a Bounce dryer sheet again. Under hood plastic bits benefit as well from the protectant and inhibit dust collection. Nice! ​And were back to photo upload issues. Grrr.

40,000 mile report card. In a year. Really? I do love to drive. Tires are 8/32” down the middle and 7/32” on outside rows. (Original set) Brakes are 75% + on the front and 90% out back. (Original set) Lifetime economy 24.6 mpg. Last 24 tank average 27.4 mpg. Still creeping up there. Will for tens of thousands of mile yet. The nature of averages. 1000 Engine hour milestone nets 39.866 mph life time speed average. A bit quicker than the national average. Oil filter service. Purolator and Red Line 5W20. Still 5K intervals. Total detailing inside and out and even under the hood. All day event but use to take several. Refining my process and products. One new chip to repair curb side door. Minor. Dog chewed shift lever replaced. Still waiting on parts deliveries for suspension upgrades.

Data recorded every five minutes then loaded and plotted. Last number of each data set is its median value. As one would expect there is less control with what is basically a restrictor orifice than a true thermostat. Oil and water temperatures loosely follow each other and are subject to load more than ambient temperature. Load again is more than speed but is also wind and terrain plus traffic. That big up tic for example in under hood temperature is sitting in Mickey D’s. I reoriented the thermostat and it’s drillings as they address the spring seat to alter the amount flow permitted past the thermostat to raise the temperature of the water while maintaining something below 212F for an oil temperature. The earlier setting gave good oil temps but would get a bit low in the late evening and took too long to warm up. Actually fine for most of my driving but required I driver faster than desired for good economy to support fluid temperatures. This setting actually will induce the thermostat to open in certain situations. An assurance there is some back up for heavier loading. Motorad is the OEM supplier and guess what. A replacement thermostat is not availiable even from GM. What you can buy is the entire housing thermostat inclusive for just under a hundred bucks. Cheaper on eBay when available. AutoZone, NAPA etc. will let you part with a $100 if you willing to wait. NO ONE carries them in stock. These use to be two dollar parts from Stant at any mom and pop parts house in the country. Actually you can by a 2014 Ford Van E350 for under $7! Can we say GREED! I contacted JET Performance about this failed unit and they say they haven’t experienced ANY trouble with them and are willing to fix/replace this one…soon as I find my receipt. 2 year warranty on them. Under $25.

Collected last two data points to 70 mph for modified 207 F factory themostat and added to data from previous post then added to previous graph. New graph (2nd) is water & oil temps vs speed for the 180 F Jet and the modified factory 207 F thermostats. The modified unit is a definite compromise but still workable until someone can manufacture a 180 F unit that will last more than the time it takes ink to dry on the check. Less control and yet workable. Better than I expected for a drill bit and back of the envelope calculations. ​1.414 that's the multiplier that doubles the area for a given hole size. FYI.

Bell drop spindle kit came today. Parts are stacking up! Removed the thermostat and drilled a second hole of some diameter as first (7/64”) 180 degrees apart. Moved first hole from over spring end to open it more. (You can throttle one at the spring seat.) 45 mph = 175 F water 197 F oil 50 mph = 177 F water 199 F oil 55 mph = 184 F water 204 F oil 60 mph = 188 F water 208 F oil Recovery is good. Minimum water temp comes around 35 mph 163 F. Love it when it comes sooner that later. I have not tested the upper end of the scale yet. I wanted to see if it was even viable. Seems so, so now I will test further up the scale. At some point the bleeds will not be enough and the unit will open. When? That’s three for today and allot of work.

Sulastic Shackles arrive today!! Referencing post 184-188 I drilled a .1094 hole in a stock thermostat and installed. 80F day. Glad I keep a log on this site. Without bleed hole temp spikes to 215F, rebounds to 198 F and settles in between 202-207F. With bleed hole temp peaks 207F rebounds to 200F and hangs out 200-204F. No change in oil temperatures from the early post Still 218-224F in the 55 to 60 mph area. Heat up time seems unaffected. They all use to have bleed holes. What up with that? Surfing the net I find the Jet thermostat is sort of known for seal failures and that is exactly what happened here. Pulled off one side and stuck between itself and the housing holding it open then entire thickness of the gasket. I was looking for a replacement of other manufacture and found noting suitable for my range of operation. Back to square one and no worse the wear except the cost of parts and supplies…and two months research. Now I peck at the orifice size.

12th of June. That’s when I installed the Jet Performance 180F thermostat. 9th of August. That’s when it failed half way through a 460 mile trip. It’s sits in the drive awaiting my attention. Time an issue I have not done the post mortem on the part. Jet part # 10167 Duct Tape is your friend. Taping the grill opening partially closed gave me a workable temperature for the ride home. This is a major disappointment. I did not waste the opportunity to lean however. I never do. Other topic: Ran this first half at 70 mph. 200+ miles to my father’s home. 22.6 mpg I usually, as of late, have no trouble getting 28-30 mpg doing the double nickel on this trip. This difference equals 4.5 gallons of fuel. At $2.23 a gallon this is the same as tossing a five dollar bill out the window each leg of the trip. Yet as gas is higher than this it is actually more than $10. As I make this trip about 5 times a month I would literally be dumping a full tank of fuel each month. Time savings is about 20 minutes to my destination. This would be 12 tanks a year wasted. $621 a year I lite a match to driving as others fell I should. Almost what my father’s Social Security check is per month. I’ll keep the money thank you. Once and done. I'll not waste another breath in defense of moderate driving. Further Topic: King Shocks shipped today Fed Ex. Got the tracking numbers.

It's right were it always is!

Update on Suspension build bits and pieces. $2174.95 Custom Valved King Shocks/Struts/Front Coils. Confirmed invoice received $785.36 for Custom designed Deaver Springs. Shipping cost yet unknown. Manufacturing and order conformation complete. $420.50 for the Sulastic shackles, Shipping included. Shipped. $331.79 Bell Tech 2” drop spindles. Shipping included. Shipped. Total $3721.01 and adding as we go. Spindles are raw and need to be coated. Paint, powder or flash platting. Looking into that now. Scheduled completion of delivery on all parts by 9/1/2017.

Hundred in parts the other hundred labor. Silver 5.3 thanks for the assist.

You mean something like maybe his hide?

There ya go, Your photo of chew toy.

I'm having some trouble with Windows 10. Go figure. As soon as I can get one to load, okay?

Talked to Ben Brazda at length today on the telephone and we concluded our business. Three to four weeks. (Filthy Motorsports) And we have a snag. Communication breakdowns in a three way project are bound to happen. I missed that the King OEM replacements are an automatic 2” leveling lift MINIMUM to compensate for a GM geometry error that leaves the front struts way off stroke center that requires a shim pack so stiff that it would undo everything I’m trying to accomplish. The work arounds all have issues I am unwilling to deal with. This is a huge issue as the rear is 2” lower. The leaf springs are in production and too late to change the direction of that boat. It left the harbor last week. After a hour looking at all possible solutions there was one that keeps the intent and execution of the project on task. 2” dropped spindles which only resorts stock ride height but keeps the geometry perfect and the valving on target. The spring selection balanced and the truck near neutral steering. Every project has cost overruns. I still get to keep my rear level and my wife almost happy. Eventually when parts start to show up I’ll have pictures. ******************************************************************************************************************************************************** On another note. Packed on the miles today killing another tank of fuel on an absolutely perfect Illinois day. Those are rare as hens teeth and we’ve had five in a row. Partly sunny, 80 F, 40% humidity and 0-3 mph winds all day except for two quick rain showers with short burst of 15 mph gust. Nothing really. The day started with 75 miles already on the tank and the indicator showing 29.5 mpg. Three trips to town but not IN town. Ended with 438 miles using 13.753 gallon of fuel for 31.85 mpg and there is more to go. To reach that number the remaining 363 miles were run at 32.54 mpg to get this result. That makes four tanks averaging 29.5 mpg and two over 30 mpg running 55 mph. Since the Red Line fill this thing has been crazy smooth and holding on to the AFM allot. Pulling 3% hills over 30 mpg into 5 mph winds sort of crazy. I am pretty sure that all the low hanging fruit is now picked and we wait for averages to peak. That may take a few years at this pace. Or a good winter weather set back.

So the pup thinks the shifter is a chew toy. Chewed it right down to the button while I was taking a 'break' that couldn't wait. It's hard to get mad at a dog for being a dog but boy do I try. This is a $200 fix. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

17.0 mpg = Federal Data base recorded for this truck. 24.0 mpg = EPA sticker high way estimates. *************************************************************** 24.6 mpg = Factory Fill Delco 5W30 as delivered to me. 26.0 mpg = Alignment 25.9 mpg = Quaker State UD 5W20 27.9 mpg = Quaker State Plus 180 F Thermostat 26.0 mpg = M5 AFM locked out 27.4 mpg = Mobil 1 28.8 mpg = Red Line 5W20 Plus 180 Thermostat The alignment was good for +5.7% increase The Switch to 5W20 Quaker State UD was a net loss as a stand-alone but when coupled with a cooler thermostat netted a 7.31% gain. I’ll come back to this. Running in M5 with the AFM off put it back to the alignment number erasing the gains of thinner fluids and cooler temperatures. Mobil 1 was a 1.8% looser but still gave a cooler running temperature. Not sure what to make of that. Red Line 5W20 was a 3.2% gain over the previous best QSUD numbers. Net gain, 17.7% over delivery numbers and an even 20% over the EPA sticker number. I may have said this before. If a lighter oil gives a cooler temperature as a stand-alone heat was viscosity friction related. If it gets hotter there is an increase in surface to surface contact. Not good. If a heavier oil provides a cooler temperature it is eliminating surface to surface contact. If the heavier oil gives a hotter temperature viscosity fiction is the primary. This is a preface to the ‘I’ll come back to this’ comment. Obviously the thinner fluid alone was not thick enough at operating temperatures to prevent metal to metal contact. Cooling the motor increased the viscosity enough no only to cool it back down but further than the thicker oil did uncooled telling me it was still thinner and more lubricous. In other words, fell in between the two. I get to benefit from the Polyol’s best features without sacrificing efficiency. A word about break in. It still isn’t done with this process and there has been some benefit from the break in adding to the efficiency all along. The numbers are ‘relative’ to each other and not absolutes. That said it is indeed well along. That little puff of morning blue smoke is no longer with us and has been absent for weeks. ​Not everything I try works but you see it fail here. So our winners are, and still rising……. (see red bold above).

BMEP, aka Brake Mean Effective Pressure. The effective mean pressure in the cylinder. The mean pressure is a guideline we use that can be calculated and measured but it is not the peak cylinder pressure. A production engine with a compression ratio of 11:1 may have a peak cranking pressure of maybe 135 to 150 psig. That same pressure range could be obtained with a motor whose mechanical ratio was only 8.5:1. The difference is in the point ABDC the inlet valve closes and the butterfly is WOT. In a running motor the peak pressure ranges 300 to 1000 psig. Race motors a bit higher. It takes a minimum of 90 psig to get the motor to start. When a cylinder deactivates, AFM equipped motors, the valves close in order to trap a volume of air to be used as an air spring. As it is repeatedly cycled it heats up and the pressure comes near the low load operating pressure. For this to work right the cylinder must be near zero percent leak down. Today’s rings and cylinder wall compositions are very capable of creating this condition. Food for thought: Oil rings don’t ‘scrape off oil’ they are the mechanism that applies it at a controller rate from splash in the crankcase. The second ring is the scrapper. Rings don’t ‘break in’, cylinder walls do. Rings are much harder than the walls they ride on. The rings spring or preload pressure does not seal a cylinder. Gas pressure from above the ring migrates to the space behind the ring to force it against the cylinder wall. Spring tension just makes the introduction to get things started. As physics would have it the higher the cylinder pressure the higher the ring sealing load meaning AFM deactivated cylinders get the same oil as the active cylinders in a cooler lower pressure environment that promotes LONGER ring life…not shorter. The more lightly loaded the motor is, on average over time, the longer the motor lives. Com'on man, that’s just common sense. Loaded cylinders are not under ‘more load’ or at least extreme loads that would wear them out. They operate in this V4 condition only when under low enough loads to permit safe engagement…unless someone is forcing them by a program to operate outside their designs. What is safe? No idea but I would have started testing at 500 psig. If you want your AFM on more you need to find ways to lower the motors load enough to keep it in the ‘safe zone’ GM designed it to operate in. This is its own topic and the subject of my person truck build thread. Finally, rings don’t ‘plug’ due to high oil volumes. But they can be flooded to the point that the scrapper ring is unable to remove it effectively. Think of it as hydroplaning. They can gum due to abnormally high temperatures that promote varnishing and gumming. Also from contamination. But not from flooding or AFM operation where flooding is well controlled. Something GM has addresses successfully.

Am I reading this right. Your commenting on new trucks but you own a 2009? Anyway, if your using that much oil AFM isn't your issue.