Doublebase

If you live in Nova Scotia and have no rust, whatever it is you're doing is working.

Yeah I’d put it back into 2wd for sure.

Yeah I use the seafoam or CRC and run it right through the catch can hose, don't know if it helps, kind of doubt it...but I always say when regarding truck maintenance...if it makes you feel good, do it. Plain and simple. There's a certain satisfaction in thinking that what you are doing is helping and I think that is important in long term car ownership...it keeps you going, it's pride of ownership. And sometimes it really does help in the long run.

The manifold is basically a vacuum cleaner, having said that, perhaps the grooves the oil was stuck in were deep enough to not be touched by the vacuum or turbulence of in rushing air? But you have 8 cylinders going down on the intake stroke creating vacuum, drawing in air from those runners. I mean when that throttle plate snaps shut, there's a pretty strong pull in that manifold going on...but then again you may be right if there was that much oil in there just pooling around.

I would think that most of the oil you saw in your intake was relatively fresh and often replenished whenever you used your car. When the engine is running there is a lot of vacuum and turbulence inside that manifold, wet oil should be sucked into the cylinders and burned. A product like Seafoam or CRC intake cleaner, is not designed to clean oil out of a manifold, but rather carbon deposits left by the oil and byproducts of combustion...and in all honesty I don't think it's even doing much of that (if anything at all). Carbon deposits and varnish need continuous application of a solvent to remove deposits. A one time application every 5,000-10,000 miles is not going to do much of anything. But yet I still do it...probably because I like to fool myself that it's doing something (it makes me feel good, lol). In all honesty, some carbon deposits are very hard to remove and require much more than a solvent - usually carbon needs to be sand blasted or scraped off of a surface - the only cleaner I've seen remove carbon is the types used in dunk tanks, and it's very caustic. You place the part into an agitator filled with a corrosive cleaner, close the lid and let the machine agitate the fluid/part for 30-40 minutes. Nasty stuff.

I feel for people that suffer the collapsed lifter on both the Ram and Silverado/Sierra, it could happen to me some day, but for all of us with failures...I hate to break this to you/us, it's not all that common. They have sold nearly 3,000 million of these things since 2014. There literally is millions of these engines and these systems driving up and down the highway in GM vehicles every single day...most not having any issues...most not even knowing other people have had issues. I work in the trade, we see these trucks quite frequently...I have only seen one with a failed lifter and it was a 2010 older DOD engine. That truck now has over 200,000 miles on it and is driven to absolute death on a daily basis. I have seen oil consumption in the 2014-2018's, in fact I see it in every single one that comes in - some a little, some a lot - but I see it in every single one we service. Just this week five of them came in for oil changes, all five were at least a quart low (6,000 mile intervals) and one had nothing on that dipstick. What i tend to see in these trucks is the following... Leaking Condensers Leaking radiators Actuator stuck in 4wd Oil consumption Starter motor failure I can't stress it enough...the AC condenser failure is so frequent that I'm a bit shocked. It's become kind of a running joke...truck comes in for service...we joke...order a condenser. (And I own a 2018, so the joke is usually pointed at me). But if the AFM does fail?? We aren't talking the end of the world here. I cracked my tooth eating lunch six months ago...I guarantee that tooth cost me more than what people can fix these thing for at an independent service station. Break a tooth and get yourself a crown...walk out that door an hour later and you're $1,800 lighter in your pocket. And if that doesn't convince you that AFM failure will not be the end of your world or your truck's life, check this out. Two and a half years ago I bought a mountain bike, I spent $2,300 on this bike (on Black Friday clearance). Since I've owned this bike I have spent $2,800 in repairs and maintenance. Two months in the rear hub broke - they covered it under warranty - then it broke again...they wouldn't cover it. I was told it would just keep breaking because it was a low quality hub...a $2,300 dollar bike with Walmart quality hubs. So I had to buy a new hub...it was $150, but to install it would cost me another $200 because it needed to be laced into the rim. So I went out and spent $450 on a new rim and hub instead. Then I needed a new cassette (another $120). Then the front fork blew out - that was $750 installed. Then the rear derailleur grenades - that was $120. I needed a couple new tires - that was $220. Then the suspension pivots eventually wore out - that was $150. Then the bottom bracket wore out - that was $50 (good price actually). Three tuneups in 3 years was $300. Brake pads, wheel trues and pedals, another $300. I've had to replace the grips several times...another $50. Oh and my chain has been replaced three times and my front sprocket...add another $200. I bought snow tires ($240). Oh, and I needed a surprise tuneup because the cable stretched...cable and tuneup $130. I know there's more, I just can't even remember all of it. And this is for a bike^^^^. If i have to spend $1,000 in parts for a total AFM rebuild kit, I'm good. I can install it myself...I can't however work on my bike (which really sucks). And believe me I've tried - I don't have the tools and I don't have the patience. It's an art. But don't get me wrong, I don't want my AFM to break - when it does I'll probably come on here and complain about it - but then hopefully I'll settle down and fix it. I average almost 26 mpg in a full sized 4x4 truck. We can't get that mileage out of my wife's Honda CRV.

Excellent! I love this stuff! The thing I love is that you drive it, you enjoy it and you document. Keep it up. The best thread I've ever seen (besides this one) was a Lexus GS350 thread, back when I owned a Lexus LS 460...the guy drove for work and he was meticulous with his ownership and maintenance. He eventually sold his GS with 300,000 plus and bought the LS460, but he didn't keep it long. Since the last time I checked in on this thread (less than a month ago) I've put 3,000 miles on my truck. I've done an oil change (Rotella Gas Truck 0w20 synthetic). It's my second oil change using this oil - the only reason I'm using it is it's price, it's rebates and it's solid reviews on bob's the oil guy. It has a very high moly content for a shelf brand oil - overall I'm happy with it - just received my rebate check yesterday for $20...so I spent $44 for two 5 quart jugs, and received $20 back...$24 for 10 quarts of synthetic is too good of a deal for me to pass up. I recently purchased Iron X to remove some of the rail rust on my paint, it really was starting to stand out out on the white. I never even knew such a thing existed, as I've always had darker colored cars. This product works amazing! The only problem is that the smell of it is so bad - I don't think I've smelled anything this bad in my life - the reviews mentioned it, but I just didn't believe it. But it just works...no clay baring, no scrubbing, the rust is gone in minutes. Keep up the good work, grumpy, love reading about pepper.

I'm in a similar boat as you with my truck...80 mile daily round trip commute, probably 60% highway, the rest country back roads. I easily average 25.5 for the week (500 miles) and when I fill up it often says 660 plus miles till empty. The thing that hurts my gas mileage is the colder weather (bellow 40 degrees) and the short errands on the weekends. Other than that the truck has been absolute magic since new (2018 with 35,000 miles now). I don't know if I'll commute forever in this thing, or eventually buy a commuter car, but for right now I'm loving it...sit higher up, comfortable, good gas mileage and I never have to worry about weather/snow/bad road conditions. But at the pace I'm going I'll have 280,000 miles when the thing is ten years old. So I'll have to make some decisions at some point.

Well I haven't read through this entire thread but I can tell you that at 33,000 miles, went out to my truck one day this summer and...one click, nothing, wouldn't start. Tried jumping it. Tried hitting the starter. Nothing. Had it towed to the dealer and of course it started right up! Dealer said that they were able to duplicate the problem and replaced the starter...haven't had a problem since. 2018 Silverado. Funny thing is, this all happened after a rain storm we had the night before, but there was no evidence of any water damage to any wires or anything.

I think the piece that the line attaches to at the manifold is an orifice. I believe it unscrews. At least it looks that way on the 5.3

I've actually had some good luck with a cheap Chinese can, plenty of baffling, does a nice job. These cheap brands - at least some of them - have done a nice job copying the better products. But yeah you won't get the bracket, you'll have to buy your own hose and clamps...not as nice as the expensive ones...not as big, no quick disconnects, etc. But they sure catch oil. I wonder if the ports are easier to get to on the 4.3, with the port being in the rear instead of the front?

There's no catch can for the 4.3? I always figured any catch can would work with 3/8's hose and a couple clamps. My thought on catch cans is this...they don't hurt anything as long as you empty them. And they probably help.

I see a lot of rusted rotors on a lot of different vehicles, especially the rears...pretty common for them to get pitted and then just corrode from the inside out. Nasty. As for the uneven pad wear, I agree with everyone else...caliper pins probably need a little attention. I find that the more you drive a vehicle, the less rust you get on the rotors...the pads will throw the moisture off a rotor when it rotates and the heat generated from braking will do the rest. A vehicle that sits is the worst thing. The people I see with the 80-100 mile daily highway commutes have the best looking brakes (but the worst looking windshields and paint up front).

Free oil changes till 40,000 miles? Where did you get that, because GM will only give you two "free" oil changes within the first two years? That's a great deal. personally I'm so OCD that I can't stand having them do it, did it once, don't think I'll go back for my second one. Plus I know they use cheap bulk oil (I worked in dealers for years). My dealer didn't no even want to do my oil change when it had 5,000 miles...they kept telling me it was too soon...that I needed to wait until my light went off or it hit 7,500 miles. I told them no, I want to do it now. I don't let it go past 5,000 miles...not with a direct injection engine.

I'll have to start doing that, my truck did come with two free oil changes, I've used one but I don't think I'll use the other...I can't stand having someone work on my truck and I probably waited 2 hours for that oil change to get done. It was a pretty bad experience...and when they set it up on the lift all of the under coating got pushed off (had to refinish it). Did I mention I'm OCD? Lol

Yeah I take mine off if I need to take it to the dealer...usually takes me 10 minutes (although I don't have the quick disconnects). Dealer will definitely document and use it against you later down the road...then when you need that warranty repair you'll be in for a fight. Another thing I worry about is oil changes, I do them myself and I've heard they've denied warranty repairs if there's not documentation of oil changes (and I don't save my receipts). Probably should.

Depends, I mean the engine vacuum seems pretty "normal" or in range to me compared to other engines I've seen. I think part of the problem might be air/oil separation through the PCV system...GM has neglected this in the past, only later to have to come back and correct it. But oil tracking into the intake manifold does happen with lots of other manufacturers and engines. Owned a Lexus 460 for years...that intake always seemed to have oil in it...I'd even see it tracking through the fresh air portion of the PCV system, right up the air snorkel and into the throttle body. Something maybe to consider with these engines is that manifold vacuum drops when it goes into V4 mode, that's the reason why the brake booster is not fed by manifold vacuum, but rather from a vacuum pump...because they couldn't chance drops in vacuum effecting braking. Now what I wonder is, when the switch from V4 to V8 mode occurs...might there be a vacuum "snap", a sudden uptick in vacuum that pulls in more oil initially? Just a thought.

I'd say that's probably mostly true because of the amount of oil being caught in the can, still there must be some blowby in that crankcase to push it up like that. Like I said, it's been like this since it was new. Truck runs fine (35,000 miles now). I work in the industry, I see a fair amount of these things pretty regularly. I usually pull the dipstick on all of them before an oil change to check for oil loss (out of curiosity). I've never seen a single one that wasn't down on that dipstick (5,000-6,000 mile intervals). The 2014's are the worst (at least from what I've seen)...we service one regularly and she can't keep the oil in it...uses a quart every 1,000 miles. But I'd say most are more like mine...1/2-3/4 quart of use over the OCI. I've talked to some Chevy techs, they say it's pretty normal - that these things do use some oil - but not nearly as much as the 2008-2013's I'd also add that AFM failure is not nearly as widespread as people in the chat rooms claim. We service many of these trucks...mileage ranging from 30,000- 150,000. Haven't seen one failure yet. Talk to people at the dealer and they tell me it so not as frequent as people think. That more people complain of the switch from V4 to V8...how it feels etc, rather than lifter failure. There literally is over 3 million of these engines on the road right now, most people don't experience AFM failure.

I'm using about 3/4 a quart between oil changes. Has been that way since new. My interval is 5,000 miles. Last three oil changes have been Pennzoil Platinum 0w20 (x2) and Rotella Gas Truck 0w20. I'm due for another soon, I'll probably try the Rotella again, as there is a rebate going on until the end of the year (it'll end up costing me around $2 a quart after the rebate).

It is probably close to a quart of oil over 5,000 miles...and in the winter a good mix of condensation. I haven't actually heard of any issues with carbon buildup on the valves on these engines, but it's got to be there. Can't be a good thing. And I shouldn't say that I've never heard of any problems, but just nowhere near as wide spread as early DI engines in the Audi's and BMW's. But yeah I'd prefer to catch it before it goes in that intake.

I just emptied mine five minutes ago...should have taken a picture...half full (1,500 miles). People praise this cheap $30 dollar can on Amazon...I can see why...for the money you can't beat it.

Yeah and honestly I just didn't see the point, I mean the thing was doing it's job right away. I mean after the first day I had 100 miles on it, opened it up and yup, there was oil in there. Showed some guys I worked with and they were like...this is from one day?? So I didn't bother with the steel wool (plus the can isn't so small). I do wish the can was bigger and I wish it had a drain valve on the bottom (I probably could thread one in though). I still run seafoam into the intake every 5,000 miles regardless. Just take the hose off the can, turn the engine on, and slowly poor it right I tim the disconnected hose. I find that easier than trying to spray past the throttle plates. I have tried to send a boroscope camera down the intake to take a look at the valves but it's nearly impossible to get a camera in there - the only way to really tell if it's helping is to remove the intake (someday I'll give it a look).

I have that exact same cheap catch can from Amazon, installed it when the truck had 10,000 miles...now at 35,000 miles. The thing does catch oil. Haven't had any issues with it whatsoever. I usually drain it every 1,500 miles...depending on the weather it's usually half full or so. Winters you'll get a mix of water, condensation, oil...in the summer it's more oil and less full obviously. I lamost added some extra media to the can to catch more oil, but honestly the thing works so well, I never bothered. I've gone through two very cold winters with it, the key is to just empty it, if you do you'll have no problems. Now the real question is...how much is it helping? Is it worth it? For the price I figure...hey it can't hurt. Now if I spent $200 on the thing, I might feel different.

34,000 miles and they look new - it depends on the way you drive, if it's all highway they're going to last 100,000 plus.

Haven't checked on this thread in a while, what's you're mileage at now, grumpy? Have you gotten to 100,000 yet? I'm currently at 34,000, but once September rolls around I'll be doing my 100 mile a day commute (I'm a teacher). I've only put 2,200 miles on the truck this summer, but she's ready to roll again! Just did a wash and wax, touched up a few paint chips, reconditioned the interior...should be do for an oil change and rotation in the middle of September, then an undercoating treatment in November. Year two of my Silverado ownership is set to roll. Oh and I'll be adding new tires in November too, should be at 40,000 miles by then and the stock Bridgestones are getting a little too thin for winters around here.