Doublebase

So what you're saying is, is that carbon buildup on DI engines either doesn't happen, or is not an issue. And you're saying that issues with DI engines do not exist. I find that to be a very interesting statement/opinion. It goes against the grain of everything I've read, and heard from people in the industry. I work in the industry, I teach automotive and I'm the department chair of several trades (metal fab, culinary, autobody, automotive), but my background is automotive. Therefore I have to stay current in the industry. I mentioned your opinion at an advisory board dinner the other night to a few factory reps and shop foremans...that carbon buildup and DI issues don't exist. They replied, "like hell it doesn't". Where did you hear that? Now at this point I was a little embarrassed because I had to tell them, from a guy on the internet in one of these forums I frequent. Which is ok because I think there is valid information on forums, and I have read your stuff and feel as if you have good opinions. And to be honest...I think forums have some of the best and latest industry trends (if you sift through and find it). Now perhaps Silverados are getting away without carbon deposit issues? I think it's too early to say. And there's a difference between "dirty" and causing problems (misfires, check engine lights, power loss). However I have read that other GM vehicles have had their issues. And based off the testaments from people I talked to the other night; Audi, Mercedes, BMW and VW, all are having serious, expensive issues. I would not let oil go past 7,000 miles on an interval with DI. These guys are telling me that the particulates they are finding in the ring lands because of direct injection is worse than they see on Diesel engines. The rings are getting stuck and the consumption is through the roof. And they are very much participating in intake removal and valve cleaning, due to misfires, power loss...from carbon build up.

I guess I'm confused at the point you're trying to make. Are you saying NOACK won't help in keeping oil from burning on the back of valves? Are you saying that direct injection engines do not have this problem at all? Or are you saying that it just doesn't matter, nothing you do will help the situation? Because engines - GM engines specifically in the Equinox and others - very much have a problem with oil/carbon/ deposits on the back of their valves. Some as little as at 30,000 miles. Then it hardens. Then it can break off and goes into the cylinder. The fuel doesn't do much cooling? That goes against everything I've ever heard. https://www.sae.org/publications/technical-papers/content/971729/ Aside from this ^^^small, short article, just yesterday I read that fuel does most of the cooling and air does very little in the intake to cool the valves. http://www.enginebuildermag.com/2017/10/solving-gasoline-direct-injection-issues-facts-fictions-gdi/ Gasolone is cold to the touch, it will instantly absorb the heat from your hand. A fuel injector will spray a fine mist - I've never seen an injector do anything but - it's not a stream it's a mist. Then it atomizes. And PCV systems are very much a huge contributor to oil entering intakes. I'd say more so than valve guide wear nowadays. The PCV systems have become almost an afterthought by manufacturers lately. Just yesterday I was reading this. One system - a GM - has the oil return from the head (where it drops down back into the crankcase) right over where the PCV exits the crankcase. Oil gets sucked right out and into the intake. Have you ever taken a throttle body off and taken a look inside an intake on some of these engines today? There is so much oil tracking and pooling in these things that it's ridiculous. Even my Silverado with 14,000 miles on it has a very noticeable amount of oil pooling inside my intake manifold. Blowby isn't helping - and that's a DI issue, along with oil consumption - the fuel is sprayed right into that cylinder at high pressure and the fuel is mixing with the oil on the cylinder walls and it's burning it...and then the blowby is heavier...the oil mist carried out with the PCV is heavier, then it condenses right in that intake (or catch can if you have one). Then wam! Here comes the back of the valves and it fries like it's been left on the stove too long. The contradiction is once those deposits are formed, heat (excessive heat) will do a much better job at removing a deposit. But heat - the initial heat and oil contact - will fry it on there. Do I think NOACK is a scam? Hell I don't know but why not take a look into it and give it consideration? DEXOS certifications seem to be giving it consideration. Hell, Valvoline just put a new oil on the shelves designed specifically for DI engines. This video discusses the importance of NOACK and ways to combat carbon buildup on valves due to direct injection. It's in the later portion of the video, right after the catch can segment.

The article doesn't reference direct injection engines. Port injection engine will have fuel sprayed on the back of the valve dropping temperature, direct injection does not. When the back of the valve gets covered in carbon, the carbon acts as an insulator and the valves can get red hot...to the point of the heads popping off and dropping right into the cylinder. And keep in mind that the stem is also exposed through the intake port - and heat will travel up the stem - with no fuel being sprayed on that portion, carbon gathers even more. I'd say this is where the most accumulation occurs, even more so than the seat area (because the seat is cooler). I'm reading that the number one concern with direct injection engines and oil, is NOACK. Dexos approved oil has to meet a specification regarding NOACK. I've read seven is ideal. So with the goal of limiting oil burning on the back of valves and causing the problem of carbon buildup and sludge, I'd think a NOACK rating is important, no?

The concern on a direct injection engine would be the backside of the intake valve. Intake valve temperatures operate at 932 degrees Fahrenheit...the backside of the valve I'd venture to guess is normally above 400 degrees Fahrenheit, where the oil is accumulating on valves and causing misfires, power loss, hesitations. So when do you run your engine at 482 F for an hour? You don't, you run portions of your engine at those temperatures all the time and that is affecting oil burning and carbon deposits on intake valve backsides. This portion of automotive engineering will be historically classified in the "remember when they first came out with direct injection and they forgot what would happen to the valves". Then laughter.

That's impressive but at $12.80 a quart? You're talking $103 or so a 5,000-7,000 mile oil change. I was only concentrating on the well known, shelf brand, similarly priced oils. But it's good to know Amsoil's signature series is impressive. What is the NOACK on their lesser priced oils?

Watched a pretty interesting video on direct injection today and it mentioned oil changes, and the importance of motor oil quality. One thing it impressed on me is how important NOACK is for direct injection cars. The lower the better. From what I've read 0w20 is historically higher in NOACK than a heavier wight oil, which of course is an issue seeing as how the 5.3 requires 0w20. Dexos approved oil requires a NOACK bellow 13. The video I watched today recommended a NOACK of 7 or bellow, but it's very difficult to find an oil of 7 or bellow, never mind a 0w20 oil of 7 or bellow (the average is 12.8 for a 0w20). Redline has been known to have some of the lowest NOACK ratings I've seen but that was older data and these things change almost yearly, if not sooner (and those readings were from a heavier weight oil which is meaningless in 0w20 comparisons). So what I've found is that if you find an 0w20 oil with a NOACK bellow 11, you're doing pretty good. Mobil 1 was around 10.5...Castrol was around 11.5...Valvoline was around 12. Penzzoil Platinum was the lowest I found around 10.1 or so. Quaker State was also around 10 and change. I ended up buying Penzzoil Platinum simply because I always have heard good things about it and it was basically the same price as Mobil 1 (which is always competitively priced at walmart ). I recently tried Super Tech 0w20 and it too had surprisingly good numbers overall (NOACK at an amazing 10 but a TBN lower than PP), but I figured for $8 bucks more I could get the Pennzoil. Penzzoil historically has been known as a great cleaning oil as well. Penzzoil Ultra Platinum is supposed to have even better numbers but it is not readily available in stores. So I'll give this a try for a 5,000 mile run. One thing I'm not willing to do is go 7,500 miles...not with DI, timing chains and variable valve timing. I'm all set with that...throw in collapsible lifters as well. I recently installed a catch can and I will be doing CRC induction cleanings at every oil change...or every other oil change if I get lazy.

You know what's funny? I almost considered this, but then I just called NASA. No but seriously...my readings are off. I managed to get check it in three different spots in the last two days (two of the three readings say the oil is fine), the other reading says it's overfilled. I figure it's fine. I'm 3,500 miles in on my oil change. I've added a half a quart of oil and that should keep it level until I change it.

Anyone else have problems just getting an accurate reading when checking the oil? I always think I'm on a level surface but apperently not...I move the truck and it's a whole different reading. Very sensitive. It's to the point where I only check my oil at the exact location I changed it, which is a problem because it's three states away (I moved). So now occasionally I just pull into my old driveway on Saturday mornings while the people are enjoying coffee on the porch. They're cool with it though.

Well you wouldn't be the first person to note improved fuel economy from a catch can. Just the other day I watched a YouTube video of a guy who installed a catch can on his Sierra and his fuel mileage increased by an amazing 2 mpg. I just installed a catch can myself the other day and I don't know if it's the can or what but I'm averaging a little better fuel economy (tough to put an exact figure on it yet but I'd say it's gone up maybe 1 mpg so far). It's something I'm going to keep an eye on.

I don't know, I've seen a lot of things hurt the wax on these frames, it's hardly on there in the first place. Whenever I do an oil change I have to re-apply Undercoating where the oil hits the cross member under the drain plug. It takes the wax right off.

Wait a second...GM uses the upper portion of the condenser as the transmission cooler and the side tank of the radiator as the oil cooler? I don't think I've ever heard of a setup like this. Did GM ever do this before 2014?

I imagine the grease wears away and the noise comes right back. GM probably doesn't want to pay for the rubber inserts, plain and simple. Because people are putting inner tubes between the leaf springs, and it works, I'll do that. Most leaf springs already come with sheets of rubber between them to prevent noise...I figured my truck does too, I'll have to check. Or maybe it just needs more. But whatever you do, don't go off a service guy telling you a rubber bracket will be available in the fall. I've worked at dealers, we are in the dark as much, if not more, than the general public (regarding decisions that will be made in the future on car repair/problem fixes). GM once had an intermediate shaft issue with their cars, made a ton of noise. First they had us remove the shaft and "stroke them". It would free up the wax, problem solved for a month. Then when that didn't work they had us inject more wax into the shafts (provided a kit). That didn't work. Then we started replacing the shafts, until they realized that was costing them too much. Then it was just "normal", problem solved. I am starting to get a sort of pop/movement noise while backing out of my driveway at low speeds. I figure it's the leaf springs. I now have 10,000 miles on the truck (2018), honestly the truck has been great except for three minor things....occasional pop noise, truck fish bites until it's warmed up a little (jerks, stutters), and once in a while when I open my door I hear a relay struggling behind the dash (and it's not the sound of the electric fuel pump). Don't know what it is. Other than that? Great gas mileage, smooth power and acceleration. Quiet and straight down the road. I love the thing. I'm averaging around 25 mpg in a V8 4x4 truck.

I've heard that annual oil sprays are the best too. I'm doing fluid film twice a year, we'll see how that goes. Maybe after a few years I'll try the oil, right now I think the oil will take the factory wax right off my frame.

I was going to ask the same thing, it looks like black spray paint to me. I guess anything is better than nothing, but I wonder how the wax coating handles the spray paint? Like I said, doing something is better than doing nothing but I'm not sure this is the best idea. I do agree though that washing/rinsing the frame frequently in the winter is probably a good idea. However if you undercoat regularly it's something you need to be careful about (easy rinsing only or you'll be spray the undercoating off prematurely). I think the number one key is just to do SOMETHING - don't just look under there three years from now and think everything will be fine - because it won't.

Sorry to hear about your sister, can't imagine going through that. Regarding the gps...I haven't tried google maps, I'm not sure if I can with the iPhone using my cell server (Verizon). I'll have to check. I do use waze; it will sometimes have you detour off your route to save only minutes, which I find can be a real pain. For the most part I trust it enough to not do what the gps on the truck will do. I have been using the truck gps on shorter/more familiar areas, to kind of get a sense on what it wants to do. My overall impression is that it is kind of numb...no intuition to avoid any obvious trouble spots. And it is slow to change a route. I'll have to see if it has settings that can improve it for what I'd prefer (less traffic, not always the shortest route, quicker adjustments). I'm not holding my breath...and I'm not exactly looking for perfection here, I'd be happy if it could do what waze does. Then again I could try the Apple play on the car and maybe try using waze through the navigation screen.

It's funny you mention you haven't seen any issues yet, I haven't either. I ran into a code on a Hyundai a year ago and it pointed to the high pressure fuel pump, that's about it. Most of the complaints I hear about is the noise of the system. I imagine most issues are still being handled by dealers because on some cars it's still relatively new. But Audi has been using it for years, haven't seen many issues except for worn followers on the cam. Come to think of it BMW was having some high pressure fuel pump problems with the 535...and some destroyed cams.

If you haven't done a direct injection repair yet I suggest you watch some videos on it or take a small class. The pressures of the systems are very high, it's important to bleed off the system before you start working on it (pressures can reach 2,000 psi during operation). The high pressure fuel pump is very expensive, so be careful not to damage it when you remove it. And the injectors are high voltage (if I remember correctly) and they are probably a pain to remove because they are in the cylinder and head...I'm trying to imagine how bad it'd be to remove with over 100,000 miles on them. Yikes. Very few systems use BOTH the direct and port injection together, although that may change with all the carbon issues on the valves, but that is expensive for manufacturers (and they care more about profit than reliability). Honestly I haven't heard about many problems with the actual systems themselves, more with the carbon buildup on valves than anything else. I used to own a direct injected Lexus...178,000 miles and not one single issue. In fact I've seen cars with 300,000 without issue. pretty surprised to hear the GM injectors failing at low mileage....even more surprised it's not covered under warranty. These systems aren't exactly "new" anymore, every car on the road uses them now.

Sounds like when the driveline is asked to do something/stressed, it makes a worn bearing noise. Could be anything from bearings in the differential, u joint, bearing in the transmission, transfer case, torque converter, flexplate cracked. I don't know, but I'd start with the simple stuff. Check your transmission fluid, transfer case fluid. Differentials. Maybe remove your driveshaft and check the u joints. Check your heat shield too, sometimes when the engine is put under load it can twist enough to cause a heat shield noise that vibrates under the passenger compartment.

Oh ok, so more like driveline. Hmm. U joint sticking a little bit, maybe? Oh wait you said you have a 4" lift...that definitely changes driveline angles and stresses u joints. Maybe put it in neutral and coast when you're experiencing it, see if it goes away. Maybe pull the drive shaft out and check the ball joints. Just some thoughts. More simple type of stuff than condemning the transmission, etc.

So it's coming from the engine? Water pump? Alternator? AC pulley? Rotational noise in the engine usually points to those types of things...the idler pulleys, water pump, alternator, tensioner, anything that spins. Try removing the belt and check for a roughness/bad bearings. I suppose if your truck has over 50,000 miles, any of the above is possible.

I'm pissed at myself for missing it this year...all well, that's what I get for not paying attention. I'm still in the "free" oil change faze (2 freebies from the manufacturer). I did my own oil change at 1,300 miles, then I took it to the dealer at 4,300 miles. I can't stand taking it to the dealer - I sat there for an hour and a half - at some point your own time is worth more than a free oil change. I'll be doing the next one myself using Mobil 1. I'll probably use my last free oil change in the dead of winter when I don't want to crawl under it. I'll be doing 5,000 mile intervals, I'm at 8,000 miles already in three months.

This what I've seen/experienced with the waxy coating on the frame of my 2018. I needed to "touch up some spots" right away after I bought it. There was surface rust from where the coating wore away. I tried a few different products - fluid film was fine to use on the wax (in my opinion). It didn't disturb the existing wax and seemed to adhere to it well. Now some other things I tried?? Not so much. I tried fixing a spot with bar and chain oil and a mixture of graphite - yeah let's just say the wax didn't like it - it kind of evaporated right before my very eyes. I sprayed a rubberized undercoating where I removed the wax, then fluid filmed it. It's been fine ever since (3 months later). I ended up doing a full fluid film treatment to the truck - I considered other brands but Krown wasn't available in my area and I read that NH Oil Undercoating used some petroleum base in their product and it may/may not damage rubber components. So I stayed away from that. I don't expect the fluid film to last much more than 6 months though, so that kind of sucks that I'll have to do it twice a year, but it was fine on the wax and it sticks to everything pretty well. I drove down a dusty road after and the dust kind of "set" all of it up even further.

I tend to just buy whatever is on sale, knowing I'll be dumping it at around 5,000 miles anyway. I do take advantage of the yearly Mobil 1 rebate program they have every spring (although I missed it this year). If I remember ....receive $11 dollars off a five quart jug of Mobil 1 synthetic. So I'd buy six of them at Walmart on sale for $22 a jug ($132) and receive a check from Mobil 1 for $66...ends up being $2.20 a quart for Mobil 1. Unbelievable bargain. And unlike other brands that don't seem to send their rebate checks (hello penzoil), Mobil 1 actually follows through. Make sure to look for it next spring, if you don't already.

I love hearing the high mileage Amsoil stories. Thought about trying it out myself once but I chickened out at 10,000 miles using Mobil 1 Extended Performance. My buddy sells Amsoil 5w30 in his shop. A guy I know worked for Toyota when they were deveoplong their own oil through Mobil 1and going to the 10,000 mile intervals, they were all skeptical about doing those intervals, but the guys from Mobil 1 told them (off the record) that they would feel comfortable going 70,000 using their oil (just toppin up and changing filters). Haha. 70,000 miles using Mobil 1??? Not my cup of tea.

God I hope I'm not sounding like the oil change police, haha. I just like oil talk. Regarding Toyota, yup toyota went to 10,000 mile oil changes on engines that ONLY use 0w20, if the engine can run 0w20, 5w20 and 5w30, it must continue with 5,000 mile oil changes (even if it's using 0w20). Toyota was late to the direct injection party, they use it in their four cylinders now but their very popular 3.5 V6 I believe is still tune port injected (or it just went to direct injection). Also Toyota stays away from turbo charged engines and relies still on naturally aspirated engines (despite Honda going that route). Easier on oil. And as you said, Toyota still requires you to get your fluids checked at 5,000 miles (and to have the oil changed if its considered severe service). But yeah Toyota seems to be doing fine with these extended drains, I've talked to some of their techs and they say the oil still looks good when they take it out. Toyota makes great cars, I'd consider them the most reliable vehicles on the road (I think they passed Honda years ago).