BlaineBug

Well, what I thought was "detonation" or "pinging" may not be after all. Driving a 2017 Sierra today with the 6.2L, I heard the exact same sound. It sounds like a tinny-rattle that occasionally comes and goes when accelerating under load without downshifting...so I suppose that is a bit of relief. I don't know what it could be, it really doesn't sound like the "squeak" of the exhaust flapper valve. I was also inspecting a 2021 Tahoe High Country with a Cylinder #1 exhaust lifter/cam failure with a bent push rod only with 80,531 miles on the clock. Speaking with the Technician, he says that he's never really seen one come back after such a repair, but he did say he recently had one come in that he has yet to teardown. He said on that particular truck, he replaced the lifters and cam back in January and now it's doing the same thing again and he suspects that the lifter bore may be to blame. I did recall reading something about some of the lifter bores possibly being misshapen from the factory?

It was loose......loose as a goose.

I have not towed at all since the repair. Let's just say though, the first oil change I performed, I was unpleasantly surprised to find the oil drain plug only finger-tight......not leaking, but when I put the socket on there, it spun immediately Thanks, GM Tech, for your due diligence during that $8,800 repair!

Stay on topic please, off-topic for reserved specifically for ****** debates.

It would be nice if you retards could stop arguing in MY thread!!!!!

I remember an Escalade with a cam/lifter failure that I inspected, the heads were so clean they looked new...I forget what year it was, but it was of the 2017-2019 range.

I just watched that video again, showing that there was a higher percentage of sheer in 5w30 than 0w20. But I believe they were comparing oils after a 10,000 OCI? Which is extreme. These days I change around 5,000 miles. I have Valvoline Restore & Protect in it right now because I have heard it was so awesome. Typically I use Kirkland Signature (Warren) oil, Project Farm shows it provides similar protection to Mobil 1.

So it was BAD to switch from 0w20 to 5w30? I thought these engines call for 5w30 in the UAE. I also moved south, to a much warmer climate. I thought it would be benefical.

Funny you should mention that, I switched to 5w30 a little less than 14,000 miles prior to failure - I switched at about 74,471. The only time 0w20 has been back in it was that 5,000 mile period after failure until I changed the oil again. Oh, and the oil drain plug was only fingerish tight - but not dripping. Thanks, Technician! $8,800...what other bolts did they leave loose, I wonder?

Last November 2025 I ended up having to have the camshaft and lifters replaced in my 2019 Yukon 5.3 liter with only 88,000 miles. If I remember correct it was the #5 exhaust lifter that failed. It didn't seem like it was collapsed and from what I remember the roller bearings were OK, but the metal on the roller and the corresponding camshaft lobe were spalled/cracked (I went to the dealership to confirm failure once they had the cylinder heads off). I only heard the typical "tap tap tap" when returning from shopping and stopped driving - although I drove it to the dealer about 20 minutes away rather than having it towed, maybe that was a mistake. This was not a failure that was driven on repeatedly like I occasionally see when inspecting warranty claims. Anyway, to the tune of $8,800 they replaced the camshaft and lifters, spark plugs, and the oil pump as per my request. I'm currently over 95,000 miles as of today. I did my first oil change at 5,000 miles after the replacement - maybe that was a bit too late and I should have done it earlier. I cut open the oil filter and found a couple of small metallic shavings/chips within the filter. I went back to the dealership to inquire and I was told that was "probably" normal. I was told that every filter probably has metal in it....nobody ever cuts them open apparently but me. I didn't bring them to filter nor did I take any pictures, nor did I check to see if the metallic particles were magnetic or not. Oops. I hope everything is OK, but I just have to say that my confidence after such a failure is severely diminished. I'm currently sitting at about 95,000 miles, and Friday two-days ago when returning home from work I believe I heard a bit of pinging/detonation when traveling in the 45-60 mph range, if I ever-so-slightly gave it a bit of throttle input without having the transmission drop down into a lower gear. When I got home, I added two bottles of GumOut fuel injection cleaner. I had just filled up earlier in the day at Sam's Club. What do you think? I had hopes to keep this vehicle for at least 10-years but I feel as though my camshaft and lifter failure occurred VERY early. I inspect warranty claims on a daily basis and find that most of these lifter-related failures occur after 140,000 miles and beyond. I purchased my 2019 Yukon at Carmax in December 2019 with 34,000 miles on it - yes, that was a lot of miles for the first year, but it was a Hertz rental registered in Missouri. I would have assumed they did their oil changes on time. I found no signs of sludge or varnish. However I drove the vehicle over 50,000 miles without an issue at that point between December 2019 and November 2025. I was also hoping that the dealership would have been a lot better with communicating with me throughout the rebuild. I left them a lengthy note describing extra add-ons that I wanted them to do, and I was hoping they would have communicated with me on the condition of the camshaft bearings, etcetera. After 3-weeks I got a call that it was ready for me to pick up, and at that point I asked about the add-ons that I left on the one-page printed note. They said, "what things?" Figures...they had to go back in an replace some of the extra things that I had asked about like the TPMS sensors (Over $400 for 2 sensors, ripoff!), oil cooler hoses, coolant hoses, etcetera. I was hoping to have received a discount since everything was already torn down obviously, but of course no one elected to look at my note? We pay top dollar for minimum effort apparently. GMC dealership too, not some rinky-****** backyard mechanic shop! By the way, the only modification I have installed is an oil catch can. I have had that installed since November 2023. I also installed a new OEM water pump last month for peace of mind considering that we'll be headed on a 2,000+ mile round trip road trip in about a week and a half. I'm a bit nervous to say the least.

If you have a Range AFM disabler compatible with the 2015-2020 Tahoe, Suburban, and Yukon and you would be interested in selling it, please send me a message. Thanks!

I am always curious as to how high resistance was measured. Was it measured with the cable installed, or was resistance measured with the grounding cable completely removed and disconnected from the vehicle? And how many cables did you replace? Including any grounding straps?

Thank you, I just sent them a message.

I am not familiar, never having a vehicle tuned previously (besides a hand-held SCT tuner that loaded canned tunes for Ford back in the day, I thought those tunes were pretty awful and didn't allow customization so I re-sold that device and went back to stock probably 15-16 years ago!) but what are you suggesting, that Black Bear can only tune engine performance but not transmission performance?

Got it, thanks!

Thank you - I see that you may be associated, I am interested.

Last Friday I changed the oil at 79,832, and this is the second fill that I used 5w30 vs 0w20. This fill I used 7-quarts Kirkland Signature full-synthetic with AC Delco PF63 filter and 1-quart Marvel Mystery Oil. I have a catch-can installed. I feel as though quite a bit of oil accumulates in the catch can, but throughout the last oil-change interval of 5,361 miles, I never had to add any oil. The oil in my catch-can is not milky, it is pretty much oil consistency, very little water vapor or condensation. Not long ago I began keeping a record of what I pulled from the catch can since upgrading to a newer version with a ball-valve drain at the bottom. 78,403 miles - Collected 118ml 78,920 - Collected 40ml 79,832 - Collected 60ml 80,179 miles - Collected 20ml (After one ~300 mile road trip since oil change) Yet still, dipstick read full, no obvious contamination found within the oil filter either.

2019 GMC Yukon SLT, 5.3L V8, 6-speed, 4x4, ZW7 non-air, non-magnetic suspension, in central Florida. Other "Mods" include the newer 158' transmission thermal bypass (GM Part #86774933) which lowered transmission temperatures about 30-40 degrees on average under normal conditions, a 194' engine coolant thermostat (GM Part #12674634), the two-piece aluminum engine skid plate, the one-piece steel transfer case skid plate, and a Reese TowPower Brake-Evn solid state proportional trailer brake controller.

Would anyone have any recommendations for an experienced, well known, and trusted tuning business for this sort of thing?

Agreed - maybe changes to slightly quicken up the shifting characteristics and disable the constant slipping of the torque converter when locked as directed to by stock programming as well? At nearly 80,000 miles, tomorrow will be my second oil change since switching to 5w30 full-syn rather than 0w20.

I'm looking for your input on custom-tuners for daily driving, essentially to extend the life of the transmission and engine - reducing torque converter commanded slip, and disabling active fuel management, and perhaps whatever improvements they may want to offer as well for a tame daily driver. And secondly, is this even advisable to do at 80,000 miles? I perform good maintenance I think, and "baby" it for the most part. Thanks!

You can make your own grounding strap out of any heavy gauge wire, the proper brass or copper terminals, and a solid crimping tool for a whole heck of a lot less than $300 for some Chinese or Mexican braided B.S.

Hey fellas, wondering if anyone has any suggestions or who has done a similar swap?

I believe the time has come being that my mileage is creeping towards 78,000 that my rear shocks be replaced. But that leaves the question - Why not refresh the suspension entirely? Our 2015 Yukon SLT 4x4 with standard non-air ride, non-magnetic ride control suspension has a very plush ride, although I believe that the rear end has loosened up a bit over time. Overall, I'd love to be able to curb the body-roll and stiffen the suspension just a bit so it isn't quite so floaty, yet isn't uncomfortable and as firm as a sports car. I would want to stick with OEM parts only for struts, springs, and shocks. I do not want to lift the vehicle other than maybe 1", and I certainly do not want to lower it. I rarely ever tow so although I have, that is not a regular occurance by any means. I understand there may be 3 suspensions available for me to choose from; The stiff, lower ride height PPV suspension which is likely not compatible with 4x4 equipped vehicles, the SSV suspension compatible with Police 4x4s, and the standard suspension that I have. I have no idea how an SSV suspension rides, but as far as I know, the SSV suspension may be about 1" taller over factory ride height. I have also thought about a pickup truck front strut and a Suburban (longer, heavier?) rear spring and shock, but I am not sure if mixing-and-matching offers any real benefits over some other OEM setup. I would appreciate your input as well as suggestions on where to source OEM parts for a reasonable price - thanks!

Can you take a picture of the driver side and passenger side dashboard fuse panels?