Jsdirt

2014 is barely out of warranty - they'll start showing up in the next year or 2. Just like with my '07, the news didn't start rolling out until about 2010-2011. By then it was an avalanche. I have already seen posts on failed direct injection injectors on '14 up - GM designed these in such a way that you have to replace the ENTIRE fuel rail on top of the engine whenever it is removed in any way. Real nice. Seen a post already on a '18 already having this issue. The '18's have some goofy box in front of the intake manifold that will leave you pulling your hair out, until you realize you have to remove the entire intake manifold to access the bolts! Another epic brainstorm ... but I digress. Have yet to hear of an AFM repair coming back (unless it was completely botched by a rookie). I do know in the hotrod world, when you buy an engine from a place that does nothing else but build engines, they typically last forever, even with some heavy foot / high RPM abuse. Same can be said of anything built outside of OE, depending on the company or shop. Bottom line is, if you do the best job you can, it'll be 100x better than OE.

No more flimsy than anything else. My '07 Silverado is built like a friggin beer can. A little 4" sapling at less than walking speed cost me $2,200 in repairs (with me doing all the disassembly!) back in '09. I can guarantee the newer models aren't any stronger ... What you can't see in the first pic is the giant crease over the centerline of the rear wheel. Took the guy an hour on the frame machine to get the box straight again, SMH. What you CAN see is the amount of rust that was hiding under those beer-can bumpers after just 2 winters ...

No question these vehicles have zero tolerance for lack of maintenance, but domestics have been that way since the dawn of the automobile - nothing has changed there. What HAS changed however, and is glaringly evident from where I stand (elbow-deep in grease, and under the hood of alot of different vehicles), is that long term reliability has gone down the toilet. The way these things are built today, is that they are designed to extract the most amount of money out of you as they can. No longer can someone just replace a certain part - now, it needs to be programmed to work. What a joke ... but I digress ... Engines used to be off-limits to the "cheap-out express" ... but not anymore. These days they will cut corners anywhere and everywhere they can. Just look at FoMoCo, with the 6.0 & 6.4 diesels - how many owners are out $20,000 after paying $60,000 for their trucks due to catastrophic engine failures? Look at the 4.0 DOHC engine with the timing chain cassette failures, requiring ENGINE REMOVAL and a pile of special tools to replace! Look at Fiat-Chrysler, with their notorious TIPM units that cause everything from your windows going down by themselves in the middle of the night, to a complete no-start, leaving you for dead on the side of the road. Then the HEMI's version of AFM that they must've copied from GM - those are failing around 90k - 100k miles. Lifter problems. Sound familiar? Some others are having valve guide problems. Then we have our beloved GM. Oil burner city, failed camshafts, failed lifters, failed valve springs, failed piston rings, FAIL FAIL FAIL!!! They create a great looking vehicle, with awesome suspension, braking, power, and handling, and wrap it all up in a shit sandwich, and we gulp it down willingly. There's soooo much wrong with that picture. Why do people put up with this? I know our grandparents, and great-grandparents would NOT have, especially with what they're getting for these things today! Anyway, I could rant all day about the state of automotive affairs, but I've got more junk to repair. I'll leave you with some pictures of stuck GM AFM lifters out of a '08 5.3 engine:

Guess that crap is on it's way here. Still in the mid 50's here right now, raining like crazy. Fog and puddles were insane on the roads tonight! Everything is going to flash freeze tomorrow, so I'll make sure I'm not in a hurry to do anything. People will be in the ditch and on their roofs all over the place around here. I can see the traffic jams now ...

Noticed some rust bubbles on the truck as I was putting my winter wheels on Saturday, in single digits. Next morning, the truck was PURE WHITE from the roads around here ... and I saw the coldest temp ever on the display in the 11 years I've owned this truck. Then 5 days later ....

Lookin good man! This is one of those, "I don't envy you but I do" situations. Would love to have the car, but man what alot of work. I think body work is the most difficult and challenging automotive trade there is. Black is the worst of the worst ... but the best looking color, IMO.

Yeah, you wouldn't be doing that here, that's for sure!

^^^

Finally got ahold of that dyno video of my buddy's 700+ RWHP Camaro, and a couple pics. Since it's 7° outside, it's nice to reminisce about warm weather. IMG_1498.3gp

That was the first mod I did to my truck, a week after I got it home brand new. Hated the gold. The stickers have been holding up pretty good for being just shy of 11 years old.

Was the coldest December I ever remember my whole life. We already had -6° one morning, and several more up to -3°. We usually never get this cold the first week of January. We're about 3-4 weeks early. Coldest I've ever experienced in MA was a couple years ago. My digital readout said -14°, while the old mercury thermometer said -17°.

Not too much different out here in MA, except we only had that one big storm roll through. My house is a degree or so warmer inside, thanks to the new insulation (snow). LOL My one fluorescent light in the old barn that has a new ballast is the only one that won't light bright in the cold - the rest of the lights ballasts are between 30 and 80 years old, and work fine. Go figure! 0102181649.3g2

Yeah, it was getting there. I have seen worse in the past, though. We're back down to 20° now - dropping like a rock. Supposed to be -10°F out here one of the next couple days. Fun, fun ...

The news stations blow it way out of proportion. It's been snowing in MA for 1,000 years ... and will continue to every winter ... but the news stations, every single year, act like we've never seen a flake before. Makes me laugh ... but it gets annoying after the first 10 minutes. Had to shut the TV off! I guess it's a big deal for the city folks out towards Boston, but for us, it's just another day in paradise. Temperature just jumped up to 21° from 16° this morning. Storm is bringing warmer air in I guess. Wind starting to kick up pretty good now. Getting about 3" per hour, and it's blowing big time.

I'd be in shorts and a tee shirt if I experienced 40° right now ....

Liquid car dissolver. It's trip towards the scrapyard begins ... Wish I still lived in Phoenix ... Floor never got poured, because of this:

HA! Good point.

Smart choice - I never trust car salesmen. Making the sale is their #1 priority - everything else takes a back seat. Good that you were alert on this one.

You're right on that one - the very first autos were more slush box than transmission. They needed some tweaks to compete with manuals. The electronic ones of today shift pretty fast. That is, until there's an electrical problem ...

Auto is always faster - no human can shift as precise and as quick. That said, at least in '11 when my buddy's Camaro was new, the manual had a few more HP at the crank. No idea what the engine designation is - all I know is it's a 6.2. Too many damn acronyms today - I can't store them all in my small brain. That car is a convertible too - guarantee it's faster than anything out of any factory today. He's got a few goodies under the hood.

Installed some lights in the new shop. 40w LED fixtures, 4' long, 4,800 lumens with 5k color temp.. Pretty bright. Makes the old fluorescents in the barn look yellow. Bought 6 of them. Super easy install. There's a 2-prong outlet on the back of each fixture - the light can be powered by that, or by the 5' cord on the other end (when powering via double male plug thru the outlet, the plug becomes HOT though - I tested it and confirmed! Had my suspicions ... glad I tested before touching ). I wired the lights in an "S" fashion. I'll install an outlet within reach of the first light on the left's cord, and the rest will be powered off that. I like easy. Unfortunately UPS stepped on one of them, and nearly crushed it flat. Of course, I didn't find this out until the day I went to install them. I should know by now to open the damn boxes when things are delivered! On it's way back now. Never fails. Still pretty good lighting for having one fixture missing, though. I could've got away with 4 in a pinch. Can never have too much light, though. The lights and door motor are rigged up on extension cords until I get some time to finish the wiring. Should be pouring the floor next week. Right in the arctic blast that's on it's way. Figures. Guess weather doesn't much matter today - they have ways of keeping it from freezing.

You can think what you want, but the facts speak for themselves. If you don't have any interest in automotive repair, or access to the resources that technicians use, or the desire to pay for them, then I don't expect any of you to believe any differently. I have nothing to gain by bashing a brand I have grown up with and LOVED my entire life. I just tell it like it is.

I hear you there, James. After I took my Silverado home from the showroom, I instantly missed my old beaters. Now I had to worry about where I parked it, where I drove it, and how clean it was all the time.

When I bought my '07, the dealer wanted to give me $2,000 for my '94 K1500 with 266k on the clock. Had NO rust - was in real nice shape for it's age at the time. Previous owner fixed all the rust and painted it, and I replaced the bumpers, grille, and headlight & tail lamp assemblies. Thing looked like a 3 year old vehicle. Salesman even told me it was nice, "But this is all I can give you." I still bought the truck, but I sold the old one on Craigslist a month later for $4,500. It pays to be patient!