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2016 5.3L AFM, problems fixed?

jlilnc14
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jlilnc14 Enthusiast

jlilnc14

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Does anyone know if the AFM problems were solved? Should I be concerned with the AFM in my new 2016 5.3L Silverado? thanks!

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Dnt
Dnt

oil Consumption is No longer an issue on the 2014 and up ecotech engine. Before I traded for this 2016 I drove my 2014 5.3 for over 60000 miles and had no oil consumption issues, got about 5000 miles

Thomcat
Thomcat

Two main causes of AFM problems was oil suction through the PCV system and AFM discharge valve oil spray against the cylinder walls clogging the oil control rings and passing oil into the combustion c

TJay74
TJay74

Say what, what evidence??? I am on my second 2014+ DI engine truck and have yet to see any oil consumption issues. The engine in the 2014+ trucks is a completely new design from the previous generatio

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djxn40 Enthusiast

djxn40

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Posted

I'm with you. I bought my z71 2016 12,000 miles ago. I have scoured the Web and have not been able to find any reason to believe gm has fixed this. Or even can. I was very concerned that when I get a few miles on that my oil would start disappearing. I was kinda like I'll wait and see. At 10 k miles and on my second oil change I had a 1/3 of a quart that was just gone and cannot be accounted for??? I said screw it and I ordered a tuner and shut afm off.

 

I will keep an eye on it and see how this progresses. But I can say I'm getting a consistent 2.5 mpg better ( on highway) in gas milage anyway so...

 

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Silverado Steve Senior Enthusiast

Silverado Steve

Posted
Posted

Plenty of people with the new ecotecs have not experienced oil consumption issues, me included. I think its a strtch tomsay there is still an issue with afm on these engines. I have 44K on my truck and have not experienced any oil useage.

Dnt Senior Enthusiast

Dnt

Posted
Posted

oil Consumption is No longer an issue on the 2014 and up ecotech engine. Before I traded for this 2016 I drove my 2014 5.3 for over 60000 miles and had no oil consumption issues, got about 5000 miles on this 2016 6.2 and no oil consumption problem with it either. Now just so you understand that I do know about oil consumption problems here is a pic of one of the spark plugs that was fouled out in my 2009 5.3 oil burner. I drove that truck for over 80000 miles and had to keep a 5 quart container of 5w30 in the truck to fill it up with oil when I fueled up. I am probably one of the few people that still check oil level every time I fuel up. People look at you like DUH I didn't even know you could open the hood on a vehicle LOL....

 

 

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amxguy1970 Senior Enthusiast

amxguy1970

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Posted

Has been mostly fixed minus the rogue replacement or failure. This gen and the last have been mostly good (you will hear some stuff but given the numbers sold and minimal amount of actual issues it is quite small), and they continue to improve upon it. None of ours have had an issue. One of my best friends is in sales and drives a ton and his Tahoe with it will hit 200k shortly and it still works great and doesn't use any oil (he checks a few times between oil changes).

 

I wouldn't worry about, works as advertised (should with the amount that use it and for how long they have been putting this in) and the engines are still clamored to be one of the best and most reliable. Buy, enjoy and drive, don't worry yourself with scouring forums for potential issues, that is all you will find and it won't be a proper market coverage of it...

 

Tyler

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Thomcat Senior Enthusiast

Thomcat

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Posted

Two main causes of AFM problems was oil suction through the PCV system and AFM discharge valve oil spray against the cylinder walls clogging the oil control rings and passing oil into the combustion chamber. The 5.3's AFM problems were likely cured in post 1/11 production when the cumulative modifications included, new valve cover to reduce oil suction on the PCV takeoff, AFM valve shield to direct sump discharge away from the cylinder wall, and redesigned hydraulic lifters. My 2nd gen '07 Avalanche had the problem, later '12 and '13 Avalanches had all the AFM mods and didn't burn oil nor exhibit any AFM or lifter related symptoms. Detailed info on the Chevy Avalanche Fan Club site.

 

I have to believe the AFM redesign mods continue into current production. I'd be more worried about relying upon that engine killer oil life monitor in the DIC and the Direct Injection modification to the current engines which provides more power and less pollution cleanup but the eliminates cooling, cleansing fuel spray from the valves by fuel injection directly into the combustion chamber. Newer DI engines use sodium filled valve stems - guess time will tell what, if anything, that cures or causes! Without exposure to fuel, the valves tend to buildup fuel deposits on the valve surfaces. And no amount of tuning or AFM shutoff will change that tendency - one theory is that you can only mitigate but not eliminate the deposit buildup by using tier one gasolines.

 

Engine tuning to eliminate AFM leaves a digital footprint which also eliminates your engine warranty.

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jlilnc14 Enthusiast

jlilnc14

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Thanks guy, glad to hear! Any of you running a catch can on your 2016's? Do you feel it is necessary or not?

gone_fishing Enthusiast

gone_fishing

Posted
Posted

oil consumption comes along with miles once all the PCV venting stuff gets plugged up. mine has 190k and burns a quart every 1000 miles

 

What vehicle?

Billy346 Enthusiast

Billy346

Posted
Posted

I too worried about the afm issues shortly after I bought my truck. I scoured the internet just like you, and eventually came to the the conclusion that most people do not experience these problems.

 

My neighbor has an '08 Suburban with the 5.3 and 90,000 miles. I asked him if it burns any oil, and he told me that it takes about 1 quart every 3,000 miles. In my opinion, this isn't so bad for a truck with 90,000 miles on it, especially in my area where we mostly drive in stop and go traffic. That being said, he has not had a single reliability issue with the truck for the entire time he owned it. I think that should be taken into consideration as well.

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TJay74 Senior Enthusiast

TJay74

Posted
Posted

Sheesh. Still enough evidence to disable or go HD gasser to avoid it.

 

Say what, what evidence??? I am on my second 2014+ DI engine truck and have yet to see any oil consumption issues. The engine in the 2014+ trucks is a completely new design from the previous generation engines, not one part was transferred over into the new DI engines.

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