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New to me 2013 Suburban

Iggy913

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Iggy913 Enthusiast

Iggy913

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Greetings all from the east coast of NC. I just picked up a new ride for my family, 2013 Suburban LTZ, significant upgrade from the 2000 Accord we used to use for family outings.

 

Everything seems in great shape with this Truck, I did have an oil pressure issue that with the help of this and other forums, found to be the screen behind the oil pressure sending unit.

 

Aside from typical fluid and filter changes what else should I be looking for? Is the AFM system as bad as everyone makes it sound? We’re going to be holding on to this truck for quite some time so I want to make sure I don’t miss something and keep it in as good a condition as I can. 

 

One last question I did have, does anyone have any recommendations for covering the factory wood grain on the dash and doors? My wife and I are in our early 30s and managed to duck the minivan with this Suburban but don’t care for the simulated wood grain, looking for a brushed aluminum look to cover it. Are entire panels being replaced, decals to cover them?

 

thank you all in advance.

swathdiver Senior Enthusiast

swathdiver

Posted
Posted

Howdy!  You can replace the woodgrain with Titanium if you like, it was used on both Chevrolets and GMCs.  

 

AFM makes these engines not as durable as the Gen III motors.  You can disable it in the tune but the hardware is still there and will someday fail.  Plan on physically getting rid of it if you plan to keep it for a long time.  I've disabled mine with a BlackBear tune and will someday physically remove it.  It failed just prior to my purchasing it at 100k miles and all updated parts were put in but it is going in the trash.

Iggy913 Enthusiast

Iggy913

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Where do I get the titanium look Parts from, are these GM parts? I’d hate to think what they cost. No other options worth looking at?

 

Ive read up on some tuning stuff, this Truck will be driven 90% by my wife so it’s gotta stay smooth, and run on 87/89. 

 

What hard parts would I be looking to replace? Cam, lifters, oil pump from what I’ve read? Anyone done it yet, possible to do with the motor in the truck? Figured getting the cam out would be the hardest due to length. If going in that far you might as well replace the cam with a more efficient design, probably some roller lifters and rockers too, could pick up some free hp lost due to drag and maybe even keep/gain mpg if driven with some sense. Wow can this snowball quickly.

dsr611 Senior Enthusiast

dsr611

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Iggy913 said:

What hard parts would I be looking to replace? Cam, lifters, oil pump from what I’ve read? Anyone done it yet, possible to do with the motor in the truck? Figured getting the cam out would be the hardest due to length. If going in that far you might as well replace the cam with a more efficient design, probably some roller lifters and rockers too, could pick up some free hp lost due to drag and maybe even keep/gain mpg if driven with some sense. Wow can this snowball quickly.

Cam (non-AFM cam) and 16 lifters (all non-AFM parts), oil pump, head gaskets, head bolts, crank pulley bolt, oil pump and oil pan gasket, then a tuner to program AFM out.  It can be done in the truck, but the shop that did mine said it's easier to just go ahead and pull the engine.  Texas Speed and Performance can set you up with everything you'd need.  I had mine done in my '10 SIerra about a year ago, after losing a lifter.  Parts from TSP were right at $600 and tuner was about $300 (or you can get a Blackbear tune).

Iggy913 Enthusiast

Iggy913

Posted
  • Author
Posted

So this AFM System, is it pretty much a guaranteed failure? Even with solid maintenance performed? Even if the system is disabled electronically I’m still looking at dropping a lifter at some point and burning oil due to the high volume oil pump?

 

 

dsr611 Senior Enthusiast

dsr611

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Iggy913 said:

So this AFM System, is it pretty much a guaranteed failure? Even with solid maintenance performed? Even if the system is disabled electronically I’m still looking at dropping a lifter at some point and burning oil due to the high volume oil pump?

 

 

Guaranteed failure?  Not necessarily.  Lifter that failed in mine was a non-AFM lifter (#5 if I remember correctly).  I also think that the 2013 and up models don't have near the issues the 07-12 AFM model years had (GM had updated the lifters by 13).  You can buy the Range AFM disable tool for $150ish (used) and plug it into the OBD port and it will prevent the AFM sytem from kicking in.  I had the range plugged in when the lifter in mine failed.  But why take the chance?  I can say that since I changed all AFM components to non-AFM and disabled the AFM, I am getting better fuel mileage...with AFM, I was getting about 17.5 mpg.  Since going non-AFM, i have been getting 18-18.5 mpg.  I will also say that, any vehicle I purchase in the future, be it GM, Ford, Dodge, import, etc, it will not have AFM/DOD/whatever the other mfgs are calling it.

swathdiver Senior Enthusiast

swathdiver

Posted
Posted
On 2/26/2018 at 8:38 AM, Iggy913 said:

Where do I get the titanium look Parts from, are these GM parts? I’d hate to think what they cost. No other options worth looking at?

 

Ive read up on some tuning stuff, this Truck will be driven 90% by my wife so it’s gotta stay smooth, and run on 87/89. 

 

Yes, Titanium is a GM color but now that I think about it, there is a website that sells wraps in a dizzying array of styles and colors.  I'll have to think about it some more.

 

You'll get better gas mileage running 91/93 and your cost per mile would be even less running E85.  Running a top tier fuel from Mobil or Chevron will deliver at least several miles per gallon greater efficiency, not to mention the detergents and additives that keep the intake and injectors clean.  E85 is like running race gas.  In thirty some years of driving it's been my experience that cheap gas costs more to run than higher octane no matter the auto we were driving.

Logan Lanfear Enthusiast

Logan Lanfear

Posted
Posted

Its not that its necessarily going to fail at a certain point.  But it does have serious reliability issues and if your engine were to drop a valve then you can pretty much kiss it goodbye.  Much cheaper to yank it out if you plan to keep the rig for the long run.  As you will probably get more issues if you decide to keep it later down the road.  

bgbdwlf2500 Enthusiast

bgbdwlf2500

Posted
Posted
On ‎2‎/‎26‎/‎2018 at 6:40 AM, Iggy913 said:

Greetings all from the east coast of NC. I just picked up a new ride for my family, 2013 Suburban LTZ, significant upgrade from the 2000 Accord we used to use for family outings.

 

Everything seems in great shape with this Truck, I did have an oil pressure issue that with the help of this and other forums, found to be the screen behind the oil pressure sending unit.

 

Aside from typical fluid and filter changes what else should I be looking for? Is the AFM system as bad as everyone makes it sound? We’re going to be holding on to this truck for quite some time so I want to make sure I don’t miss something and keep it in as good a condition as I can. 

 

One last question I did have, does anyone have any recommendations for covering the factory wood grain on the dash and doors? My wife and I are in our early 30s and managed to duck the minivan with this Suburban but don’t care for the simulated wood grain, looking for a brushed aluminum look to cover it. Are entire panels being replaced, decals to cover them?

 

thank you all in advance.

I would do the transmission filter and the 6 quarts to fill it back up (not a flush), change rear diff fluid and front if its 4x4, and change the engine oil and filter no matter the mileage. Depending on the mileage, plugs and wires.

  • 2 weeks later...
T1Kaiju Enthusiast

T1Kaiju

Posted
Posted

The titanium trim pieces were on Z71 tahoe/burb/avy, and some of GMC Denali pieces ( other pieces are a different color/grain wood look). Inlaws had a Z71, and I didn't think they looked any better - swathdivers vinyl wrap suggestion has much more possibilities including some very nice wood grains. As for the AFM, I wouldn't do anything about it now except tune it out (and the tune will make it drive better). The truck is 5 years old, and failure is not certain (and if it does, you can put a fresh 6.2 in). Spend your money finding mods to do as there are so many, and remeber a lot of avalanche and suburban parts are interchangable as they ride on same chassis...

Sent from my SM-T350 using Tapatalk

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