Lifters & Cam Need Replacing

Melks · July 10, 2019

So this week I brought my truck into the dealership because of a ticking and squealing sound mostly when the engine was cold. After touching base with the service advisor the following day he notified me that the truck needs lifters and a cam. Parts have been ordered (5-7 days) and they will be doing the repair under warranty.

The truck only has 69,000km (5.3L) and it doesn't take a beating. I get 13L/100km mileage. Thankfully the truck is still under warranty (5 year/160,000km), but I find it odd that the cam shaft needs to be replaced on the truck at this point.

Anyone else dealt with a similar issue at this stage in their trucks life?

L86 All Terrain · July 10, 2019

If the AFM lifter collapse, it can put pressure on the pushrod and damage a cam lobe. You are lucky they are changing the camshaft too, makes me wonder how many just get new lifters put in the top end then kicked out the door without ever even looking at the bottom end.

Pretty sad state of affairs but what can we do? EPA regulates GM and all automakers into reinventing the wheel every 2-3 years so we get unproven and unreliable technologies to meet their ridiculous demands. Who ends up paying for all this crap on the long haul? The consumer of course. Have to keep that snowball economy growing until it cant anymore.

Kylebr1 · July 10, 2019

2 hours ago, Melks said:

So this week I brought my truck into the dealership because of a ticking and squealing sound mostly when the engine was cold. After touching base with the service advisor the following day he notified me that the truck needs lifters and a cam. Parts have been ordered (5-7 days) and they will be doing the repair under warranty.

The truck only has 69,000km (5.3L) and it doesn't take a beating. I get 13L/100km mileage. Thankfully the truck is still under warranty (5 year/160,000km), but I find it odd that the cam shaft needs to be replaced on the truck at this point.

Anyone else dealt with a similar issue at this stage in their trucks life?

Pretty common , I would advise having your AFM turned off via hp tuners or equivalent.

Melks · July 10, 2019

21 minutes ago, L86 All Terrain said:

If the AFM lifter collapse, it can put pressure on the pushrod and damage a cam lobe. You are lucky they are changing the camshaft too, makes me wonder how many just get new lifters put in the top end then kicked out the door without ever even looking at the bottom end.

Pretty sad state of affairs but what can we do? EPA regulates GM and all automakers into reinventing the wheel every 2-3 years so we get unproven and unreliable technologies to meet their ridiculous demands. Who ends up paying for all this crap on the long haul? The consumer of course. Have to keep that snowball economy growing until it cant anymore.

Well said. Yea I am lucky my warranty is still good for another 16 months, but I am worried this won't be the end of this matter. After dropping the truck off I didn't hear back for almost 2 days so I called in to follow up and this is what they told me, "Needs lifters and cam". Seems odd for a lightly driven truck and only 69,000km I will let them repair under warranty, and try my best to get something out of GM on this one moving forward. Any suggestions or words of wisdom?

Melks · July 10, 2019

15 minutes ago, Kylebr1 said:

Pretty common , I would advise having your AFM turned off via hp tuners or equivalent.

Yea the more I read up on this matter the more I am hearing about this option... thanks

the33z33 · July 10, 2019

Just from what I've read, getting a Range AFM Disabler or tuning it out like mentioned above helps prolong the life a bit since it's not shutting oil off to some lifters every time it goes into V4 mode.

The only real piece of mind to be had is mechanically... so a DOD delete kit that sports non-AFM lifters and all the block off plates and such that come with.

Melks · July 10, 2019

3 minutes ago, the33z33 said:

Just from what I've read, getting a Range AFM Disabler or tuning it out like mentioned above helps prolong the life a bit since it's not shutting oil off to some lifters every time it goes into V4 mode.

The only real piece of mind to be had is mechanically... so a DOD delete kit that sports non-AFM lifters and all the block off plates and such that come with.

I will have to do some research on a tune shop in my area that can get this job done right when the time is right. Or I will have to trade in for a new truck when warranty expire or the issue arises again. Bought this truck new for the first time and the 5 year/160,000km warranty did give me some peace of mind, but 3.5 years in and I didn't see this one coming

Kylebr1 · July 10, 2019

I have 105,000 km now with AFM turned off and have had zero issues .

Melks · July 10, 2019

1 minute ago, Kylebr1 said:

I have 105,000 km now with AFM turned off and have had zero issues .

Good to hear. Did you have any lifters replaced in the past?

Kylebr1 · July 10, 2019

16 minutes ago, Melks said:

Good to hear. Did you have any lifters replaced in the past?

No engine work at all .

newdude · July 10, 2019

Seen some get cams at work. If the lifter gets stuck right it scores the piss out of the cam, especially if the lifter spins in the retainer. Roller ain't rolling no more if that happens.

Cpl_Punishment · July 10, 2019

2 hours ago, Kylebr1 said:

I have 105,000 km now with AFM turned off and have had zero issues .

How's your fuel economy with and without AFM?

Kylebr1 · July 10, 2019

1 hour ago, Cpl_Punishment said:

How's your fuel economy with and without AFM?

15.8L per 100 Truck is lifted 4 " on 35s no gears 5.3 6 speed .

the33z33 · July 11, 2019

19 hours ago, Kylebr1 said:

15.8L per 100 Truck is lifted 4 " on 35s no gears 5.3 6 speed .

That's actually not terrible for being lifted on 35s. I hang around 18.2 lowered on 30s with the factory 3.08 gears 6 speed.

My range disabler comes in today. Can't wait to finally use my 6th gear and stop driving around in M5 all the time lol.

Silverado-Hareek · July 11, 2019

My opinion is that the $700 AFM delete kit is not necessary. Consider this: Corvettes are sold with the ability for the driver to turn AFM on and off on their own, plus if you put your truck in M5, there is no AFM. I don't think simply tuning out the AFM or using a Range device will harm anything considering GM already gives you the ability to not have to use V4 mode on the Corvette and anything less than M6 on the trucks. Blackbear has also been turning off AFM with a tune for years and I don't read about any issues from that. They've been doing it since AFM was first introduced in 2007.

Edited July 11, 2019 by Silverado-Hareek