2019 Trail Boss

flattop · August 13, 2019

Hi Folks,

My son is looking at a new 2019 Silverado Trail Boss crew cab 4X4. It has the 3:42 gears and the 6 speed and apparently the older style (AFM) 5.3 engine.

Looks like it has a key, not push button start? Does that mean it wont have the stop/start feature like the (DFM) engines?

Flattop

MX86 · August 13, 2019

Must be looking at a custom trailboss and that is correct. No DFM = No start stop

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Sin City Trail Boss · August 13, 2019

Correct. Custom has 5.3 with AFM and 6 speed. It has NO A/S/S.

Trust me, you want this over the 5.3 DFM and 8 speed. MUCH less issues with the Customs.

snox700 · August 13, 2019

1 hour ago, Sin City Trail Boss said:

Trust me, you want this over the 5.3 DFM and 8 speed. MUCH less issues with the Customs.

Care to elaborate?

smrr1 · August 13, 2019

1 hour ago, Sin City Trail Boss said:

Correct. Custom has 5.3 with AFM and 6 speed. It has NO A/S/S.

Trust me, you want this over the 5.3 DFM and 8 speed. MUCH less issues with the Customs.

I lol’d at A/S/S. Took me a second.

Sin City Trail Boss · August 13, 2019

36 minutes ago, snox700 said:

Care to elaborate?

Sure. The 5.3 with DFM is new, too early to tell what issues it may have or how severe. DFM also comes with Auto Start Stop and that concerns me as well. I don't want anything to do with that crap.

The 5.3 AFM has been out for a long time now and all the quirks have been worked out for the most part. Same with the 6 speed. This pairing is pretty darn reliable now.

The 8 speed is horrible and there is a class action lawsuit against GM for it. Just look online about how many people have had issues with theirs.

Maybe I am old school, but I prefer to stick with less tech on my engines.

snox700 · August 13, 2019

7 minutes ago, Sin City Trail Boss said:

Sure. The 5.3 with DFM is new, too early to tell what issues it may have or how severe. DFM also comes with Auto Start Stop and that concerns me as well. I don't want anything to do with that crap.

The 5.3 AFM has been out for a long time now and all the quirks have been worked out for the most part. Same with the 6 speed. This pairing is pretty darn reliable now.

The 8 speed is horrible and there is a class action lawsuit against GM for it. Just look online about how many people have had issues with theirs.

Maybe I am old school, but I prefer to stick with less tech on my engines.

Cool, thanks. I'm considering a new 1500 (I think you commented on my original post, too) and I'm having you're same thoughts. The higher trims are great, but the simpler, proven drivetrain is appealing.

Also agreed on A/S/S. I pulled the dash on my F-150 and wired the auto start/stop permanently off cause I just didn't want to deal with it or any potential longevity issues.

Sorry for the slight thread hijack, OP.

Sin City Trail Boss · August 13, 2019

3 minutes ago, snox700 said:

Cool, thanks. I'm considering a new 1500 (I think you commented on my original post, too) and I'm having you're same thoughts. The higher trims are great, but the simpler, proven drivetrain is appealing.

Also agreed on A/S/S. I pulled the dash on my F-150 and wired the auto start/stop permanently off cause I just didn't want to deal with it or any potential longevity issues.

Sorry for the slight thread hijack, OP.

Also, for 2020 you can get the new 10 speed, which I hear is a very good transmission. No experience personally with it however.

I think a really sweet setup would be the 6.2 with 10 speed. If I had to buy a new truck again, it would probably be this pairing.

snox700 · August 13, 2019

7 minutes ago, Sin City Trail Boss said:

Also, for 2020 you can get the new 10 speed, which I hear is a very good transmission. No experience personally with it however.

I think a really sweet setup would be the 6.2 with 10 speed. If I had to buy a new truck again, it would probably be this pairing.

I haven't driven the 6.2 yet... for my wallet's sake.

Sounds like GM's 10-speed calibration has been better-received than Ford's , but I've driven a few '19 F-150s with the same 10-speed and that tranny is quite nice.

Thomcat · August 13, 2019

Appears DFM is a more reliable hardware setup than AFM because it doubles the number of oil control valves and eliminates the Lifter Oil Manifold Assembly built into a valley cover by moving and mounting the control valves directly in the engine block. No more LOMA to engine block gaskets, bolts to loosen and manifold directed distribution of oil for a direct faster response.

Apparently by controlling all instead of half the lifters this arrangement also eliminates the oil bypass valve in the LOMA disabling half the (AFM) cylinders which discharges into the sump. Veterans '07-'11 AFM systems suffered oil ring control clogging leading to oil burning caused by oil from the discharge valve overloading the rings. No more LOMAZ, no more discharge valve, no more AFM related oil burning.

Individual cylinder valve control in DFM is not much more complex than DI sequencing on the fuel or ignition advance on individual cylinder. Lifters are the same, only complexity introduced was in the software managing double the amount of cylinders than the older AFM system.

https://gm-techlink.com/?p=11880

flattop · August 14, 2019

Thanks for the reply's folks!

Sin City Trail Boss · August 14, 2019

4 hours ago, Thomcat said:

Appears DFM is a more reliable hardware setup than AFM because it doubles the number of oil control valves and eliminates the Lifter Oil Manifold Assembly built into a valley cover by moving and mounting the control valves directly in the engine block. No more LOMA to engine block gaskets, bolts to loosen and manifold directed distribution of oil for a direct faster response.

Apparently by controlling all instead of half the lifters this arrangement also eliminates the oil bypass valve in the LOMA disabling half the (AFM) cylinders which discharges into the sump. Veterans '07-'11 AFM systems suffered oil ring control clogging leading to oil burning caused by oil from the discharge valve overloading the rings. No more LOMAZ, no more discharge valve, no more AFM related oil burning.

Individual cylinder valve control in DFM is not much more complex than DI sequencing on the fuel or ignition advance on individual cylinder. Lifters are the same, only complexity introduced was in the software managing double the amount of cylinders than the older AFM system.

https://gm-techlink.com/?p=11880

Good info. So do you recommend people with AFM use a AFM disabler to maximize engine life?

Cpl_Punishment · August 16, 2019

On 8/13/2019 at 1:50 PM, snox700 said:

I haven't driven the 6.2 yet... for my wallet's sake.

Sounds like GM's 10-speed calibration has been better-received than Ford's , but I've driven a few '19 F-150s with the same 10-speed and that tranny is quite nice.

On 8/13/2019 at 1:37 PM, Sin City Trail Boss said:

Also, for 2020 you can get the new 10 speed, which I hear is a very good transmission. No experience personally with it however.

I think a really sweet setup would be the 6.2 with 10 speed. If I had to buy a new truck again, it would probably be this pairing.

For 2020, to get the 10 speed in the TB, don't you have to get the 6.2? I believe that engine also has DFM in the T1s.

Hill CountryTrailBoss · January 16, 2020

On 8/16/2019 at 1:31 PM, Cpl_Punishment said:

For 2020, to get the 10 speed in the TB, don't you have to get the 6.2? I believe that engine also has DFM in the T1s.

I'm sitting in a 2020 TB with the 5.3 ecotech3 and a 10 speed trans. It's a DFM engine with Start/Stop.