The millionth AFM question on this forum

[Kspinazzola]

So... I am thinking about selling my 14 Silverado in favor of a 07-13 Silverado and going back to daily driving a car. 
only concern I have for these trucks is the AFM. I know otherwise the trucks are solid as hell

so. I’ve been told the work truck trim did not get the AFM feature and don’t have to worry about it. But I’m having trouble finding many crew cab work truck trim trucks.

If I get a tuner for a LT or LTZ truck to deactivate AFM, do I have to worry about AFM burning up my lifters? Or is this a permanent fix to the issue?

[swathdiver]

38 minutes ago, Kspinazzola said:

So... I am thinking about selling my 14 Silverado in favor of a 07-13 Silverado and going back to daily driving a car. 
only concern I have for these trucks is the AFM. I know otherwise the trucks are solid as hell

so. I’ve been told the work truck trim did not get the AFM feature and don’t have to worry about it. But I’m having trouble finding many crew cab work truck trim trucks.

If I get a tuner for a LT or LTZ truck to deactivate AFM, do I have to worry about AFM burning up my lifters? Or is this a permanent fix to the issue?

The 5.3 engines have AFM.  The 4.8 does not and I do not believe the V6 has it in this generation.  The 6.2 used in these trucks from 2009+ is the L9H which does not have AFM either.  The 6.2s are in the 2010-2013 NHT trucks or the Sierra Denalis.  The 2007-2009 L76 6.0 motor also has AFM and in the first two years was backed by the 4L70 Supermatic and in 2009 with the 6L80.

 

The earlier 5.3s had more problems with AFM.  From 2010-2011 the AFM system received new design lifters, an improved valve cover and a shield for the bypass in the oil pan to prevent oil loss.  The biggest improvement was the new VLOM.  Now if you turn AFM off in the tune, the AFM lifters are still in there and many do fail around 100K but if you buy a truck with more than that, chances are it's been done already.  You can also physically delete it.  The later years or if it's been upgraded are far more reliable.  AFMs worst enemy is dirty oil.

 

I was freaked out too when looking and shortly after buying my truck.  I planned to turn it off.  Had it tuned first and turned off and decided to leave the hardware, truck runs great and oil analysis are great.

 

Look for a lumpy valley cover under the intake to see if it is equipped with AFM.  Put the DIC in Instant MPG mode to tell if and when it goes into V4 mode.

 

Truck is a lot safer to drive than a car, so consider that.

[WilliamBos]

I would look for a 4.8 Flex fuel truck, no afm and high flow injectors & fuel pump.  This leaves tons of room for performance mods.

 

The crew cabs had huge issues with roof rust, so check that out.

 

I would keep the 14, two vehicles always cost more.

 

I used to own an 11 Sierra, I would not give up my 17 for one.

 

My 04 was a far nicer truck than the 07-13, I consider that gen a huge step backwards. 

[diyer2]

My 04 was a far nicer truck than the 07-13, I consider that gen a huge step backwards. 
How so?

Like my 2012 Sierra coming from a 93 Silverado.

 

[amxguy1970]

3 hours ago, swathdiver said:

Truck is a lot safer to drive than a car, so consider that.

First of all trucks are not safer than cars, they are more prone to roll overs, they are more prone to not avoiding an accident to being with or being the cause of one by not being able to handle or stop quick enough. They are only good for hitting other smaller objects, other wise in physics terms they are more mass to being to an abrupt stop. A larger sedan would be safer than a truck. 

 

OP, don't worry about AFM, the failures are such a small decimal percentage out of the millions made don't let a few people sway you in to thinking they are some failure prone issue because that is wrong. Some of the very early adopters had some issues as it was newer technology but as of late problems have been few and far between. We have had multiple go well over 100k in our family with out oil consumption issues or failures. I have many friends with GM trucks and I don't know anyone who has heard of anyone that has had a failure. One of my best friends went nearly 300k on his Tahoe with it and didn't touch anything other than routine maintenance. Buy what you like and enjoy, GM is know for making durable drivetrains. 

 

Also, unless you have a long commute doing the switch most likely won't be much savings. Many people did that when gas was $4 a gallon and it rarely worked out to saving money everything considered (two cars to insure, purchase, register, pay taxes on, trade in, etc.). Unless you just want the comfort and quietness of a car then that is understandable and having a truck for work and towing duties on the side. 

 

Tyler

[WilliamBos]

1 hour ago, diyer2 said:

My 04 was a far nicer truck than the 07-13, I consider that gen a huge step backwards. 
How so?

Like my 2012 Sierra coming from a 93 Silverado.

 

Simple engineering - 07-13 was designed/built during the bankruptcy era.  04 had superior seats, better quality interior. Ever change headlights/parking lights in a 99-06?  One of the best designs ever - slide two pins up and assemblies come out.  The 07-13 were a nightmare, especially for parking lights.

 

99-06 were a superior truck to the 07-13.

[Black02Silverado]

1 hour ago, WilliamBos said:

Simple engineering - 07-13 was designed/built during the bankruptcy era.  04 had superior seats, better quality interior. Ever change headlights/parking lights in a 99-06?  One of the best designs ever - slide two pins up and assemblies come out.  The 07-13 were a nightmare, especially for parking lights.

 

99-06 were a superior truck to the 07-13.

Yes, love the ease of getting to my head lights and parking lights.  The engineer that developed that should win the Nobel Peace Prize. 

[Kspinazzola]

7 hours ago, amxguy1970 said:

First of all trucks are not safer than cars, they are more prone to roll overs, they are more prone to not avoiding an accident to being with or being the cause of one by not being able to handle or stop quick enough. They are only good for hitting other smaller objects, other wise in physics terms they are more mass to being to an abrupt stop. A larger sedan would be safer than a truck. 

 

 

OP, don't worry about AFM, the failures are such a small decimal percentage out of the millions made don't let a few people sway you in to thinking they are some failure prone issue because that is wrong. Some of the very early adopters had some issues as it was newer technology but as of late problems have been few and far between. We have had multiple go well over 100k in our family with out oil consumption issues or failures. I have many friends with GM trucks and I don't know anyone who has heard of anyone that has had a failure. One of my best friends went nearly 300k on his Tahoe with it and didn't touch anything other than routine maintenance. Buy what you like and enjoy, GM is know for making durable drivetrains. 

 

Also, unless you have a long commute doing the switch most likely won't be much savings. Many people did that when gas was $4 a gallon and it rarely worked out to saving money everything considered (two cars to insure, purchase, register, pay taxes on, trade in, etc.). Unless you just want the comfort and quietness of a car then that is understandable and having a truck for work and towing duties on the side. 

 

Tyler

That’s good to hear, my main reason to go to a car is to get back into sportier coupe and downgrade my truck to more of a work truck less of a daily driver. As soon as I brought that up to my buddy he told me his dad had an 08 Silverado with AFM that burned up right after warranty ended and cost big $, but from what I’ve heard I will most likely not have to deal with it, this gen has been around for a little while so engines are cheap and plentiful if needed, and I will probably look for one with 130-180K so if needed it’s probably already done. I’m not scared of mileage on a Chevy, these things are solid as hell. Just wanted to see how to best decrease my chances of dealing with that headache 
thanks for all the input guys I appreciate it 

[swathdiver]

20 hours ago, amxguy1970 said:

First of all trucks are not safer than cars, they are more prone to roll overs, they are more prone to not avoiding an accident to being with or being the cause of one by not being able to handle or stop quick enough. They are only good for hitting other smaller objects, other wise in physics terms they are more mass to being to an abrupt stop. A larger sedan would be safer than a truck. 

If you drive like a nut the chance of a rollover is greater.  What trucks have that cars don't is visibility and situational awareness and those things keep accidents from happening.  Mine stops from 60 in less than 140 feet, a few feet shorter than my daughter's Impala.  My parents and siblings and I have all been seriously injured in small car accidents.  Some of us swore them off for minivans and trucks and we've not been in an accident since.  Trucks are safer than cars, especially these when you look up the NHTSA ratings.

 

20 hours ago, WilliamBos said:

Simple engineering - 07-13 was designed/built during the bankruptcy era.  04 had superior seats, better quality interior. Ever change headlights/parking lights in a 99-06?  One of the best designs ever - slide two pins up and assemblies come out.  The 07-13 were a nightmare, especially for parking lights.

 

99-06 were a superior truck to the 07-13.

The GMT-900s were designed and produced years before the crash.  There are things better and worse about them when compared to the 800s.  They were supposed to get the IRS and fancy tailgate as later releases which were cancelled because of the drama of Obama. 

[WilliamBos]

On 4/14/2020 at 6:53 AM, swathdiver said:

If you drive like a nut the chance of a rollover is greater.  What trucks have that cars don't is visibility and situational awareness and those things keep accidents from happening.  Mine stops from 60 in less than 140 feet, a few feet shorter than my daughter's Impala.  My parents and siblings and I have all been seriously injured in small car accidents.  Some of us swore them off for minivans and trucks and we've not been in an accident since.  Trucks are safer than cars, especially these when you look up the NHTSA ratings.

 

The GMT-900s were designed and produced years before the crash.  There are things better and worse about them when compared to the 800s.  They were supposed to get the IRS and fancy tailgate as later releases which were cancelled because of the drama of Obama. 

The fact that they were built during the bankruptcy era was quite obvious.

 

im glad IRS was cancelled, leave that for soccer mom suv’s.  The 2021 F150 will have IRS, but only on the all electric trucks.

[MaverickZ71]

On 4/13/2020 at 4:22 AM, Kspinazzola said:

So... I am thinking about selling my 14 Silverado in favor of a 07-13 Silverado and going back to daily driving a car. 
only concern I have for these trucks is the AFM. I know otherwise the trucks are solid as hell

so. I’ve been told the work truck trim did not get the AFM feature and don’t have to worry about it. But I’m having trouble finding many crew cab work truck trim trucks.

If I get a tuner for a LT or LTZ truck to deactivate AFM, do I have to worry about AFM burning up my lifters? Or is this a permanent fix to the issue?

Go read the "is your GMT900 truck or suv burning oil" survey in this GMT900 forum and then decide on your own.  No matter what some people on here would have you think, the 55+ pages of posts there confirm without a doubt that many many thousands, if not millions, of serious AFM problems exist out there and thus GM AFM problems are NOT just an infinitesimal percentage fluke. 

 

"There are 2 kinds of GM AFM vehicles--those that already have problems, and those that will have problems."--my GM Service Manager.  

[MaverickZ71]

On 4/13/2020 at 4:59 AM, swathdiver said:

The 5.3 engines have AFM.  The 4.8 does not and I do not believe the V6 has it in this generation.  The 6.2 used in these trucks from 2009+ is the L9H which does not have AFM either.  The 6.2s are in the 2010-2013 NHT trucks or the Sierra Denalis.  The 2007-2009 L76 6.0 motor also has AFM and in the first two years was backed by the 4L70 Supermatic and in 2009 with the 6L80.

 

The earlier 5.3s had more problems with AFM.  From 2010-2011 the AFM system received new design lifters, an improved valve cover and a shield for the bypass in the oil pan to prevent oil loss.  The biggest improvement was the new VLOM.  Now if you turn AFM off in the tune, the AFM lifters are still in there and many do fail around 100K but if you buy a truck with more than that, chances are it's been done already.  You can also physically delete it.  The later years or if it's been upgraded are far more reliable.  AFMs worst enemy is dirty oil.

 

I was freaked out too when looking and shortly after buying my truck.  I planned to turn it off.  Had it tuned first and turned off and decided to leave the hardware, truck runs great and oil analysis are great.

 

Look for a lumpy valley cover under the intake to see if it is equipped with AFM.  Put the DIC in Instant MPG mode to tell if and when it goes into V4 mode.

 

Truck is a lot safer to drive than a car, so consider that.

I had the TSB done in 2013 on our GMT900; that covered the new valve cover design with the revised PCV orifice and the oil deflector in the oilpan, along with top engine cleaning.  That helped, but it still uses too much oil.  This is the first I've heard of a revised AFM lifter design and revised VLOM--can they be retrofitted to a 2009 LC9 5.3?  Part numbers?  If you change out the VLOM does it require any PCM reprogramming?

[swathdiver]

32 minutes ago, MaverickZ71 said:

I had the TSB done in 2013 on our GMT900; that covered the new valve cover design with the revised PCV orifice and the oil deflector in the oilpan, along with top engine cleaning.  That helped, but it still uses too much oil.  This is the first I've heard of a revised AFM lifter design and revised VLOM--can they be retrofitted to a 2009 LC9 5.3?  Part numbers?  If you change out the VLOM does it require any PCM reprogramming?

My '09 got all the new parts in 2016, worked flawlessly until '17 when I had BlackBear turn it off.  No need for PCM programming.  Mine doesn't use a drop of oil.

 

De-Ac Lifters = 12645725 (I think this PN has already been superceded.)  These are the 3rd design also used in Gen V engines if memory serves.

VLOM = 12571609

 

Replacing VLOM is SOP when doing AFM repair as is the replacement of lifter guides.

 

https://www.enginebuildermag.com/wp-content/uploads/Articles/03_01_2012/986163348GMGENI_00000054947.pdf

[Kspinazzola]

5 hours ago, MaverickZ71 said:

Go read the "is your GMT900 truck or suv burning oil" survey in this GMT900 forum and then decide on your own.  No matter what some people on here would have you think, the 55+ pages of posts there confirm without a doubt that many many thousands, if not millions, of serious AFM problems exist out there and thus GM AFM problems are NOT just an infinitesimal percentage fluke. 

 

"There are 2 kinds of GM AFM vehicles--those that already have problems, and those that will have problems."--my GM Service Manager.  

 

Interesting forum. Glad I read it. I’m thinking I will go for an 03-07 previous gen truck. The only reason I wasn’t before was because I live in New England. Most of them are rotted by now around here. I’m thinking of taking a trip down south to get one and drive it back. We’ll see what happens. With this quarantine going on I have a little more time to figure it out than usual