Afm problem

[Jsdirt]

Ahh, the 225! Now that's a beauty right there.

[Grumpy Bear]

8 minutes ago, Jsdirt said:

Ahh, the 225! Now that's a beauty right there.

 

 

Same chassis as the Caddy 62

[mookdoc6]

2 hours ago, Grumpy Bear said:

I'm very happy with the ride and powertrain in my 2009 Buick LaCrosse 3.8 CXL.

That said if I could find a 64 Electra 225.....now there's a ride  

I have owned all 3 generations of the GM 3.8L over the years....Very fond of that engine!  It did have a couple known issues on engine and was mated nicely with a trouble free transmission.  

Edited October 12, 2020 by mookdoc6

[Grumpy Bear]

2 hours ago, mookdoc6 said:

I have owned all 3 generations of the GM 3.8L over the years....Very fond of that engine!  It did have a couple known issues on engine and was mated nicely with a trouble free transmission.  

Series II was troubled some with inlet gasket issues. Series III very trouble free. Family (ours) has owned dozens of these motors. Buicks mostly, a few Pontiacs and Oldsmobile. A few weepers (oil), allot of keepers. Many over 300K trouble free. I feel good about them. 

 

My personally experience with them is limited to the current Series III. My sister and her husband however put 300K + every few years on whatever dad can find for them. Bonneville was the last one. Had nearly 200K on it when they got it. Over 500K now. The man likes to drive  

[Grumpy Bear]

On 10/11/2020 at 4:47 AM, Jsdirt said:

Sure, it'll speed up the process, but, every single engine built with AFM WILL FAIL.

 

21 hours ago, Jsdirt said:

I guarantee it. It's not a question of IF ... but WHEN.

Soooooo...........when you say FAIL do you mean 'wear out' or  "break"?

 

 

[CamGTP]

The 4T65e was surely not a trouble free transmission lol. The list is rather long on known failures. My family has had 4 of those 3.8/4T65e cars. It took them 6-7 years just to upgrade parts to slow down failure.

 

Then they stuck that transmission behind the LS4 5.3 engine and they died even faster.

[Jsdirt]

1 hour ago, Grumpy Bear said:

 

Soooooo...........when you say FAIL do you mean 'wear out' or  "break"?

 

 

9.99 times out of 10, they stick open.

[Jsdirt]

4 hours ago, Grumpy Bear said:

Series II was troubled some with inlet gasket issues. Series III very trouble free. Family (ours) has owned dozens of these motors. Buicks mostly, a few Pontiacs and Oldsmobile. A few weepers (oil), allot of keepers. Many over 300K trouble free. I feel good about them. 

 

My personally experience with them is limited to the current Series III. My sister and her husband however put 300K + every few years on whatever dad can find for them. Bonneville was the last one. Had nearly 200K on it when they got it. Over 500K now. The man likes to drive  

Only thing I hate about those engines is that stupid-assed belt tensioner (might be model specific - not sure). Still trying to figure out who at GM thought it would be a great engineering feat to run coolant through the tensioner!!  And if that wasn't bad enough, they connected the coolant to the tensioner via PLASTIC elbows that bust off inside the engine ... 

Edited October 13, 2020 by Jsdirt

[Grumpy Bear]

52 minutes ago, CamGTP said:

The 4T65e was surely not a trouble free transmission lol. The list is rather long on known failures. My family has had 4 of those 3.8/4T65e cars. It took them 6-7 years just to upgrade parts to slow down failure.

 

Then they stuck that transmission behind the LS4 5.3 engine and they died even faster.

So where does the 2009 model year Lacrosse 4T65e fall in the chain of improvements? I have 49K trouble free on Daisy so far with one complete service at 45K. Fluid and filter. Drop and fill. 

[Grumpy Bear]

12 minutes ago, Jsdirt said:

9.99 times out of 10, they stick open.

 

Wow! I thought they collapsed. 

 

Okay, then when you say 'stick' open do you mean mechanically( burred, galled) OR varnished/glue stuck?

[CamGTP]

All factory upgrades where done by then.

 

Probably the only thing that would happen to something that new is a torque converter issue or breaking the forward band. It would still have all the gears but it won't move in D or 3, only moves in 1st gear and you can manually shift it. On high mileage units the transmission could start shifting hard because of a pressure control solenoid issue or worn clutches. A shift kit can sometimes get some more life out of the transmission.

 

 

The early years have TCC issues, the 4th gear hub would completely strip all the teeth and you'd lose 4th gear forever. If you added power with mods the input shaft could snap on 4-2 and 3-1 downshifts and the chains could brake.

 

TEP was a big builder back when I owned a grand prix and they still some business.

 

https://www.tripleedgeperformance.com/4T65E-Common-Problems.html

 

 

Edited October 13, 2020 by CamGTP

[Jsdirt]

2 hours ago, Grumpy Bear said:

Wow! I thought they collapsed. 

 

Okay, then when you say 'stick' open do you mean mechanically( burred, galled) OR varnished/glue stuck?

Mechanically, 100% of the time.They basically self-destruct.

 

I'm a rolling test bed for the Range device - I'll find out soon enough whether or not that device is going to kick this can far enough down the road for me. At 103k miles (with a blown transmission too, but I digress ...), so I'm right in the red zone of failures. Problem is, I only do about 2,500 miles a year, so it'll be a while (not a bad thing for my wallet!). With the tranny blown (and the differential replacement last year), it'll be even less. 

 

Highest mile one I've ever heard of on original AFM lifters was 135k, give or take a thousand.

[flyingfool]

3 hours ago, Jsdirt said:

9.99 times out of 10, they stick open.

where you able to take it apart and put it back together and get it to function again, or was it damaged?

[Jsdirt]

Once they stick like this, they're scrap.

 

I've heard of guys freeing them up in the engine. Worth a shot on your own vehicle, for sure, but I'd never try that on a customers machine unless they specifically requested it ... and it would be with zero warranty. Just kicks the can down the road. These lifters can also spin, and wipe out the camshaft. They can also just wipe out the camshaft from normal use! I hate these engines, to be honest ...

Edited October 13, 2020 by Jsdirt

[flyingfool]

how was the VLOM screen , did you take that apart yet?