2017 Suburban new owner

Ryan Demel · December 16, 2020

New owner new poster here.

Just got a new burb with just under 70k miles. I am a bit concerned about the level of possible carbon build up on the intake valves as I can only assume the previous owner never did any valve cleaning services.

I am in woodlands TX area. and cant seem to find a shop that has any knowledge or advise that relates to intake valve cleaning or their experience with L83 engines and how bad they gunk up the intake valves.

Couple of questions:

should I be concerned? or am I over thinking?
Does BG or other chemical cleaning like CRC make a difference? can it cause damage?
Has anyone done a walnut blast or other mechanical cleaning on an L83?
Anyone know a shop in Conroe/woodlands/ north Houston that can do good valve cleaning other than chemical?
Any other things to look out for or be aware of on the suburban? its 4x4 with max tow = 2speed transfer case, and 3.42 rear end. came with the luxury package and the video and sun roof package as well.

Mandalorian · December 16, 2020

You're likely overthinking it on carbon buildup. Run top-tier gas, synthetic oil changes every 5k miles, disable AFM if you want, and you should be fine. Otherwise, keep an eye on leaks from the sharkfin antenna, TSB out for that. That's about it though, 2017 is a solid year.

Ryan Demel · December 16, 2020

30 minutes ago, Mandalorian said:

You're likely overthinking it on carbon buildup. Run top-tier gas, synthetic oil changes every 5k miles, disable AFM if you want, and you should be fine. Otherwise, keep an eye on leaks from the sharkfin antenna, TSB out for that. That's about it though, 2017 is a solid year.

I see the Range Technology AFM disabler online... any recommendation for AFM disable? its certified preowned with anther added extended warranty. will AFM disabler void warranties?

How about catch cans?

Where does the shark fin leak show up? headliner I assume...

CamGTP · December 16, 2020

I made a thread of my intake valves at 104,000 miles, they didn't worry me at all.

The range AFM dealio doesn't void any warranty. You can remove it before it ever went in for a service.

George100 · December 18, 2020

The shark fin leak comes in through the Drivers side visor area. You will notice that the area will start dripping when it rains or is in wet snow. If you look at your shark fin at the base you will notice that it has a small hole for drainage but it could be facing towards the back of the vehicle, what the dealer does, at least for mine was take a new gasket that now has the drain hole facing down towards the front so water will not enter the gasket from the rear. It did the trick for me and that and realigning the drivers door have been the only two warranty claims for me.

Ryan Demel · December 19, 2020

On 12/18/2020 at 10:48 AM, George100 said:

The shark fin leak comes in through the Drivers side visor area. You will notice that the area will start dripping when it rains or is in wet snow. If you look at your shark fin at the base you will notice that it has a small hole for drainage but it could be facing towards the back of the vehicle, what the dealer does, at least for mine was take a new gasket that now has the drain hole facing down towards the front so water will not enter the gasket from the rear. It did the trick for me and that and realigning the drivers door have been the only two warranty claims for me.

good deal. thanks for the tip. Ill have a look at my gasket and see if looks questionable and maybe give the local dealer a call to see they can correct it under the TSB.

Anyone have any experience or a thread link reviewing the Range AFM disabler?

Mikey999 · December 27, 2020

Just use none other than top tier gas and if you can budget shell gold it has no ethenol filler. But another affordable way to maximize on top tier is costco regular which is 5x detergent where as most top tier stations are using 2x detergent. Dont worry about it there is not much else you can do. There are some injector head services out there but id like to see if they actually work . Our dealer offer some sort of static charged injector head cleaning decarbonozing service. I worry such things could make things worse. Budget for future valve lifter repair or injector take apart cleaning that may need to be done when carbon buildup effects your engine to a point where it has to be done.