Any after stories with failed lifters?

SilverMak · January 7, 2022

I apologize for the new thread but haven’t seen a thread specifically addressing the after in this situation. I have a 2020 Silverado 1500 5.3 liter with a failed lifter at just under 5,000 miles. The dealership called today, they are replacing all 16. Any after stories either good or bad? Any advice? Any questions I should be asking?

SilverMak · January 7, 2022

Also to anyone that answers, how many miles have you driven since this happened?

Bob Kellerman · January 8, 2022

had mine replaced on 2021 rst 5.3 @ 9000 now 11000 miles no issue since, they only did left side on mine, lifter shortage at the time but seems fine since

Supreme Pizza · January 8, 2022

SilverMak · January 8, 2022

47 minutes ago, Bob Kellerman said:

had mine replaced on 2021 rst 5.3 @ 9000 now 11000 miles no issue since, they only did left side on mine, lifter shortage at the time but seems fine since

How long ago did this happen? Curious because I don’t drive much other than hunting season.

SilverMak · January 8, 2022

47 minutes ago, Supreme Pizza said:

Thanks. I’ll check that out.

Bob Kellerman · January 8, 2022

failed pulling trailer in west virgina, truck started knocking pulled over, Oct 2021 truck sent home to me 15 days later

voided3 · January 8, 2022

The lifters on cylinders #6 and #8 failed on our '21 Silverado's L84 5.3 at 585 miles. As this was prior to the updated TSB guidance, they only replaced lifters on those two cylinders and it took four dealer visits over 51 days (and a few hundred miles of them test driving it) for it to finally get repaired. Be thankful they are replacing all 16 in yours.

The truck is now at roughly 11,700 miles and other than needing a new serpentine belt and idler pulley at 6400 miles, most likely due to removing the stretch-fit belt multiple times for the lifter repairs, it has been fine. The caveat is I exclusively drive it in L7 to disable DFM after a terrible first three months of ownership; it had several other non-mechanical issues, as a cherry on top of the experience, that I won't go into.

We did get extended component coverage on the engine for 6 years/100,000 miles, so insist on that as there is a likelihood of them failing again within that range. I also don't let the engine oil life percentage drop below 50%, which ends up being a roughly 4,000 mile oil change interval, as the oiling systems in these engines are sensitive to oil quality and 0w-20 is basically the viscosity of water. I also have no plans of owning the truck out of warranty after all of the crap we went through with it, so that would be my final piece of advice as lifter repairs out of warranty are $5,000+ easily.

SilverMak · January 10, 2022

On 1/8/2022 at 7:41 AM, voided3 said:

The lifters on cylinders #6 and #8 failed on our '21 Silverado's L84 5.3 at 585 miles. As this was prior to the updated TSB guidance, they only replaced lifters on those two cylinders and it took four dealer visits over 51 days (and a few hundred miles of them test driving it) for it to finally get repaired. Be thankful they are replacing all 16 in yours.

The truck is now at roughly 11,700 miles and other than needing a new serpentine belt and idler pulley at 6400 miles, most likely due to removing the stretch-fit belt multiple times for the lifter repairs, it has been fine. The caveat is I exclusively drive it in L7 to disable DFM after a terrible first three months of ownership; it had several other non-mechanical issues, as a cherry on top of the experience, that I won't go into.

We did get extended component coverage on the engine for 6 years/100,000 miles, so insist on that as there is a likelihood of them failing again within that range. I also don't let the engine oil life percentage drop below 50%, which ends up being a roughly 4,000 mile oil change interval, as the oiling systems in these engines are sensitive to oil quality and 0w-20 is basically the viscosity of water. I also have no plans of owning the truck out of warranty after all of the crap we went through with it, so that would be my final piece of advice as lifter repairs out of warranty are $5,000+ easily.

Thanks for your response. That sounds like a nightmare. I’m trying to avoid that or something worse. I hope your situation stays good. Thanks for the advice about oil, oil changes and DFM. I don’t think they’ll do anything for me warranty wise since this is my first issue and they replaced all 16 but I’ll research and press the dealership.

The dealership doing the repairs is 80 miles away from home. I was out that way today and stopped to get some things out of my truck. They had done the repairs and were doing final testing. They drove her around to where my ride was and the truck sounded great. Nine days after we got towed in. Driving home Monday.

SilverMak · January 10, 2022

voided3

What is L7, how do get there and what does it do? Assuming you mean L when shifting out of park.

WeGone · January 10, 2022

1 hour ago, SilverMak said:

voided3

What is L7, how do get there and what does it do? Assuming you mean L when shifting out of park.

Yes shift to L than use the arrow on the shift level and go to the next to highest gear.. 8 speed would be L7,, 10 speed L9.

voided3 · January 10, 2022

13 hours ago, SilverMak said:

Thanks for your response. That sounds like a nightmare. I’m trying to avoid that or something worse. I hope your situation stays good. Thanks for the advice about oil, oil changes and DFM. I don’t think they’ll do anything for me warranty wise since this is my first issue and they replaced all 16 but I’ll research and press the dealership.

The dealership doing the repairs is 80 miles away from home. I was out that way today and stopped to get some things out of my truck. They had done the repairs and were doing final testing. They drove her around to where my ride was and the truck sounded great. Nine days after we got towed in. Driving home Monday.

That's a pretty good turnaround time; I figure at this point practically every Chevy or GMC dealership has probably done at least one of these repairs and knows the drill. Regarding the warranty, it's certainly worth asking given that you're in the 5,000 mile range. Our dealer also offered free/discounted accessories or wheels/tires as another option, but I was only interested in the coverage as I know extended warranties run in the $2,000-$3,000 range and the truck was already setup the way I wanted it.

SilverMak · January 14, 2022

On 1/10/2022 at 8:03 AM, voided3 said:

That's a pretty good turnaround time; I figure at this point practically every Chevy or GMC dealership has probably done at least one of these repairs and knows the drill. Regarding the warranty, it's certainly worth asking given that you're in the 5,000 mile range. Our dealer also offered free/discounted accessories or wheels/tires as another option, but I was only interested in the coverage as I know extended warranties run in the $2,000-$3,000 range and the truck was already setup the way I wanted it.

They’re not budging on the warranty since this is the first occurrence and they replaced all 16. I’ve had the truck back for 4-5 days and so far so good.

RSVolcom · January 14, 2022

I'm basically waiting for my new engine to be approved per this Thread:

voided3 · January 14, 2022

1 hour ago, SilverMak said:

They’re not budging on the warranty since this is the first occurrence and they replaced all 16. I’ve had the truck back for 4-5 days and so far so good.

That makes sense, but certainly worth asking. You still have the powertrain warranty for 5 years/60,000 miles to buy you some time, at least.

Keep an ear out for your serpentine belt if they didn't replace it, too; they have to remove the belt to perform the repair. Ours started to squeak and slip a few thousand miles after the repair as stretch-fit serpentine belts are supposed to be one-time use and they had re-stretched it twice. They ended up replacing the serpentine belt, A/C belt (probably wasn't needed, but might as well), and idler pulley on ours.