25' L84 Lifter failing @ 2800 miles.

[newdude]

4 hours ago, silveradosid said:

the 4.3 v6 uses 5-30 and has the same lifters

 

 

Bingo.  As does the LT1, LT2 and LT4 in the Camaro and Corvette and those use 0W-40.  

 

Goes to show you that the 0W-20 move was all about fuel economy goals to meet CAFE and CARB.

Edited October 16, 2025 by newdude

[PunchT37]

2 hours ago, Bikerjon said:

Probably. I doubt like hell any dealership is going to be doing oil analysis. You know they're losing money on most any warranty repair.

It will probably be an engine they don`t see. It`s nice and quiet and gets new oil and a nice fresh new filter at 3 to 4 thousand miles. Changed by me, of course.

 

That thing has been to 5600 rpm`s a LOT in it`s short life. It`s amazing how good that "gutless" 5.3 runs. If that oil was "too thick" that engine would be long gone already.

 

I am an aging mechanic and hot rodder/bracket racer. All of my engines see the redline on a regular basis. Maybe  I`m Italian and was never told? Never a spun bearing or dropped valve or cracked piston from detonation. Yeah, I know this one is computer controlled.

[Z45]

If 0W-20 was the problem, then everyone would be failing.  Oil viscosity is not the problem, parts quality is, not to mention design flaws.  

[newdude]

8 hours ago, Z45 said:

If 0W-20 was the problem, then everyone would be failing.  Oil viscosity is not the problem, parts quality is, not to mention design flaws.  

 

 

I'd agree however, 95% of the AFM/DFM lifter failures we've done are trucks 14-current on 0w20.  4.3s on 5w30 we've done maybe one or two?  And we've yet to open up an LT1 or LT4 for AFM lifter failure and those are 5w30 or 0w40.  

 

One of the lifter failure TSBs talks about oil aeration being a cause of AFM lifter locking pin failure.  0w20 is more susceptible to aeration than 5w30 or 0w40.  0w20 was purely a fuel economy move.    

[KARNUT]

35 minutes ago, newdude said:

 

 

I'd agree however, 95% of the AFM/DFM lifter failures we've done are trucks 14-current on 0w20.  4.3s on 5w30 we've done maybe one or two?  And we've yet to open up an LT1 or LT4 for AFM lifter failure and those are 5w30 or 0w40.  

 

One of the lifter failure TSBs talks about oil aeration being a cause of AFM lifter locking pin failure.  0w20 is more susceptible to aeration than 5w30 or 0w40.  0w20 was purely a fuel economy move.    

It’s curious that if it’s simply oil. Why wait this long for an oil change from 0-20 to something else. Back in the chip shortage days on the window sticker of new trucks. If you didn’t have the chip you got a 50$ rebate for losing a half a mile per gallon. Without activation the cylinder deactivation. That’s a lot of hair splitting for a string of engines failing. It is the same for a heavier weight of oil?

[PunchT37]

8 hours ago, Z45 said:

If 0W-20 was the problem, then everyone would be failing.  Oil viscosity is not the problem, parts quality is, not to mention design flaws.  

Look at ALL the problems today. Across the board. Foreign and domestic. Oil consumption being one. There IS a common denominator today.

 

We didn`t have NEAR all these problems in the past. I know, I was in the business.

[newdude]

53 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

It’s curious that if it’s simply oil. Why wait this long for an oil change from 0-20 to something else. Back in the chip shortage days on the window sticker of new trucks. If you didn’t have the chip you got a 50$ rebate for losing a half a mile per gallon. Without activation the cylinder deactivation. That’s a lot of hair splitting for a string of engines failing. It is the same for a heavier weight of oil?

 

 

Its a combo platter really. 

 

I think the oil factor comes into play on long drain intervals.  The harder its worked, the more the sheer stability drops, the risk of oil related issues increases.  0w20 won't be as stable as a 5w30 or 0w40 on a long drain.  Also, GDI fuel dilution of oil.  Who knows what factor fuel dilution in the oil contributes to these issues.  

 

Its also a parts problem.  There was a legit window of bad lifter production 2020-2021.  I don't know how much of the design of these has changed in the last almost 20 years now, but I'm sure suppliers have changed along the way and manufacturing costs have gotten lower to improve profits.  It is the same p/n service lifter though 2006-2026.  So if an old GMC Envoy Denali needed AFM lifters, its getting the same p/n as a brand new 2026 5.3 with DFM.  

 

 

Edited October 17, 2025 by newdude

[KARNUT]

31 minutes ago, newdude said:

 

 

Its a combo platter really. 

 

I think the oil factor comes into play on long drain intervals.  The harder its worked, the more the sheer stability drops, the risk of oil related issues increases.  0w20 won't be as stable as a 5w30 or 0w40 on a long drain.  Also, GDI fuel dilution of oil.  Who knows what factor fuel dilution in the oil contributes to these issues.  

 

Its also a parts problem.  There was a legit window of bad lifter production 2020-2021.  I don't know how much of the design of these has changed in the last almost 20 years now, but I'm sure suppliers have changed along the way and manufacturing costs have gotten lower to improve profits.  It is the same p/n service lifter though 2006-2026.  So if an old GMC Envoy Denali needed AFM lifters, its getting the same p/n as a brand new 2026 5.3 with DFM.  

 

 

My brother in law against my advice bought a used 2013 Tahoe years ago with low mileage CPO. He buys his synthetic oil and filter on sale at Auto Zone. He changes his oil himself. I told him never go over 5K oil changes. During his move for retirement he routinely pulled a trailer. He’s passing 175K. His other Tahoe is passing 250K its older no cylinder deactivation. He routinely does that. Shortly he will take hers and get her a low mileage CPO. I’m convinced it’s a parts issue and possibly. Probably likely 0-20 oil threshold is 5000K max for light duty applications. 

[ScathaTheWorm]

I don't know how widespread this issue is. The L87 issue is something else, but I wonder what the real frequency and failure rate is. And the real nos of 5.3s made. 

 

I wonder how many happy owners are there that don't have time to complain here. 

[ScathaTheWorm]

23 hours ago, newdude said:

 

 

Its a combo platter really. 

 

I think the oil factor comes into play on long drain intervals.  The harder its worked, the more the sheer stability drops, the risk of oil related issues increases.  0w20 won't be as stable as a 5w30 or 0w40 on a long drain.  Also, GDI fuel dilution of oil.  Who knows what factor fuel dilution in the oil contributes to these issues.  

 

Its also a parts problem.  There was a legit window of bad lifter production 2020-2021.  I don't know how much of the design of these has changed in the last almost 20 years now, but I'm sure suppliers have changed along the way and manufacturing costs have gotten lower to improve profits.  It is the same p/n service lifter though 2006-2026.  So if an old GMC Envoy Denali needed AFM lifters, its getting the same p/n as a brand new 2026 5.3 with DFM.  

 

 

 

Toyota has Ow-16 oil, if that makes you better. But I don't trust the V35A. Too many owners having problems outside the recalled range. 

[silveradosid]

funny newdude you mentioned an old denali, we still have one those, it is at 180k miles and never had a problem with lifters. previous owner never changed the oil for 3 years due to it leaking so much oil and it still runs great

[PunchT37]

I believe these DFM engines will be LESS prone to "lifter failure" even though all lifters are deac style. If one looks at the block setup, the oil path is much shorter than the AFM blocks. Not to mention the clogged VLOM filter. I believe the deac timing being off is mostly the problem with these lifters. So, a shorter oil path to the lifter along with faster computers should cut down on lifter failures even though DFM has twice the odds of lifter failure. Time will tell.

[newdude]

17 minutes ago, PunchT37 said:

I believe these DFM engines will be LESS prone to "lifter failure" even though all lifters are deac style. If one looks at the block setup, the oil path is much shorter than the AFM blocks. Not to mention the clogged VLOM filter. I believe the deac timing being off is mostly the problem with these lifters. So, a shorter oil path to the lifter along with faster computers should cut down on lifter failures even though DFM has twice the odds of lifter failure. Time will tell.

 

 

We've opened up a good amount of DFM.  A couple under 10,000mi.  We just had two in for cams just last week with around 60,000mi.  

[PunchT37]

2 minutes ago, newdude said:

 

 

We've opened up a good amount of DFM.  A couple under 10,000mi.  We just had two in for cams just last week with around 60,000mi.  

I understand. Cam failure not necessarily related to what everyone blames on deac. Roller lifter/cam failure been around since roller cams. 

[Gangly]

When my 2020 Silverado 5.3 hit about 120k miles, I pulled the heads and swapped lifters and pushrods "just to be safe" since I needed the truck to go 200K miles.  At that time, I also switched from 0W-20 to 5W-30.  Upon first startup, it immediately sounded quieter and ran smoother than it ever did on 0W-20, even when new.  It now has ~160K miles on it and continues to go strong, knock on wood.  I'll be looking to purchase a new Silverado in the next year as I approach the 200K mile mark, and it will start off Day 1 using 5W-30, regardless of what the dealer says.

Edited October 22, 2025 by Gangly