5.3 afm lifter failure.

[herm0016]

summit racing got a good chuck of my money...
top end gasket set, lifter guides, lifters, assembly lube and other msc. parts.
and a call to a class action lawyer.

I had an AFM lifter fail in my 5.3l in my 2015 Seirra with 125k miles. The lifters are back ordered and I cant operate without a truck in the spring. need hay, need to be ready to transpo sheep if needed during lambing season, need feed, what if the tractor breaks down? etc. GD the last 2 weeks have been stupid. I have a $25k brick in my garage and as soon as we get back from a trip ill be buying a 25k truck because that's what I need to replace the brick in the garage. i'll wait for the lifters and fix it and sell it to get as much as possible out of it. I cant do a delete because we have emissions inspections. best offer I had as is was 10k. ill spend about 1k fixing it and should get 20+ out of it. dealer just laughs at you and that will be 10k if you bring it here. F them.

going to buy a nice 3/4 ton 08 to 2013 suburban or yukon XL with a 6.0 or maybe an 01 to 06 with a 8.1L. much cheaper than finding a nice excursion, just saw an Excursion sell for 37k with 150k miles, but in very nice shape. F me , it's just about the worst time in history to be forced to buy a truck. been wanting to upgrade to a 3/4 ton as we need a bit more torque over mountain passes and we want something that will last a long time, that we can sleep in the back of. the 'burb will be perfect I think. I'm mad at GM for this shit, but nobody else makes what I want, and don't want the headaches/expensive maintenance of a diesel. it's our second car, main car is a Chevy volt which is fantastic. we both work from home for our full time gigs and we don't use the truck all that much unless we are hauling or doing a road trip where we need a moderate to large amount of stuff, or camping.

anyone else deal with this issue? or know of a way around it?

also seeking advise on tuners, looking at the edge or diablo to turn off AFM and use on the new truck. I have read that once one goes, its more likely to happen again and I don't need that between fixing and selling it. a few different tunes for the 6.0 will be good for mileage and for towing.

 

[RLGL]

anyone else deal with this issue? or know of a way around it?

Just get a stock lifter and throw it in.

 

[Steltek]

That sucks, but know you are not alone.

My brother just literally ordered a new engine for his 2014 Sierra K1500 Crew a few days ago for exactly the same issue - an AFM lifter froze up and literally ate up the cam shaft at 150k miles. I think the new crate engine was like $4800, and the dealer was charging him $2600 to install it. The labor was going to be the same and the parts to fix it were only about $1500 less than the new engine, so that is the way he decided to go. He could do the labor himself, but he works all the time and just doesn't have the free time or energy to do it himself. Bad thing was the engine is backordered out to 5 weeks, so apparently they are a popular item. I wonder why....

And, this was on top of the $1500 he spent a few months ago replacing the AC compressor and radiator after it cracked and let all the coolant out of the system (there are literally aluminum cans thicker than the junk radiators in these trucks).

Instead of doing the delete kit, you should be able to buy an OBDII port AFM disabler like the ones that Range or Diablo sell. As long as you make sure to remove it and drive the truck at least a few days before you get the emissions tested so it can complete its onboard diagnostics, from what I understand it shouldn't have any problem passing.

I have a 2015 Sierra 1500 Crew myself with just under 50k on it. After what happened to my brother, I literally have a Range AFM disabler in my cart at Amazon as I type this. Just holding out until next payday to afford to pay for it.

 

[Steltek]

Just get a stock lifter and throw it in.

I don't know that you can, because from what I understand the AFM lifters are a different size and use a different cam shaft.

 

[herm0016]

Just get a stock lifter and throw it in.

Different cam, different lifter, different pushrod, then you have to change the valley plate, the oil pressure sender and put block pins in the oil galleries past the afm solenoid and reprogram the computer. And after all that I will have to sell my farm and move 50 miles east so I can register it without an inspection. So stfu if you don't know anything about the system.

I would do a delete kit if we did not have inspections. But moving is not really in the cards.

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[herm0016]

That sucks, but know you are not alone.

My brother just literally ordered a new engine for his 2014 Sierra K1500 Crew a few days ago for exactly the same issue - an AFM lifter froze up and literally ate up the cam shaft at 150k miles. I think the new crate engine was like $4800, and the dealer was charging him $2600 to install it. The labor was going to be the same and the parts to fix it were only about $1500 less than the new engine, so that is the way he decided to go. He could do the labor himself, but he works all the time and just doesn't have the free time or energy to do it himself. Bad thing was the engine is backordered out to 5 weeks, so apparently they are a popular item. I wonder why....

And, this was on top of the $1500 he spent a few months ago replacing the AC compressor and radiator after it cracked and let all the coolant out of the system (there are literally aluminum cans thicker than the junk radiators in these trucks).

Instead of doing the delete kit, you should be able to buy an OBDII port AFM disabler like the ones that Range or Diablo sell. As long as you make sure to remove it and drive the truck at least a few days before you get the emissions tested so it can complete its onboard diagnostics, from what I understand it shouldn't have any problem passing.

I have a 2015 Sierra 1500 Crew myself with just under 50k on it. After what happened to my brother, I literally have a Range AFM disabler in my cart at Amazon as I type this. Just holding out until next payday to afford to pay for it.

Yes. Damn. I'll pm you the lawyer I talked to. Jasper is the only one with a 50 state legal afm delete 5.3 engine, they send the engine and a new computer. They have a CARB number and all that. About $5k and on perpetual backorder. I got a quote to fix, 2500 labor plus parts or 3k to swap engines, but I find the engine. Most shops won't touch putting back to stock and no warranties.

Get the tuner asap.
I have heard bad stuff about the range, I'm thinking full tuner so it will work on whatever vehicle I have. What I read is that the range does not always stop the afm from activating, but does keep it from showing on the dash. Maybe fixed now but the evidence was compelling.

I read and heard from a mechanic that it's a problem with the VLOM and stuff on the valley plate that causes them to wear and fail. And the the screen under the oil pressure sender at the back of the intake can get clogged and cause this. May pull the sensor and screen and toss it, like the Mercedes and Audi turbo cars with screens in the turbo oil feeds.

 

[96Firebird]

I've had the Range plugged into my '18 5.3L since almost brand new, no issues with NYS inspection or anything like that. Don't even have to unplug it a few days prior since it doesn't reset anything. I just drive it to get inspected, unplug it from the OBD-II port, and then plug it back in when they're done. I mostly got the Range because I could feel the AFM kicking in when I first got the truck, and I hated it. Ever since I got it, I actually enjoy driving the truck. Sometimes I'll unplug it just to see if everything still works as intended, get frustrated when AFM kicks in, and plug it back in for my sanity.

I only have ~21k on my truck (its not a daily driver), but my dad has a '17 5.3L and I keep encouraging him to get the Range but he won't. I don't want him to run into the same issues of lifters failing.

 

[herm0016]

I've had the Range plugged into my '18 5.3L since almost brand new, no issues with NYS inspection or anything like that. Don't even have to unplug it a few days prior since it doesn't reset anything.

that's interesting. do they do the computer check where they plug the machine in to the obd port, and then run it on a dyno?

 

[96Firebird]

that's interesting. do they do the computer check where they plug the machine in to the obd port, and then run it on a dyno?

We don't have a smog check, if that's what you're asking. They do plug into the port and start the car, idles for a minute or so while the computer does its thing, and then it either says pass or fail. Usually as long as all the readiness monitors are passed (I think NYS allows 1 to not be ready) you're good to go.

Even with a smog test I think you'd be ok. It sucks that we need this solution, I think if I ever do have failure I'll get the parts for AMF delete. Being an engineer, its a bandaid solution that was not well thought out and the fact they continue on with it really irks me.

 

[herm0016]

We don't have a smog check, if that's what you're asking.

Being an engineer, its a bandaid solution that was not well thought out and the fact they continue on with it really irks me.

I am an engineer as well, ME-EM

we have full on smog check with the dyno and tailpipe sensor and computer hookup.

i sold my 2009 Seirra ext. cab at about 100k when we wanted a crew cab. figured they had it dialed in by then and would not have issues. but I was wrong. i love these trucks, but cant have this problem looming over me if I cant get rid of it. maybe ill take it for a smog check with tune and see what happens.

 

[herm0016]

Teardown well begun.

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[herm0016]

Failed lifter, mildly stuck in the block. Carbon build up on valves is common on DI engines. I'll be putting a catch can on this.

Any advice on cleaning up the gasket surfaces?

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