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Question for those that have had the AFM lifter failure.

Lifted07

Full Member
Joined
May 5, 2011
Messages
295
Location
Winnipeg Manitoba, Canada
I have a question for those of you that have suffered the dreaded AFM lifter failure.  When this happened to your Avy, did it tick all the time or just at startup until it was warm?
 
My '07 5.3L beater I just picked up has one stuck lifter on each side of the motor. It runs/idles really rough, smells like raw fuel dumping out the exhaust, and the traction/stabilitrack lights are on causing a hard 1-2 upshift.

It honestly doesn't tick, just a couple seconds maybe before oil pressure builds when you start the truck.

Might be different for everyone.
 
Well the reason I asked is that I have a noisy lifter that ticks until the engine warms up.  There are no codes stored and the Avy runs smooth other than the tick.  I decided to add about a 1/4 of a quart of Marvel Mystery Oil to the engine oil and have driven it so far about 250-300 kilometers and I have to say that it runs a lot smoother and quieter than normal, the tick is almost gone and it seems to have a bit more pep to it than it did as well.  My Avy has just over 260,000 kilometers on it and I do change the oil regularly but at 10k due to using synthetic oil, and going by the oil life monitor I could easily go beyond the 10k mark but never do.  At close to 10k the OLM indicates 15-20% oil life left and this is probably due to mostly highway driving.  It is due for an oil change soon but I think that I may use MMO in the engine oil on a regular basis from now on or at the very least within the last 500-1000 k prior to an oil change to clean out and sludge.  I use it fairly regularly in the gas as well.
 
I've used MMO in my oil with good results, but haven't used it for a while. I do occasionally get lifter tick and more so during the colder months, specifically cold starts. It seems, but I've never really confirmed it, that the ticking happens more often when the oil level is nearing a quart low.
 
Just changed AFM lifters in My 2009
Most Gm"s have a lifter tick when started cold until they warm up (my 02 avalanche has done this since day 1 and has 270,000 miles on it with no issue)
The 2009 i bought with the collapsed lifter bc it was a hell of a deal
Believe me you would no if you had lifter problems it would sound like the motor was going to come apart even after it warmed up and you would be embarassed to drive it. Not a hard job to tackle on your own. If your Truck needs these and your going to do it yourself and have any questions. I will be glad to offer my opinion
 
Assuming your cam was OK, & that you installed the re-designed GM lifters & VLOM.

In your opinion, is there any lifter tick on start-up?

 
The rollers on the bottoms of the lifters were perfect. I took a flashlight and had a buddy roll the engine over by hand very easy to do with the heads off since there is no compression and shined it down the lifter holes. Cam looked fine.( no wear on the cam lobes) As i shouldve noted before the lifter was actually collapsed. When i start the truck cold i notice a little tick but within seconds its gone. I also replaced the original afm solenoid with one from autozone. I do believe there was a TSB from gm about those as well.
 
bograham2007 said:
The rollers on the bottoms of the lifters were perfect. I took a flashlight and had a buddy roll the engine over by hand very easy to do with the heads off since there is no compression and shined it down the lifter holes. Cam looked fine.( no wear on the cam lobes) As i shouldve noted before the lifter was actually collapsed. When i start the truck cold i notice a little tick but within seconds its gone. I also replaced the original afm solenoid with one from autozone. I do believe there was a TSB from gm about those as well.

Well done.

So, cosmetically, the two VLOM's should look different - like night & day.  The new one compliments the re-designed lifters.

Any evidence the pressure relief shield was installed inside the pan?  How about the re-designed driver's-side valve cover?

Reason why I ask is that "some" of the AFM engines were pre-disposed towards collapsed lifters, when they left the factory.

Some had ring/cylinder clearances that were close to the high limit.  Some relief valves sprayed more directly at the affected cylinder.  Some had both issues.

So, if the engine doesn't already burn too much oil, would probably add the shield & valve cover to help protect your investment.

Dealer would be able to verify if any warranty work was installed.

Went into more detail, than normal, to save time.

 
Yes the 2 Vloms looked different and yes the truck already had the warranty work done. Now that you mentioned it i just checked the oil in my 09 before i head to court (n) and it has 2700 miles since i did the work and has used no oil. The stick is where it was when i changed it after the work and before my new breakin period  :laugh: as i like to call it
Nick@night if you get a chance check out the new problem with this new avy any ideas ???? I posted it in the electrical
 
OK, I'm confused.  I have a '05 GMC Envoy (LH6 engine, VIN code "M").  I just ordered a lifter kit.  The kit comes with a new VLOM gasket that apparently is to match the old VLOM.  What I'm concerned about is all this talk about "redesigned" and "updated" VLOMs.  How do these "redesigns" apply to my situation?  Because I have an '05 LH6, is this redesign irrelevant (the redesign is only for other, older 5.3L engines?) OR do I assume the EOM lifters I ordered are matched to the "redesigned" VLOM?  Obviously, a new VLOM means different lifters than the old ones.  A new VLOM will cost me $200 (money I don't have) AND I don't know how to know if these new lifters are for my OEM VLOM, or if they match the redesigned VLOM.

Obviously, I don't want to screw this up, so anyone who knows, please help me figure this out.

Thanks.
 
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