The saga of the p0011

[Discodisco]

My escalade keeps throwing a p0011 vvt code and has a very slight intermit misfire. Ive replaced the cam sprocket/ actuator, bolt/valve, magnet, sensor, and timing cover harness in one shot but the code comes back. If im driving to the on the freeway for 60 miles it will come on and go off like 5 times. Idle oil pressure is 20psi, 2k cruising pressure is about 50 so I dont suspect a cam bearing issue. The vvt responds normally when im doing the actuation with the scanner at idle. What am I missing? l92

 

[Foggy]

That's a tough one based on what you;ve already done....
Is your engine totally stock ?? Has it been "tuned" in any way?
What type and weight of oil are you using ????
What year and specific engine are you working on ??
The replacement parts : what brand ? and Where did you purchase them ?????

 

[mikez71]

any chance the timing chain stretched or tensioner worn out?

 

[Discodisco]

That's a tough one based on what you;ve already done....
Is your engine totally stock ?? Has it been "tuned" in any way?

Engine is bone stock

What type and weight of oil are you using ????

Motul 5w40

What year and specific engine are you working on ??

2007 l92

The replacement parts : what brand ? and Where did you purchase them ?????

Delco bolt, tensioner, harness, and magnet
Gates actuator
I own a shop purchased thru my vendors.

 

[Discodisco]

any chance the timing chain stretched or tensioner worn out?

Tensioner is new and the chain did not seem stretched, was about the same ive seen on other LS engines.

 

[Discodisco]

That's a tough one based on what you;ve already done....
Is your engine totally stock ?? Has it been "tuned" in any way?
What type and weight of oil are you using ????
What year and specific engine are you working on ??
The replacement parts : what brand ? and Where did you purchase them ?????

Also the misfires seem to only occur on bank 2 when they do occur.

 

[Fless]

What does the freeze frame data look like for the code? How much different (the variance) is the desired camshaft position vs. the actual?

Ivan at Pine Hollow Auto Diagnostics does a lot of testing for issues like this with a scope. Here's an example, but he doesn't use a scope on this one. The work on the cam DTC starts at about 10 minutes in. Some of his other videos show the scope setup.

 

[swathdiver]

Motul 5w40

^^^^ There's the problem right there. ^^^^

5W30 meeting Dexos1 Gen2 standard. Go to Walmart and get a couple bottles of Quaker State Full Synthetic 5W30 and an ACDelco PF48 oil filter. Change the oil a couple times to get all the old stuff out and the problem ought to go away provided your trouble shooting was thorough and by the book.

 

[donjetman]

In my 6+ yrs & 70k miles of L92 ownership I've run:
0w20
5w30
5w40
0w40
10w30
Never had an issue or made a difference in the way it runs. It has 199k miles now.
Motul is TOP tier.
The only oil filters I've used are Fram Ultra & Titanium.

 

[Foggy]

^^^^ There's the problem right there. ^^^^

5W30 meeting Dexos1 Gen2 standard. Go to Walmart and get a couple bottles of Quaker State Full Synthetic 5W30 and an ACDelco PF48 oil filter. Change the oil a couple times to get all the old stuff out and the problem ought to go away provided your trouble shooting was thorough and by the book.

I run the 5w40 in the hot summers around here.. esp when towing...
I switch back to 5w30 in the late fall thru spring.. It's never thrown any codes or
misfires (for me anyway)

 

[Foggy]

Dang Discodisco
Sounds like you've done it right....with good parts.. but those can often be
black market knock offs from ebay/amazon. But if you got them thru regular channels
they are surely the real ones......Ugh....
Wiring circuit past the harness you replaced ??? Ground issue???
Could it be possible that the cam sprocket got 1 tooth off when you replaced it???
Sounds crazy.. I see where you're frustrated

 

[blondie70]

I'm running 5-w40 Euro in mine....nary a problem.

 

[Discodisco]

In my 6+ yrs & 70k miles of L92 ownership I've run:
0w20
5w30
5w40
0w40
10w30
Never had an issue or made a difference in the way it runs. It has 199k miles now.
Motul is TOP tier.
The only oil filters I've used are Fram Ultra & Titanium.

Yeah I don’t see the oil being the issue

 

[Discodisco]

Dang Discodisco
Sounds like you've done it right....with good parts.. but those can often be
black market knock offs from ebay/amazon. But if you got them thru regular channels
they are surely the real ones......Ugh....
Wiring circuit past the harness you replaced ??? Ground issue???
Could it be possible that the cam sprocket got 1 tooth off when you replaced it???
Sounds crazy.. I see where you're frustrated

It was off when I initially did it and immediately gave me a p0016 for cam crank correlation so I tore it back down and reset timing, no more correlation but the p0011 persists

 

[swathdiver]

Every time I see trouble with VVT and everything else has been checked, when queried, the wrong oil was being used.

It's in the shop manual. Obviously, not everyone has this problem as attested to by my friends here.

 

[donjetman]

I've been here (TYF 07-14 engine) for 6+ yrs and I can't remember anybody having a VVT system failure?

Other things in the timing cover area that can fail:
Timing chain, gears, and or tensioner?
Cam position sensor,
Camshaft phaser magnet
pulley and seal

 

[Discodisco]

I've been here (TYF 07-14 engine) for 6+ yrs and I can't remember anybody having a VVT system failure?

Other things in the timing cover area that can fail:
Timing chain, gears, and or tensioner?
Cam position sensor,
Camshaft phaser magnet
pulley and seal

Of that list the only thing that hasn’t been replaced is the chain itself

 

[mikez71]

Delco bolt, tensioner, harness, and magnet
Gates actuator
I own a shop purchased thru my vendors.

Bad cam sprocket? Or is that delco also?

 

[Discodisco]

Bad cam sprocket? Or is that delco also?

I don’t think so, nothing is impossible but it’s a gates sprocket which isn’t a low quality part. I spoke to a buddy who’s a gm tech and he suggested I look at some things.

 

[Discodisco]

For the sake of helping the next guy I’m gonna try to keep this thread informed until I have a fix or delete the vvt altogether and put a fun cam in it. I spoke to a buddy who’s a gm tech and he suggested I run a new 5v wire from the pcm to the cam sensor. He says these harnesses aren’t the best as they age which makes sense as mine has seen better days. I have checked for a 5v at the sensor previously which was good but it’s possible during operation it’s shifting and causing an open circuit. I’m going to try it Monday and see what happens. I’m slightly suspicious of the oil pressure leaking past the #2 cam bearing but I would think I’d have oil pressure issues if that was the case.