Glitter in 6.2L oil ... please help

[thefrey]

I also swapped the motor mount while I had the pan out (and I’m glad I did) because of all the room. And the motor mount in there quit a long time ago

 

[thefrey]

I wouldn't worry about the Melling solenoid..... It's the actuator that screws into the end of the camshaft and controls valve timing, definitely stick with OEM for that. The solenoid is easy to get to if you have an issue, you're not pulling the cover again to deal with it.

Amazing. I can't thank you enough for all of the help and info you've given me. I really appreciate it. I know what I need to do now and now I just need to do it lol

 

[rdezs]

Now you get to explain to your other half about the long list of stuff...."while we are in there"

Make sure you use the word 'we' so she feels part of everything

New water pump, serpentine belt, the pulley and tensioner, new hoses. Lol, everything is connected to something so the list is as long as you want to make it. Knowing when to stop is the most difficult thing!

 

[rdezs]

Amazing. I can't thank you enough for all of the help and info you've given me. I really appreciate it. I know what I need to do now and now I just need to do it lol

No problem, that's what the forum is for. But not only saves you time working out the little details like that one bolt with a 10 mm box end wrench.... It will answer questions for a lot of people in the future that scroll through the subject matter for years.

Like when it comes to removing the harmonic balancer. There's several listed on Amazon at reasonable prices, but usually you can loan one out with a deposit for most auto parts stores like AutoZone or O'Reilly's. Same for the crankshaft gear. Many people just put a large screwdriver on each side, keep trying to rock it back and forth and eventually it'll pop off. Or a two or three jaw generic puller works well.

You definitely need the crankshaft locking tool. Disconnect your battery. Remove starter. Bolt this thing in place of the starter to hold the crankshaft stationary while you break loose the harmonic balancer bolt. Then remove it. Remove timing cover. Rotate the engine until the timing marks are lined up as in the photo above. The arrow pointed down on the camshaft gear, the dot on the crankshaft gear up. Then reinstall your crankshaft locking tool again. You will leave it installed until after you have torqued not only the camshaft actuator after installing the new chain and gears, but until after you are done installing the harmonic balancer and torquing it down.

 

[rdezs]

3mirrors LS Engine Flywheel Holding Locking Tool Kit Compatible with 4.8 5.3 5.7 6.0 6.2 LS1 LS2 LS3 LS6 Chevy LSX Camaro, Corvette, Trans am, GTO, G8, CTS V, GM Trucks https://a.co/d/aW1MRKy

 

[Geotrash]

So you'd say the Melling solenoid would be good to use?

I also am realistically not going to delete the AFM, so I think a HV pump will be a good thing to add to prolong the engine.

The L94 came with a HV pump from the factory. I used the Melling 365HV on my 2012 and my oil pressure has been great.

And in the interest of continuing to help you spend your money, here is my cam swap thread in case you want to get into a full AFM delete at some point. I'm thrilled with the Cam Motion Stage 2 Truck Cam I went with. The truck is a beast now. Smooth idle and I don't miss the VVT at all. It rips right off the line and I can maintain a higher gear on the same grades when towing 7,500 lbs.

2012 Yukon XL Denali 6.2L Cam Swap Thread

Tie bars next time? Thought about it, but decided to go with Chevrolet Performance lifters and trays. This new cam is relatively low lift compared to the others (.501 for the new Cam Motion vs .553 for the BTR and .578 for the Vinci), and has a relatively gentle ramp, so it should be easy on...

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

 

[thefrey]

The L94 came with a HV pump from the factory. I used the Melling 365HV on my 2012 and my oil pressure has been great.

Oh interesting. Then would a Melling HV still be superior? I'm assuming it will still give me more oil pressure considering the original pump is probably somewhat worn

 

[Geotrash]

Oh interesting. Then would a Melling HV still be superior? I'm assuming it will still give me more oil pressure considering the original pump is probably somewhat worn

It's the one that Summit recommended to me at the time. I don't know if it's superior, but I know that it works very well in the L94. After my initial cam swap, I had to go back in and replace the pump because the factory pump wasn't keeping the pressure high enough - similar to your situation - even though I had replaced the o-ring with the same red one as you initially.

 

[thefrey]

It's the one that Summit recommended to me at the time. I don't know if it's superior, but I know that it works very well in the L94. After my initial cam swap, I had to go back in and replace the pump because the factory pump wasn't keeping the pressure high enough - similar to your situation - even though I had replaced the o-ring with the same red one as you initially.

Gotcha. I'll look into it. Did you need to drop your pan when you installed it or were you able to do it just through the front cover?

 

[Geotrash]

Gotcha. I'll look into it. Did you need to drop your pan when you installed it or were you able to do it just through the front cover?

Had to drop the pan, unfortunately.

Oh, one of the reasons I went with the 3-bolt non-VVT cam was to get rid of that damned tensioner and replace it with the bowtie type for better durability.

 

[rdezs]

The Melling hv will give you more pressure than the OEM high volume

 

[thefrey]

Had to drop the pan, unfortunately.

Oh, one of the reasons I went with the 3-bolt non-VVT cam was to get rid of that damned tensioner and replace it with the bowtie type for better durability.

Well, that's lovely considering I just dropped the pan yesterday and put it back together. Might be doing it again then

 

[Geotrash]

Well, that's lovely considering I just dropped the pan yesterday and put it back together. Might be doing it again then

I know it and I'm feeling your pain. Had to drop my pan 3x myself because of bad lifter trays taking out cams until I figured it out.

 

[thefrey]

I know it and I'm feeling your pain. Had to drop my pan 3x myself because of bad lifter trays taking out cams until I figured it out.

Were you at least able to reuse your oil pan gasket or did you purchase a new one every time?

 

[Geotrash]

Were you at least able to reuse your oil pan gasket or did you purchase a new one every time?

I was able to reuse it, thankfully. Just gotta gently clean up those corners real good.

 

[rdezs]

For everyday street use, the VVT is fantastic. It's what gives you low end torque, which gives you the good fuel mileage, yet you still have 408 horsepower if you wind it out. You can go for much more horsepower with a non VVT cam, and frequently end up with less low end torque and you sacrifice fuel mileage. It all depends on what year goal for the vehicle is. In my case it's my wife's commuter car on her 50 mile a day round trip on a state highway with a 55 mph speed limit. Lol, she doesn't need 500 horsepower. If you do the AFM delete, you don't need the 365 HP pump. I usually install the Melling 10296 with the +10 PSI spring installed, and simply swap out the OEM VVT AFM camshaft for an L92 VVT camshaft.... You'll keep the stock power rating, and lose the AFM but retain variable valve timing. It all depends on what you want to do..... And how fast your wife wants to go

 

[Geotrash]

For everyday street use, the VVT is fantastic. It's what gives you low end torque, which gives you the good fuel mileage, yet you still have 408 horsepower if you wind it out. You can go for much more horsepower with a non VVT cam, and frequently end up with less low end torque and you sacrifice fuel mileage. It all depends on what year goal for the vehicle is. In my case it's my wife's commuter car on her 50 mile a day round trip on a state highway with a 55 mph speed limit. Lol, she doesn't need 500 horsepower. If you do the AFM delete, you don't need the 365 HP pump. I usually install the Melling 10296 with the +10 PSI spring installed, and simply swap out the OEM VVT AFM camshaft for an L92 VVT camshaft.... You'll keep the stock power rating, and lose the AFM but retain variable valve timing. It all depends on what you want to do..... And how fast your wife wants to go

Check your numbers on this because it hasn't matched my research or experience at all. And I went down many rabbit holes both here and on the LS1Tech forums. As best I can tell, VVT is good for MAYBE 15 hp down low - it's mainly a fuel economy play on the L94 - and that 15 hp is easily made up for with the right cam. I have two Yukon XL Denali's - one with the L92 and factory cam with VVT, and one with the cammed L94. Both are Blackbear tuned and the L94 without VVT will run circles around the L92 with VVT.

I'm not saying the VVT is worthless. I'm just saying it's not all that. And they both get about the same gas mileage, for what it's worth.

 

[rdezs]

The amount of peak horsepower you can get with the VVT cam is rather limited. A non BBT cam really opened the door up for higher horsepower. Generally as you add more horsepower with those cams, the power band is up high, and you lose the low end torque. The VVT.... Wether in an l92 without AFM or an old 94 with it.... Both make roughly 408 horsepower with lots of torque right off idle. It's sort of a compromise for driveability reasons. The best way to get the best of both worlds is with more displacement. Such as a 408 cubic inch stroker. There's so many choices in so many variables, it really does depend on what each person wants to use it for. For my wife's commuter and grocery getter, it's more than she'll ever need or use. (She gave it 3/4 throttle getting on the freeway and actually scared herself, LOL)
And if it's destined to be a family car, you might want to consider reliability. You start putting more lift on those valve springs, more pressure on the cam, result in a shorter overall engine life. But that's not a concern for someone after sheer horsepower.

 

[rdezs]

And that l94 with an aftermarket performance camshaft, tuned by black bear.... Totally utilizing the larger injectors that come on the flex fuel engines... Will simply use more fuel, but definitely increases the fun Factor. In theory, in the engine that's putting out more power you should be able to get better fuel mileage if you can keep your foot out of it because it's more efficient..... As long as you're cruising roughly where the torque peak is. If it doesn't make good torque till 2000 RPM, you won't get the good mileage. My wife is getting just under 20 miles per gallon on her commute. That is up from 17.2 when the AFM was active. All stock except for the oil pump, the LS7 lifters, thicker push rods, the OEM L92 camshaft and 1 thousandth taken off each head.

 

[donjetman]

I had the valve covers, intake manifold, valley cover, timing cover, and oil pan off (again) last summer to do a little more cleanup work and preventative mx:
https://www.tahoeyukonforum.com/threads/valley-cover-crank-pulley-etc.149036/
While I was in there:
Replace the crank pulley/balancer, bolt, and seal.
Replace timing cover gasket
Paint valve covers
replace vc bolt seals on pass side
Replace VLOM & gasket with new.
Replace oil pressure sender
Replace oil pump o-ring (again) and added 2nd bolt
Replace oil pan gasket
Replace both belts
Replace cam position sensor
Replace camshaft phaser magnet & gasket
Clean inside and outside of timing cover
Clean inside of oil pan