Another 5.3 AFM Dead Lifter Issue - Help Me Decide What to Do

[Fairweatherider]

I posted this in a Silverado/Sierra forum today but since I'm already a member here, I figure I'll post it here too since the 5.3 motor is used on trucks and SUVs alike and some of you may have some good insight. I'm in a bad spot. Here goes:

Bought a 2014 Silverado Z71 with a 5.3 with cash from an individual, not a dealership. Test drove fine. Sounded good, felt good, etc. I bought from the 2nd owner and the truck has 92K miles on the clock. Mods include headers with full custom exhaust, and a Black Bear Performance tune for 92 octane.

Two days later, check engine light comes on but I didn't have a scan tool with me since I had to travel to buy this truck. Everything ran fine and felt and sounded fine. The following day, extremely rough idle and the check engine light is blinking. Drove for only two more minutes to get it safely off of the road where I could park it. Went to Autozone to get a scanner and found misfire on cylinder 6. I replaced the plug and the coil without any luck. I started the motor several times to test my work. I started it, drove it on to a trailer, and trailered it 5 hours home and dropped it off with a local shop.

Here is the response from the shop:

"After performing a compression test, found cylinder 6 only getting up to 113psi while the other cylinders were 190+ psi. This indicates that a lifter collapsed and possibly bent a pushrod. There is also a screech noise when turning the engine over to perform the compression test indicating it most likely turned and ate the camshaft. Recommend replacing the engine due to the metal being in the oiling system and any possible irrepairable damage done to the engine."

The shop is quoting me $15,687 for the job. This is a remanufactured engine from Jasper for $6,801 and labor at $4,189. The rest is parts. This also includes a proper DOD delete.

I'm saddened that I bought a truck that immediately suffered a catastrophic failure and will be $$$$ to fix. What do you all think? Should I get the truck home and attempt to replace just the lifters, possibly cam, etc? Or am I in for an engine replacement?

The shop states that they won't repair the existing engine since the engine is likely full of metal shavings and the repairs will eventually fail or other parts will fail and then I would be in for an entire engine replacement.

 

[PPV_2018]

Man that suuuxx . I can empathize.

Fwiw, i too am currently sitting on a paperweight vehicle with a dead lifter.

Long story short, friend of a friend of mine is ASE master tech at GM, he had done some small work for me years prior, and is a generally trustworthy guy. I inquired on pricing to repair the lifter and he said at my mileage, the engine is probably toast and would need to have the entire engine replaced. “Family” discount on engine replacement incl. parts+labor (but NOT including DOD delete, because GM won’t do it) was not too much less than what you were quoted.

Other than that i cannot advise you as i am also wondering what to do at this point, but i can offer a couple of options that i myself are considering:

a.) could try to replace the lifter and possibly the cam yourself, would be the cheapest way to get the truck rolling again . . . but assuming there is no internal damage ie: metal bits about in the engine, you’re still at the mercy of afm cylinders 1, 5, and 7 failing or even possibly non afm lifters failing .. which would put you right back at square 1

B.). You could try to do an entire d.o.d delete yourself, which would cost a bit more, and assuming no internal damage from the lifter failure, would net you a healthy new, actual v8 engine that should bring you many years of reliability. One downside to this is sending off the pcm to get flashed for non d.o.d which would keep the truck with more downtime. .. but just like option a, if you do all this and there is internal damage, you’re right back at square 1

C.) you could have ( a different shop) replace just the one lifter. See what happens.

D.) you could spring for an engine replacement.. WITH d.o.d delete of course, but this will most definitely sting you and your pocketbook.

That’s pretty much your only options. It’s a roll of the dice really but in a way, I’m personally leaning to just replacing the one lifter and seeing what happens. If the engine is not cooked.. i may consider doing the proper d.o.d delete soonafter.

Good luck with your decision

Ps: i would verify myself that the lifter is collapsed and/or bent pushrod. My lifter (cyl 1) collapsed, but the pushrods are fine .

 

[swathdiver]

Shops don't want that truck taking up their bay when it's easier to talk people into an engine swap.

Pull the rocker cover on that side and see if there's play in that cylinder. Stick a camera down the spark plug hole (you can buy them cheap on Amazon) and have a look at the head and pistons and cylinder walls.

Do check your oil.

If you do elect to repair the truck, use GM OE parts. There are lots of counterfeits floating around like lifter trays that fail before you reach the end of the block.

For that kind of money you could put a performance 6.2 or a junkyard 5.3 with a supercharger!

 

[Fairweatherider]

Do you all know how many minutes/hours/miles it takes of driving with a collapsed lifter to warrant a full engine replacement? It was driven for somewhere between 2 and 5 minutes just to get it off of the road, then started and idled several time. Then pulled onto the trailer, then off. That's it.
I'm really leaning towards just replacing the lifter myself. If I do, can you approximate my total cost after gaskets, etc?
If there are metal shavings in the motor and the thing grenades later on, then I could spring for a full engine replacement.
Lastly, does a collapsed lifter ever lead to valve or valve seat damage? Or am I just replacing a lifter and possibly a pushrod.

 

[Fairweatherider]

I like your idea of a performance 6.2 If I did that, would I need to replace the exhaust manifolds, computer, injectors, etc? How about the transmission?

 

[Fairweatherider]

I'm reading thread after thread on here about people who've had a collapsed lifter then did a full DOD delete from Texas Speed. A major question I have and haven't seen an answer to is: did these engines hold up? Or was there metal shavings floating around which later caused a full melt down?

 

[solli5pack]

Are you going to d.i.y the job? I would start taking the motor apart and see what you find. Pull the head and see if the lifter self destructed or if it's just collapsed. You could even just replace the lifters on cyl 6 if you wanted. Also it will give you a look at the cam to see if it's damaged. But before all that checking your oil for glitter will help tell if the motor is full of debris. If it's clean then I wouldn't give up on it yet.

 

[solli5pack]

I'm reading thread after thread on here about people who've had a collapsed lifter then did a full DOD delete from Texas Speed. A major question I have and haven't seen an answer to is: did these engines hold up? Or was there metal shavings floating around which later caused a full melt down?

I haven't heard about anyone losing a motor after a afm delete due to metal in the motor.

 

[Dustin Jackson]

I don't think a new engine is warranted but it would be good to perform some due diligence before repairing this one. I had a lifter turn and eat the cam in my 5.3 and that was 30k miles ago.

I would check the oil filter and oil pan for metal and if all seems good I would do an AFM delete - new lifter and cams and everything else then give the motor a couple oil changes after you have it running again. Looking at less than $2k instead of $16k it's worth a shot

 

[PPV_2018]

I haven't heard about anyone losing a motor after a afm delete due to metal in the motor.

I think the question was in regards to damage from the initial failure, not directly tied to the afm delete itself.

But as mentioned OP, have you checked the oil yet? If there is no metal debris it may be a good sign a repair could get you rolling again .

 

[Fairweatherider]

Yes, DIY. I really don't have the time for it but am willing to do this myself just to save the money. I spent a great deal on the truck and don't want to spend more getting it running.
Thanks for the replies everyone. I will get it back from the shop tomorrow or the next day and order gaskets, etc and get to work. I will report back here whatever I find.

 

[swathdiver]

I like your idea of a performance 6.2 If I did that, would I need to replace the exhaust manifolds, computer, injectors, etc? How about the transmission?

You said this is a 2014, right? I don't know too much about the parts they use. Anyone else know?

 

[rdezs]

Actually the 2014 Silverado with the 5.3 is different from the SUVs. You can confirm this by checking where your coolant temperature sending unit is. If it's up front on top of the engine, and not directly in front of the exhaust manifold on the driver side .... Then you likely have the next generation with direct injection.

There's a couple places online that are absolutely free to run your VIN number to get your specs. I would start by doing that.

I'm pretty sure you have a generation 5, L83 engine.

https://www.onallcylinders.com/2018...ce-bore-stroke-cylinder-heads-cam-specs-more/

 

[rdezs]

If so, a Silverado forum might be the best place to look up the AFM delete. (Or maybe here on the 2015+ models that have the 5.3.... I'm just not sure on the generation 5's of that era.)

 

[Noggles]

If this is a 5.3 truck then yeah it’s the gen 5 LT based engine which is different from the gen 4 LS based engines in the 2014 SUVs. There is a little more work to do for the dod delete on those generation engines but nothing impossible.

I’d start with draining the oil and looking for metal there. Also pull the oil filter and cut it open (don’t use a regular saw) and see if there is metal in the pleats. If yes to either of these then I’d assume the shop might be right and you’d be on borrowed time with that engine even after a delete. Maybe it lasts 10 more years, maybe it spins a rod bearing next week.

Best place on here would be the 15+ section as that’s when the SUVs got the same engine

 

[Jim b]

If it was me and the 5.3 meets your needs I would pull the engine and just do a refresh with the DOD delete. I have refurbished many GM , ford, chrysler engines with a hone job, valve grind, new cam, cam bearings and lifters, timing set etc. Very inexpensive and have always had great results. Remove the crank clean the engine with solvent then soap and water (simple green), flush the heck out of the oil passages with hot water then blow them out with shop air. It is a lot of steps but none of them are difficult. Occasionally I have had to put in a reground crank or have 1 cylinder sleeved but that is usually due to a special cause not normal wear. I always build with reputable aftermarket parts. TRW, Mahl. Fel pro etc. New oil pump ALWAYS!

 

[2015TahoePPV]

A local shop quoted me $5K to do the AFM delete in frame. I wasn't willing to risk it because it had 190K miles/ 14K hours of mostly police use on it. Honestly that's not a bad option.

I got a reman 5.3 from Accurate Engines in Michigan for ~4K, it came deleted (they build to your specs). They reprogrammed my ECM and it was good to go, except for all of the self-inflicted issues that I caused with the install (fuel rail bent, injectors, etc-read my thread). You're looking at $4-5K in labor if you're paying someone to R&R and swap over all of your parts/ sensors/ injectors/ etc.

Looking back, I should have gotten a junkyard pullout L8T, I would have been back on the road a lot faster and I think that engine is a beast and will probably go the distance. It would have saved me a fortune in new parts while I was at it.

Welcome to the club!

 

[georgerenner]

I posted this in a Silverado/Sierra forum today but since I'm already a member here, I figure I'll post it here too since the 5.3 motor is used on trucks and SUVs alike and some of you may have some good insight. I'm in a bad spot. Here goes:

Bought a 2014 Silverado Z71 with a 5.3 with cash from an individual, not a dealership. Test drove fine. Sounded good, felt good, etc. I bought from the 2nd owner and the truck has 92K miles on the clock. Mods include headers with full custom exhaust, and a Black Bear Performance tune for 92 octane.

Two days later, check engine light comes on but I didn't have a scan tool with me since I had to travel to buy this truck. Everything ran fine and felt and sounded fine. The following day, extremely rough idle and the check engine light is blinking. Drove for only two more minutes to get it safely off of the road where I could park it. Went to Autozone to get a scanner and found misfire on cylinder 6. I replaced the plug and the coil without any luck. I started the motor several times to test my work. I started it, drove it on to a trailer, and trailered it 5 hours home and dropped it off with a local shop.

Here is the response from the shop:

"After performing a compression test, found cylinder 6 only getting up to 113psi while the other cylinders were 190+ psi. This indicates that a lifter collapsed and possibly bent a pushrod. There is also a screech noise when turning the engine over to perform the compression test indicating it most likely turned and ate the camshaft. Recommend replacing the engine due to the metal being in the oiling system and any possible irrepairable damage done to the engine."

The shop is quoting me $15,687 for the job. This is a remanufactured engine from Jasper for $6,801 and labor at $4,189. The rest is parts. This also includes a proper DOD delete.

I'm saddened that I bought a truck that immediately suffered a catastrophic failure and will be $$$$ to fix. What do you all think? Should I get the truck home and attempt to replace just the lifters, possibly cam, etc? Or am I in for an engine replacement?

The shop states that they won't repair the existing engine since the engine is likely full of metal shavings and the repairs will eventually fail or other parts will fail and then I would be in for an entire engine replacement.

Here I was quoted 7000 to have my 6.2 replaced with a used one. So you mavbe have some less expensive options. The metal in the pan is not the gold we are looking for! Have courage!

 

[RET423]

Metal doesn't "float around" metal sinks, if you still have oil pressure there is no way I would replace an LS with 92k on the clock

The parts for me last year to delete my wifes (which had 94k on the clock) was less than 500 but I reused the cam; it will cost you a few hundred bucks more if you need the cam

I could do the tune myself so that saved a little as well but I would definitely need a more reason that a bad cam lobe to give up on one of these engines that is under 100k

My wife's has been her daily driver since May 2024 & it runs great, there's a whole thread on that delete somewhere on this site

 

[KC 2013 Tahoe]

Yes, DIY. I really don't have the time for it but am willing to do this myself just to save the money. I spent a great deal on the truck and don't want to spend more getting it running.
Thanks for the replies everyone. I will get it back from the shop tomorrow or the next day and order gaskets, etc and get to work. I will report back here whatever I find.

The purpose of the oil filter is to FILTER the oil. Any metal particles small enough to remain in suspension will go into and get trapped in the filter media, whereas any larger pieces will remain in the pan which can be drained. If you're doing the DOD delete yourself, you'll have an open lifter valley and valve covers removed. Once they're apart you can flush those areas with brake parts cleaner to rinse any residual particles into the oil pan. Do this with the drain plug removed and a large container underneath to capture it all. Better still, pull the pan when done and clean it out too. Any residual small particles will get trapped in the new oil filter. Granted this isn't perfect, but given you drove it minimally and it only has 92K miles you'll most likely be fine. My son's Trans Am (400CI Pontiac) suffered a wiped cam lobe and it too had metal particles... we did the above and it still runs great to this day, 10's of thousands of miles later. Kevin