BREAKING: GM is officially recalling the L87

[BigRedRST]

Perhaps a bit off topic, but are 5.3L owners switching oils too?

 

[PPV_2018]

Perhaps a bit off topic, but are 5.3L owners switching oils too?

Officially: no. Unofficially: depends on who ya ask.

Hold on, lemme grab my popcorn

 

[Antonm]

Those links you posted are old that's when Onstar had the Smartdriver app and you had to accept privacy access 3 times before you could fully install the app and that did record your driving habits and send it to the 3rd party company's which sent it to insurance company's but they got rid of the app due to privacy concerns. So if you think they still do it that would open them up to all kinds of lawsuits.

The smart driver app was just the interface you got from the data collection.

The gauge cluster in the car itself is just the visual interface of information the car’s various computer modules gathers.

Collection of data was never part of the lawsuit, it was how they were using that collected data that was the issue. So sure they got rid of / modified that particular interface / maybe even quit selling data, but the source data that app pulled from still exists and gets expanded all the time as technology advances / gets cheaper.

Bottom line, GM has plenty of data to determine what conditions cause early failures in the L87 and what conditions prolong those failures. And the likelihood that they’ll ever tell us what those are is 0%.
…

 

[Scarey]

Has anybody here failed the inspection and been scheduled for an engine replacement, based solely on the inspection?

I think the knock sensor test is eye wash. First hand, has anybody failed it?

 

[vcode]

Perhaps a bit off topic, but are 5.3L owners switching oils too?

GM is not switching oil on 5.3L's, new 6.2L's, or engines replaced under recall. Owners can run what they want, but I would guess the vast majority are running 0W20 per GM's recommendation as most get their oil changed at a dealer or oil change place.

 

[PPK_]

Will 5.3 change to 0w40?

I will.

i think the GM 0w40 will do two things: first it will help the crank/rods/mains make it longer... second the heavier oil will reduce how much comes off the block that is injected into the intake.. which cokes up the intake valve.. and you end up with needing lifters.. cam or engine from it.

my '24 yukon has 6k miles on it.. and i know.. that the 0w20 end up with quite a bit in my cache can. 5w20 ends up with less in the can. i will move to 5w30 after a few more k miles. i also did an intake valve cleaning.. to clear up a slight hiccup when idling.. now that is a 6k miles.. i expect over time.. that intake that was not closing.. would cause problems in the valve train. i will always clean the intake after an oil change. now i know.

the first drain 700 miles on my '24 had much more than oil come out (see pic). i do not think the tooling is in good shape. the cleaning before assembly is also not in good shape. my last '18 5.3 was clean as a whistle.

all not good. however... i can deal with a little heavier oil and an intake clean. my last two f150s nearly put me in hospital leaking oil and coolant. it is not that bad to do a little maintenance and still be ok...

 

[jfoj]

Most 5.3l and 6.2l owners I personally know are NOT running 0W20. Either 5W30 or 0W40 from what I can gather based on feedback I have received.

0W20 will not end well especially with how the loading is configured on the 6.2l via the Transmission Control Module. When the 6.2l had 6 and 8 speed transmissions they did not see the low RPM high Torque/Lugging the units that the 10 speed vehicles are exposed to.

 

[JTGZ71]

Most 5.3l and 6.2l owners I personally know are NOT running 0W20. Either 5W30 or 0W40 from what I can gather based on feedback I have received.

Still, I would have to assume that 99% of 6.2L owners (at least those pre-inspection) and close to 100% of 5.3L owners are still running the GM-recommended 0W-20. I think this forum, and perhaps the people you know personally, are "enthusiasts" and in the minority when it comes to (a) closely monitoring this whole recall situation and/or (b) changing preemptively to a different oil.

 

[jfoj]

Most people blindly follow the herd, but those in the know do things a bit differently.

 

[vcode]

Still, I would have to assume that 99% of 6.2L owners (at least those pre-inspection) and close to 100% of 5.3L owners are still running the GM-recommended 0W-20. I think this forum, and perhaps the people you know personally, are "enthusiasts" and in the minority when it comes to (a) closely monitoring this whole recall situation and/or (b) changing preemptively to a different oil.

Exactly. People commenting on this forum are just a small fraction of the total population of owners. I would guess the vast majority of 2021+ owners have no idea what oil they are running as they just let the dealer or oil change place take care of it.

 

[JTGZ71]

By the way, I’m not trying to reignite the argument on which oil SHOULD be used. Just saying which oil I think IS being used by the vast majority of the public.

 

[Scagsdale]

Better hope not cause engines are 2-3 months out

GM better hope not. From what I’ve heard things get rough for them if the fix takes over 60 days. The customer probably has to push it and might not understand that, but still….

 

[Blueinterceptor]

I just changed the oil in my 24 Tahoe with 6.2L. I’m on the list and considered going with 0-w40. Dealership recommended against it even though that’s the fix. Because of the warranty

 

[Vladimir2306]

Most 5.3l and 6.2l owners I personally know are NOT running 0W20. Either 5W30 or 0W40 from what I can gather based on feedback I have received.

0W20 will not end well especially with how the loading is configured on the 6.2l via the Transmission Control Module. When the 6.2l had 6 and 8 speed transmissions they did not see the low RPM high Torque/Lugging the units that the 10 speed vehicles are exposed to.

Most of what sample? 3-5 friends? Well, that's enough, you're always trying to pull out some incomprehensible statistics. I can say with confidence, according to the information from the services I communicate with in Russia, almost everyone drives 0-20. Someone has heard a little about 0-40, but nothing more. 5-30 is generally a rarity.

 

[Vladimir2306]

months go by, and nothing changes, one agitates for 0-40 oil, constantly bringing up various ephemeral reasons, not confirmed by anything. Meanwhile, we seem to have a version of the cause of the L87 breakdown. One of our service sent us a Crankshaft from L87 for metal analysis.
Its crankpins are not heat-treated.
On L86, Rockwell hardness is 55-58 roots, crankpins are 55-58
On L87, Rockwell hardness is 55-58 roots, crankpins are 25-27.
25-27 is the level of an ordinary nail.
Thus, we have an interesting set of factors. The liners, which produce metal dust, further abrade the metal on the crankshaft. Then this shavings clog the oil channels, and we get instant oil starvation, which leads to the engine jamming.
What to do?

1. There is no point in 0-40 oil, it will not help. 0-20 oil works fine.
2. Urgently replace the bearings with red ones, I gave their number above. These are the bearings that were developed for the 6.2 4th generation, just for the transition from 5-30 to 0-20 as a counteraction to oil starvation.
3. The greatest wear occurs in slow driving mode, when we try to pull the car in top gear, at low speed with minimum revs, at this moment the crankshaft experiences maximum load. and AFM has nothing to do with it. L9 will probably help, but I would choose either Sport mode, so that the automatic transmission always keeps revs slightly higher than 1000-1300 at which the car drives in Comfort mode.
In general, there was a funny situation with the sport mode, I wrote in the neighboring topic that my automatic transmission broke down, and I had to return home from vacation in Sport and L8-L9 mode, and there and back there was movement at a speed of 90-95 miles per hour. for 1200 miles. I drove there in Comfort and D mode, I arrived at an average speed of about 60 miles per hour for 1200 miles And the fuel consumption was 11.76 mpg. When I returned back with a broken automatic transmission, I drove in Sport mode, and L8-L9, keeping the revs between 2000-3000. Having also driven 1200 miles at an average speed of 60 mph, I got a consumption of 14.7 mpg.

 

[PPK_]

months go by, and nothing changes, one agitates for 0-40 oil, constantly bringing up various ephemeral reasons, not confirmed by anything. Meanwhile, we seem to have a version of the cause of the L87 breakdown. One of our service sent us a Crankshaft from L87 for metal analysis.
Its crankpins are not heat-treated.
On L86, Rockwell hardness is 55-58 roots, crankpins are 55-58
On L87, Rockwell hardness is 55-58 roots, crankpins are 25-27.
25-27 is the level of an ordinary nail.
Thus, we have an interesting set of factors. The liners, which produce metal dust, further abrade the metal on the crankshaft. Then this shavings clog the oil channels, and we get instant oil starvation, which leads to the engine jamming.
What to do?

1. There is no point in 0-40 oil, it will not help. 0-20 oil works fine.
2. Urgently replace the bearings with red ones, I gave their number above. These are the bearings that were developed for the 6.2 4th generation, just for the transition from 5-30 to 0-20 as a counteraction to oil starvation.
3. The greatest wear occurs in slow driving mode, when we try to pull the car in top gear, at low speed with minimum revs, at this moment the crankshaft experiences maximum load. and AFM has nothing to do with it. L9 will probably help, but I would choose either Sport mode, so that the automatic transmission always keeps revs slightly higher than 1000-1300 at which the car drives in Comfort mode.
In general, there was a funny situation with the sport mode, I wrote in the neighboring topic that my automatic transmission broke down, and I had to return home from vacation in Sport and L8-L9 mode, and there and back there was movement at a speed of 90-95 miles per hour. for 1200 miles. I drove there in Comfort and D mode, I arrived at an average speed of about 60 miles per hour for 1200 miles And the fuel consumption was 11.76 mpg. When I returned back with a broken automatic transmission, I drove in Sport mode, and L8-L9, keeping the revs between 2000-3000. Having also driven 1200 miles at an average speed of 60 mph, I got a consumption of 14.7 mpg.

i think... 20 is probably enough for the crank. but 30 will reduce the bypass on the compression which is what drives the oil into the intake manifold which causes the intakes to get coked.. and then that triggers a valve/lifter issue... on the hardness issues.. i have worked big turbines.. hardened steel/chrome/nickel against a lead bearing. the trick is.. too keep the turbine always moving so it rides on the oil...

i think all the 5.3/6.2 need a cache can. from day one. to fix the coked intakes. and a 30 oil. and a carbyte to keep the engine running on all 8 cylinder.

i do have a 3.0 in a '25 SLT 1500... i have never liked the oil burners. i had one volkswagen with a bad igniter.. i had pull the head off.. due to a deposit on it. that is how all my oil burners have treated me... on the other hand.. the 3.0 is a quiet powerful machine (though i think it is related to a bmw N57?) i think it is better than the wore out tooling/terrible coked valve of the 5.3/6.2

the 3.0 has a 100k warranty too. it is hard not to recommend it.

 

[BADRIDES]

GM better hope not. From what I’ve heard things get rough for them if the fix takes over 60 days. The customer probably has to push it and might not understand that, but still….

We tried to order one yesterday and had to put a special order case on it and still have NO idea when or if we will get it. Customer pay job $9800

 

[Vladimir2306]

We tried to order one yesterday and had to put a special order case on it and still have NO idea when or if we will get it. Customer pay job $9800

It is very strange for me that even in the USA it is difficult to order an engine. In Russia there are no problems with this at all. Yes, it is more expensive. But 4 weeks, and I will have a new engine. They actually found one in stock in Russia. and they installed the engine in 2 days it was already in the service, ready for disassembly, inspection and modification.

 

[vcode]

months go by, and nothing changes, one agitates for 0-40 oil, constantly bringing up various ephemeral reasons, not confirmed by anything. Meanwhile, we seem to have a version of the cause of the L87 breakdown. One of our service sent us a Crankshaft from L87 for metal analysis.
Its crankpins are not heat-treated.
On L86, Rockwell hardness is 55-58 roots, crankpins are 55-58
On L87, Rockwell hardness is 55-58 roots, crankpins are 25-27.
25-27 is the level of an ordinary nail.
Thus, we have an interesting set of factors. The liners, which produce metal dust, further abrade the metal on the crankshaft. Then this shavings clog the oil channels, and we get instant oil starvation, which leads to the engine jamming.
What to do?

1. There is no point in 0-40 oil, it will not help. 0-20 oil works fine.
2. Urgently replace the bearings with red ones, I gave their number above. These are the bearings that were developed for the 6.2 4th generation, just for the transition from 5-30 to 0-20 as a counteraction to oil starvation.
3. The greatest wear occurs in slow driving mode, when we try to pull the car in top gear, at low speed with minimum revs, at this moment the crankshaft experiences maximum load. and AFM has nothing to do with it. L9 will probably help, but I would choose either Sport mode, so that the automatic transmission always keeps revs slightly higher than 1000-1300 at which the car drives in Comfort mode.
In general, there was a funny situation with the sport mode, I wrote in the neighboring topic that my automatic transmission broke down, and I had to return home from vacation in Sport and L8-L9 mode, and there and back there was movement at a speed of 90-95 miles per hour. for 1200 miles. I drove there in Comfort and D mode, I arrived at an average speed of about 60 miles per hour for 1200 miles And the fuel consumption was 11.76 mpg. When I returned back with a broken automatic transmission, I drove in Sport mode, and L8-L9, keeping the revs between 2000-3000. Having also driven 1200 miles at an average speed of 60 mph, I got a consumption of 14.7 mpg.

I would be shocked if the journals were not case hardened.

 

[Antonm]

One of our service sent us a Crankshaft from L87 for metal analysis.
Its crankpins are not heat-treated.
On L86, Rockwell hardness is 55-58 roots, crankpins are 55-58
On L87, Rockwell hardness is 55-58 roots, crankpins are 25-27.
25-27 is the level of an ordinary nail.


1. There is no point in 0-40 oil, it will not help. 0-20 oil works fine.

If the crankpins (more commonly referred to as the connecting rod journal of the crankshaft) are not properly hardened, then thicker oil absolutely would make the engine last longer as metal on metal contact with non-hardened steel would cause near instantaneous damage.

Obviously the real right answer would be to replace the crankshaft with one that has been properly heat treated/ hardened (of course), but if you have a crankshaft with soft metal journals, then thicker oil will allow that bad crankshaft to last longer than if using a thinner oil.

GM would know this and is perhaps why they are recommending the thicker oil, to get soft metal crankshafts pasted the warranty period (just a theory, but its plausible).
...