Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Aldeer General Forum Chevy Lifter Issues

So how many of you have had engine lifter problems in Chevy trucks. My went out on my 2017 at 66,000 miles. Not under warranty. Replaced at Chevy dealer. Went out again 6,000 miles later and was under warranty. Has gone out again 6,000 miles later and under warranty from the last repair. I will now put in the module to keep it from shifting into 4 cylinder. But I talk so many people that have this problem with the Chevy engines. No doubt the only way to go is to add the $150 module to keep it from shifting but it is sad that Chevy is making such poor engines now.

I had a lifter fail and did a full AFM/DOD delete last year. It’s crazy that they haven’t been able to get a recall on chevy lifters, but that’s what happened when you were bailed out and have a ton of lobbyists.

What are the signs to them going out?

There are none at least mine did nothing except go out.

You will hear a ticking sound. You won't hear it from the cab but if the vehicle is running and you step out and listen you hear a tick, tick, tick. It will get louder if you keep driving it and eventually the cam shaft will be damaged. If it gets the cam shaft you are looking at $6000 in repair.

mine ticks, but you got me looking up the price of parts. camshaft is $98 to $300 and lifters are about $43 from rockauto. seems like a job I might do myself when the time comes. looks pretty easy

I like your optimism! Buddy just spent $6K getting the top end rebuilt and AFM delete for this very issue.

You might have found a very profitable side hustle😁

Mine is a 2018. It started “chirping” almost like a belt or pulley, to the point I changed belts and water pump. Chirp eventually turned into more of a knocking and missing. My #3 lifter was bad and ate into the cam. Went back with all new lifters and cams, seals, valves, oil pump, re-machined head and deleted the fuel management system and required some tuning.
I haven’t had the truck back very long but it’s driving great and my mpg is as good as when it was dropping 4 cylinders prior to the delete.
If I had it to do over, I would do the delete as soon as my factory warranty went out. I’m not sure if it would have prevented one of those lifters from going out, but maybe extend its life a little. I do feel like what I’ve done now should eliminate that problem going forward.

Failed lifter on my '10 Sierra at about 125k. Replaced the lifters and cam with non-AFM lifters and cam, new oil pump, new ARP hardware, etc (AFM-DOD Delete kit from TSP). Parts were a little over $1200 if I remember correctly and labor to do the work was about $1800 ($3000 for everything, out the door). After I got it back, I was getting better mileage than I did with the AFM active.

I know of 2 or 3 other guys that had lifter failures in their's also (around the same model year as mine). They didn't use non-AFM parts, and have had to have theirs rebuilt again. I don't know if the non-AFM parts will work in the 14 and newer models though (I dont think they will)

The module isn’t going to save it. It will prolong the issue. Sell the truck

And by the way, it’s camshaft and lifters that should be replace. The bad lifter causes a lobe on the camshaft to be worn. You gotta replace it

My buddy bought a brand new chevrolet silverado zr2 with the 6.2 last year. Driving down interstate, truck made a noise and shut down. Was towed to local dealership. Engine was blown up with 27k miles. Took them over a month to put a new motor in. He didnt even make it back home, 70 miles and the new engine blew up. So now hes on his third engine. Yes, he's getting rid of it.

It's not just chevy. My Ram 2500 with a 6.4 Hemi did it. It's common in them. It took the motor out and cost $10,000 and three months to get one.

I have a 2008 with 170,000 miles and do not have any chirping (yet). Anyone know who in Tuscaloosa does the delete and what that involves?

To do it correctly and get away from AFM totally, the cam and lifters would need to be replaced with non-AFM lifters from the previous generation 5.3 engines (01 up to the 07 classic). You can get the kit from Texas-Speed (or several other online retailers). You'll also need the ECM tuned to remove the AFM programming. Nearly any engine shop can do the work (this isn't the same as tuning/deleting a diesel, which most shops won't do now due to EPA coming down on them with big fines). Don't know about Tuscaloosa, but down here there are several "performance engine" shops that do the work on a regular basis.

The only way to fully get away from this is to have an 07 or before. I bought an 08 thinking it was before AFM was a thing. WRONG dropped a lifter in the first year of owning it. It was a nightmare having it worked on. Long story short I got a used engine and put it in then went straight to a transmission shop and had them delete the AFM on the trucks computer. After that no issues and I love my truck but i don’t wanna buy anything else that has AFM. Stupidest thing ever

Stepdads 07 had the same issue. Replaced lifters, cam etc and it's still going strong (guy at the shop bought it) with over 270k now. Worked was performed around 110k

2007 1/2 and up is the correct year models. So basically new body style 07

Transmissions in those trucks are $hit too. I was a Chevy/gm fan for a long time. But piss on those trucks from 2007 1/2-2018

I had an 08 with 240K + on it when I got hit and totaled the truck.
I bought a Diablotune tuner and cut the AFM off at around 80K and never had a problem.
Never had an trasnsmission issues either.
In fact the only problem I had with that truck was the fuel evap purge valve.
I was on my way to get that when the idiot hit me.

Keeping the trannys cool is the key to their longevity.

I'm now driving an 18.
It's out of warranty and I have cut the DoD/AFM crap off on it too using the same tuner.
Just glad bassmaster95 didn't buy it when I offered to sell it to him when I was driving the duramax ... lol

About to add the trans thermostat bypass to it too to make the trans fluid run cooler

Oh, and anything with the AFM/DoD is subject to having the same problem. It's not exclusive to GM
and another Oh yeah, change your oil...All these new vehicles with variable valve timing - I'm looking at FORD owners in particular - use oil pressure to adjust the cam/valve timing.
if that system gets too clogged it can throw the timing off.