[xc_SS/RS]

Originally Posted by MrChrisLS3

Yeah, without getting into conspiracy theories, or big companies afraid of going broke over a $5 part theory. I have to look at it in the practical sense. What we have here is an intricately designed oil pump. Designed and manufactured the way it is to serve the purpose of keeping the engine running at a high level for a long time. On the grand scale, it does it's job well. But, inherent in such a design, there are parts that will fail from time to time. This is one of those examples.

So, then the question is, "If they know about this problem, why are they still using the same design?" Great question. Simple and to the point. The problem is that the answer is not so simple and to the point. First, just exactly how unreliable is this part? What is it's actual failure ratio? Given this forum is just a microscope of the population that own these cars, how many have actually had this problem? The percentage number will be greatly inflated in an enthusiasts forum, but how much?

Then there is the question of what to do about it. Is there a better pump that will serve the purpose, fit the application, and the price point necessary to do the job, and be able to fill the necessary order demand? Then there is the old saying, "Every problem has a solution, and every solution has a problem." So, perhaps the solutions have been found to create more problems then they solve. While other pumps looked at may not have issues with a valve sticking, perhaps they had issues supplying enough oil in general for the application, creating more widespread longevity issues.

Any part in any machine can fail at any time. There is no such thing as fail proof part. So, to say that GM sucks because .03%( a number pulled out of the air) of the valves in the LS3 oil pump fail is just ridiculous.

The other problem is we only hear about the pumps failing. So obviously if you do a search on the subject all you get is a bunch of threads where people complain about it failing. You never see people posting to say their pump still hasn't failed at xx,xxx miles.