AFM PROBLEMS AROUND 100k?

[Chris_Zetroc]

has anyone else had a problem with their active fuel management? is it a known thing? i had a p0306 code which is misfire on cylinder 6 and did everything i could without opening up the engine and still had that code, rough idle, no power, smoke from exhaust, gassy smell, the whole deal. i took it to a shop where it got opened up and they found metal circulating my engine due to the AFM. long story short, new engine on the way and gonna get replaced asap. can anyone shed some light on this if it’s known to be a problem?

[Moto-Mojo]

You'll need to set the way back machine to 2003 and work your way up from there. Suffice it to say, there are 'known' issues.

[Blue 13]

The “rule of thumb” with 5th gen L99’s was make sure you replaced all that garbage by 75k. I had mine taken out with a new cam and top end around 45k. Obviously I’ve done more since.

[1JEWLDSSRS]

Yep, worst idea GM ever did with these Camaro's. I deleted mine at 98k when we did the build and cam swap. Got lucky because I drove her hard, a lot before the delete.

[The_bald_eagle_machine]

I have heard atleast with the Hemi DOD style lifters, that if you drive them hard it tends to keep the Lifters pumped up properly which prevents "hemi tick" and wiping out cam lobes. Its the people who baby the motors and spend alot of time idling that have issues with those lifters. The way it was described to me was "6000 rpms tends to get oil everywhere it needs to go" so every time I drive my Ram 1500 I give it the beans once or twice and so far so good 170k miles on a completely stock motor.

[Moto-Mojo]

Originally Posted by The_bald_eagle_machine

I have heard atleast with the Hemi DOD style lifters, that if you drive them hard it tends to keep the Lifters pumped up properly which prevents "hemi tick" and wiping out cam lobes. Its the people who baby the motors and spend alot of time idling that have issues with those lifters. The way it was described to me was "6000 rpms tends to get oil everywhere it needs to go" so every time I drive my Ram 1500 I give it the beans once or twice and so far so good 170k miles on a completely stock motor.

Like the sound of that. I'm somewhere in the middle. On a hot day (been a LOT) running the AC, I tend to baby it. On cool days, I give 'er hell. But...I'm tuned out for AFM. I guess the jury's still out on whether that helps the lifters live or not.

[Aqua Blue RS/SS]

Oil quality, and cleanliness in general seems to play a fairly large role too.

[Moto-Mojo]

Originally Posted by Aqua Blue RS/SS

Oil quality, and cleanliness in general seems to play a fairly large role too.

Don't get me started. I buy Amsoil Signature oil and rarely, if ever, has it ever seen 35% on the oil life meter.

Now I have a 2023 Silverado with 16 of those little bastards in it. The wife just hit 27% on the meter and I'm shizztin' razor blades.

[1JEWLDSSRS]

Originally Posted by Moto-Mojo

Like the sound of that. I'm somewhere in the middle. On a hot day (been a LOT) running the AC, I tend to baby it. On cool days, I give 'er hell. But...I'm tuned out for AFM. I guess the jury's still out on whether that helps the lifters live or not.

Ran the snot out of mine tuned out from 19k all the way to 98k, when we did the build and cam swap. And I mean many many rev limiter blips!! I did change the oil every 3500 miles throughout her life. Mobil 1 5w30.. And ran ZMAX oil treatment every 7000k miles.

[11/SS/RS]

I have 55k on my 2011, I have had bypass module that plugs into the OBD2 port since getting the car. (about 10 months now) I dont have any issues and I hope I wont for a while. I bought the module from American Muscle... These posts always get me nervous....

[myold88]

Originally Posted by Aqua Blue RS/SS

Oil quality, and cleanliness in general seems to play a fairly large role too.

Exactly, On my 20th oil change with 72,000 miles on my early '10 2SS L99.
Never a strange sound or problem on my Camaro's engine. Never.

[TheBrightSide]

I had a lot of noisy valvetrain sounds, just like my friend’s L99 did. We chalked it up to possibly being noisy fuel injectors as well; but after warming up, the ticking would always go away or be very subtle at the most. I’ve ran engine treatment formulas, similar to stuff that would help unstick stuck piston rings and lifters. I’ve ran Seafoam and Marvel’s Mystery Oil, as well as some other generic brands of engine treatment formulas. They seem to have helped, but I think it really depends on keeping your engine clean and changing it’s oil frequently as possible, esp if/when consistently being driven hard.

My friend even changes his oil more frequently than I do, staying around the ~5-6k mile mark, while I usually go anywhere from 6-8k miles on average. He’s coming up on maybe about ~119-120k miles, and hasn’t had any huge issues, and he probably started running the AFM disabler around ~105-110k miles, through his SCT X4 handheld tuner.

I’m at around 38k miles now, and my LS3 is running 0w-40 motor oil, while my friend likes to stick to 5w-30. He said he wants to go to 5w-40, so I figured that would be totally fine too, which I did for a while at first, when I first got my car. I don’t use any additives anymore, but we’ve both used Lucas oil stabilizer or STP oil treatment, mostly the stuff that supposedly helps reduce oil burning and leaks.

I live in CA, so upgrading the camshaft is a debatable thing to go after. My friend may or may not have the money, but I don’t know if he’d rather swap in a used, low mileage L99 engine, rather than rebuilding his long block. He said something about running a VVT cam, so I’m not sure what he wants to do in the long run. He still drives his car moderately hard, at least harder than I do, on a daily basis almost, which is semi-concerning…

[Aqua Blue RS/SS]

These cars were made to be driven hard. I don’t see how even at that mileage there’s anything concerning about it. These things are tanks and have proven to be quite durable.