Another LLT engine blown up....

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

Originally Posted by NoItsOnlyAV6_ButItRocks

GM has come through!!!!

I was going to hold off on the announcement until I actually had my car again but I figured I better let all know now so that they can be relived as much as I am and put their faith back in GM.

I swung by the dealer late Friday morning and as luck would have it the DMA was there to. The Service Manager, the DMA and I went into the Service Managers office and sat down. I went through the whole story of the day I bought my car. I suppose I really should have started out with the day I saw the concept car but that may have been a little too far back.

I explained how I had measured the oil the morning before going to Jiffy Lube and it was full. I then explained how I made a point of assuring my engine was good and warm and pulling right in to get fast service and get a good drain on the oil. Then how going forward just over 3000 miles those 6 quarts of oil that were put in at Jiffy Lube had gone done to 2 quarts left in the pan when they dismantled the motor at the dealership.

The DMA listened to all of this and said that did not change what he is seeing in the damage in the engine. That the damage was caused by lack of oil. But with that said he did have an option for me. He asked that if I was willing to pay for 1.5 to 2 hours labor, the shop techs could pull the head off and inspect the valves and pistons to see if there was evidence of oil consumption. At first I was a bit hesitant thinking that I better save up my money to get the engine repaired or replaced instead of paying anything to get it torn apart further but then I figured it was a safe gamble since I know that I had measured a full dip stick on this engine quite a few times over that 3000 mile period.

Once I agreed, they said that they would start looking at it that afternoon and should have an answer in a few hours. I told them that I was heading up to Canada immediately after our meeting so I gave the service manager my cell phone number.

at around 4:45 pm my cell phone rang while I was up in Canada and immediately cut out. It rang again and cut out. I tried to call the Service Manager back but kept getting his voice mail. The wait was agony since I was sure I was going to miss him as he left for the weekend. Finally at 5:25 pm I got a hold of him.

He said that they pulled apart the valves over cylinder 1,3 and 6. The valve guide tolerance should have been .001 to .0015 and it was .006. On Piston 3 the Cylinder ring gap was lined up. I believe there were other oil consumption issues that he had located but I could not hear due to the connection on the cell phone. The Service manager had taken pictures and forwarded them to the DMA. He agreed that this should be covered under warranty. I instantly had my permagrin.

I then asked how long it would take to get the motor ordered. It turns out that they already had it since PCQ (Parts Control Quality @ GM) had already worked through the rebuild / replacement steps a few weeks back so the engine was already ordered and delivered to the dealer.

The engine should be installed and ready to roll by Thursday or Friday.

Hello Tim,

I was able to review your case and read your interactions with Jessica. I am glad your engine issue has been resolved! I am sorry for the trouble you experienced throughout this process. I will notify Jessica of your post and our interaction. Don't hesitate to reach out to us if additional questions or concerns arise.

Sincerely,

Laura M. (assisting Jessica)
Chevrolet Customer Care

[Chevrolet Customer Svc]

Originally Posted by BlkMamba1Ls

same thing just happened to my 2011 LLT last week spun rod bearing GM approved to fix it but they are only rebuilding the bottom end parts have been ordered new crankshaft and rod bearings service rep says ill have my car back next week sometime

Hello BlkMamba1Ls,

I am sorry you are experiencing an issue with your Camaro. I see you are already working with the dealer on your behalf. If you would like to discuss your situation with us, we are here to assist. Contact us via private message.

Regards,

Laura M. (assisting Jessica and William R.)
Chevrolet Customer Care

[BaylorCamaro]

Great news, glad everything is being worked out.

[Blade]

I had been reading this thread with my fingers crossed for the OP. I am glad GM finally replaced the motor, but I don't think the process should have been this difficult on mostly stock motor.

My LLT motor failed 2 years ago, and despite the mods I had, GM took a couple days to determine a warranty rebuild.

I sincerely hope GM is more efficient in future claims from other owners of the LLT. Glad you got taken care of man

[scrming]

Originally Posted by Blade

I had been reading this thread with my fingers crossed for the OP. I am glad GM finally replaced the motor, but I don't think the process should have been this difficult on mostly stock motor.

My LLT motor failed 2 years ago, and despite the mods I had, GM took a couple days to determine a warranty rebuild.

I sincerely hope GM is more efficient in future claims from other owners of the LLT. Glad you got taken care of man

I remember that...

[PieNsky]

Originally Posted by shrinkdoc

Great news! So is it possible that the oil pressure is the culprit on some of the cars that had engine failures. Is it possible because the ring gap was letting in oil into the cylinders causing not enough pressure to oil the timing chain properly. Just a theory.

No, it doesn't operate like that. The rings should have been 180 deg. out when assembled. The oil is pumped through passages and lubricates bearings. It drains back down to the oil pan where the oil pumps it through the engine again. The oil is not pressurized at the bottom of the rings. Now I could see exhaust going past the rings into the pan pressurizing the crankcase and pushing even more oil vapor into the intake. If it had a catch can, you would see it.

[shrinkdoc]

Originally Posted by PieNsky

No, it doesn't operate like that. The rings should have been 180 deg. out when assembled. The oil is pumped through passages and lubricates bearings. It drains back down to the oil pan where the oil pumps it through the engine again. The oil is not pressurized at the bottom of the rings. Now I could see exhaust going past the rings into the pan pressurizing the crankcase and pushing even more oil vapor into the intake. If it had a catch can, you would see it.

Yeh...but if the ring gaps are aligned and not 180 deg. out, there could be oil seepage into the cylinders accounting for oil loss and not enough for proper chain lube.

[PieNsky]

I was addressing your prior post in that it would not affect oil pressure as oil pressure is determined by metering flow, viscosity . In other words, It is determined by the clearances and passage ways, how well the oil flows, and the oil pump.

[Forte]

Crazy but I am SO GLAD that it has worked out. Any more news about the car being completely fixed now?

I'm going to check my oil when I get home!

[terry_b]

I'm hoping everything has been fixed?

On a related note... that weird vibration sound... I get something like that on deceleration only, and only right before idle. At a stoplight I'll roll to a stop, put in in neutral and when the engine passes through the 1100 range down to idle I get that heat shield vibration noise. Been there a while, should I be worried? I haven't noticed any oil issues. Taking it in for service tomorrow so I'll ask the tech as well, but I've read a few of these threads and now I'm paranoid...

[NoItsOnlyAV6_ButItRocks]

Originally Posted by terry_b

I'm hoping everything has been fixed?

On a related note... that weird vibration sound... I get something like that on deceleration only, and only right before idle. At a stoplight I'll roll to a stop, put in in neutral and when the engine passes through the 1100 range down to idle I get that heat shield vibration noise. Been there a while, should I be worried? I haven't noticed any oil issues. Taking it in for service tomorrow so I'll ask the tech as well, but I've read a few of these threads and now I'm paranoid...

Hopefully everything is fine. Maybe flat out tell him them you are concerned it could be a rod bearing and if they dismiss it and then if (knock on wood) all goes bad in the future, hopefully they have made note of your concern and a warranty claim will go a bit smoother than my experience

But hey....Funny you just posed this question tonight about whether all went well. As it turned out it was all sorts of delays to get the car back and I just got it tonight!!!. It was pretty cool to get this 2 page invoice listing all the parts and labor with NC (no charge) on each one. I just had to sign and drive. No cost.

I am extremely happy right now but just for the sake of wrapping up this thread...

I have been without the car for 6 weeks. They started putting in the engine 3 weeks ago.

Week 1 - They were hoping to be done by the end of week one but lost their little tool for removing the injectors so that took a couple days for them to get it ordered an in. Then it was time to use the tool again to put the injectors back in. Apparently it is small and it was lost/misplaced so they had to order another one.

Week 2 - They were hoping to be done by then end of week 2 but the coolant was leaking from the thermostat housing. They replaced the gasket and still had issues. They were going to take a look at the one on the old engine and see if they could salvage that off it and if that didn't work they were going to get a new housing.

Week 3 - They fired it up again and heard noises from the transmission. The first time the manager had thought that the throw out bearing was put in the wrong way and then a few days later he said it was the pressure plate. But whatever it was they had bought a new one since it was damaged.

Then finally this morning there was another delay as he needed to charge the AC.

Overall the engine sound fantastic, well balanced, smooth running and not a single leak. To be nit picky here are the few things I have noticed:

1) A bit of antifreeze smell in the engine. This could be from the leak that was in week 2 and it is still burning off. There are no leaks on the garage floor so I am not too concerned but am going to keep my eye on the level.

2) The analog gauge is indicating about 215 degrees running temperature. The older engine was about 205. Hopefully this is not related to the coolant smell.

3) The engine turns over a bit slower but this could be due to the battery sitting around for 6 weeks and maybe it is not fully charged. Plus it is now 10 degrees cooler out now that Fall is kicking in.

4) When the car is at idle it sounds smooth when sitting inside and is running at about 800 RPM. The old engine was about 850 RPM. However outside in the rear with the new engine it sounds like it is missing every once in awhile. But inside it is fine and it accelerates perfectly. Just an oddity.

6) The V6 LLT 1 second injector click, click, click is a bit quieter.

Of course tomorrow we are in for some morning rain and wind so I probably won't drive until Sunday. So I guess I will just have to ogle it in the garage all day. Also I guess I will have to read up on the different theories of breaking in an engine.

Also for fun tonight I installed an Elite catch can that I bought about 3 weeks ago. That was my treat to myself when I heard this was going to be covered under warranty for sure.

[guapo]

What would be the correct oil pressure for a v6 at operation temperature at idle. Mine is runnning at 30 at idle" warm. Goes up when throttle increases. Checked my oil today it was between the hash marks. I only have 10.000 miles and yes all service up to date by GM dealers

[NoItsOnlyAV6_ButItRocks]

Originally Posted by guapo

What would be the correct oil pressure for a v6 at operation temperature at idle. Mine is runnning at 30 at idle" warm. Goes up when throttle increases. Checked my oil today it was between the hash marks. I only have 10.000 miles and yes all service up to date by GM dealers

Mine is 30 at startup and then as I am driving it goes up to 65 to 70 PSI

[rtcat600man]

Originally Posted by guapo

What would be the correct oil pressure for a v6 at operation temperature at idle. Mine is runnning at 30 at idle" warm. Goes up when throttle increases. Checked my oil today it was between the hash marks. I only have 10.000 miles and yes all service up to date by GM dealers

Originally Posted by NoItsOnlyAV6_ButItRocks

Mine is 30 at startup and then as I am driving it goes up to 65 to 70 PSI

Correct and normal.