Busted Lifter at 57k am I the only one?

[Theloots]

I don't post a lot but love reading the threads and love this forum.

My 2012 2SS l99 decided to fail on me two weeks ago. No warranty and $7K later, I have her back. One of the AFM lifters collapsed because the spring broke and made hamburger out of my cam. 4K in labor 2.5k in parts and then taxes.
I was 2 hours away from home, just started vacation in Disney so ran it to the nearest dealership (Starling Cheverolet). Called GM and asked for some coverage and they told me to pound salt.

Am I the only one with a workhorse motor that failed at 57k miles?

But I'm totally stoked to have her back ! : )

[StingrayblueSS]

No but if it does I won't put a stock cam and lifters back in.

[rontammy0]

That's way more then an upgraded cam and ls3 conversion is.....by a mile

[Spec]

Agreed, with a bit more etc etc... this is a good opportunity to upgrade anything you're putting back in.


No... not the only one for sure. Sh^t happens.

[Theloots]

I was so bummed to be in a position of necessity to get it back on the road. That dealership would not do any upgrades. Dag !

[PepeLePew]

it's hard to think what to do when you are a long way from home and in the moment of a major car repair to decide the best route to go. But in hindsight, you should have shipped the car home for $800-$1000 straight to a good speed shop. Had a full cam package with AFM DOD delete $1100 - $1400. Longtubes $650 - $1300. Cold Air intake - $400. Labor $1000-$1500 plus tuning $700. Then bought some plane tickets for the family to get home $2000.

Total cost would've been about the same as the dealer repair at about $6650 - $8300 plus you'd have a car with 100 more whp

[Theloots]

Originally Posted by PepeLePew

it's hard to think what to do when you are a long way from home and in the moment of a major car repair to decide the best route to go. But in hindsight, you should have shipped the car home for $800-$1000 straight to a good speed shop. Had a full cam package with AFM DOD delete $1100 - $1400. Longtubes $650 - $1300. Cold Air intake - $400. Labor $1000-$1500 plus tuning $700. Then bought some plane tickets for the family to get home $2000.

Total cost would've been about the same as the dealer repair at about $6650 - $8300 plus you'd have a car with 100 more whp

OUCH !
I was even thinking of just having them drop a new motor in. It is my daily driver and dependability is most important. The 400HP in the stock motor keeps my commute fun ! : )

[PepeLePew]

Originally Posted by Theloots

OUCH !
I was even thinking of just having them drop a new motor in. It is my daily driver and dependability is most important. The 400HP in the stock motor keeps my commute fun ! : )

I hear ya brother! Hopefully if this ever happens again, you'll be close to home at least and you can save yourself some huge expense and do the repair yourself. I just did an AFM/DOD delete on my neighbors suburban with 225k miles after 1 of the AFM lifters on cylinder 4 failed. We swapped a single bolt VVT non AFM LM7 cam in and did the TSP AFM/DOD delete kit and sent the PCM to the TSP tuner guy to reprogram it. Now he has piece of mind that his LS7 lifters wont fail and the LS2 chain guide wont break. All said and done it was about $1200 and 16 hours of work.

[J Rod]

Considering how much you probably spent on Disney as well, that had to be huge kick in the balls. Glad to hear you got her back on the road though.

[Aqua Blue RS/SS]

Originally Posted by J Rod

Considering how much you probably spent on Disney as well, that had to be huge kick in the balls. Glad to hear you got her back on the road though.

No kidding, I still have a piece of Mickey broke off in me from our trip to Disney land in March. This is a good reminder I need to get my cam done soon. I’m at 58,000 on my stock lifters. They aren’t particularly noisy but for my peace of mind I need to do it.

[bdubz]

I'm almost at 56k on my L99. no problems yet but I have read / heard about these issues. Sorry it happened to you bro.

[hunter1660]

Out of curiosity,was AFM disabled?

[Theloots]

Originally Posted by PepeLePew

I hear ya brother! Hopefully if this ever happens again, you'll be close to home at least and you can save yourself some huge expense and do the repair yourself. I just did an AFM/DOD delete on my neighbors suburban with 225k miles after 1 of the AFM lifters on cylinder 4 failed. We swapped a single bolt VVT non AFM LM7 cam in and did the TSP AFM/DOD delete kit and sent the PCM to the TSP tuner guy to reprogram it. Now he has piece of mind that his LS7 lifters wont fail and the LS2 chain guide wont break. All said and done it was about $1200 and 16 hours of work.

I'm dying .... dying to turn back time and redo. lol

[Theloots]

Originally Posted by hunter1660

Out of curiosity,was AFM disabled?

Good question ... nope .... but sure was thinking about it since I did the exhaust. My brother-in-Law is a GM Mechanic and lives in NJ. 1200 miles was a bit too far. LOL ... He's still bustin my chops.