2009 Yukon Denali 6.2 L9H Engine Replacement

[wjburken]

Would that actually work? I mean if it would save me $2k on a trade in I would absolutely do it lol. But I’m guessing the motor wouldn’t run for very long afterwards? I’d be genuinely curious how I’d be able to pull that off.

Look at it this way. You can either spend the money on a new vehicle or spend it on a new or rebuilt motor for this one. If you go with a different vehicle, you may end up in the same situation as there will be unknowns with that vehicle as well. If you have the motor replaced or rebuilt by a competent shop, you will have a solid vehicle, with a known good motor for about the same money.

 

[B-train]

I do agree to a point with @wjburken. If everything else is top notch, then it may be worth it. But, if the previous owner wasn't smart enough about engine oil, what do the rest of the mechanicals look like. Any supporting service records for the vehicle in general?

 

[KraftMatic87]

Look at it this way. You can either spend the money on a new vehicle or spend it on a new or rebuilt motor for this one. If you go with a different vehicle, you may end up in the same situation as there will be unknowns with that vehicle as well. If you have the motor replaced or rebuilt by a competent shop, you will have a solid vehicle, with a known good motor for about the same money.

I honestly want to save this truck. I can figure out paying half cash and financing the other half or something. I just want definitive answers and it’s been tough. My first month of ownership has been taking this thing to a different shop every week lol. I’ve been getting rebuild quotes and if I can get a motor installed for around $6k-ish I would do it. A lot of the quotes I’ve gotten are much higher than that. Trying to keep my hopes up and maybe I’ll get a good quote for a rebuild and get that done ASAP so I can start finally enjoying this truck with my family.

 

[KraftMatic87]

I do agree to a point with @wjburken. If everything else is top notch, then it may be worth it. But, if the previous owner wasn't smart enough about engine oil, what do the rest of the mechanicals look like. Any supporting service records for the vehicle in general?

I have the CarFax and that’s it. Here it is:

Re CarFax VIN Report Request.pdf

drive.google.com

The truck seems to be very clean on the inside. Seats are in immaculate condition. DVD player still works. The paint is in very good condition except for one small spot of rust the size of a nickel behind passenger door that would be real easy to fix. Unfortunately I just need a new motor and THEN it will be perfect. Transmission fluid was checked and it is in good condition as well and shifts very smoothly so at least that’s a positive!

Hoping to get some more answers next week so I can make a decision whether to dump it or run it! But definitely leaning towards trying to save it for sure.

 

[B-train]

If it's rust on the rocker bynor below the door, then you have a can of worms that can't be tamed. You'll end up dumping more into it to fix that......and then this.....etc

If it's just surface from rock chips and paint missing then probably not an issue. If it's bubbling, then it's bigger, longer term lurkers

 

[KraftMatic87]

If it's rust on the rocker bynor below the door, then you have a can of worms that can't be tamed. You'll end up dumping more into it to fix that......and then this.....etc

If it's just surface from rock chips and paint missing then probably not an issue. If it's bubbling, then it's bigger, longer term lurkers

Rockers are totally clean. The truck has been in Colorado its whole life the subframe looks very nice. The rust is just from a rock chip it looks like and it just wasn’t repaired. It seems everything on this truck is good except the motor potentially so it does seem like it is worth saving. That and my wife and kids really like it too it would be a shame to tell them daddy has to let it go. I fully intend to do the work the last owner didn’t as long as I can work it out financially.

 

[j91z28d1]

huh does it get better when it's cold and then worse as it warms up? that's normally what I've seen with rod knock.

what's the oil pressure like? do you change your own oil and feel like cutting the oil filter open to look for metal?

 

[KraftMatic87]

huh does it get better when it's cold and then worse as it warms up? that's normally what I've seen with rod knock.

what's the oil pressure like? do you change your own oil and feel like cutting the oil filter open to look for metal?

Oil pressure seems very good. Always at 40 psi and dips ever so slightly when idling at a light. I’ve kept my eye on it a lot and never seen it dip more than ~10 psi at an idle. It’s not very loud when you’re inside the vehicle driving and you can really only hear it when you open the hood or get underneath the truck like in the first video I posted. I’ll try to post more videos of me driving it.

 

[j91z28d1]

Oil pressure seems very good. Always at 40 psi and dips ever so slightly when idling at a light. I’ve kept my eye on it a lot and never seen it dip more than ~10 psi at an idle. It’s not very loud when you’re inside the vehicle driving and you can really only hear it when you open the hood or get underneath the truck like in the first video I posted. I’ll try to post more videos of me driving it.

it's more of a cold thick oil thing hiding the slop in the worn bearing so it's not loud. you'd basically have to pop the hood before the first morning start and then see if it's much worse once it warms up.

old school guys used to be able to tell a rod knock from a crank bearing knock just be listening to it and revving it a bit.

I never was able to, I just figured if it's knocking its coming out and taken apart anyways. so eh, why worry about it. but there are times I wish I remembered what they listened for. something about how the knock changed on the return to idle after you reved it in neutral. but none of that is helpful to you.

just curious if it knocks on cold oil and if you've checked for metal in the filter. when talking to a shop next, you could ask if they will cut the filter open for you. I don't know if normal flat rate guys even have a filter cuter these days, they only really make money when parts are swapping. diagnostics is kinda a lost thing.

good luck. I do like those headlights on black yukons haha

 

[KraftMatic87]

Interesting tidbit about the piston rings. The guy I bought the 2009 from in Texas said it had piston slap from day one and GM wouldn't do anything about it. After dealing with him I realized his a sheister (owns a construction company, go figure) because maintenance wasn't his strong point.

That may explain piston slap that NEVER went away and then turned into an oil burner after a hard run.

If you ever see a 2020 black escalade for sale in the future from the Dallas area from a guy who owns stated company beware....LOL

Not like I could afford one but the newer GM trucks seem to have really terrible quality control issues with the power trains. I wanted a non-AFM truck so I was only looking for ones that had a 2 or an 8 as their engine code in the VIN for the 2008-2009 Denalis. This one did with the L9H so I figured (if well maintained lol) it might be a good one. Oh well hard lesson to learn for sure!