Do I really need a new engine?

[treehan77]

um has anyone even tried to obvious and actually replaced the battery?

 

[02Lightning]

Have they pulled the oil filter and checked for metal?

 

[ezstriper]

Yes, killed a lifter, going to need cam, lifters, valley cover(has all the controls for the lifters, I would replace the timing chain and oil pump as you will have them off with cam change

 

[EfrainlCazares]

I had an episode similar to yours when I first bought my 11 Yukon denali . Came to a stop light and as it turned green and I accelerated, it started sputtering and the stability *** all those lights came on. Pulled over, shut truck off, restarted and it went away, took to dealer since I handnt even paid my first payment. They diagnosed it, bad cam, left side of block, they replaced both came and haven't had any issues since

 

[Danny3737]

It never hurts to have another mechanic check it out.

 

[iamdub]

I had an episode similar to yours when I first bought my 11 Yukon denali . Came to a stop light and as it turned green and I accelerated, it started sputtering and the stability *** all those lights came on. Pulled over, shut truck off, restarted and it went away, took to dealer since I handnt even paid my first payment. They diagnosed it, bad cam, left side of block, they replaced both came and haven't had any issues since

There's only one cam and it's in the center of the block. Maybe you meant lifter(s)?

 

[swingandmiss]

Brought the truck to GMC for diagnostics. They feel it's a stuck lifter and potentially damaged camshaft. The tech initially said the electrical issues and lifter issue are not related. Coincidence. But he also said he hadn't looked at the electrical systems. When I pressed him on the timing of the problems, and that coincidence wouldn't happen multiple times, he started to backtrack. However, he couldn't explain how an electrical problem would cause the mechanical problem. I explained how I don't want to fix a mechanical problem if there is still an electrical problem which caused it in the first place. I don't want to pay for an engine and then have it ruined because of an electrical problem. And if I did, would they warranty the engine? That's when he suggested he dig into the electrical issues.

He did mention something that I wanted to verify. He said when the variable cylinders are deactivated, the oil sent is also deactivated. He said it would be conceivable the oil stayed off while the cylinder was still on, causing no lubrication to the lifter. However, he said while the control of this is electrical, if it fails, it fails to a default state that sends oil all the time. So there is no way this could cause the problem. But is it?

I don't know how much longer I am going to keep this truck. It already has 120k miles on it and wear and tear from kids.

Option 1 - Repair lifter at about $2500 or lifter/camshaft at about $4500
Option 2 - Replace engine (and other assorted goodies) at about $8000

I'm not willing to do either until I get someone to guarantee the problem won't return if it's a pre-existing electrical issue.

 

[swingandmiss]

um has anyone even tried to obvious and actually replaced the battery?

Battery is pretty new. Tests fine.

 

[swingandmiss]

Have they pulled the oil filter and checked for metal?

No, but it has been suggested. New oil does smelled burnt after about two weeks.

 

[swingandmiss]

Oh, the other thing that stumped the GMC mechanic is the fact that it knocked, then ran perfectly fine for a week, then knocked again. He was initially explaining that once this starts, it doesn't go away. I explained that it did and he couldn't explain it.