DOD delete but keep VVT?

[Marky Dissod]

Get your used oil analyzed, preferably the most recently used motor oil.
They might be able to tell by what they find in it, which bearings (if any) are shedding / wearing down.
Have you yet done the
'add 2 extra quarts, point it steeply downhill, see if oil pressure improves' test?
Also, have you checked for coolant in the motor oil?
Not that I'm a downer, but being a pessimist often makes me a temporary downer -
until you rule out those two things.

You know more than i about the subject. We have an unbelievable amount of shenannigans going on in our great state.
We live in a county that only requires smog when you bring a new car into the county.
Unfortunately, a new law has been passed banning these decisions by individual counties and a new state run smog program is supposed to take effect this year.
Don't think they have their schidt together to implement it this year but we shall see.

As for keeping the VVT, I imagine it would help with the fuel mileage which aint great at 12MpG.
I don't want to try and get to fancy with this as im still learning the platform so I am leaning toward just stock factory non DOD cam and lifters.

VVT (actually it's variable CAM timing, but whatever), retards or advances the cam, depending on the desired load,
so it can run as much timing as reasonably possible.
If you're not upgrading to a cam that needs VVT either limited, or defeated, keep it.

 

[ckeister]

Get your used oil analyzed, preferably the most recently used motor oil.
They might be able to tell by what they find in it, which bearings (if any) are shedding / wearing down.
Have you yet done the
'add 2 extra quarts, point it steeply downhill, see if oil pressure improves' test?
Also, have you checked for coolant in the motor oil?
Not that I'm a downer, but being a pessimist often makes me a temporary downer -
until you rule out those two things.

VVT (actually it's variable CAM timing, but whatever), retards or advances the cam, depending on the desired load,
so it can run as much timing as reasonably possible.
If you're not upgrading to a cam that needs VVT either limited, or defeated, keep it.

That is part of my follow up plan. Im gonna keep driving it awhile maybe 1500 miles or so and send in an oil sample. I tossed the old oil in with the rest of my used stuff unfortunately. I was overly confident I was going to solve the issue. I have a scanner comming tomorrow so we'll see what the live data and cylinder balances tell us.

Did the overfill when I first got it and it went up but not much. I can try that again though i guess. just in case I did mess up the o-ring but I don't think I did. I know I have to do the o-ring on my truck but it gets better with heat, not worse.

 

[rdezs]

From reading what you posted, it sounds like you reused the o-ring? I hope not.... If you did, pull the pan and replace it. Look online for the oil pickup tube girdle that utilizes both threaded bolt holes in the oil pump to secure the pickup tube. While you have the pan off, plug the oil relief valve that is inside the pan. If you look online, there's several sources that have a bolt with a copper washer to replace it with. The melling pump should be just fine. Pull both heads and remove the lifters and trays. Replace with LS7 lifters..... Make sure they're genuine GM. Same for the lifter trays, genuine GM. Remove your vlom crap and the solenoids. Look online, several sources have plugs you can tap into the oil towers to plug them. Pick up a flat valley cover.... Several sources have them with the o-rings for additional insurance plugging off the towers. Pull out your camshaft, replace with an oem L92 camshaft. If the VVT solenoid that you used is not ACDelco or genuine GM, replace it with such. Have your heads checked for flatness. Replace that NAPA oil pressure sending unit with an AC Delco. Should be good to go, unless......

While you have your camshaft out, take a look at the cam bearings. The front ones always the worst. On Amazon you can pick up a handheld thing with the screen and about a 3-ft lead with a little fiber optic camera on the end. Very nice for getting a look at all the cam bearings. If they're toasted, you'll be pulling the engine to replace the cam bearings.

 

[ckeister]

From reading what you posted, it sounds like you reused the o-ring? I hope not.... If you did, pull the pan and replace it. Look online for the oil pickup tube girdle that utilizes both threaded bolt holes in the oil pump to secure the pickup tube. While you have the pan off, plug the oil relief valve that is inside the pan. If you look online, there's several sources that have a bolt with a copper washer to replace it with. The melling pump should be just fine. Pull both heads and remove the lifters and trays. Replace with LS7 lifters..... Make sure they're genuine GM. Same for the lifter trays, genuine GM. Remove your vlom crap and the solenoids. Look online, several sources have plugs you can tap into the oil towers to plug them. Pick up a flat valley cover.... Several sources have them with the o-rings for additional insurance plugging off the towers. Pull out your camshaft, replace with an oem L92 camshaft. If the VVT solenoid that you used is not ACDelco or genuine GM, replace it with such. Have your heads checked for flatness. Replace that NAPA oil pressure sending unit with an AC Delco. Should be good to go, unless......

While you have your camshaft out, take a look at the cam bearings. The front ones always the worst. On Amazon you can pick up a handheld thing with the screen and about a 3-ft lead with a little fiber optic camera on the end. Very nice for getting a look at all the cam bearings. If they're toasted, you'll be pulling the engine to replace the cam bearings.

Negative. New o-ring that came with the melling pick up tube. Put in the melling support on the o-ring bracket as well. VVT solenoid was also Melling and quite dissapointed when it said "made in China." I think the low oil pressure triggered the p0011 code not the solenoid but if I go in again I'll use the AC Delco. With that said, pretty much all the Delco stuff I have been ordering is Made in China so not sure it matters as much anymore.

Got a Scan Tool comming tomorrow. That and cutting into the oil filter I think is gonna confirm what I already suspect to be the case. Already sourcing a new bare block because with this and the rate of failures on the new 6.2 im reading about here and other places I do not trust a GM reman engine at this point and will be hitting up my old machinist from my racing days ad building it myself. Damn shame what GM has become.

 

[j91z28d1]

wow what a journey.

I missed if you still had bad oil pressure right now at the test port next to the pump with a mechanical gauge.

edit, yeah I believe there's a stock grind cam without afm but with VVT. part numbers In cam thread somewhere. that would seem to be the one for you if your not wanting to have the ecm tuned for a small aftermarket truck cam. they do pick up some power.

 

[petethepug]

It’s unlikely that you have a very early 07 with the inactive AFM hardware. Here’s the TSB to determine if you do …

https://static.nhtsa.gov/odi/tsbs/2020/MC-10180695-9999.pdf

If you end up wanting to go the reman route and the motor needs a refresh or rebuild, Jasper has turnkey engines to go from L94 (AFM) to L9H (Non AFM).

They may have a straight swap to go from an early AFM L92 to a Non AFM L92.

 

[ckeister]

wow what a journey.

I missed if you still had bad oil pressure right now at the test port next to the pump with a mechanical gauge.

edit, yeah I believe there's a stock grind cam without afm but with VVT. part numbers In cam thread somewhere. that would seem to be the one for you if your not wanting to have the ecm tuned for a small aftermarket truck cam. they do pick up some power.

15-19 at at the pump with mechanical guage right now. I'm assuming the pressure on the original test was gummed up oil filter (original test was old oil and filter with 5K) which is why I need to cut open the filter but I cant find my damn filter cutting tool!!!!

Is the cam grind different? I havnt gotten that far or are you talking the cam mounting bolts being different?

 

[j91z28d1]

15 to 19 hot idle but still dip in the red on the dash? that could be a few different things. you might move the mechanical gauge up to the sensor port. I'm 99% sure it's the same thread.


man these oil pressure threads are brutal. I've honestly never seen anyone post a solid fix. usually lots of parts replaced, going back in a 2nd or 3rd time for a high volume pump brings it up enough to be ok with it.


if you have a walking cam bearing. I'm pretty sure you can't change them in the truck. you need to pull the engine.

 

[donjetman]

This will keep ya busy:
https://www.onallcylinders.com/2019...de-to-ls-engine-specs-and-ls-engine-upgrades/

 

[j91z28d1]

15-19 at at the pump with mechanical guage right now. I'm assuming the pressure on the original test was gummed up oil filter (original test was old oil and filter with 5K) which is why I need to cut open the filter but I cant find my damn filter cutting tool!!!!

Is the cam grind different? I havnt gotten that far or are you talking the cam mounting bolts being different?

I've looked thru so many cam threads lol. but from memory, I think it was a slightly smaller grind. might have up a few hp as 6k and gain a few tq as 1500 rpm. but close enough I don't be tuning is required. they had the gm part numbers listed.

the front of the cam, I have no idea. I'd just guess it is since it's still vvt?