Sanity And Parts Check

[badbaddolemite]

Not adding to the thread, just a question.. 4 and 7? One is a left head, one is a right head. So I am just curious if that was a mistype. I am thinking you meant 7 and 5, or 4 and 6?

https://www.autozone.com/diy/repair-guides/escalade-suburban-1500-and-2500-tahoe-yukon-yukon-xl-1500-and-2500-2006-2007-yukon-denali-and-yukon-denali-xl-2005-2006-firing-orders-repair-guide-p-0996b43f80cb1cc9

I am working on a theory for blown head gaskets, and would like to know your exact "blown" locations.

Sorry, yes 4 & 6. Passenger side, center 2 cylinders. I get air into the coolant when either of these are at TDC.

 

[Foggy]

I believe all the newest VLOM's are "improved" design.. So your choice..
I totally understand the AFM/DOD deal... After you get everything done, just get
a mail order tune or even a portable "TUNER" like Diablosport to turn off the DOD...
Then those new lifters should last forever !!

 

[Geotrash]

thanks much for the info. i would like to say i am towing the line between minimal and heavy top end job. you are right though, if the bottom end is solid, i really should just go with a complete top end. thank you for the ARP head bolt advice, you and the others who have made the recommendation have sold me on them. are there any AFM lifters besides OEM that are any good? rock auto is out and other than a dealer, i wouldn't know where to source. while i love the idea of a delete kit, i really dont have the time and money to put into something more than an OE repair. my biggest concern is downtime between sending back and forth until the tune is complete. i also worry because where i am in alaska has 100F summers and -40F winters. i would think this would screw with some things. truly i want to swap in a non DoD motor, but with parts availability here, that just isnt feasible. frugal me says to just do the head gaskets, whatever lifter was giving me issues, and be done. but i feel like since i have to go down that far, maybe just replacing everything on the top end is the right answer. the vehicle is paid off, and i just rebuilt the whole front end before the HG decided to crap out. it just seems like to get back on the road before winter, a repair rather than an upgrade is in order and then look at maybe a 6.0/6.2 swap or built motor in the future. as you can tell, i am kind of lost lol so i appreciate all the input.

Ah, with temps like that, I'm guessing you're in Fairbanks, or at least somewhere in the interior Spent a summer in Manley Hot Springs.

On the tune, the way Black Bear works is you buy their device for around $500, which comes with unlimited free tunes on one truck. You email them the specs of the cam and any other requests you have before you start the work, like turning off AFM, and they email you back a tune file which you then apply to your truck, which will get you up and running. Send them another file after running it through a few full-throttle runs, and they'll email you a new tune with everything dialed in perfect. But that's an additional cost, and I hear you on the money thing.

You can buy OEM AFM lifters through other places, including Summit Racing and Brian Tooley Racing. Both have great shipping and customer service.

 

[wsteele]

As far as a delete kit goes, you technically don't even need to replace your stock cam if it's in good shape - just run non-AFM lifters and get the flat valley pan in place of the VLOM. There's no difference between AFM and non-AFM cams. Though once you're in far enough to replace the lifters, swapping the cam with a new one is easy.

Edit: Are you sure about that Dave? After reading your post I went back and every reference I can find says you absolutely need a different cam if you delete the AFM lifters.

 

[swathdiver]

Dorman improved design VLOM

Stick with GM OE - 12571609

Lifter, De-Ac, Improved - 12645725
Lifter, Standard - 12648846

 

[wsteele]

i had heard about an "improved design" VLOM and could only find info on the Dorman being "improved design". does GM make an improved design that cures the OE flaws?

It is my understanding that all the VLOMs GM ships these days are of the improved design, as are the AFM lifters. Everything I have read indicates the later model (I think in the 2011-12 timeframe) designs are very reliable.

If it were my truck, as it pertains to AFM specific parts, I would definitely use OE.

 

[wjburken]

i had heard about an "improved design" VLOM and could only find info on the Dorman being "improved design". does GM make an improved design that cures the OE flaws?

If I am not mistaken, GM made some changes to their VLOM design around 2009/2010 so I believe any GM VLOM you would get from places like Rock Auto would be of that new design. Dorman as "Improved Design" in their description as a sales/marketing thing. GM probably doesn't want to indicate that they ******* the pooch on their first attempt so they will be a little quieter about the upgraded design.

 

[Geotrash]

Edit: Are you sure about that Dave? After reading your post I went back and every reference I can find says you absolutely need a different cam if you delete the AFM lifters.

You're 100% correct. Thanks for flagging. I edited my post to correct it. Weird, because I actually *knew* that from my own cam swap project. It was late after a long day when I made the post

The engine will run but with less compression on the AFM cylinders and may throw a misfire code.