Stabilitrack and traction control lights

[tights24]

Howdy folks, long time since I posted on here. 2007 Yukon with 206K on it. Got the stabilitrack and traction control lights pop up and truck started running horrible. Was able to limp it off road and get towed. I scanned it while waiting and I think it was a P300 and P0455 codes that came up. My garage tells me I have no compression on two cylinders and one is super low. Said my options are to tear into it and potentially change lifters and/or cam if damaged and figure out what else is wrong. Or, put a new engine in it. This place has never treated me wrong, so I'm a bit confused as I honestly though this was a simple ECM/PCM issue or some kind of electronics causing this like the mass air flow sensor or PCM etc etc. Thoughts please? Thanks!!

 

[wsteele]

I think it is common for the Stabilitrack and TC to light up when you have hard misses.

Did they tell you which cylinders had little/no compression?

When they did the compression test, did they do anything to help isolate the problem (valves vs rings), etc?

 

[tights24]

They did tell me which cylinders but honestly I forget. I was to say 2 and 4 and another had super low compression. The one thing that was odd to me that I forgot to ask about was the fact that when it started acting up on the highway I pulled over and it was idling super rough. When it was sputtering enough like it was on the verge of stalling if I put it into neutral it ran fine. Which I would have thought pointed to an electrical issue. However, when I started it up to back it out and get it on the flatbed it ran rough regardless of whether it was in park or not. Maybe putting it into neutral when it first started was just a fluke that it ran ok......They also mentioned that they could dig into the engine and verify if it's lifters or cylinder heads or pistons(forgive me, not a mechanic when it comes to internals), but at that point the cost could just keep going up and up, and it may end up being cheaper to just get a replacement engine. Of course the first thought that entered my mind was, if I'm doing that I may as well put the 6.2 in it and swap out the transmission too. lol. Probably not that easy though. I also found another post that stated:

"About 30K miles ago, with about 95K on the clock, with our 5.3L 2007 Yukon, I noticed a low idle miss. The dealer debug started with the PCV and along the way found it didn't have the valve cover upgrade. They did some more diagnostics and determined I was getting some oiling on a plug primarily due to a piston ring issue.

GM paid for all the parts (new valve cover, 8 pistons, 8 ring sets, etc., etc. etc.) My dealer installed it all very cost effectively for me. Great support from GM. Zero issues since, runs like a top."

This was from December of last year so I confirmed that this was actually done at that point with their truck that far out of warranty and they said yes.....

 

[wsteele]

They did tell me which cylinders but honestly I forget. I was to say 2 and 4 and another had super low compression. The one thing that was odd to me that I forgot to ask about was the fact that when it started acting up on the highway I pulled over and it was idling super rough. When it was sputtering enough like it was on the verge of stalling if I put it into neutral it ran fine. Which I would have thought pointed to an electrical issue. However, when I started it up to back it out and get it on the flatbed it ran rough regardless of whether it was in park or not. Maybe putting it into neutral when it first started was just a fluke that it ran ok......They also mentioned that they could dig into the engine and verify if it's lifters or cylinder heads or pistons(forgive me, not a mechanic when it comes to internals), but at that point the cost could just keep going up and up, and it may end up being cheaper to just get a replacement engine. Of course the first thought that entered my mind was, if I'm doing that I may as well put the 6.2 in it and swap out the transmission too. lol. Probably not that easy though. I also found another post that stated:

"About 30K miles ago, with about 95K on the clock, with our 5.3L 2007 Yukon, I noticed a low idle miss. The dealer debug started with the PCV and along the way found it didn't have the valve cover upgrade. They did some more diagnostics and determined I was getting some oiling on a plug primarily due to a piston ring issue.

GM paid for all the parts (new valve cover, 8 pistons, 8 ring sets, etc., etc. etc.) My dealer installed it all very cost effectively for me. Great support from GM. Zero issues since, runs like a top."

This was from December of last year so I confirmed that this was actually done at that point with their truck that far out of warranty and they said yes.....

I think many times, very competent shops prefer to swap someone else’s reman into a vehicle as the warranty issues are on the engine builder. Frankly, I think a quality reman is a really good way to go if the truck is in otherwise good shape.

On the other hand, if it is a beater of a truck to start, sometimes it is better to get what you can selling it to someone who can revive it themselves with their labor being rewarded at the end of the rehab with a truck worth more than they have into it.

Unless you are hiding a great deal more mechanical talent than you are letting on so far, I would strongly recommend staying pretty close to home modifications wise. So that would be a no, in my opinion, on the 6.2L swap notion.

 

[tights24]

I think many times, very competent shops prefer to swap someone else’s reman into a vehicle as the warranty issues are on the engine builder. Frankly, I think a quality reman is a really good way to go if the truck is in otherwise good shape.

On the other hand, if it is a beater of a truck to start, sometimes it is better to get what you can selling it to someone who can revive it themselves with their labor being rewarded at the end of the rehab with a truck worth more than they have into it.

Unless you are hiding a great deal more mechanical talent than you are letting on so far, I would strongly recommend staying pretty close to home modifications wise. So that would be a no, in my opinion, on the 6.2L swap notion.

Thank you sir. Yeah, so first, the 6.2 would not be a swap that I would do. haha. I can fix simple things, but am way out of my league on stuff like that. And yes, you are correct, my truck is actually in great shape for over 200k miles. Even the garage told me that if they were me, considering the shape it's in, they would just replace it and drive it for another 200k. The other side is to replace it and sell it. My biggest concern is that I have done nothing to it as far as maintenance/repair with the exception of the typical oil changes, and window regulators, gas going in slow, basic stuff I can do myself. But what happens at this mileage when serious issues happen with electrical, transmission, etc. I would hate to put 4-5k into an engine, and then have it turn into a money pit over the next few years.....

 

[Bill 1960]

Time for a professional evaluation bumper to bumper. Because it’s right on the edge IMO. You might do the engine and get another 100k without any major expenses. Or it could be the start of a chain of replacements. Transmission, suspension, brakes, HVAC... A lot of that is cheaper than payments when you do your own work, but when you’re paying a shop, it gets out of hand.

 

[tights24]

Exactly what I'm thinking Bill. I suppose I'll call today and get pricing on my options as regardless I need them to work on it and get it up and running. From there it's a matter of figuring out if I want a car payment again or not. lol Thanks for the input. It's good to see others with the same common sense trying to help me make up my mind. hahaha

 

[wsteele]

I think we all can talk ourselves into just about anything as it pertains to what car/truck we really "need".

I have known for a long time that even with outside shops doing the heavy lifting or me, it is still cheaper for me to keep what I have. It happens my truck is pretty close to perfect for my daily needs, so I just fix (or have fixed) things as they crop up. My truck also happens to be in great shape, which helps at least my state of mind.

Recently, the new AT4 Yukon's really struck my fancy. It turns out they have equipment that is an actual upgrade to my needs (electronic limited slip diff), versus just bells and whistles and a new body style.

In the end, after reanalyzing what I already knew, I came to the conclusion the first year's depreciation would put a new reman in my truck (or pay for pretty much all the other major mechanical issues that could possibly crop up) and then I would have a number of trouble free (and depreciation free) years ahead of me. All the while with the new AT4, I would have the same depreciation number facing me the next year. That doesn't pain stop for quite a few years.

So for me, unless I get hit pretty good by somebody missing a stop sign, I think I will just fix what I have now.

 

[Joseph Garcia]

As @Bill 1960 stated above, it probably makes sense to pay your shop $100 to give the truck a thorough inspection, and give you their assessment on what significant repairs 'might' be on the horizon. Better decisions are typically made when more information/data is available.

 

[kbuskill]

@tights24

P0300 is a Random Misfire... not a hard/dedicated misfire.

That alone will cause the Stabilitrac and Traction Control lights to come on... which scares a lot of people into thinking there is more wrong/going on then there actually is.

P0455 is a Gross Leak on the EVAP system which is really no big deal as far as running is concerned.

I would start off simple.

When is the last time the spark plugs and wires were changed???