Figured I would share some interesting info for any of you Trailblazer SS owners...I know a few of you own Trailblazers on here...

Yesterday afternoon I get this job...Customer comes in with a rotational tick noise increasing with rpm. I listened to the noise and my initial instinct/diagnosis said worn cam lobe/lifter due to the fact that it increased with rpm and had the same frequency as camshaft speed. Worn cam lobes and lifters are actually a fairly common issue on LS Engines and I knew GM had published a Service Bulletin awhile back for this exact issue but I wasn't sure if this vehicle fell under the bulletin. So I searched up the bulletin and sure enough this vehicle was covered. So the job then turned into a warranty Cam and Lifters replacement job but surprisingly warranty time for the job is pretty decent plus my diagnostic time it will turn out to be some pretty decent hours. I started tearing into the job this morning and figured I would snap some pix along the way and share them for any of you Trailblazer owners. I'll be throwing it all back together tomorrow. The Cyl. 1 Lifter and Cam Lobe were toasted...All the others were actually not too bad...I love when my initial diagnosis is right! I will post up the bulletin number for reference tomorrow.

UPDATED: For reference the GM Bulletin # is #PIP4138K

Here are the Pix...

Before Starting The Job


Front End/Radiator Support Removed


Heads Removed


Cam/Lifters Removed


Cyl. 1 Lifter (Major Pitting)


Camshaft (Cyl. 1 Lobe Major Grooving)

 

Wow Tim, you started tearing into that thing at midnight. What time do you have go to work?...lol

 

HAHA you guys have jokes now thats awesome!

 

Pretty cool that the SS trailblazer has an actual decent engine (LS v8), sans the bad cam. Good job on the diagnosis too!

 

so...can i pay you to do my timing belt / new pulley bracket thing (post 617)

either way i like this documentation, fun to know how all this stuff works

 

Thanks man...Yea overall I like the SS Trailblazers and the LS2 Engine is fairly solid.

Yes I can do your timing belt and new bracket...I do a lot of side jobs on the weekends and I can provide documentation/receipt...Plus I'll give you a hell of a deal ...I'm booked up for the next couple weekends but towards the end of the month I can prolly get it done just let me know what works for you...I've gotten good with documenting my work process over the last couple years, especially after Lee Johnson got audited and hit hard by GM haha...If I leave a "t" uncrossed or an "i" not dotted on a warranty repair order then I get bit*hed at and potentially backflagged (HARSH)

 

^good to know your schedule Tim. Thanks for sharing the work, I love when an SS tries to pull on me.

 

UPDATED: For reference the GM Bulletin # is PIP4138K

 

My timing belt won't be for a whlie, though now that I know I can pay you to do it locally and not through a stealership I may just do the belt later this year (car is only 35k) so that i can get that bracket done also - i'll be in touch when i do decide

 

^Sounds good to me man just let me know.


Anyways after finishing up this job first thing this morning at work I added up my time. I ended up only about 45mins over the 16.0hr GM Warranty Book Time for the Camshaft/Lifters Replacement (Warranty Time Is Bullsh*t!)...If this job was Customer Pay it would pay 24.6hrs!!!!!!!! Imagine paying that at the Dealership that charges $115.00hr! Insane!!!

 

Another GM Vehicle with another very common problem that has been happening in the past couple years to most GM Active Fuel Management Engines in all C & K Series Trucks/SUV's...Oil Consumption issues on 5.3L V8...up to 2.5qts every 3k miles is possible...It's a stepped diagnostic process outlined by GM that includes monitoring oil change intervals and oil level...This job that I'm doing right now is covered under warranty and is the result of a severe case and after only 60k miles this is the condition the engine is in...Needs all new pistons and rings, new camshaft, all new rockers, all new lifters and all new pushrods...spent half a day trying to argue against a GM engineer to allow me to just drop a new engine in this vehicle to prevent a comeback from the customer blowing the engine up from bearing failure...Needless to say the GM Engineer said no to the new engine so I'll be replaceing all the damaged parts but reusing the bearings since GM won't warranty them unless they are currently damaged figured I would share the info in case anyone on here has one of these vehicles....Check The Pix!

 

Hmm.. for some reason, ive seen all these problems also.. lol. That lifter was pretty bad, and the oil consumption is typically 07-10 rght?

 

I should just bring my suburban to you to work on lol! It just needs a new master cylinder and brakes flushed.

 

one of these weekends it'll work out for the both of us, Tim I just noticed my battery is dead in my truck...been sitting too long :\

this coming week should be interesting for me. If you can squeeze the truck in, let me know!

 

^yea its ridiculous how common this issue is with these engines

^yea as long as im able to get the free time ill work on your truck and give u an awesome deal man

^Yea one of these days we'll get this busy schedule thing figured out man this week is going to be interesting for me also because monday i get all my parts for this job and get to start putting the engine back together...im hoping to have it done by thanksgiving so if all goes well i may have some time on friday to meet up...saturday im planning on doing my timing belt on my evo but we could prolly meet up during saturday or sunday sometime also...let me know how your schedule plans out towards the middle of the week