after watching Tim’s video of his friends Silverado with the 6.2 liter, I was really interested in that as my someday truck. But, all the stuff about lifter failures sounds bad. I’ve read it was just a bad limited batch that’s been fixed to amore widespread issue GM doesn’t have a fix for, makes it a hassle for owners to get fixed, and doesn’t really have any interest in a long term fix. I know nothing other than what I read and don’t know how much stock to put into any of it, but as expensive as trucks are, I want to feel confident in my someday purchase. Anybody have good insight?
Do we still need to worry about lifter failure?
- Thread starter C46
- Start date
Has your friend had any problems with his? That was a sweet looking truck.
I had a 2021 Silverado RST with the 6.2 (the big boy). I did a lot of research online to identify a V8 I would like. I listened to TFL reviews and podcasts and ended up with the Silverado. In addition, the 6.2 had been around for a while and a local dealer was selling at MSRP, which was rare at the time. I was very happy with the truck (my first truck and my first V8). The powertrain worked really nicely as a unit. One week short of 1 year ownership and at 14,000 miles, the truck died while stopped at a traffic light on the highway. The whole vehicle died, to the point where I could not even activate the emergency lights to warn the oncoming traffic that I was a dead weight in the middle of the highway. After the said traffic went around me, I put the truck in neutral and pushed it to the side of the highway. GM honored the warranty and replaced the whole engine. I no longer trusted the truck as a daily commuter to work though, and replaced it with a 2022 Gladiator Rubicon. I miss the V8, but I am glad to have a manual transmission again. I have had the Rubicon since March and drove 11,000 miles so far. So far so good.
NorthskyBlue NHT
Member
I have a 2019 5.3L V8 with zero engine issues. I think the problem is quite rare as whole but so far no GM recall has happened so it still could happen.
I'd avoid the GM v8's for now. The duramax and surprisingly the 2.7 turbo are probably the more reliable engines in GM's lineup.
Ram has seemed to finally got a handle on the hemi lifters, still popping up occasionally on forums but most of the reports are pre 2016.
The 5.0 from ford had several issues too through the years though I'm less up to date on that engine, probably the most reliable brand new v8 in a half ton though.
That leaves Tundra, I just can't work up any excitement for those trucks. Also very hard to get a feel for reliability when they sell so much less vs the competition.
Ram has seemed to finally got a handle on the hemi lifters, still popping up occasionally on forums but most of the reports are pre 2016.
The 5.0 from ford had several issues too through the years though I'm less up to date on that engine, probably the most reliable brand new v8 in a half ton though.
That leaves Tundra, I just can't work up any excitement for those trucks. Also very hard to get a feel for reliability when they sell so much less vs the competition.
Fightnfire
Moderator
That just seems like silly advice. The lifter problem is pretty isolated and as you said everyone has had their issues. RAM had the hemi in their trucks for what, 20 years? in certain years that engine has been on most reliable lists, and in other years its been on top engine to avoid lists with major issues. The same can be said for Ford 5.0 and 3.5 and the GM 5.3 and 6.2.
I don't think the GM issue is any worse than any of the others, especially todays. I would argue any issue in the last few years is pretty blown up with how much social media/forums inflate the issue. We have a split fleet of GM and Ford trucks for our sales guys, we've seen no major issues with any of the GM engines or Ford.
Reports of those GM lifter failures still coming in. If you want a GM, the best engine (IMHO) is the 3.0.
Ram's issue was a little different, the GM failure appears to be truly random (which means you can't do anything to reduce your chances) whereas the Hemi failures can be greatly reduced by oil choice and swapping it out on time. They also seem to have fixed this for the most part, the years 2009 to 2015 were the worst.
I'd never buy an ecoboost, but the 5.0 seems pretty bullet proof for the most part.
I'm not referring to any particular lists, as you pointed out they are unreliable and contradictory, but I follow a number of different forums and that's just how I see it.
Fightnfire
Moderator
More often oil changes and always keeping it full seems to also be the best defense against any GM lifter issue. I agree with your comments on the 3.0, with the exception that there have also been issues with it but no different than any other engine produced. Time will tell with how long it lasts. In transmission world, I also agree. The GM 10 speed seems rock solid compared to the Ford 10 speed which is having it's issues. That's weird because they're the same backbone. Our 20 expedition with the 10 speed isn't nearly as smooth as the 10 speed in my 21 GMC. It's concerning especially going from 3rd to 4th and 5th or back down.
Different programming makes all the difference. It's actually Ford's transmission, but GM did the software/tuning on theirs.
If you get a chance you may want to watch the getty adventures on YT, he does a real deep dive on every truck he can find and tows with them, he's a diesel mechanic by trade and does a really good job highlighting major/minor issues. I trust his opinions well above TFL (for example).
Fightnfire
Moderator
I watch Getty regularly and yeah his content is pretty good definitely a little RAM biased, imo. I was under the impression that 10 speed was co-developed but I do think I remember hearing Ford took on the majority of the engineering.
He does love Ram! But he doesn't hide it, and I feel his reviews are amazingly unbiased as well (So are Tim E's!) So currently Alex recommends the 5.0 as the best v8, and the 3.5 ecoboost as an amazing towing machine due to the power it puts down. I think he also loves the 3.0.
The 10 speed was co-developed by Ford and GM, but what happened was they agreed to develop a 10 and 9 speed transmission and share the costs/results. Ford did the engineering on the 10 speed, GM did the 9 speed (which Ford never ended up using). They both took the 10 speed hardware and added their own programming/software to it, but it appears that GM's is much better tuned.
Then they further branched out from that point by developing their own hardware on the heavy duty 10 speeds as well, Fords is supposed to be much stronger/beefier but the "allison" doesn't seem to have any issues that I'm aware of, seems well mated to the duramax and now the 6.6 gasser. I don't follow the heavy dutys as much so maybe I'm wrong, dunno, but that was my understanding.
Fightnfire
Moderator
I watched his towing videos and they're good, I can't remember why he chose the 5.0 over the 6.2 I know he really liked the 6.2.
If I remember correctly, it was mainly because of direct injection and the lifter issue. The 5.0 has dual injection so carbon buildup isn't a thing (Ford had major problems a number of years ago when they just did direct, now they use direct and also port injection which sprays fuel over the intake valves and cleans everything up). GM hasn't adressed this yet, it's also a concern for the bigger 6.6 in the 2500.