I disconnected the sensor on the brake booster!

16vcabman

Original poster
Member
May 10, 2018
113
Ortonville, Mi
hello, I am having oil burning and puff when starting. First step was disconnect DOD/AFM at booster. I thought check engine light would come on? No MIL on. Do you think it was programmed out? Still burning oil, hoping to do ring treatment and see if oil puff and burning goes down. I am really bummed with oil problems.
 

xavierny25

Member
Mar 16, 2014
6,372
Staten Island, N.Y
Let's educate!!! There's a space missing in the title to this thread.... or misspelled word... not sure yet...
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
26,026
Ottawa, ON
Unless AFM has been tuned out, your CEL will come on after a couple of cycles. If you scan it, you will see a pending code.
 

rizzo20

Member
hello, I am having oil burning and puff when starting. First step was disconnect DOD/AFM at booster. I thought check engine light would come on? No MIL on. Do you think it was programmed out? Still burning oil, hoping to do ring treatment and see if oil puff and burning goes down. I am really bummed with oil problems.

Several things can contribute to the consumption. I think the biggest contributor is the design of the valve cover PCV valve. Even after having AFM tuned out and replacing the driver side valve cover I still have a small amount of oil being burned per oil change, probably 1/2 - 3/4 quart. Changing the valve cover made the biggest difference for me. The valve cover update has completely eliminated the huge puff of smoke at cold start-up for me.

Unless the engine has completely been rid of the AFM parts I think they will always be prone to oil use. I know some of the lifters are different as well as something in the oil pan is different than non AFM motors. I'm no expert but that's what I've gathered from all my reading and tinkering.
 

16vcabman

Original poster
Member
May 10, 2018
113
Ortonville, Mi
Thank you for your help. By the way, check engine light is on. Well, with an 1.5 quart oil useage per 2000 miles I am hoping it will improve some.
 
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16vcabman

Original poster
Member
May 10, 2018
113
Ortonville, Mi
Let's educate!!! There's a space missing in the title to this thread.... or misspelled word... not sure yet...
Please excuse my phone. It definitely has a mind of its own. If I type IF some times makes it OF. Could smash it but then would buy another and it will do same thing.
 
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16vcabman

Original poster
Member
May 10, 2018
113
Ortonville, Mi
Okay my boss approved me tearing down my motor so I will machine engine and replace all DOD/AFM parts. I am going with a mild cam and some other goodies. I will be sending out CPU for tune. NO More DOD dudu in my motor. GM is beta you. This will be the last one, I will be driving a 4Runner. My wife has a Equinox and it is worse than this Denali Envoy. Toyota here we come. They would never release this crap on their customer. The sad part both of us love the features in this vehicle. My wife is short and loves the movable pedals and the seats are so darn comfortable. I am hurt and torn that my motor is messed up at 140,000. My wife's car the chains and other crap let go at 72,000 and GM told us tuff sh*t for the tune of $2,700. Enough is enough!.
 

Sparky

Member
Dec 4, 2011
12,927
"They will never release this crap on their customer."

Your'e right. They'll just give you stuck pedals or rotted frames, and the squishiest, numbest steering you never thought possible :tongue:

OK but more seriously, you can buy what you want, but acting like Toyota (or any brand) is perfect is a heck of a stretch. They've all had their good and bad moments.

I will agree AFM was a bad idea, or at least the way they implemented it. And the early 3.6 definitely had timing chain problems.
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
26,026
Ottawa, ON
If your engine is currently working OK, you can run it with DOD disabled. The failure happens when DOD tries to reactivate the lifters and one stays locked in the collapsed state. Just run it like this and see if your oil consumption improves. The smoke on startup could be the valve stem seals.

At this age and mileage, it could have already been repaired in the past by the dealer, which usually used improved parts.

Yeah, never trust new tech, like this DOD when it first came out. It now seems to be good in newer vehicles having been beta tested by owners. However, I would steer clear on the new DFM (Dynamic Fuel Management) which will be in the new 4 cyl, turbo which has 24 modes rather than the 2 modes of the current AFM/DOD, at least until a couple of years of beta testing.
 

16vcabman

Original poster
Member
May 10, 2018
113
Ortonville, Mi
Actually the chain problem was on darn near all their motors. Mine on the Equinox was a 3.0 even crappier motor. The frame problem was in the Tacoma. As far as steering, which model are you speaking of? Cause I drove the 4runner and turns tighter than the Envoy. I not trying to start a war but after my pickup rotted away in 5 years I am done with brand. I have had bad Ford's and Dodges and I will try Toyota.
 

Sparky

Member
Dec 4, 2011
12,927
No harm on trying, I get that.

Every Toyota car I've driven has had very numb steering. My Silverado has more feel to the steering than the 2014 Corolla my then-GF (now wife) was looking at. I don't know about their SUVs. Toyota is good at being an appliance, but driver interaction just seems pathetic to me.

Side note, the wife opted not to get that Corolla because the seats were terrible, driving position sucked, and the ride was rough while leaving you feeling disconnected from the road at the same time. She got a 2013 Honda Civic instead, which is much more responsive and comfortable for her to drive, but keeps having intermittent airbag system errors... just more proof that everyone has some sort of issue somewhere along the line.
 

16vcabman

Original poster
Member
May 10, 2018
113
Ortonville, Mi
Thanks for your reply. I get it really. I like GM because they are easy to work on. But after three bad vehicle experiences, it is time to jump out of the frying pan and into the fire. I will say we rented a Rav 4 down in Florida, and I didn't care for the seats which was a base model, but it handled beautiful.
 

16vcabman

Original poster
Member
May 10, 2018
113
Ortonville, Mi
Need Help Please! I put left valve cover on and still using over a quart every 1000 miles. I read a tech bulletin somewhere about using de-carbonizing or top end cleaner through the spark plug holes to clean the rings. I have tried to search for this TSB and cannot find the procedure. Can anyone give me a hand with that bulletin that explains procedure Thank you in advance!
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
26,026
Ottawa, ON
And cue @MRRSM for the top engine cleaner.
 

mrrsm

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Oct 22, 2015
8,202
Tampa Bay Area
Post #12--->+1 for the "Why?" and the "How?" ...and then read further on to see how it worked for the OP in this Thread:

https://gmtnation.com/forums/threads/baked-on-oil-plugs-5-and-6.18750/

Special Notes:

...and because your application involves the 5.3L Engine... I would suggest getting the FOAMING SPRAY flavor of the ACDelco TEC... as the cylinder angles will cause the stuff to pool down in the bottom corners of the cylinders. Shake the Hell out of the Can and then Fill up each cylinder until the stuff foams out of the Spark Plug Holes. If you can afford the down time... let the vehicle sit overnight. Do NOT re-install the Spark Plugs B4 pulling the Fuel Pump Relay and catching the TEC liquid looking like... "Black Mung Goo" ...as it squirts out into Blue Scott Towels for each cylinder by keying the ignition and turning over the engine for at least 10-15 Seconds..

If you fail to take this precaution... you could Hydro-Lock the Motor... and its "Adios Muchachos!" to the Con-Rods. Change your Oil and Oil Filter immediately B4 Starting the Engine... or the lack of lubricity caused by this stuff draining down into the Oil Pan will seize moving parts and ruin your Engine. Don't forget to re-install the Fuel Pump Relay.

One last thing worth mentioning concerns the 5.3L Engines with the DOD feature... Please know that if (4) out of the (8) Cylinders get "turned off" at regular intervals in the drive cycles of these engines... the residual heat combined with any leaking Fuel from the temporarily dormant EFIs into those cylinders will cause the VOCs in the Gasoline to evaporate and allow the sticky fuel by-products to collect as a Varnish in and around the Piston Rings and cause them to stick fast. Once this happens... the Oil that Splashes against the Cylinder Walls is free to by-pass the Oiling Rings and get burned in the cylinders ...making for even more Top Engine Carbon Sludge in the process. GM would NOT have had to resort to actually designing, testing and marketing the ACDelco Top Engine Cleaner if this stuff was not absolutely required for the purposes of "Regular TEC Treatments... at The Dealerships..." So it is not just an optional thing... but a Money Cow for the Dealerships over many, many Generations of vehicles... and an absolute necessity for ALL Modern Gasoline Fueled GM Engines.

...Right On Queue...! :thumbsup:
 
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Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
26,026
Ottawa, ON
ACDelco 10-3007 Top Engine Cleaner - 13 oz Aerosol
 
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16vcabman

Original poster
Member
May 10, 2018
113
Ortonville, Mi
Okay, Just wanted to fill everyone in. I did top engine cleaner, and left valve cover and went on 700 mile trip. No oil usage at all. I would strongly suggest new wires, and plugs. Engine stunk for three or 4 days but she no burn or drink oil no more. Plugs were a bitch to get to on passenger side. Found flap and room to do rear 2 plugs on right side wheel well. One big tip, Engine cooling temp sensor is very close to front plug on drivers side. Of course I knocked it off and broke the connector. Found pigtale and sensor locally. Thank you everyone for your input and help!!
 
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C-ya

Member
Aug 24, 2012
1,098
You talked me into, @16vcabman . This is the last step for my 5.3. I turned off DOD via a tune and it cut my oil consumption from 6+ qts between oil changes (via the OLM, about 6K miles) to 2-3 between changes. I'd like to get it down to near nothing.
 

16vcabman

Original poster
Member
May 10, 2018
113
Ortonville, Mi
I would definitely try the the left valve cover first. If you decide to go with top engine cleaner, buy plug wires because ends are going to come out of wire and wreck them. I used ngk iridium plugs. Also be very careful of engine coolant sensor right next to left front plug. I would really suggest valve cover first and see how oil consumption comes out before the rest of the job.
 

C-ya

Member
Aug 24, 2012
1,098
I'll have to double check, but I think in the past I did check and found that my valve cover is the newer design. Not sure what I checked, but I do remember doing it and being satisfied that it had been done.

I know what you mean about the sensor near #1 plug. I unplugged the wire from it just to have some extra room and to try to not do what you did. (From this thread - https://gmtnation.com/forums/threads/plug-change-on-the-5-3-demystified.9240/ Would someone mind checking the thread to see if the pictures are still there?)

btf7P7s.jpg
 
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16vcabman

Original poster
Member
May 10, 2018
113
Ortonville, Mi
I think the only way to know if you have the updated left valve cover is to remove it. The vent inside is rectangular and has two pieces of metal flaps protecting the vent from oil splash. Maybe a number on it might give insight? Dorman sells them on Rock Auto for about $84.
 

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