Any issues to be aware of with V6's??

Tech discussions on the 3.6L V6 motor (LFX) used in the 2012 & up Caprice.
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vetterss
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Any issues to be aware of with V6's??

Post by vetterss »

I may go and look at a '14 PPV with a V6. I have a '15 with an L77 that is cammed etc. but this car may be for my sister. Are there any issues to be aware of with the V6 engines??? Oh they say it only has 56k on it.
Mike
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elc32955
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Re: Any issues to be aware of with V6's??

Post by elc32955 »

Yep. Make darned well sure that the oil changes are performed on-time. Disregard the oil life monitor as it takes you too many miles on oil changes usually. Don't tempt the fates, give it the PM the car needs. Or be prepared to drop dollars on engine work. The Camaro forums discuss this problem in more detail if you want to research it.

Here's a linky to the common LFX woes....

https://tuningpro.co/chevy-lfx-engine-problems/

Nice low mile engine it sounds like. Some agencies still swap them out with low miles...

Thanks
Eric
System Manager and your tour guide for the day. 2015 Caprice w/LFX, former NC DPS staff car. Partial hybrid G8/SS/Camaro SS interior mods, SS MyLink radio upgrade, 2016 Camaro V6 rims, GMPP Malibu chrome exhaust tips, otherwise bone stock for now.
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sardillim
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Re: Any issues to be aware of with V6's??

Post by sardillim »

I've had my 2012 for eight years now and it has 180,000 miles I've done the oil changes every 10,000 miles with Mobil one and so far no major issues. the key is to be diligent on the maintenance to avoid doing timing chains . fortunately on these cars that is an engine in in car service but due to the complexity of that job i would consider drop the engine out if the repair was needed. also keep in mind this is a direct injected engine . i would seriously consider doing a chemical upper engine clean every time you change the oil. this will avoid the top of the valves getting all gummed up. last but not least i had to put fuel injectors in mine twice within a month at about 100k . bought Delco's through Amazon and got two bad ones, the second batch i got from the dealer and so far no issue. people say the stuff you buy from amazon is not the same as what comes from the dealer ......who knows?
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elc32955
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Re: Any issues to be aware of with V6's??

Post by elc32955 »

After reading about LFX woes in the last article I went out and checked my oil and behold.... roughly 1 quart low after 3500 miles give or take. Put in a quart of 5W30 Dexos, that should hold it for another 1500 miles for the programmed oil change at 5K miles.

Eric
System Manager and your tour guide for the day. 2015 Caprice w/LFX, former NC DPS staff car. Partial hybrid G8/SS/Camaro SS interior mods, SS MyLink radio upgrade, 2016 Camaro V6 rims, GMPP Malibu chrome exhaust tips, otherwise bone stock for now.
Pursuit
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Re: Any issues to be aware of with V6's??

Post by Pursuit »

I have a 2012 9C1 IMPALA with the LFX motor, 112,000 miles. After seeing reported issues with the PCV system a few years back, I did the PCV orifice modification. I use only Mobile 1 Dexos 5W-30. Very little oil consumption, half a quart in 5000 miles. Great motor!

Regards,

Maurice
Maurice Sheil

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2011 Caprice Phantom Black 9C3
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elc32955
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Re: Any issues to be aware of with V6's??

Post by elc32955 »

Well, if you can believe GM the PCV issue was retired with the end of the engines put in the MY14 cars as they redesigned the system. So if this is true, my car being a 2015 isn't subject to that particular issue and I need to look elsewhere. One quart every 3500 miles isn't too bad, but since the car wasn't used in active patrol work but only as a transport unit it wasn't subject to those 0 to 90 spurts and back to zero for writing the ticket.

Things that make you go hmmmmm......

Eric
System Manager and your tour guide for the day. 2015 Caprice w/LFX, former NC DPS staff car. Partial hybrid G8/SS/Camaro SS interior mods, SS MyLink radio upgrade, 2016 Camaro V6 rims, GMPP Malibu chrome exhaust tips, otherwise bone stock for now.
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Re: Any issues to be aware of with V6's??

Post by elc32955 »

Well, just a follow-up. I'm not sure if the level was really low or not now. See my post on checking oil level, I'm sure I didn't allow for sufficient drainback time and I was probably running overfull with the extra quart for 1,500 miles or so. Not good.

Eric
System Manager and your tour guide for the day. 2015 Caprice w/LFX, former NC DPS staff car. Partial hybrid G8/SS/Camaro SS interior mods, SS MyLink radio upgrade, 2016 Camaro V6 rims, GMPP Malibu chrome exhaust tips, otherwise bone stock for now.
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