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Injectors and Drivetrain Service?


ahopkins22LSV

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ahopkins22LSV

I always say no to the other services offered at the dealership when getting my oil changed and tires rotated. However with this truck - 2018 1500 Silverado with the 5.3l and 6 speed transmission for reference, I’m not planning on selling like I normally do when I get to around 50,000 miles. I’m at 45k right now. My local GM dealer recommended that’s the fuel injectors and fuel system be serviced every 20-25k. I figure this is snake oil, but have heard of carbon build up issues on the DI engines. They claim is cleans all of the carbon build up off. It’s $225 a pop. Second they highly recommended is the 4wd, front and rear differential service which I thick they said every 35k. I can see this being good to do but the service interval seems very frequent. It’s $450 a service and I think I’ll have that done before we getting into the heavy towing season for us. Just wanted the crews thoughts before going forward with anything though. TIA. 

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22 minutes ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

I always say no to the other services offered at the dealership when getting my oil changed and tires rotated. However with this truck - 2018 1500 Silverado with the 5.3l and 6 speed transmission for reference, I’m not planning on selling like I normally do when I get to around 50,000 miles. I’m at 45k right now. My local GM dealer recommended that’s the fuel injectors and fuel system be serviced every 20-25k. I figure this is snake oil, but have heard of carbon build up issues on the DI engines. They claim is cleans all of the carbon build up off. It’s $225 a pop. Second they highly recommended is the 4wd, front and rear differential service which I thick they said every 35k. I can see this being good to do but the service interval seems very frequent. It’s $450 a service and I think I’ll have that done before we getting into the heavy towing season for us. Just wanted the crews thoughts before going forward with anything though. TIA. 

I was told that the only thing they are doing on a fuel injector cleaning is throwing in fuel injector cleaner and charging you a lot of money.  I was told to use this.  44k is what a lot of places use to clean fuel injectors.  put it in when you are close to empty and drive with it for a bit to let it get into you injectors before filling up.  Surprisingly, I just had to replace 3 fuel injectors in my GMC Yukon with the 6.2.  I have never had to change any fuel injectors in any car I ever owned.  Kind of sounded like this was a GM issue in some of the Yukons.
I am also kind of curious on everybody's thoughts on the 4wd and differential service.

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ahopkins22LSV
2 minutes ago, Hemmy said:

I was told that the only thing they are doing on a fuel injector cleaning is throwing in fuel injector cleaner and charging you a lot of money.  I was told to use this.  44k is what a lot of places use to clean fuel injectors.  put it in when you are close to empty and drive with it for a bit to let it get into you injectors before filling up.  Surprisingly, I just had to replace 3 fuel injectors in my GMC Yukon with the 6.2.  I have never had to change any fuel injectors in any car I ever owned.  Kind of sounded like this was a GM issue in some of the Yukons.
I am also kind of curious on everybody's thoughts on the 4wd and differential service.

Funny, that is the exact product that they said they use at the dealership. No idea if they connect directly to the fuel system or dump it in the tank and run the truck. 

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I'm in the snake oil camp.  Modern gasoline has so many detergents and stabilizers in it that there should be no reason to be cleaning anything in the fuel system.

As for the Diff service that is all over the board.  35K seems pretty early for me, but if you DIY it is cheap.  I don't like having dealers service diffs because they typically just open up the fill port and suck the oil out rather than removing the cover so you can get any crud off the bottom of the diff and see what kind of metal might be on the magnet.

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I have had several GM vehicles that I have run 200-300K miles on and only serviced (changed oil) at 100K and never had an issue. I have yet to have a fuel injector issue on any GM vehicle I've owned, on my 3rd 6.2 vehicle now. The only thing I would recommend is using a fuel treatment for ethanol in fuel system especially if the vehicle sits for extended periods of time. The ethanol is what will cause injector trouble. 

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If the diff service is anything like my old 4runner was, it stinks to do.... literally. The sulfur compounds in the oil linger pretty good. That and hand pumping several quarts in the fill hole takes forever. I assume there is a mechanical pump out there to speed it up. Either way, after buying the needed oil that leaves a bunch of money left over from the $450 dealer quote. 35k intervals seems okay I guess since you tow with it compared to others. My ram manual says for the 1500s if frequent towing to change every 30k, and the 2500s every 40k. 60k if not used for towing.  

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ahopkins22LSV

Guess I should have :rtfm: first. Had to take out of the plastic wrap... manual states every 97.5k for 4wd and differentials for 1500’s and 45k for 2500’s+ for “normal” use. That is much more reasonable to me. Every 45k for “severe” use in the 1500’s. They don’t define normal or severe but I’m classifying myself as normal ...

They make no mention of fuel system maintenance.

:salute: to the dealer :lol:

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1 hour ago, BlindSquirrel said:

it stinks to do.... literally.

The friction modifier additives are what stinks.  A friend of mine owns a transmission shop, and he hit the nail on the head when he described it with "this stuff smells just like death."

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42 minutes ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

I’m classifying myself as normal ...

As my friend's dad used to say, "everybody is strange but you and me, and I've got my doubts about you."

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Check the rear and front diff covers for drain plugs in the bottom.  I have them on front and back of my 2017 3500.  Did the service over the winter since I bought the truck used and didn't know when it was last done, if ever.  I did have to buy a cheap $10 pump that screwed onto the bottle for the front to get around the axle.  Used Mobil 1 Synthetic gear oil and I was just a hair over $100 with the pump included.

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You might want to confirm the fuel system is not the intake 'walnut pebbles' de-carboning treatment that is needed for some DI engines (mainly the Germans to date). Lack of fuel on the valves results in carbon buildup.  If the dealer is simply trying to get some service $ that is one thing, but if there is an actual service bulletin that has come out recently you might want to check on that.  Is that an 8 speed?  Shouldn't be an issue anymore but they do require a specific fluid and early ones did not have it resulting in a shudder, that has nothing to do with the diff's (and the fluid swap was covered under warranty).

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ahopkins22LSV
29 minutes ago, Woodski said:

You might want to confirm the fuel system is not the intake 'walnut pebbles' de-carboning treatment that is needed for some DI engines (mainly the Germans to date). Lack of fuel on the valves results in carbon buildup.  If the dealer is simply trying to get some service $ that is one thing, but if there is an actual service bulletin that has come out recently you might want to check on that.  Is that an 8 speed?  Shouldn't be an issue anymore but they do require a specific fluid and early ones did not have it resulting in a shudder, that has nothing to do with the diff's (and the fluid swap was covered under warranty).

No service bulletin, just dealer recommended service. And I still have the 6 speed. 

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