How many times did you change the timing chain? Also I love how that's considered high mileage on those motors. Indeed that's very high mileage for a GM Hi Feature.
You are absolutely correct! I have the same engine and change my oil every 3,000 miles. Forget the onboard dash reminder! Do it every 3,000 miles and you will be ok.
3.6 Litre GM engine very fast very efficient, quick and pulls strong and hard, I have one in my 2019 GMC Acadia Denali, change my oil every three thousand miles, will out run a lot of cars of Today. Looks like a soccer mom ride but its much more has 310 hp most guys have no ideal what it can do, I do and I Love it, it’s my sports car Suv
I like the GM 3.6 liter strong, efficient, fast good on fuel and racy if need be, love it, in my Acadia Denali 2019. I ensure my oil is changed Every three thousand miles always
Your timing chain stretches significantly over time, so ideally do a timing chain job at 75k miles. Don't floor the gas because you'll mess it up faster. It's a fragile motor, and they tend to show mysterious random symptoms with no check engine lights before blowing. Check for oil leaks often, as any change in oil level will mess up the chain tension.
New cars haven't become less reliable. New drivers have become more negligent when the cars have become more reliant on tentative owners. 5K mile oil change. NO EXCEPTIONS! I have a Toyota Rav4 and even with all its reliability reputation every 6 months it gets an oil change. I don't put a crazy amount of miles on it so I prefer going by time instead doing them during the shoulder seasons (October & April) before the extreme seasons of Summer and Winter so it has a fresh batch of full synthetic for the hot and cold months. And don't cheap out on the oil. Mobil1, Valvoline SynPower, Castrol Edge, Pennzoil Ultra Platinum, Royal Purple, and Liqui Molly all are excellent options.
Realistically, you shouldn't go by interval, you should go by how nasty the oil is. And run some engine cleaner in the oil if you're worried about carbon. Some motors are more sensitive than others. For instance the Ford 5.4 needs oil changes very often to avoid carbon buildup. I'm talking 3k miles or less.
We just bought a good used Buick Rendevous with the 3.6 engine. It has 90K and is a strong runner! I've always been a fan of engines with timing chains. They are very durable and less worry than belt equipped. We've also owned GM's 2.2 liter Echo Tech with 300k on the engine. The same issues with oil apply to it also. Change the oil at 3000 miles! Thank-you Joe for shedding light on the care of these engineering marvels!
It's PCV valve hole being less than 1/8" that causes oil sludge under one valve cover. I have had SEVERAL fords with timing chains that lasted the entire life of the vehicle. This is the kind of engine that makes you hate timing chains. It also needs an oil catch can because the other pcv lets too much oil into the intake (goodbye catalytic converter). Also the radiator has transmission cooling line that cracks and the transmission fills with coolant and engine cooling system with transmission fluid. Bet you got that buick cheap. You'll see why before long..... it's a 16 hour job doing the timing chains by someone who knows what they're doing.....
I know this is a very old comment - I used to fully agree that chains are better, but my own recent experience suggests it may not be so simple… six months ago I put a new timing chain on an Audi with 95,000 miles because it was stretched far beyond its limit. Owner was very fortunate we caught it before catastrophe struck. And then just two weeks ago I did a head gasket on a Mitsubishi 3.0 V6 with 199,000 miles… it still had the original timing belt, which was in great condition!
I own a 212 Buick lacrosse, engine purrs like a kitten , quiet smooth, powerful. I use Walmart oil, 5/30 does not burn oil, change engine oil 4k Transmission oil every 30k, love my ride.
My 2016 Chevy Colorado has the 3.6 VVT with direct injection. 305 hp stock and with a little tuning you can get around 325. My oil life monitor hits 10% around 3500 miles.
Those motors aren't known for burning oil. You're thinking of a different GM motor. The motor you have is known for blowing up all at once without much warning due to timing break, or bending a valve
2010 Acadia 3.6 162,000 and counting. Does not use any oil between changes. Change the oil regularly with 5/30 synthetic, Kirkland brand, going to up my frequency after seeing this vid and reading some comets. Just cleaned the intake manifold with seafoam, replaced #5 coil pack(one on the back driver side) enlarged the PCV holes, and will next weekend change the spark plugs, intake manifold gasket and valve cover gaskets. Back Valve cover gasket has the upgraded cover to restrict blow by to the intake manifold through the PVC. Have ordered a small catch can to help keep oil/contaminants away from the intake manifold and valves. Starts and runs good. 17 to 24 MPG. Love the auto start and heated seats, Very clean quiet and so far reliable SUV. Oh and I can easily tow my 3,000 LB boat to the lake. I do worry able the timing chain, and the transmission but so far okay. Oh, also changed my front A-arm and ball joints at about 150,000.
Timing chain failure oil burning and extending oil changes better check it frequently. The oil change intervals were increased by gm due to excessive oil use between changes.
I REALLY expected him to at LEAST mention the pcv causing sludge buildup in the valve cover. They also often need an oil catch can because the other side was spitting out huge amounts of oil into the intake manifold. Which REALLY doesn't do any good for the catalytic converter either. Over here in Australia anything with these engines is worthless. I seen one (2009 lumina) going last week for 5 or 6 days pay. Former real estate agent car with the stickers on it and tiny fender ding. But even a perfect body and above base model is like 10 days pay maximum.
And use dexos oil. Dont even think of conventional oil. Ive seen some fleet impalas over 300k miles. Never a problem with the engine with dexos. Its the conventional oil that vapor off at lower temps leaving crud behind. That cheap oil change will eventually cost you
Great information! I am looking at a 2020 GMC Canyon with this 3.6L engine, that I knew nothing about until now. I am quite familiar with the 4.3L thing called an engine that I have had in 2 Chevy S10's. So I assume this 3.6L is the replacement. AND I was shocked when you said that the computer will tell you to change your oil at 12k miles!!! Wow! As a daughter of a mechanic, I would not dare go past 3500-4K miles between changes. Again Thank you for such a informative video!-Peggy Scott Edwards of Scott Motor Co Richmond Va. :)
Why didn't you ask your dad? He'll have some stories to tell. Here in Australia these cars around 2007-2009 go for between 1-2 weeks pay because of this engine. Even the propane powered variant (costs under half the fuel costs of the gasoline one). He totally didn't mention the passenger side valve cover sludge problems and the crap radiator that blows coolant into the transmission when the transmission cooling line cracks.
2023 Camaro 3.6 owner. Changed oil at 600 miles, 1500 miles, 5000 miles and will do every 5000 as long as I own the car. Mobil 1 EP full synthetic. It’s a very fun commuter with the 6 speed and dual mode exhaust. It rips.
Some people think it's a gamic. But iv been running zmax lubricant for over a decade. It is amazing stuff. I never ever had a issue with a GM motor in any truck iv owned. Not only that I just got a 2021 chevy Colorado with the 3.6 and put zmax in that also.
My 2012 Acadia has 152,000 miles on it with semi synthetic oil every 5000 miles. Works fine, although sometimes when cold, the first start of the day makes a loud rattle that lasts for less than a second. I think it’s the chain. A lot of the miles were highway. It still has the original brake shoes and rotors with 5 and 8 left on the shoes. Replaced the water pump at 120,000. Last week put KYB shocks and struts for 2400.00. Blower motor replaced 2 yrs ago. I’m glad it took care of it and when I see car prices today, I’m even more glad.
Well when's the last time you did the chain? I'm starting to think everyone in this comment section (and their mechanics?) forget that the timing chain job is a thing. A necessary thing. Your timing chain is stretched. By 150,000 you're getting to the point where you need to swap your timing chain and its tensioners, or the motor is going to junk out within the next 10-50k miles. It will live a while longer if you keep swapping oil, but the motor will get to a point where it's going to die and nothing can stop it, once the timing chain is too stretched. Everyone just ignores that, and rides the stock chain to the death of the car. Usually this is around 150,000 miles, although some people manage to get to 200,000 off the stock chain.
It's REALLY caused by the fact that the 2nd PCV hole is like not even 1/8". Meanwhile the Australian built right hand drive fords have no issues and higher towing capacity. Which has made cars with this engine completely worthless here. Worth between 1-2 weeks pay EVEN the propane powered variant. Lovely looking vehicles but worthless.
I'm so grateful to have run across this video. I own a 2006 Cadillac CTS Sport Luxury that has 86K miles on the engine. This is in Jan. 2020. The car is in amazingly good shape. Whenever people approach me to tell just how beautiful it is, they are stunned to learn of its age. I have not believed the 3K mile oil change recommendation in several years because of the advances in oil packages. I have intended to go about 5K miles between changes, however, these days I only drive about 3K miles per year. This is my first HF V6 and I have always been leary of the computer recommendation of up to 12K miles. Even though my engine burns no oil and has no leaks, I did start using high mileage blended oil a couple of years ago. The car sat undriven for about 5 months recently and I'm thinking that with 3K mile on it, I need to get an oil change now. (Also, get my computer recalibrated). Do you have any recommendations for me? Again, thank you so much, Ron
Thanks, just got a 2018 Impala LT with this fine powerful and efficient engine and was wondering about how this thing calculates oil changes. Sticking with what dad taught me- 3,000 miles or 4k at most. Check your oil often. 5w-30 good stuff every time
When these were first released in Australia Many Many dealers ignored the factory requirement for the oil that dissolved the solids that plague these engines. There was a very big deal made internally about the damage done upon release and lots of finger pointing going back and forth about who was responsible for the warranty claims. These issues appeared in 2004. GM never made the cause public and it took about 3 years until someone externally figured this out via the PCV problems and logically worked back to find the root cause. It isnt such an issue now because crankcase gas flow has been severely restricted to save the PCV system. It doesn't however save the older types of oil from not taking up enough gunk from the blow by these engines generate. I don't know about 3000 mile oil changes that is less than 5000 klms. It is funny though how when this problem affected the Ford V8 that it was never really isolated. they also have hydraulic actuators failing that can be put down to this problem as well. Like Sol used to say in the old Castrol adds "Oils aint Oils"
You know the new Acadia STILL HAS this crap as it's engine (only option and they run it at higher RPMs than the commodore to make it push the 2 ton Acadia). Holden is destroying itself hanging onto this crap engine. VE commodores are often going for under 2000 and I saw one last week for 990. Try getting an FG falcon for that with under 180 thousand kms...
@@OffGridInvestor Use the correct oil type not just viscosity, Service on time and attend to the PCV and they are great. Sadly people are to stupid to realize that there are reasons behind the service schedule and requirements. Holden isn't the problem it's GM. Holden wanted to use a different engine all together. It's ancient history now when you see Holden don't think Aussie car think Daewoo or worse.
09 Caddy Cts 3.6 LLT direct injection just hit 200K miles and then I did the timing chains, oil pump, water pump, power steering pump, belts ect. Love this engine stock 300+ HP fast enough. Wish I could find info on supercharging it.
@@roscoeelcocko1863 no he's not I got 260,740 miles on my '10 lacrosse cxl 3.0 runs smooth like butter I did uber/Lyft in it and decided to buy a newer uber mobile and pimp my Buick she runs and rides good!...GM RULES!
Picked up a 2018 Camaro 2LT RS LGX a few weeks ago. GM Recommends oil change every 7500 miles. I had already committed to changing it every 5K due to timing chain issues in my VW while following the manufacturers recommendation. Are you saying I should stick with 3K oil changes on this engine? It's a daily driver. Not racing or driving hard but I will rev that 3.6 every now and again just to feel alive.
Thank you very much. I just got my car after my mom passed and it's a 2015 Chevy Impala LTZ Limited. It does have a 3.6 L DIR DOHC 24V engine. I was getting 30 mpg at first when it had 24,000 mpg but now I'm getting 22mpg and I'm not sure why. I have changed the oil 3 times. Once I waited till the car told me to change the oil. I really like the car and I hope I have not damaged in any way waiting until the car told me to change the oil. I wonder no, why would my mileage have diminished ??
Use Mobil One Extended Performance if you go by the book, it is a really good oil. 3k intervals are for cheap Dino oil and old pushrod engines. The 3.6 needs synthetic oil.
I would feel much more reliable with a 3800 v6 as well. Kinda slow but you can upgrade the piss out of it if you wanted to. Not that it won't be expensive to do so....
you mean the one that destroyed itself when the lower plenum collapsed and mixed coolant and oil or caught on fire when the valve cover gaskets burst and squirted oil onto the exhaust manifolds? The NA series I and II were turds too and, just like the 3.6L, they fixed them
@@T0tenkampf you don't know what you're talking about. The intake manifolds don't collapse. What happens is the dex-death(cool) eats away at the gaskets and the aluminum. That causes the coolant to seep into the manifold. Don't use dex-cool and this won't happen. The engine fires were caused by people not replacing the valve cover gaskets. This happens on ALL FWD V6 engines. It can happen on any V engine. The one fatal flaw was using a plastic intake manifold(which gm stopped using in the series III). On ANY engine with a plastic manifold, they can spontaneously explode due to back fires. All modern engines have crap plastic manifolds. I've seen Chrysler engines do the same thing.
The GM 3800 is a far better motor than this 3.6. There are people arguing about the plenum bursting. That's GM for you. Lol. Russian Roullette. If it doesn't catch on fire, your ignition switch could kill you. I mean, I would obviously throw in an aftermarket metal intake if it doesn't have one already, but I have a better idea. I think I'm just gonna steer clear of GM. Do myself a favor. Nobody in their right mind would get one of these motors, when there is literally anything else to choose from. Even a Chrysler v6 is better.
Would you recommend owning a 2008 cadillac sts4? They have depreciated into my price point and I am curious if there are any persistent problems besides those mentioned, lack of maintenance, and subjectively bad fuel economy.
In the current age - this is actually a minor problem compared to other choices. If you maintain the oil level - install the new Rear Cover Gasket(which indeed helps a lot) - and change oil often (I have always done so around 3500-4000 miles) - the problem is managed. With The current Ford EcoBoost 3.5,3.7 engines have that Impossible Water pump location that can cause $1500 replacements if you don't junk the vehicle - and the Triton's are well known for blowing the Spark Plugs out of the heads - I have been checking the oil level in my cars every week since I have owned my First 1929 Chevrolet Master - which still runs.
That Ford Transverse 3.5 & 3.7 is a 20hr job to replace the waterpump, I did it and what a Pain. With my GM 5.3 I did Oil Pump, Water Pump, Timing Chain, Oil Pan Gasket, in maybe 5 hrs! All the new Engines are very difficult to work on and repairs are expensive.
5w30 full synthetic can be run to 5k-7500k miles with no problem. If you run 5w30 conventional then i would definitely change my oil at 3k in this engine. I believe a good solid synthetic like Pennzoil Platinum 5w30 is worth the investment.
Not in these engines, did you not listen to the expert? The factory PCV system creates issues that cause the oil to foul sooner and also consumes enough of it that at 7,5k some of these are running low enough to cause issues. The timing chain failures are directly related to running a non DENSO oil and waiting too long.
Use a good quality timing chain in addition to a top tier oil. Dont cheap out on the timing chain like the car lot dealer did when they put some cheap Chinese made crap chain on my Pontiac G8 3.6 which stretched and cost me a butt load of money to replace. Also use a good full synthetic oil like Castrol Edge, which is what I use on mine. Check/change frequently.
2016 impala 3.6 244000 mile driven bout 100 miles each way 3days a week maintenance myself for my wife oil changes every 5000 witn thr rite oil never burns any an no problems at all with timing great engine dextros approved oil .
Probably highway miles? That doesn't amount to many engine cycles. Your timing chain is stretched, if you haven't done jobs on it. Do a timing job. I'm not kidding.
thats what destroys the timing chains on these, ppl going past 5k on their oil change. also ik gm released an updated oil pump gasket without even saying its a new style gasket bc the old style would fail.
My Caddy engine runs great. Use synthetic engine oil and still change every 3,000 miles. Good mileage also. At first I did not like the engine shutting off at stop lights (red light) but now I like savings fuel because of it. As a factory service rep for two car manufacturers, I can tell you oil passages especially those for cam phasers are tiny. Change your oil every 3,000 or annually whichever comes first.
I hate the fact that you have to install mods on that piece of trash so that it doesn't enable autokill by default. There's no setting you can toggle so it has 'winter mode' eg keep it disabled.
The Calculation you speak of has been around for a long time and it calculates more than what you say. The key is to use a minimum of a semi-synthetic oil as per almost all manufacturers. The Valve Cover has a revised Gasket so to not let so much Oil get into the Intake Runners. The Chains are high-stress Items and should always run in clean Oil. Most People do not change their oil as they should and that will lead to VVT Failure. Full Synthetic Oil is best! Those of you posting that crap blaming the Manufacturer?? Stick to a good maintenance routine! Yes, things do happen that is a fact of life, talk to a Shop!! and ask them how many of those engines they service and ask them the average miles on them.
Hi there, I’m own an 08 Cadillac SRX4 with the 3.6 v6 . I’m worried it has skipped timing... I’m researching and getting mixed reviews about the possibility of this engine being an interference motor.. are bent valves a possibly for me if this engine did jump time. Thanks mike,
I searched for the same thing a while back. I believe I finally ran across somebody saying the timing chain broke and they had the timing chain replaced and it was all set. Seems to me that means it is not an interference motor.
There have been FOUR generations of High Feature V6 since the first. They are very different engines:- 1st Gen (LLY) -- Port injected, Dual VVT DOHC 4-valve 2nd Gen (LLT) -- Direct injected revision pf the LLY 3rd Gen (LFX/LF1/LF3/LF4/LFY/LF-whatever) -- New cylinder heads, 21 lbs lighter, integrated exhaust header, plastic manifold 4th Gen (LGX/LGW) -- New block with increased spacings, bigger bore, slightly increased displacement, cylinder deactivation The chain issues are mainly LL-series issues and your oil is not going to help much when the polymer tensioners fail. 3000 mile oil changes are nonsense. This is not 1950 and you are not running whale blubber in them. I usually change as indicated (10000-12000 miles) and sometimes longer (~15,000 miles). The LF3 (twin turbo 3.6) is past a 100,000 miles with nary an issue. Over 12-15K miles it'll use about 2 of the 7 quart fill. It'll be a little low, but not low enough to be a problem. And, it has been running 18.5 psi of boost instead of the factory 12.5 psi. The important thing is that long change interval REQUIRES that you use an oil designed for long intervals. If you go to your oil change place and take whatever they give you are going to have a problem. That means no conventional or synthetic blends and no cheap filters. Use a synthetic oil with long duration detergent package. Mobil One Extended Performance (15,000 mile detergent package) or Annual Protection (20,000 mile detergent package) served pretty well.
I have a 09 traverse thunk it has a burnt valve no compression on number 4.it has about 170000 miles I have changed the oil regularly for the past 5 year's. It was used with 70000 when we got it.i have had to add a quart of oil almost weekly.i think I went wrong by not knowing about a direct ejection and burning cheap gas.still not sure if it's a burnt valve but will soon find out.
The oil algorithm used by GM was absolutely ridiculous. It was a scheme to be able to advertise lower cost of ownership with the added benefit of bringing big dollar jobs to dealer service departments. Other manufacturers including Ford did and still do the same thing. This is a good engine, just keep the dirty side of the PCV clean as well as keeping the oil clean. If you don't, oil gets sucked out the clean side, and the engine consumes lots of oil. Before you know it, you're low, the chains have overheated and worn out, and you need a timing overhaul.
@Richard Skipper They were revised sometime during the 2012 production run. My Camaro was built 10/2012 for the 2013 model year, and it had the revised PCV orifice. Mine was pretty clean, so I put it back. Car still uses about half a quart to a quart between changes. The whole PCV system is poorly designed. Under high vacuum, quite a bit of oil vapor gets through. A pcv valve or a catch can help, but even that's no guarantee to keep the oil from being consumed. In the scheme of things, it's not a huge deal. Keep the oil topped off and have your intake valves cleaned every 30,000 miles or so.
My 3.6 LFX Equinox with 301hp gets beat on every day and takes the abuse well, a 3800 wouldn't like being revved to 7200rpm like the LFX does, it likes to revved out.
Bring back the SBC. I drove a 68 camaro to FL once and it got 25 mpg. Quadrajet and a 2.73 rear end. Plus it does have that cool factor all these newer cars don't have
Exactly. Bring back the 3.8. Wish they sold the engine to some other manufacturer like they did with the 'little' Buick V8 that Rover ran for over 30 years. On my 5th 3.8....300,000 miles plus on each of them...33 per gallon on highway...never an issue...NEVER!
@@denislinehan5581 why they stopped making them...my boy had 350,000 on his 91 regal..he got a deer a year with it,,,lol///body parts were getting hard to get for it so he sold it...the guy drove it for two more years after that
This engine is NOT for people who don't know their way around a wrench, like BMW's engines. You HAVE to keep up on the maintenance and change the oil at 3k religiously with synthetic, AND do the PCV mod and timing chain around 100k or when the check engine light comes on, but I would not wait for that. I've done all the maint items and have had no problems with the engine, but the above needs to be done. This is not a low-stress Honda engine that needs little maint, if the engine is taken care of it will last a long time.
This not a oil issues as much as a engineering failure on the pvc system. My second chain failed after 68k miles, full synthetic 3-4k oil change. Engine was clean inside but it only had 68k from a factory deal chain job! Stay sway from this engine!
I have a 13 impala with the lfx 3.6, the chains and valve covers were changed on the design. I'm at 180000 miles, change oil every 8000 miles "highway miles". If I drove city I'd change every 3000. Just cleaned intake valves, they weren't too terrible. Overall good engine. Just make sure you check oil level every other full up
If the engine came out of a cts with the 8th digit of the vin being V then yes, the LLT engine. If it's a 7, LY7 it will have a different computer, does not have direct injection and won't run unless you start swapping computers.
Ok this 3.6 engine is so good, 3rd party engine re builders are making a fortune replacing it. Basically it's about as good as a Vega 2300 or Cadillac HT4100 can get for engine replacement outfits. Cheers
I like the engine, just wish gm would finally duel fuel (di & pi fuel injection)it like many OEM are going to. Not just cuz of carbon buildup on valves but,gets expensive trying to add boosted power past 450-500hp mark.
A biggest automaker in the world has used this engine in many of its cars, suv, and trucks. Unfortunately, this is bad designed engine as it consumes oil due to PVC valve system that cause low oil that causes timing chain stretch later, carbon built up that causes engine rough idle. I have gone back to support buying American made cars but due to this issue happened to my car. I have been very frustrated.
That was in the earliest 2 designs so dont be afraid to give the later ones a shot, I have the first one (LY7) and 150k on it with oil changes and a air to oil separator on the PCV line...the oil consumption can be managed
The GM oil life monitor has always been worthless. It's designed to keep cost of ownership during the warranty period low. GM also gets energy credits for the reduction of waste oil.
There was a reflash for the oil life in 2008, way before 2013 that this guy is talking about. Run synthetic and change it every 5,000 miles and they will run forever
United we stand divided we fall I personally would never go over 5k miles if you run synthetic oil. If you ask any good gm technician they will tell you the same thing. You can’t listen to all the people on the internet. I’ve worked on hundreds of these engines. I’ve seen timing chains last 150k miles and I’ve seen them last 50k. They really are a good engine but only if you change the oil. I just bought my girlfriend a GMC Acadia with this engine, I installed new timing chains and it will get synthetic oil and I will change it every 3,000 miles yeah this is over kill but it will definitely keep this engine clean!
@@unitedwestanddividedwefall3521 Own a 2012 Impala with the 3.6L. Purrs like a kitten. Can't hear it running it's so quiet. Synthetic oil changes every 3,000 miles. It has 126,000 miles on it and doesn't burn oil and runs like a champ.
Mine OLM system is pretty accurate. At 45% left on the dash, checked the dipstick and it was spot on. Just a little bit below the half way mark between the hashes.
Absolutely peanuts. But the rebuilds..... Maybe 150-200 thousand miles. Maybe. They also have a sludge buildup issue in one valve cover caused by pcv hole being too small AND need an oil catch can AND have a tendency to blow coolant into the transmission when the transmission cooling line cracks. You put on a enternal oil cooler for that. Basically they're a nightmare.
Sure, blame the oil change intervals. Take a look at this cheesy chain, the links and sprocket teeth are half the size of the old small blocks. Today's oil is far better than oil 20 years ago and the engines burn fuel more thoroughly, so oil change intervals should be less frequent than 20 years ago. Considering that the total number of links is about 4 times the old small block, they should have been engineered to wear 1/4 the rate of the old small blocks. Accessing these chains, and maintenance in general is painful and labor intensive. This GM 3.6 High Feature V6 isn't hard to find, it's just hard to find one that doesn't need a new timing chain. A lot of unhappy GM customers out there.
My 3.6ltr gm engine (LY7 or 7LY ?) does not have AFM. Here's what gm says: "Presently, GM manufactures four different engines with Active Fuel Management technology. These four engines are the Vortec 5.3-liter V-8, Vortec MAX 6.0-liter V-8, 3.9-liter V-6 and 5.3-liter small-block V-8." No 3.6ltr listed.
No disrespect, but this appears to be little more than an advertisement and minimally good information, because of the facts it leaves out not to mention the fact the motor was never put in an Escalade. Do your homework first Mr. Joe. Mr. Joe has not only generalized the description of the motor, but failed to point out that there are four generations of it as it has been improved in performance and dependability. Only the last generation, the newest for 2016 has active fuel management and GM did away with the extreme extended oil change intervals with a programming change more than 10 yrs ago. The LFX version beginning in 2012 has been reasonably trouble free timing chain wise so far, but still hasn't been out 10 yrs yet in order to make a good time stamp for its 100k mile chain durability. The LGX is still far too new to even consider in this regard, or levy a chain failure risk to, especially since it is a new 3.6L design that has two timing chains instead of three. The number one cause of problems with this motor is owners who think the oil life monitor works like the fuel gauge and never check the oil level in it. Many of the chain and engine failures were linked to motors that were run out of oil, or close to it, basically owner ignorance and negligence. It's a different motor from the earlier less powerful, less efficient single cam, iron engine and has to be treated with the care high tech calls for. Keep in mind this motor does with 3.6L, what many earlier V8 motors took 5L plus to do. Don't lose sight of the big picture and be careful of who you listen to. There are a lot of "parrots" on the net repeating what they've heard with no experience with what they're talking about. Check your oil and change it at 3k intervals if you drive it under harsh conditions, long hours in traffic and hot weather, otherwise change it no sooner than 5k miles unless the oil life monitor indicates earlier, especially if you're using full synthetic, you don't want to throw away good oil either.
I had a 2005 CTS with the 3.6 that I bought from an old lady in Florida with 49k a year or two ago. I ended up selling it because it burned a quart of oil every 300 miles. No idea how. It ran great otherwise.
They need an oil catch can. Common with this engine in Cadillacs. The way the valve cover and PCV valve were set up. They ended up making a different gasket that stopped the PCV taking so much oil out by kind of making it like a baffle.
Dear Engine Joe, This motor is the reason I haven't bought another GM. I was ignorant and bought an early generation 3.6. It was the worst motor I've ever owned. There might be worse motors out there, but not that I've owned. The fact that GM continues to produce this motor, and the fact that you say it's the 'future', tells me that I'll never buy another GM in my life. Doesn't matter how pretty an Acadia looks, when it has this piece of junk for a motor. People look at these things and act like it's a great achievement when it gets to 200k.
I tend to lean more towards poor engineering. Those timing chains look like peddle bike chains. I’m surprised some after market company hasn’t come out with a double roller type set up. There is also that PCV issue. The PCV vent gets clogged and one bank of the engine starts to look like you never change the oil. It’s only going to get worse. GM is starting to put some timing chains between the engine and the transmission, like in the new truck 6 cyl diesel. And the chains look just like the ones on these 3.6 engines.
My 2015 Buick lacrosse i change my every 3 thousand miles it don't burn any oil the guys at the oil change place tell me all the time it's not ready i tell them change my oil
