LS3 Lifter noise or Piston Slap?

[Martbar]

Noticed you are in NZ, maybe the Holden dealers there are more sensible/nicer than here in Oz?
Drop mine off Wednesday arvo at Holden for them to look at Thursday, but i doubt I'll get any such special warranty.

Good luck mate, let us know how you get on.

 

[Kakodaemon]

Good luck mate, let us know how you get on.

I shall report whatever silly crap Holden tell me.

 

[Skylarking]

I shall report whatever silly crap Holden tell me.

It’s sad when you know and expect silly crap will be thrown your way

 

[Kakodaemon]

It’s sad when you know and expect silly crap will be thrown your way

And it will be crap.
When I booked it in and explained what the problem was, I explained it in a way that i eluded to what the problem most probably was. 10 minutes later they called me back saying I was overdue for my last service, I explained that service had been done and they guys tone changed, he said "Obvoiusly we didn't perform that service." I Felt like I had been caught cheating but more likely they were looking for reasons to deny it being their problem/fault and making it mine by not getting it serviced. Will be interesting what they tell me.

 

[Skylarking]

And it will be crap.
When I booked it in and explained what the problem was, I explained it in a way that i eluded to what the problem most probably was. 10 minutes later they called me back saying I was overdue for my last service, I explained that service had been done and they guys tone changed, he said "Obvoiusly we didn't perform that service." I Felt like I had been caught cheating but more likely they were looking for reasons to deny it being their problem/fault and making it mine by not getting it serviced. Will be interesting what they tell me.

Presumptions

Rather than simply asking when and where the last service was done because they have no record of it… they imply you neglected your vehicle and that’s the cause of your blinker not working… How dare you not buy over priced blinker fluid from the dealer

**** I sometimes hate dealers

 

[Banjo79]

There's a special place in Hell for a lot of dealers. They're rumoured to reside next door to the women that didn't help other women.

 

[Kakodaemon]

Well what do ya know.... Absolutely nothing wrong with my car at all! Completely normal noise for these engines, even though only some do it and some don't! I said it was rubbish and that the noise was embarrassing and has devalued my car, but who cares right?
They showed me a photo copied piece of paper from GM regarding piston slap, but said i couldn't take it with me. It said piston slap was normal and in bold lettering said "Do not replace engine." It was only half a page and looked like the bottom half had been covered over when photocopied.
There was no point arguing and i didn't want to burn my bridges with the ONLY Dealer that has ever looked after me, but i wasn't happy and said that it wasn't a normal noise. I said i wanted it in writing that it was "normal" and that it won't be detrimental to my engine, which i got.
Glad I didn't get angry as they didn't charge me anything for the loan car nor did they charge me the $154 for the diagnosis.

 

[Skylarking]

Sad but that was to be expected.

At least the dealer sort of covered themselves (and you) by referencing “according to Holden this not a durability concern”.

So I gnoring the noise for the moment, the question then becomes what is the expected durability of an LS1 (in kms) given recommended servicing? When would an engine rebuild be expected; at 100,000kms, 1/4 million kms or 1/2 million kms or more… how durable is this lump of an engine? And what is Holden’s definition of durable… bet it not the same as what we “normals“ would consider it to mean…

It will be very interesting to see a final outcome from @VCoz effort and court process… You can read about his sage (which is hopefully coming to an end soon) at the below link

GM.com - Warning of what to expect now under ACL Warranty now Holden is gone.

I love my car but my battle has just begun ... Holden Customer 'Care' stonewalled, then closed the Holden Dealer's claim for a new engine (more to that but not here at this time). HCC effectively said my case is closed so take it to the Courts if I want to subpoena their technical reports...

forums.justcommodores.com.au

PS: and if you did the last service at a 3rd party mechanic and showed them proof, I’d want that stupid “105k Service not claimed - expired FEB“ statement removed from the service receipt as it is simply misleading… If you serviced it at a 3rd party mechanic, the relevance of claiming CPS or not isn’t… we’ll relevant at all.

 

[Pollushon]

LS engines are incredibly durable, maintained short of a significant imperfection. That's why they're so popular for making big powa and so well renowned across the globe

I slapped one to over 300k. That doesn't diminish the OP's dissatisfaction with the current state of play

 

[Skylarking]

LS engines are incredibly durable, maintained short of a significant imperfection. That's why they're so popular for making big powa and so well renowned across the globe

I slapped one to over 300k. That doesn't diminish the OP's dissatisfaction with the current state of play

but they suffer lifter failures, injector failures, ( in the USA overheating due to DexCool issues),… and I believe to a less extent, oil and water pump failures… Ok not every engine suffers such issues but they aren’t extremely rare events…

So I’d not say they are incredibly durable, rather, I’d say they are incredibly cheap and easy to fix (and mod) which would be more accurate… especially in the USA where they are ubiquitous and really cheap at any wreckers… with parts shops carrying all manner of mods… sadly the same isn’t true down under

But even if they are incredibly durable, as you say that doesn’t diminish the dissatisfaction many have for piston slap. Durability claims doesn’t diminish ACL claims against being sold a product that wasn’t as demonstrated (which also means dealers can’t warm up cars prior to test drive as that’s deceptive conduct)…