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Canyon 2.8L Duramax - Catastrophic Engine Failure

24K views 5 replies 5 participants last post by  DieselDrax  
#1 ·
I have a 2017 GMC Canyon with a 2.8L Duramax engine, currently 106K miles and bought used at 45K miles. The most unfortunate part is I'm out of all warranties (factory or at time of purchase) and I still owe ~$28K on the truck. About 2 weeks ago under no certain circumstances, I began hearing a low but audible ticking noise under acceleration and under decel (mostly higher RPM). The noise would go away under low RPM load and at idle, but between shifts and higher in each gear range, the noise would become more audible. I took it to a local shop and they checked the flexplate as possible cause, flexplate determined to be fine. Upon picking it up a week later to take it to my local GMC dealership, the noise had gone from low and less audible to extremely apparent (knocking sound now) even at idle and especially in those higher RPM ranges. I drove it to work the day I picked it up, and was going to take it straight to the dealership after leaving work to drop off before something major happened.

During that drive to the dealership and under acceleration, the engine went from that super audible knocking to a crunching sound and then silence. For my own quick diagnosis, I tried turning the key one time to start the engine again and get some feedback, it felt like the engine tried to make a revolution but would hit whatever had locked and shake the whole truck. Had it towed to the dealership and have had it there ever since. I've been in contact with GM attempting to find my next course of action and upon a response, I was quoted for right at $19K to replace the engine and not really much else assistance.

I have been reading articles and trying to research in this time if there are any common failures or areas of concern with this engine, and trying to determine why this happened to begin with. I do regular maintence myself and always get the recommened oil along with oil filter. I've replaced my fuel filters once during the course of the ~60K miles I've had it, and I've replaced my transmission fluid once as well. I'm trying to understand what that initial ticking/knocking noise was and if there was anything I could have done differently to change the outcome of what has happened. From what I've read and understand with the engine locking like it did, it's more than likely lower engine that failed but what exactly that is I have no idea. The dealership determined the engine to be locked solid and coolant drained from the engine oil when checked.

Due to the amount I owe vs. the amount of a new engine, I may be having to make some tough financial setbacks in order to have this situation sorted out. I am looking for any information or advice from anyone on here that could provide it. Thank you in advance.
 
#2 ·
Sorry to hear of your issues. Chances are you have a hole in one of your pistons, possibly due to injector failure (the knocking sound could be a sticking or leaking injector). Hard to say for sure without both testing the injectors and inspecting the pistons. One thing is for certain, do not pay $19k for a new engine. That's highway robbery and likely unnecessary, but again impossible to say without tearing into the engine. Most common issue is a cracked/fractured piston and as long as the cylinder wall(s) aren't scored or too damaged then you can get away with replacing the necessary parts for the rotating assembly. Much less expensive than a whole engine.

If you didn't want to go that route and don't want to pay the dealer $19k, find a local shop you trust and have them install a reman engine like Duramax Diesel Wholesale - a Division of US Engine Production (duramax66.com) and including labor I'd expect to be out around $10k, which is much better than $19k.

Dealers aren't in the business of diagnosing and fixing what's broken, they're in the business of highest cost with least effort, in this case replace the engine without actually knowing what failed and if it can be repaired instead of replaced. This is why I would recommend finding a reputable independent shop in your area.

If it were me, I would have the shop pull the injectors (will need to raise the cab slightly to have clearance for the #4 injector to be removed), ship them out to be tested, and drop a borescope into each cylinder to check for a cracked/holed piston. Likely to be cylinder #3 or #4 but all should be checked. At that point it should be possible to get an idea if your engine can be saved or if the block/cylinders are too damaged. At that point you'd have a better idea of what needs to be done. Best case is the engine can be repaired and you'd be out a lot less than $19k. Worst case is you need a new long block, injectors, injector hard lines, and then move everything else from the dead engine to the new engine.

You might also try talking to your insurance agent about this, apparently some folks have been able to get insurance to cover replacing the engine due to the cost involved. This would be more of a hail Mary but worth a shot anyway.

Hope this helps!
 
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#6 ·
Nope, the fuel filters don't have a bypass mode. There is no risk running them to their indicated interval via the DIC, there's actually a bigger risk with more frequent changes than necessary as aerated fuel will cause a spike in wear until the air is completely purged.