Help with a GMC

Can you help my son with this, his check engine light comes on when the car gets a bit warm, this is what he has changed and at the end the code he gets on obd2.

Gmc yukon denali xl 6.2 2007
Camshaft Position Actuator Solenoid

Camshaft position sensor

Oil pump

Oil pressure sensor

I have changed the oil three times

Det har jag bytt och får fortfarande felkoden p0011

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if the warning is the position of the camshaft, apparently the sensor of the main shaft does not match the current position of the camshaft, does the engine have a timing belt or a chain?

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I know you have already addressed some of these JanA.

Always suspect a replacement part as inadequate unless it comes out of an original manufacturers box.

As will be said in this article: wiring; harness pin terminals; the PCM having an internal failure; the actual cam moving mechanism.

I would begin with a very good bi-directional scanner to see what the computer is seeing. Then commanding thru the scanner, the camshaft to change while the engine is running. Can it? Can it change properly?
Regards
Steve unruh

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From what I understand, the problem started after he changed the oil, apparently there would be some special oil in this engine?

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Is there a possibility the camshaft actuator could be “clogged”? Wrong oil flushing loose build-ups that clogs thing up fast.
Anyways best is, as SteveU says: read out what really happens, activate the camshaft actuator.
Is it timing belt or chain? Loose chains often give this symptoms. A belt have to slip a cog, wich often gives the same result’s, but often becomes worse.

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No specialty oil need in this engine family. 10W-30, 10W-20 in standard, semi-synthetic, full synthetic. Super oils of 0W-anything; or 20W-40’s-60’s will give problems.

As Goren says never, ever oil flush high hours in service engines. Never-ever, chemically speed clean them. You will break loose hard crusts insoluble chunks.

Here is a video of this engine family as a worst case showing the cam-in-block and short timing chain:

Yuk! Anything touched inside will break loose clogging crap. Dangerous to do any covers off repairs on any engine this badly sludged up.
No. This one does not have the end of camshaft advancing-retarding mechanisms, sensor trigger wheel, and sensor. The solenoid valve and actuator will be just more tiny orifices to get clogged up.
His channel has lot of videos of 6.0L and 6.2L too.

Steve Unruh

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Not to de-rail too much but that’s why I like Marvel Mystery Oil. Very slow working when it comes to cleaning off junk. Seems like it works from the top layer down instead of breaking off pieces of carbon from the engine.

I’m not sure if the 2007 year model had Active Fuel Management, if it does have AFM and shuts off half the cylinders you might have an unevenly worn camshaft triggering the issues.

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Thanks for all the tips and advice, I haven’t met the boy yet, he’s been out in the woods building moose towers all weekend.

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Welcome to gen 4 ls dod that is super finicky…my best advive is get hptuners and a dod delete kit and convert back to standard cam and no displacement on demand. They save gas in cars but in trucks they are just not worth the hassle. If you are bent on keeping it then yes you need a good scanner and some mechanical oil pressure guages and see if its pressure caused or a faulty dod lifter. If a vustomer supplies me with a gen 4 to swap in their car i wont even install unless we delete the dod system. They are problomatic at best.

Good luck…its a simple system but very finicky

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Check crank sensor the connector may have been disturbed during the oil filter change or during this flush however it was conducted. Also check connecters at any ground location.

Computer codes do not mean bad sensor. They are just telling you what the controller is seeing. Like an O2 sensor code. If the ECM is seeing a lean condition there are tons of things that cause this and the O2 sensor is simply doing its job at seeing this condition. Could be weak fuel pump, fuel presure regulator, bad ground, bad injector, bad IAC, etc.

Also GM diagnostic’s really should be done with a Tech II or what GM is using now days.

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So I didn’t see the p0011 code first time I read it…you state he changed the control solenoid… So he changed the magnetic controller held on with 3 bolts? While that’s off the bolt that holds cam gear on is actual vvt valve as well…there is a button you can push with finger and it should be smooth and fully return on its own…if truck has been getting oil changed at gm recommended interval of 5k or 7.5k that valve is most likely gummed up… They are easy to change and cheap…then do your oil changes at 3k with a good oil…this will keep the vvt and D.O.D. lifters in better shape and give them an actual chance of operating long term. Most auto manufacturers started recommending extended oil change intervals and it’s killing powerplants daily…3k even with sy thetic is good practice and far cheaper than repairs…and all of my automatic rigs get oil drained once a year and refilled with fresh ATF for same reason …oil is cheap comparitively speaking and in extreme climate like I live in negative 20 in winter and 105 today …lol. Oil breaks down and needs changed more than recommended if you want your rigs to last over warranty period.

Also if you have any decent scanner you can go to special functions and command vvt to advance and retard and compare with actual.

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Thanks, my son is going out tonight to get some vegetables, (we are getting a lot of them now.)
I’ll show all the tips I got from you guys, see if he can get the check engine light out.

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it is easier to google on the actual codes numbers, because until you use the actual GM stuff, you get generic code descriptions. And when does the light pop on? IE does it pop on when you start the vehicle or does it show up 5 minutes after running it?

Anyway, i poked around and found this which the top half is actually " How to Relearn a Procedure on a GMC After Changing the Crankshaft Sensor" while it is the 1999 lumina it may still be applicable, but the fact there is a relearn procedure that predates your engine is probably more important.

Low oil levels can cause wear in the timing belts. So if he was changing the oil and flushing because it ran low, the timing chain/belt may have stretched due to heat prior to the oil changes and it could be coincidental or the port may have clogged a bit.

If there was sludge and the light takes a few minutes to pop on. I would probably try marvel mystery oil. Run it for a couple of minutes, then shut it off and let it sit for a few hours. rinse and repeat. Time it initially to see how long it takes and after about the 4th time see if the time has increased any.

Marvel Mystery Oil works best if you add it to the oil on a fresh change and cleans the engine over time.

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I don’t disagree but it is a fresh oil change. The question is if it is a delayed light, whether there is at least a marginal difference between when the light comes on after it is mixed in and circulated around for a bit. Then you may know whether you are on the right track or not. There could also be a delay for it to show up like the O2 sensors.

I gave him all your advice the day before yesterday, and he says the light starts to glow after a while, probably when it warms up.
He had tried to make the oil a little thicker (apparently there is something to pour in the oil) and then the lamp had not lit this evening, but the next day it was the same. He has 5-40 oil (I think he said) in it, so I suggested a change to a slightly thicker oil.

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Sounds like his oil pump is going out, thicker oil will bring up oil pressure.

Nope. Thicker oil will not help. Probably make it worse. This engine was designed for 10W-30.

Cody in his first post says the oil plump was already changed.
And in my first post here I put up a picture showing the end of cam shaft gear oil control valving “bolt”.
Has the mechanical plunger button on the end that Rob Williams said to reach in and finger feel for freedom of movement.

IF YOUR PROBLEM IS MECHANICAL, it will be most likely in this bolt/valve. Or the oil moved phaser mechanism inside of the camshaft gear.

You are code setting because the computer is either NOT able to command a change. Or the change is occurring too slowly.
Thicker oil will slow down the advance/retard changing.

You can keep throwing parts at this problem. Maybe eventually solve it. IF it is mechanical wear, internally oil leaking, or binding.

If it is electrical wiring, terminals or the computer having internally faults . . . then ONLY a full capability bi-directional scanner is the way to begin. Four guys here have told you this.
S.U.

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The boy changed back to the old Camshaft Position Actuator Solenoid and Camshaft position sensor after cleaning them, and then the light went out, the new ones must have been wrong.

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To ME, it sounds like they needed to be programmed and he didn’t reprogram them. However, that is also part of the reason why I didn’t change abs speed sensor in my last bearing job… (it is kind of a hassle getting all the stuff together to do the reprogramming…)