Tearing Down Another GM 3.6L LLT Catastrophic Failure. I'm Starting To Sense A Trend With These SUVs

[@BigHartAtack]

Wrist pin was found on the highway and installed in a 12' Acadia. Running flawlessly.

[@riccocool]

I saw a torque converter full of fluid on the edge of the interstate once. But how could that happen?

[@JacobTheGunNut]

Probably fell out of someone’s truck bed

[@sharp-1000]

🤣

[@kristensorensen2219]

Where is 3?

[@ifyoutip]

​@@riccocool probably from a 2006 dodge truck with a Cummins 5.9 and the wimpy 4 spd automatic. I had 4 transmissions before 100,000 in my dodge ram. But my crazy 3.6 motor is still going strong at a little over 270,000 miles. I am running cenpeco 15-40 engine oil.

[@rotorhead5000]

In the words of Rich from Deboss garage; " every tool is a hammer, except a screwdriver, because that's a punch"

[@bradhaines3142]

nah, usually a pry bar

[@JungleSapling19]

@@bradhaines3142 snapped a kline flat head the other day.... wasn't using it as a prybar I promise

[@bradhaines3142]

@@JungleSapling19 long as it has lifetime warranty its whatever you need it to be

[@mypony7310]

Perfect shirt idea

[@angershark88]

Beautiful verbiage

[@3nigma379]

My first engine replacement working at a gm dealership as a technician apprentice. See alot of them with timing issues and sludging. Alot of it is owner neglect and going over 6k on oil changes. These engines are very picky and only last with a strict maintenance routine. To keep one alive its best to replace the oil every 5k or less. One of our most replaced engines along with 1.4L’s

[@arc00ta]

Yep, plus bad PCV problems. My LF3 3.6 is running great at just over 75k now, but its a twin turbo model thats aftermarket tuned and making almost 500hp. I don't expect it to last forever unlike people buying $4500 Acadia's and changing the oil every 25,000 miles if its done at all.

[@redcatxb125]

God those little 1.4s suck man. Every week at my Indy shop there’s always at least one with coolant or oil leaks, or misfires

[@arc00ta]

@@redcatxb125 Built as cheaply as possible and run lean to conserve fuel... just gotta make it thru the warranty.

[@markscully2342]

@@arc00ta if you were in Europe that would be 95% of what you would be working on!

[@kenbarnes8859]

See them everyday coming in for timing chain issues and sludge build up for lack of maintenance don't like the 3.6 at all

[@drferry]

What I like is that even though you know you are working on junk you still undo all the bolts in the correct order. You have trained yourself to do it right and it comes naturally even when you don't need to do it.

[@TheRealColBosch]

That's why they're called "best practices." Keep doing them, even when they don't matter.

[@alro2434]

Initially breaking them loose, OK, but all the way out is overkill/useless.

[@logicsfinest3471]

“Bouncing off the limiter at 107 mph” 😂 you sir are an absolute legend 👍

[@darrenhersey9794]

I'm expecting that even after all the smoke came out, the engine was kept on full throttle until it locked up. it would explain where the oil and missing parts went

[@tinncan]

"To do an insurance job, you have to have insurance." That's where I keep going wrong...

[@septsixquatredeux]

😆

[@SvdSinner]

Smart owner. I had an LLT go bad on a Cadillac CTS. Diagnosing, attempting to repair it and eventually replacing it cost over $8k and 17 weeks. (With me doing the work myself) I would've been thousands of dollars ahead if one day one after the engine problems started to toss a match on the car and start over. This video was very therapeutic to watch after that nightmare.

[@JDARJISJ]

I am here for the carnage, my 9y/o daughter is here for the giggles. She was the one who reminded me that we hadn’t watched the engine tear down yet. Once my wife gave up trying to talk at us we both throughly enjoyed this one. Thanks for the daddy-daughter time!

[@mridaho7871]

You should clean up the block really well and make a glass top table out of it for your reception area. That way people can stick their foot through the hole while they read a magazine. After beating the piston to a pulp, the wrist pin and connecting rod decided to elope by creating an escape hole. I’m sure the missing piece of rod is in terrible condition while as normal the wrist pin is in perfect shape.

[@XsaviXander]

The 3.6LLT is a really, really good engine if kept up on maintenance (like most engines). I had a 2011 CTS Coupe with 198K miles. Still had no issues whatsoever when I traded it in. People just don't take proper care of their cars and get oil changes at a regular interval. I wouldn't recommend going more than 5K miles between oil changes. These things need full synthetic oil too.

[@Jdog651]

I have a friend that has this engine in there car with 350k on the original timing chain. All he did was replace the oil every 6k miles

[@unti419]

I also have a 2011 coupe. Love the look. I bought it from a lawyer at 103k. He said it was popping cam codes at 50k so he forced the dealership to replace the chains. I change the oil without delay at 3500, and check weekly. It doesn't use a drop. I hope to get 200k like you did.

[@Starsnu1]

Hi Eric, I think this is my favorite teardown yet, except when you teardown Mercedes or BMW engines. I can't believe how blown up that 1 cyl. was and no other ones were significantly affected. I so much look forward to every Sat. night for a new video. Great work!

[@Echo024]

You’ve practically got me trained at this point. I was thinking it was the perfect time to watch an engine teardown and sure enough this was #1 on my recommended. A catastrophic failure on an engine I love to hate is just the cherry on top!

[@evilminion666]

Thanks for the before/after with the parts cleaner! Always nice to see the hidden damage oil and debris residue cover up. Though not terribly valuable, one could save the heads will a little bit of machine work -which says a lot after what they've been through. Thanks for all the work and the vid!

[@tokuzumi1]

Head gasket was the nicest looking part of that engine by far

[@hxlize4913]

felpro is the best on the market

[@Friend_of_the_One-Eyed_Ladies]

Watching you clean all that burnt mess off the top of the engine was surprisingly enjoyable and therapeutic.

[@r.c.jewell4164]

I had a 12’ 3.6l out of a Buick Enclave and at 52,000 miles it had rough starts. This lead to realizing carbon build up and having to replace the push rods valves and springs. This car was a short commute daily driver, so it was quick to realize carbon build up, which over time can lead to piston ring failures, scored walls etc. All this caused by “Direct Injection Engines” and this system doesn’t allow gas to pass by the valves which keep them clean. So in short, I feel the failure is due to the direct injection systems which are a slow death. I feel all direct injections should ether have an oil catch can to pick up the pcv vapours or having a dual injections. Food for thought!

[@joshuabell3074]

High RPM oil starvation will fail the connecting rod bearing first. Low RPM oil starvation will fail main bearings first. Love the teardown videos, because I do catastrophic failure analysis for diesel engines. Keep making these videos.

[@JohnSmith-yv6eq]

Another commenter: Bradley Smith 6 hours ago Looking closely at the oil pump gear with the “dried bearing” material on it…that’s galled aluminum from the inside of the pump housing. The leading edge of that material is a straight line across the gear, and I can faintly make out a line down the side of it. That gear is cracked, and the edge of the crack was shaving the inside of the oil pump as it ran. The one I did a post-mortem on actually blew the bottom out of the oil pump when the gear developed a second crack. This confirms my suspicions of the oil pump lighting the fuse. If you have any other 3.6 oil pumps, inspect them specifically for cracks in the outer gear. Have you examined any oil pumps from these engines?

[@fyodorberkovich8247]

Dear I Do Cars, I think you were very polite for saying that the GM 3.6 doesn't suck. Let me tell you why it does suck. In my own personal experience, I owned an early-generation GM 3.6. It basically started having the timing skip. I got rid of it before the motor blew up completely. The annoying thing was that no mechanic could diagnose it. It started as a very basic hunting idle.

[@edifyguy]

Watching you bash those heat-treated components off the engine was strangely satisfying and very funny. :) I do enjoy engines, but your sense of humor is tops. Thanks for sharing all the fun with us. Relatedly, that looks like a good engine that simply was badly mistreated. I'm guessing the oil and filter were long overdue, and when bad things started happening the filter instantly bypassed (or perhaps had been for awhile already) and the glitter got pumped through everything. There likely wasn't much oil in it, which is probably the main reason it failed. The bearings are clear evidence of oil starvation to my mind.

[@TheRealColBosch]

Exactly my thought. Not enough oil, what was left was old and sludgy, and friction started working its merry magic until something failed.

[@Esquimalt4Life]

I've got an LY7 and a LFX 3.6 the key is regular oil change I do every 5-8k km and run a fuel system cleaner every time. I've never had any issues

[@mazzg1966]

That was as fun as it gets!! I didn't even need to get oily! Thank for the carnage...I'm sure we all enjoyed it!

[@ronsloan7662]

That was a great teardown. I've driven the Coquihalla pass here in BC many a time to see burning or burned out cars at the summit. Cars that threw a rod knocked a hole in the block and caught fire. Interesting to see the carnage from the inside. Love the channel and the content. Keep up the great work. Cheers!

[@islandaerial3414]

BC boy too 😉

[@agenericaccount3935]

Can confirm. When have driven it I enjoyed spotting the patches of clearly scorched asphalt where some poor mule gave up the magic smoke.

[@ronsloan7662]

Haha! Yes, we've all seen that too!

[@davestark2015]

😅lol yup seen them. I live in Merritt

[@candlerw]

It seems like these motors are fairly trouble-free when they're maintained, but make for really great videos on this channel when they're not maintained.

[@hellkitty1014]

I mostly agree, but I believe it was planned obsolescence on GMs behalf. 10K mile+ oil change intervals, 100K mile spark plug changes, and the same for coolant. The timing chain stretch just after warranty expiration was just awful.

[@Onewheelordeal]

They have pretty serious documented timing chain issues but I think the biggest issue facing them is the buying demographic. I'm not sure I've ever met someone who owned one of these and knew how to use a dipstick

[@lieutenantdan8170]

No they are not they have a bad pcv design that even an engine with religious oil changes will eventually have chain issues.

[@hellkitty1014]

@@Onewheelordeal touche!

[@thetechlibrarian]

It sucks because I always liked the 2 door cts too

[@jerryroberts4252]

When you crack loose the head bolts is one of my favorite parts. Love that sound

[@katzenpapa]

I have a LLT in my 2010 Buick Lacrosse. With 132k miles, it runs realy well. You have to baby these engines and they will run great. You treat them wrong, even a little bit, KABOOM!

[@XsaviXander]

I drive spiritedly every once in a while (I had my CTS Coupe Premium until 198k miles. Traded it in with no engine issues). LLT can take it. But they can't be neglected. XD

[@ericlavoie4697]

I drive mine hard 300k I just do oil changes 5k or less

[@oneanddonediy]

I changed my oil every 3,000 mi and use premium gas. Funnily enough, the LLT requires premium gas, in case you haven't never read your owners manual. @ericlavoie4697

[@kingsmooth1234]

Best tear down channel ever!!!!! You bought a blowup engine for us, I know this part of your company makes you less $ but I definitely enjoy the hell out of it! Thank You

[@rayshutsa6690]

This one is one of the best blow ups. That was a large hole that person should have been hearing some sort of noises. Proper maintenance is the key. I have 202 379 on my engine by doing proper maintenance. This one did make a excellent teardown thanks Eric.

[@pjr6537]

Coming from a fellow tech: oil starvation! Ran low on oil, for a period of time. Hit the skinny pedal that one last time, revved too high for the lack of available oil, then WALLLA....a window is born, and the oil splatters on the hot exhaust, then boom: we have a nice warm self-made furnace...😅😎

[@bradhaines3142]

this is one of those that had to sound so good the last few minutes of its life. i bet it was glorious before that last kathunk

[@mazzg1966]

Ha Ha ha...nice visualization....or is it audioization??

[@agenericaccount3935]

Like a drunk epileptic with a handful of maracas.

[@alro2434]

Thanks, great stuff! Metal in the 4 VVT solenoid valves is from the VVT wear and accumulates from the in & out of pressurized oil at that dead end. Ever other WWW post seems to think that large pile of stuff has somehow come through the filter and is the result of bearing & cam failure.

[@boosted95]

Didn't know GM started adding combustion pressure relief windows on their 3.6l engines blocks.

[@candlerw]

GM has started hiring cheap pressure cooker design engineers to design their 3.6l engine blocks.

[@darlenebrooks8233]

Already had over 3k worth of engine repairs on our 2015 Silverado 4x4 wires piece of junk we've ever purchased check engine light started coming on with only 10k miles,the plastic breather to radiator broke off ..then radiator fan keeps running when engine turned off

[@darlenebrooks8233]

With all this repair also started with a broke rod spring.. never saw one break like this ever,then still jerks like transmission coming out

[@hawkdsl]

@@darlenebrooks8233 GM's last real trucks were the GMT400's (88-98).

[@samrapheal1828]

Also applicable on supercharged fuel burning engine applicable 🧨

[@shook0002]

Hey! Remember years ago “Cash for Klunkers”? They poured that mystery fluid in the engine and ran it until it seized? Would be great to find one of those engines and take it apart!

[@snackler6102]

If you watch neutral drop the mystery fluid is probably fabuloso 😂

[@babaganoosh555]

This was a good one!!! We have those engines in our Commodores here in Australia and they don't get looked after either 😒

[@apachelives]

We had a 3.0L commodore, at 200k kms (FULL Holden service history) after about 5-7k all the oil would be gone or barely on the dipstick. I can see how people who don't check levels would grenade these engines, especially with 12-15k service intervals.

[@snackler6102]

Sounds like you holden guys could use some junkyard LSes lest the barra has its way forever

[@tindog999]

I have an SV6 Holden with 402.000 kilometers on the clock. I have done the chains once since I have had it. Still runs great and never had a problem. I change oil every 7000kilometers.

[@joeblow5037]

242K miles on my 2002 (bought new) Trailblazer with that wonderful 4.2 I-6. Maybe it's the always garage kept......maybe it's the Mobil One changed religiously 🙏. other than crappo mpg, it is the perfect vehicle for me. Was always suspect of it's replacement (the 3.6)

[@peterjackson2658]

4.2 was a good engine

[@jjcaruso44]

I don't know which came first - the bearing failure or the piston/valve catastrophe. However, thanks for spending your time and money doing this. You are fun to watch and listen to your dry sense of humor. Great show. Thanks for your effort and videos.

[@DavidD-qr2vn]

The bearing failure came first. What is left of the rod cap as well as the crank journal show severe heat damage. If the piston had failed first it would have been in much smaller pieces, the damage to the head would have been much greater and the rod/crank would not have gotten hot. Rod would have been bent or broken but no major heat and the cylinder wall would likely have had more damage. It is likely the heat caused failure of the rod cap or bolt, then piston hit the head, rebounded and the crank journal smacked the big end of the rod as it came back around and knocked it out of the side of the block, which broke the piston pin bosses as the piston was still up in the bore. Makes sense with where and how the piston broke.

[@byGrumpy127]

You do the best explains a fan could expect or want. Good video! Cheers from Spain

[@Shiny_Dragonite]

I love these videos. Doesn't matter if it's absolute carnage or an engine you aren't sure is even bad. I sit down with a beer every Sunday to watch, unwind, and learn... and cackle every time you throw a perfectly good water pump across the shop. Reminds me of the time I threw the one off my '88 K2500 with the 5.7 many years ago. It was an old farm truck that originally belonged to my grandpa that got the oil changed "once a year whether it needed it or not." Leaked oil like crazy at 91k miles and had to pull a tire and fender when a plug got snapped off once, but I miss it.

[@matthewcarter5746]

I opened KZbin one minute after this video was posted. I guess I know what I'm doing tonight

[@mikejacob3536]

I committed the cardinal sin of turning the ignition key to start the Pontiac 3800 in my Grand Prix, a car with 92,000 miles on it, so I could drive it four miles home from work. The starter never engaged, as the intake manifold exploded before the Bendix had time to move, and took out all power from the battery. The engine looked exactly like that, except covered in dry chem fire extinguisher medium. It's a GM thing.

[@RyanKimpel]

Ok, this was more than just fantastic content, this is an epic production starring a washed up used GM 3.6. I knew from the first 2 tools you used. Wire cutters and always a crowd pleaser, Ol' Blue. You have found the secret sauce to having a great channel. Just as you enjoy all the comments, I enjoy all your videos, and this one is probably in the top 3. There was no fork lift appearance, but the parts washer makes up for it. Awesome content as always, looking forward to the next one

[@AdamantineAxe]

Always used to get these with the customer complaint of, "rattle noise when turning right," and it would end up being down to just 1 - 1.5 liters oil left in the pan on near-new vehicles because the pcm's were programmed from factory with a 20 000km oil change reminder interval.

[@peterhiggins5439]

Have you ever thought of “gift boxes” or casting parts into paperweights from blown up motors?

[@Currawong]

A piston McNugget puzzle would be perfect!

[@jessiestarns2020]

We had a 2008 Acadia. We got bit by the 3-5-R waveplate issue just outside of warranty and after putting another new GM transmission in, we drove it until the fuse panel under the glovebox had to be replaced due to water that would get into the cab. I think the motor is fine.....as long as you can maintain it properly, which being in an Acadia, you cannot.

[@cncndr5244]

I bought a 2008 Buick Enclave CXL with the LY7 3.6 V6 with 113,776 km's (70,697 miles) used with one previous owner, it's a nice suv but 4,000 km's in the transmission went with that very same issue. It's been solid at 174,000 km with regular maintenance and staying on top with oil changes.

[@markferrick10]

Parts washer does a great job. What is the liquid in there/ Just very hot water?? Always a joy to see the carnage if these engines. Fun to watch you disassemble them, along with your running commentary.

[@tssarkozi7413]

Appreciate the love, no good parts to recoup the effort. Mad respect.

[@billchildress9756]

I have had the luxury of working on many of these lovely failures. Synthetic oil needs to be changed more often than what is popularly prescribed because of what it does in the top end of these engines. I've seen the inboard heads in much worse condition because of lack of maintenance. Lash adjusters would collapse and kick rockers off, Cam journals badly galled and timing chains stretched and thrown off, Oh and of course! Blown head gaskets!! You would think that they would engineer a little more space into these vehicles since it's like an oven under the hood of these cars! I worked with some people that were SO good that they could swap an engine in 1 day and out the door! And that was 1 guy!!!

[@CaptainSpadaro]

13:02 13:42 yeah I'm pretty sure VVT oil control solenoids aren't supposed to look like that. Better question is how much of that got there AFTER the rods did the block remodeling.

[@griffojm]

This the first time I've ever thought "He should use a jackhammer" during a teardown.

[@MasterMalrubius]

“Oh Blue . . .” Blue: “F*ck you on this one, dude.”

[@bigboyfoy5540]

I’m from Alberta Canada and I got my CWB tickets (weld tickets) and put a ad on Kijiji for small weld repair and I have a blown engine with a hole similar and fixed et up and she’s still running good

[@luthers_janitorial1995]

One thing I learned owning a 2010 gmc acadia with the LLT...you have to use premium, top tier fuel only. 230,000 miles and I've never had an engine problem.

[@johncoops6897]

LOL - we own a Ginger cat, so we've never had problems with witches. BTW: as if the fuel has anything to do with the life of the motor 😂😂

[@nicholasvinen]

If it prevents knocking it will help but engines like this shouldn't knock with regular...

[@ads1035]

I've got an LLT in my Cadillac STS. It runs fine off of 87 octane fuel, as per both the owner's manual and 60,000 miles of personal experience. The catch is, its in your best interests to use Top Tier fuel - the octane is less important than the detergent blend in the fuel. And the detergent blend in the fuel reduces blow-by, which reduces carbon buildup in the crankcase, and by extension, on the backsides of the intake valves. It doesn't eliminate it entirely, but it does reduce it. For clarity's sake, Top Tier doesn't refer to the octane rating. It refers to a certification for the detergent blend. What's fascinating about these engines is, their ECUs actually have two spark timing tables, one for low octane and one for high octane. The ECU will try to use the high octane table at first, but the knock sensor will force it to pull timing and switch to the low octane table. This is one of those rare cases where using high-octane fuel will actually give you a tiny bit more power!

[@briansumner2700]

I bought a 2010 Acadia roller. Engine not running and owner said it had the cam chains changed. But he thought it was seized. No engine fire and truck is very clean. Nice SUV actually so I'm going to yank the engine and go through it. The owner was a farmer with a big operation who knows how to maintain equipment. I'm guessing this is another case of these engines not tolerating dirty oil. The GM suggestion on running the oil interval is bonkers. I would also suggest/recommend that additional ZDDP be used in these engines full time. I have a 2011 Camaro with same engine and it gets extra ZDDP at oil change way before GM interval. Good video!!

[@joeyf504327]

I have to GM credit, the bottoms ends of the LS motors and these LLT motors is far more robust than I would thought for NA. 4 Bolt Caps with Cross Bolts!

[@Gersberms]

I love how you've gotten so good at this now, that you are literally able to think 2 seconds ahead, some of the time! It's amazing to watch! :)

[@thomasfletcher760]

" I need to be careful " and starts beating stuff with a hammer 🤣

[@SpeedyB2K]

Love my 3.6l Malibu, hit 100k miles and still drive like it came of the factory line yesterday! Just proper maintenance and upkeep withing the 3 core parts of this car ( clean body, lubricated engine, & baby the transmission) it will last me more than a lifetime!

[@sharedknowledge6640]

To GM’s credit this isn’t awful for a 200K engine that looks to have been poorly maintained and never been apart. It’s also easy to work on and looks to be fairly well designed unlike their horrible inline 5 cylinder and Ford’s horrible 24 valve 4.0 V6 with the jack shaft timing mess that requires pulling the engine to service. Had this been in an Impala I’d say, only half joking, it was probably in a high speed pursuit and blew up and caught fire.

[@hotpuppy1]

"easy to work on" ? Timing chain in the car is a bitch.

[@ronbates9677]

Exactly the comment I was going to make (pursuit). Looks to me like the car was driven with total neglect -- by a frantic and desperate driver.

[@freddyferguson7763]

Nothing like a couple of beers and a new upload for Saturday night. The next frosty is for you

[@Lammergeier350]

Thank You! It seems that 3.5/3.6L engines are just having a really rough go of it these days. Between the Pentastar with its... issues, the Ecoboost with its... issues... and the GM with its... issues, it might just be safer to not buy a domestic V6. I'm looking forward to see how Chrysler managed to screw up a straight 6 with the GME, but we hopefully won't see one on this channel for a couple years yet. Also, six-bolt cross-bolted mains seem to be ridiculous overkill for the High Feature family, but what do I know, I'm not an engine design engineer. ENGINE REQUESTS: Ford: 300 Inline Six, Windsor, FE, 1.0 EcoBoost, 1.4 EcoBoost, 5.2 Voodoo, 6.2 Boss, 7.3 Godzilla (probably a bit early for this one yet), 6.7 PowerStroke General Motors: 3100/3400/3800 Olds, LUW/LWE 1.8l i4, 5.7L Olds Diesel, L5P Duramax, L86 6.2 (shouldn't have too much trouble finding that one) Chrysler: Slant Six, MORE HEMIS, 1.4L FIRE, AMC 4.0/4.2, 3.3/3.8, 318/360 Honda: B Series, D Series, K Series Toyota: 1LR-GUE (lol yeah right), 1GZ-FE, 1ZZ or 2ZZ Subaru: FJ series, EZ30/36

[@Onewheelordeal]

This guy engines

[@thetechlibrarian]

My goal is to get a 2gr v6 soon before that sweet Toyota v6 is not made anymore

[@ouch1011]

The 6 bolt mains is specifically to increase engine rigidity, which helps make it quieter and feel more smooth. It’s not for power holding in this case. Same reason a lot of engines designed with a split crankcase (lots of people call it a bed plate). Just makes the engine more stiff and helps reduce vibration.

[@Lammergeier350]

@@ouch1011 yeah, that makes sense. I see things purely from a structural and mechanical point of view. I keep forgetting that there are people that don't like the sound of the cars they drive.

[@bradleysmith2021]

Looking closely at the oil pump gear with the “dried bearing” material on it…that’s galled aluminum from the inside of the pump housing. The leading edge of that material is a straight line across the gear, and I can faintly make out a line down the side of it. That gear is cracked, and the edge of the crack was shaving the inside of the oil pump as it ran. The one I did a post-mortem on actually blew the bottom out of the oil pump when the gear developed a second crack. This confirms my suspicions of the oil pump lighting the fuse. If you have any other 3.6 oil pumps, inspect them specifically for cracks in the outer gear.

[@ikocheratcr]

As you showed the part cleaner result, can you show us more around? Also, how many times bolt break while trying to disassemble things, how you handle scrap, fluids, etc. Kind of behind scenes in the shop. I know you have made a few here and there, and I like them too.

[@alro2434]

I don't recall the exhaust manifolds, and that's where almost all broken bolts come from!

[@ouch1011]

Biggest problem with these engines is the people who own them. They’re generally fine if taken care of. But, people who buy the vehicles that this engine comes in (aside from maybe the Camaro) are the type to go to Iffy Lube only when they’re doing their $20 “Can’t believe it’s not engine oil” change specials (usually at least 10k miles overdue). Cheap oil, cheap filters, run for 20k miles at a time…yeah. This one was either run out of oil or run with just sludge in it. The damage happened, and they probably just kept their foot deep in it until it exploded. The fire was definitely from the ventilated block. Oil vapor is insanely flammable, and it went boom right next to the close-coupled cat converter, which is typically around 1000-1200*F when cruising down the freeway. That’s plenty to ignite oil vapor.

[@rotaxtwin]

Serious carnage. That must have made some noise! It's a pretty sweet little V6 by the looks of things, what, 300 HP or so? A far cry from their early 2.8.

[@timothybayliss6680]

The same engine in Camaro makes 335hp. He.mentioned a GMC acadia and theyre rated at 310hp in those

[@rotaxtwin]

@@timothybayliss6680 benefits from an improved exhaust in the Camaro chassis I suppose. That's respectable.

[@theairstig9164]

The original Holden ecotec 3.6 was 160hp. The Buick v6 this is based on is a 1960s design. 300Hp comes from four valve VVT, sequential injection and more powerful ECU processing power.

[@travismiller5012]

The wrist pin was the only thing i could think of for the last 15 mins of the video!

[@darrylmelnyk8182]

as soon as you say "catastrophic or malice" then I know the video will be good.

[@douglasmayherjr.5733]

Great Video. Hopefully the family is doing good. Glad this video didn’t have Smell-A-Vision. Thanks. Always fun to watch. 👍🏻👍🏻

[@mineown1861]

There is a third option to consider , that it blew up when granny was going through the drive through bouncing off the speed limiter at 107 mph. I came for the carnage , I wasn't disappointed.

[@chrisstromberg6527]

Just did a timing job on one of these, oil changed regularly at 5000 mile intervals. Got the DTC for unplausible camshaft crankshaft correlation on bank 1 exhaust with about 70,000 miles on the engine. The timing chain was a good 1/4 inch longer than the replacement new chain. Everyone saying these motors are bullet proof if you take care of them are not taking into account defective or poorly manufactured timing chains.

[@swag-cc4uc]

My mom passed her '12 Acadia down to my sister, then my sister to my little brother. The whole time, the car ran flawlessly for the first 100K, then immediately started crapping out afterwards. A/C gone, 3 alternators down, etc. Crazy

[@yoyo762]

That is what most mechanics say about that 3.6 engine. Its good for about 100k. After that, its borrowed time until failure.

[@Chassorenson]

I have a 3.6 in my Saturn outlook and I just redid the timing chains. What a pain it was!

[@russelljacob7955]

Engine looked like a good core. Clearly had regular oil changes before scheduled intervals right from new.

[@sargepent9815]

Timing chain guide failure is very common on these. Also, the oil jets get clogged from "extended oil drain intervals" and the timing chain itself is known to stretch leading to cam/crank continuity codes.

[@kingdommusic5456]

not just guides but very common for timing chains become trash from no oil changes

[@monikhushalpuri]

Same issue with the ford 3.7 cyclone and 3.5 ecoboost, the vvt solenoids have a filter screen which get clogged and then cause the cam phasers to fail due to extended oil drain intervals...its one of the reasons I went back to dailying a 2004 impala ss and one of the reasons why i will eventually go back to any pre VVT engines in general...no vvt to worry about, run synthetic, put gas in it, change at 5k miles and keep on trucking

[@agenericaccount3935]

I can smell the fire damage from here. Secondary comment, ever considered cutting open oil filters as part of the teardown 👀

[@samrapheal1828]

Mandatory procedure on piston aircraft engine assessment.

[@alro2434]

Yeah, it that much stuff made it to the VVT screens!

[@SirCavemaninthewest]

I spun a bearing in my Caprice 3.6 at 76,000miles and the cylinder heads look great.

[@reviewaccount469]

I sent an email asking if you wanted a FREE Audi motor to do on the channel a few weeks ago, hadn't heard back.

[@mikieme6907]

Love the channel! I have to say, I cannot get past the fact you look like Chino Moreno from the Deftones, when he was younger and thinner of course. Keep waiting for you to start screaming into a mic 😂

[@xxprouxx]

Since I've watched it so many times. What did you end up doing with the block on that viper that had the bad cylinder if you remember. I know it's been a while.

[@I_Do_Cars]

We actually sold it!

[@xxprouxx]

@@I_Do_Cars did you sell it is a nonrebuildable boat anchor lol. I had read some of the comments on that saying that it could be resleaved and saved.

[@rossplevey9724]

What an AMAZING view, looking from the inside out. Priceless! Cheers, From Downunder.

[@thomheath2569]

WOW 😀 What detergent do you use in your washer? That head came out really clean.

[@theairstig9164]

Solid sodium hydroxide pellets

[@MikeFallen13]

I used to manage a quick lube, whenever an Acadia, Traverse, Equinox, etc would pull up, we'd bet on whether it was going to be a "rattler" or not. The number of these that rolled in with the timing chain sounding like it was seconds from catastrophic failure was crazy.

[@kingdommusic5456]

bad design engine , on the edge of engineering failure already very picky , very common for timing chains become trash from no oil changes, clogged oil passages etc ,

[@minnystretch]

I know it would be hard to find but I think it would be great if you did a teardown on a Ford 300 or AMC 242

[@ggariepy]

An AMC 258 would be great!

[@leebuck180]

you are correct, the cat would be "in front" of the window in the block. i burnt my hand a few times doing an oil change on a 2014 Impala!

[@ads1035]

I'm a fan of the 3.6L LLT. I have one in my car, and its been consistently fun to drive with. I love the sound it makes when it revs past about 3,600 RPM, and I love the surge of power it makes as it passes that point. Its a shame, to see how poorly people maintain theirs - because they *do* need to be dutifully maintained. They're good engines, but their Achilles heel is neglect.

[@BugattiVeyronBugattiliker2]

I got the LFX , the refined version of the LLT , it’s a good engine but yes ok do oil changes every 2 or 3 thousand miles cuase I know it doesn’t tolerate skipped oil changes

[@realhusky]

I've seen a few of these that threw rods. One I know for sure was well maintained, blew up at 2800rpm and I found the number 4 con rod on the subframe

[@OtherWorldExplorers]

So it clearly had positive crankcase ventilation with that hole

[@joses8365]

I’m glad my LLT doesn’t look anywhere that dirty, did my valve cover gaskets and only the dirty PCV side looked a little amber. And according to my oil analysis wear is below average for the same engine! But I am religious about maintenance!

[@wafflesnfalafel1]

That is just too bad those GM 3.6s are perhaps more prone to some issues. It's a stout, nicely drivable powertrain. And can confirm, it will sit nicely at 107 at least in an Impala... It seems a little punchier/torquier than the Dodge Pentastar.

[@Friend_of_the_One-Eyed_Ladies]

"Perhaps more prone to some issues"? ROFL, GM 3.6L esp. from Acadia are a complete crapshow. Acadia version I believe is tuned a bit hotter, and most of the failures that we saw at the dealership i used to work at were from Acadias (one time, we had 7 of them at once waiting for parts). Yes a bit more power than a Pentastar, but the Dodge will keep going forever. Not exactly a Dodge fanboy here, but I've driven the hell out of several Pentastars, and the insides of them are still mint after 200k miles of my abuse. Cam journals and lobes looked great, head was clean inside, cylinders still had cross hatch, no trash in the pan, idle oil pressure within 1 psi of brand new. Speed-governed at 115 mph, and has the gearing (62TE) to comfortably sit there all day. That's with Rotella T6 synthetic 5W40 diesel oil, 6k mile OCI.

[@bill_clinton697]

@@Friend_of_the_One-Eyed_Ladies The Pentastars are great engines. With good maintenance, they WILL last. There's a Pentastar that blew up at a bit over 600k miles. Why did that engine blow up? Well, it was on the original timing chain. I bet if that timing chain was replaced before it committed suicide, it would have made it to a million miles. There are a few in the 4th gen RAM Facebook groups with well over 200k miles on their Pentastar trucks and they run great. And the Pentastars in the RAMs are the most stressed engines, due to them having the highest power output in the trucks and having to carry the heaviest vehicle.

[@loganarzuaga8316]

The glob of plastic above the radiator hose you were asking about was the power steering reservoir

[@speed150mph]

You really need to be careful when taking off the spun bearings with a screwdriver. You may inadvertently scratch the journal 🤣

[@Tiger351]

These were common in a bunch of Aussie Holdens until the brand's demise in 2017 and yeah spontaneous combustion and/or disassembly was a common ptoblem with them. I've seen dozens of 02-15 Commodores in flames on the side of the highways over here, another major problem was fuel pressure regulator and/or fuel rail seals letting go on E85 versions of these or LS engines in Commodores (you Americans would recognise them as the exported Pontiac GTO/G8 or 2013-16 Chevy Caprice).

[@brianl8983]

Such break. Very carnage.

[@hotpuppy1]

This looks like one of those "drain the oil and put a brick on the gas" jobs. When the block got windowed, the oil slung out caught fire on the exhaust. You don't seize all the bearings with oil in it unless the oil pump totally goes away. Also pistons don't come apart with a typical spun bearing. This was turning some RPM's when it came apart. Years ago, I took apart a 350 Chevy that had 4 spun rods and it was hard to turn over to take apart, but the rest of it was 'OK' sort of. It was out of a '69 Camaro that a kid didn't put oil in. Block was worn but salvageable as were the heads.

[@dmc7911]

Clearly the last moments on this one were of the owner just trying to power through and get home, catastrophic noises be damned. They didn't make it.

[@robtheslob3940]

What I would expect most GM engines to look like.

[@bluenaite]

I have a 2010 LLT 3.6, 213,000km (133,000 miles). Runs flawlessly but I changed the oil out every 7500km (4660 miles) and drilled out the PCV to prevent blockage, I also check the PCV every 3rd or 4th oil change. The GM recommended service intervals were too far apart for these engines.

[@blessedman3253]

I'm shocked a legit salvage yard even sold a engine in that condition

[@edifyguy]

I'm sure it was cheap, and I'm also sure they hadn't noticed the hole in the block. They were working under the assumption that the fire damage was all that was wrong with it, which of course was quickly discovered to not be true, and they accepted it as a return, so no problem.

[@samulivainionpaa9338]

@@edifyguy Haven't sold engines for living, but i would at least check around the engine to see what's going on, a hole should not have been missed, burned or not

[@edifyguy]

@@samulivainionpaa9338 Oh, it was sloppy, but people are overworked and understaffed these days, and things happen. It's also entirely possible that some melted plastic was concealing the hole in the block, and that it was discovered as the buyer began to clean it.

[@CoryRwtfyt]

I'm not. I called a junk yard for an engine. I let them know all I needed was the upper oil pan. They assured us that it was fine, so work sent me across the state to go get it. A football could fit through the hole in the pan.

[@yoyo762]

@@CoryRwtfyt My sister called a junk yard for another bucket seat for her car. They assured her the one they had was like new. When she got it, it reeked of mold and mildew . It must have been out in the elements for several months, And it was non refundable. No, I get the part myself. I do not trust junk yard personnel .

[@SkinnyCow.]

This is probably what my 2008 GMC Acadia engine looked like. Was driving at 60mph, heard the warning chime, looked down at the display which read "oil pump fail" then it next reads "shut off engine" and then bang, engine stopped. From the time the first chime went off to the engine seized would have been less than 10 seconds. Never bought GMC again.

[@ouch1011]

So it’s the car’s fault that you didn’t check the oil?

[@SkinnyCow.]

@@ouch1011 you mean the oil pump failed. Full of out.

[@justsumguy2u]

You know you're in for a bad engine when part of the teardown consists of using a prybar and a hammer. There's no doubt in my mind that the fire started from oil on hot engine parts. The most surprising thing to me in this video; a GM engine that made it to 200K

[@shadowopsairman1583]

2000 Suburban 8 years ago with 360,000. Just kept oil changed.

[@justsumguy2u]

@@shadowopsairman1583 GM full size trucks have always been different from their cars and SUV's, though---full frame vehicles with a V8 run forever

[@chubbysumo2230]

i can only imagine the smell that this brought to your shop, and it will never go away.

[@bryanrobertson6844]

This motor looks like it made a lot of mechanics lives miserable.

[@lizkrinsky5209]

And then one of them took a flame thrower to it 😅

[@bryanrobertson6844]

@@lizkrinsky5209 I wouldn't put it past them😂