"pins" in the oil
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 68
Likes: 0
From: Troy, MI
1998-2002 Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette
1998-2002 Pontiac Firebird
2002 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade EXT
1999-2002 Chevrolet Silverado
2000-2002 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe
2002 Chevrolet Avalanche
1999-2002 GMC Sierra
2000-2002 GMC Yukon, Yukon XL
2003 HUMMER H2
with 4.8L, 5.3L, 5.7L or 6.0L V8 Engine (VINs V, T, G, S, U -- RPOs LR4, LM7, LS1, LS6, LQ4, LQ9)
Just as a FYI this is what was listed in the bulletin:
Condition
Some customers may comment or technicians may notice needle bearings being found during an engine oil change. The bearings may be found in either the drain pan used or on the magnetic oil pan drain plug.
Cause
One or more rocker arms may have experienced a bearing failure.
Correction
Inspect all of the rocker arms for bearing retainer cap failure. If one or more defective rocker arms are found, replace all 16 rocker arms. Refer to the Engine Mechanical sub-section in the appropriate Service Manual.
If no condition with the rocker arms is found, refer to the service history for previous rocker arm repair. If previous rocker arm repair was made, then the engine may not have been thoroughly cleaned of loose roller bearings. If no previous rocker arm repair was made, then look for another condition.
Remove the oil pan and clean out any additional bearings found within the oil pan. Refer to the Engine Mechanical sub-section in the appropriate Service Manual.
Install the oil pan. Refer to the Engine Mechanical sub-section in the appropriate Service Manual.
I work at a Chevy dealer....we see very few vehicles that have had problems with the rockers losing their bearings...there may be a service bulletin out but these rockers are very good there are hundreds of thousands of LS series powered vehicles out on the road with over 100,000 miles on them and still running strong without problems...rocker failure is the exception rather than the rule...personally I've put 173,000+ miles on stock rockers first set had 128,000 miles(230 duration .598 lift) and this set has 45,000 miles on them(228 duration .588 lift)... the stock rockers are very good...if it will make you feel better get them modified by HS...
Last edited by slt200mph; Nov 16, 2008 at 09:02 AM.
While I agree that it does not happen to everyone, GM did take notice of it and released a service bulletin for this problem. I work for GM so I have access to a system with all of the old bulletins. It was service bulletin #02-06-01-029: Needle Bearings Found In Oil Pan (Replace Rocker Arms) - (Aug 28, 2002) which covered the following vehicles:
1998-2002 Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette
1998-2002 Pontiac Firebird
2002 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade EXT
1999-2002 Chevrolet Silverado
2000-2002 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe
2002 Chevrolet Avalanche
1999-2002 GMC Sierra
2000-2002 GMC Yukon, Yukon XL
2003 HUMMER H2
with 4.8L, 5.3L, 5.7L or 6.0L V8 Engine (VINs V, T, G, S, U -- RPOs LR4, LM7, LS1, LS6, LQ4, LQ9)
Just as a FYI this is what was listed in the bulletin:
Condition
Some customers may comment or technicians may notice needle bearings being found during an engine oil change. The bearings may be found in either the drain pan used or on the magnetic oil pan drain plug.
Cause
One or more rocker arms may have experienced a bearing failure.
Correction
Inspect all of the rocker arms for bearing retainer cap failure. If one or more defective rocker arms are found, replace all 16 rocker arms. Refer to the Engine Mechanical sub-section in the appropriate Service Manual.
If no condition with the rocker arms is found, refer to the service history for previous rocker arm repair. If previous rocker arm repair was made, then the engine may not have been thoroughly cleaned of loose roller bearings. If no previous rocker arm repair was made, then look for another condition.
Remove the oil pan and clean out any additional bearings found within the oil pan. Refer to the Engine Mechanical sub-section in the appropriate Service Manual.
Install the oil pan. Refer to the Engine Mechanical sub-section in the appropriate Service Manual.
1998-2002 Chevrolet Camaro, Corvette
1998-2002 Pontiac Firebird
2002 Cadillac Escalade, Escalade EXT
1999-2002 Chevrolet Silverado
2000-2002 Chevrolet Suburban, Tahoe
2002 Chevrolet Avalanche
1999-2002 GMC Sierra
2000-2002 GMC Yukon, Yukon XL
2003 HUMMER H2
with 4.8L, 5.3L, 5.7L or 6.0L V8 Engine (VINs V, T, G, S, U -- RPOs LR4, LM7, LS1, LS6, LQ4, LQ9)
Just as a FYI this is what was listed in the bulletin:
Condition
Some customers may comment or technicians may notice needle bearings being found during an engine oil change. The bearings may be found in either the drain pan used or on the magnetic oil pan drain plug.
Cause
One or more rocker arms may have experienced a bearing failure.
Correction
Inspect all of the rocker arms for bearing retainer cap failure. If one or more defective rocker arms are found, replace all 16 rocker arms. Refer to the Engine Mechanical sub-section in the appropriate Service Manual.
If no condition with the rocker arms is found, refer to the service history for previous rocker arm repair. If previous rocker arm repair was made, then the engine may not have been thoroughly cleaned of loose roller bearings. If no previous rocker arm repair was made, then look for another condition.
Remove the oil pan and clean out any additional bearings found within the oil pan. Refer to the Engine Mechanical sub-section in the appropriate Service Manual.
Install the oil pan. Refer to the Engine Mechanical sub-section in the appropriate Service Manual.
There is no recall and no replacement unless there is a failure on a vehicle that is still under factory warranty. This was just a service bulletin advising techs what the procedure is if they discover rocker arm bearings in the oil pan.
