2.7l Silverado, 7,200 lb TT Vs Monteagle

[jerem0621]

2.7l Crew Cab, 7,200lb travel trailer Vs. Monteagle Mtn…

17 minutes of Towing goodness for you all.

Monteagle Towing

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[jerem0621]

BenK wrote:
Jeremiah

Good thinking and have gotten to know you over the years on this forum, which can say you will do the maintenance well.

There are two things suggest

#1 is that the coolant these days are rated for 5 years or more life cycle. The thermal system is one huge key to the longevity of any of these, modern small displacement ICE’s which are forced fed.

OATs and HOATs coolants are well know to have issues with O2 getting into the system to wreck havoc. The why most all OEMs have gone to a closed, overflow bottle.

They are now pressurized and the main onus is to keep O2 out when folks like me has to check coolant level/condition often. To check is to view coolant level through the translucent bottle walls and that they now have graduations for High and Low. Check on that level at each oil change, or like me…check it often, along with tires, oil level, etc

#2 is to find and read up on your engine. Did that when Ford’s EcoBoost came out because had similar concerns of the longevity. Found that Ford did many things that were sound engineering. Biggest was that inside the engine, there was/is an oil spray system to cool the piston undersides. That is something boy racers of my day did for their ‘built’ engines. Meaning that the engine oil is going to see some higher temps than a naturally aspired engine would see.

If you find that info, please post back on this. As I’ve not been able to find it…though haven’t had must time to do a proper search.

Beautiful setup !!!

Hey BenK,

Yes sir! I remember back 15 years ago or so stumbling on your Suburban’s web page and that being one of the first authoritative write up’s that got me thinking about maintenance and thoughtful mods. I am not sure if that page still exists or not, but it was an excellent write up.

As for maintenance on this beast, you are 100% correct. I tend to do most maintenance at 50% of the recommended interval. The Oil Life Monitor hits 40 or 50% and I am changing the oil. I’ll still do fluid changes on the transmission at around 30k miles. Fluid swaps just take a few minutes and are pretty cheap.

The coolant on these newer Chevy’s are a bit scary to me,I know they have improved, but it will be changed at 50,000 miles instead of 100k.

As far as the details of the 2.7l construction here is a video that helped settle me on the technical aspects of the engine.

GM Engineer Explains the 2.7L

Something that I thought was interesting is that there are simple, electronically actuated, ball valves in the cooling system so the truck can independently cool the block and the heads. I do see the actuators as a potential failure point but they look easy enough to change. I may change them as part of the 50k maintenance.

Thanks and It is good to hear from ya my friend!

Jeremiah

[Wade44]

mkirsch wrote:

Wade44 wrote:

Geo*Boy wrote:

Lwiddis wrote:
I’m not convinced you’ll be this happy at 80,000 miles. Possibly with the Ford 2.7L but the jury is still out on this Chevy engine. I see BenK is also concerned.

I wouldn’t worry about it, do your maintenance and enjoy your truck.;)

I agree.
I have been convinced 3 times with the Ford 2.7 that somewhere north of 80K, maybe 100K, 120K? miles it develops the common Ford Ecoboost waste gate rattle at cold start, and then eventually upon deceleration, as it continues to wear. Change the oil all you care to. Then its off to buy a new turbo, and a new cat on some of older ones due to a redesign. About $2.5K in parts if you're lucky and have a connection or two. I won't even go into whats involved after doing 3 if you dive into the work yourself, lets just say its a real PITA even with a lift. It would be faster and easier to change the entire engine LOL.

Probably why Ford designed the cab and front clip to lift off in under 2 hours with an experienced mechanic doing the work.

Nice shot at my inexperience. Congrats.

Actually having started working on a 4800 acre farm when I was about 7, now owning and operating same for over 40 years total, Ive turned a wrench or two on everything from chainsaws to KW road tractors to heavy Cat or JD equipment, including modding 15% more power out of a 2018 Volvo D13, I think I am more than a qualified mechanic, but at least you got your chest thump in. Typical forum spiel. Pull all the cabs and front clips your heart desires.

[BenK]

Jeremiah

Good thinking and have gotten to know you over the years on this forum, which can say you will do the maintenance well.

There are two things suggest

#1 is that the coolant these days are rated for 5 years or more life cycle. The thermal system is one huge key to the longevity of any of these, modern small displacement ICE’s which are forced fed.

OATs and HOATs coolants are well know to have issues with O2 getting into the system to wreck havoc. The why most all OEMs have gone to a closed, overflow bottle.

They are now pressurized and the main onus is to keep O2 out when folks like me has to check coolant level/condition often. To check is to view coolant level through the translucent bottle walls and that they now have graduations for High and Low. Check on that level at each oil change, or like me…check it often, along with tires, oil level, etc

#2 is to find and read up on your engine. Did that when Ford’s EcoBoost came out because had similar concerns of the longevity. Found that Ford did many things that were sound engineering. Biggest was that inside the engine, there was/is an oil spray system to cool the piston undersides. That is something boy racers of my day did for their ‘built’ engines. Meaning that the engine oil is going to see some higher temps than a naturally aspired engine would see.

If you find that info, please post back on this. As I’ve not been able to find it…though haven’t had must time to do a proper search.

Beautiful setup !!!

[jerem0621]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I appreciate all the comments and the fact that you took time out of your days to reply.

I’m a maintenance freak and only use synthetic fluid and do it all myself.

As far as how I’ll feel about this truck at 80k plus, that remains to be seen for sure. My goal is to take this truck to 200-300k miles… we can call it the long term torture test and I’ll post back periodically with how this truck is doing.

The 2.7l Facebook groups and forums have people who are already nearing 100K and the reports seem to indicate that this is a reliable engine.

I did my research on this little motor and feel like I have a good grasp on it’s strengths and weaknesses.

But, we will know more as I live day to day with this fabulous marvel of technology.

Thanks!

Jeremiah

[OH48Lt]

Waste gate rattle? That cold start rattle is normally the cam timers going. 3 times now I've had those cam timers changed, once on my 2011 3.5L eco Gen1 at 71000 miles, and twice on my current 2017 F-150 3.5L eco Gen2 at 22000 and 44000 miles. Crappy design. The Gen1 and Gen2 engines are completely different, and both took 4 days of work in the Ford shop each time.

Hopefully the Chevy 2.7L does better than that.

[mkirsch]

Wade44 wrote:

Geo*Boy wrote:

Lwiddis wrote:
I’m not convinced you’ll be this happy at 80,000 miles. Possibly with the Ford 2.7L but the jury is still out on this Chevy engine. I see BenK is also concerned.

I wouldn’t worry about it, do your maintenance and enjoy your truck.;)

I agree.
I have been convinced 3 times with the Ford 2.7 that somewhere north of 80K, maybe 100K, 120K? miles it develops the common Ford Ecoboost waste gate rattle at cold start, and then eventually upon deceleration, as it continues to wear. Change the oil all you care to. Then its off to buy a new turbo, and a new cat on some of older ones due to a redesign. About $2.5K in parts if you're lucky and have a connection or two. I won't even go into whats involved after doing 3 if you dive into the work yourself, lets just say its a real PITA even with a lift. It would be faster and easier to change the entire engine LOL.

Probably why Ford designed the cab and front clip to lift off in under 2 hours with an experienced mechanic doing the work.

[Wade44]

Geo*Boy wrote:

Lwiddis wrote:
I’m not convinced you’ll be this happy at 80,000 miles. Possibly with the Ford 2.7L but the jury is still out on this Chevy engine. I see BenK is also concerned.

I wouldn’t worry about it, do your maintenance and enjoy your truck.;)

I agree.
I have been convinced 3 times with the Ford 2.7 that somewhere north of 80K, maybe 100K, 120K? miles it develops the common Ford Ecoboost waste gate rattle at cold start, and then eventually upon deceleration, as it continues to wear. Change the oil all you care to. Then its off to buy a new turbo, and a new cat on some of older ones due to a redesign. About $2.5K in parts if you're lucky and have a connection or two. I won't even go into whats involved after doing 3 if you dive into the work yourself, lets just say its a real PITA even with a lift. It would be faster and easier to change the entire engine LOL.

[1320Fastback]

Keep up with the oil changes and cool downs and she will last. If not that's what the warranty is for.

[Geo_Boy]

Lwiddis wrote:
I’m not convinced you’ll be this happy at 80,000 miles. Possibly with the Ford 2.7L but the jury is still out on this Chevy engine. I see BenK is also concerned.

I wouldn’t worry about it, do your maintenance and enjoy your truck.;)

[Lwiddis]

I’m not convinced you’ll be this happy at 80,000 miles. Possibly with the Ford 2.7L but the jury is still out on this Chevy engine. I see BenK is also concerned.

[BurbMan]

By way of comparison, the burb had the 8.1 with 4.10 rear but only a 4 speed transmission...I pulled our 8700 lb TT up that same grade in 3rd gear at 3200 rpm holding 60 mph...so cool to see a little 2.7 doing the job of old technology big blocks!

[BenK]

Admire your choices, setup, and know how

GREAT looking setup to boot !

Forced induction turns that 2.7L into a much bigger displacement when the turbo is full on and advise to keep up the maintenance to keep it going for a looong time

Mainly engine oil (synthetic) and other fluids. If me, way before the computer says to change for added insurance

[Grit_dog]

BurbMan wrote:
215* is a little hotter than I like to see the trans get, although not terrible considering the Dex6 fluid is 100% synthetic now. If it runs hotter in the summer when ambient temps are higher I would consider a supplemental trans cooler.

It's normal. GM doesn't consider it too hot until 265deg. Not that cooler aint better, but I think its thermostat at around 200. My 2020 runs close to 200, empty once fully heat soaked.

[BurbMan]

Impressive! Amazing the power they squeeze out of these little engines! 215* is a little hotter than I like to see the trans get, although not terrible considering the Dex6 fluid is 100% synthetic now. If it runs hotter in the summer when ambient temps are higher I would consider a supplemental trans cooler.

Overall very impressive! Good luck with the new rig!