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Watch A Teardown Of An Exploded L86 V8: Video

Introduced as the truck variant of the naturally aspirated 6.2L V8 LT1 gasoline engine, the naturally aspirated 6.2L V8 L86 gasoline engine was utilized in General Motors pickups and SUVs from the 2014 to 2020 model years. While the powerplant featured plenty of high-tech goodies, there were a few class-action lawsuits filed against General Motors for issues with the engine. With that in mind, today we’re checking out a video of an L86 teardown after one example of the powerplant gave up the ghost.

Snatched from an unfortunate 2015 Cadillac Escalade, this particular L86 has had a rough go at things and appears to be largely unsalvageable at this point. There’s a hole in the side of the block, along with what appears to be a vanishing act from the front piston on the left cylinder bank.

Photo of 6.2L V8 L86.

6.2L V8 L86

Upon closer inspection, large chunks and smaller pieces of the piston are scattered throughout the oil pan. We can also spot twisted piston rings and a snapped connecting rod, albeit the wrist pin is notably absent. Further examination reveals excessive wear on the rod and main cap bearings, where one pair is completely missing.

These findings raise the question, what the heck happened? Unfortunately, it appears as though some type of oil starvation issue took place and wreaked havoc on the engine. However, what makes this an intriguing therapy is that this powerplant seems to be low mileage and reasonably well-maintained. Whatever event sealed this L86’s fate, it’s likely that the owner did have warnings with low oil pressure alarms and knocking noises.

As a reminder, the 6.2L V8 L86 engine was found in 2014 to 2018 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks, as well as 2015 to 2020 Chevy Tahoe, Chevy Suburban, GMC Yukon, and Cadillac Escalade full-size SUVs. Output was rated at 420 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque across the board.

It’s worth noting that the L86 was eventually replaced by the naturally aspirated 6.2L V8 L87 gasoline engine, which developed the same output but improved upon the L86’s Active Fuel Management (AFM) technology with Dynamic Fuel Management (DFM).

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As a typical Florida Man, Trey is a certified GM nutjob who's obsessed with anything and everything Corvette-related.

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Comments

  1. Cool vid, thanks

    Reply
    1. Clown

      Reply
  2. Its just a few not 100’s of thousands ! Like the transmission issues that were only like 19 and vehicles with AFM ! Ive seen plenty of AFM engines with well over 250 k miles and not a single prob ! Tho not my cup of tea to be safe just plug in a AFM bypass ! Fuel economy suffers a couple miles a gal but thats what i would do and more frequent OCI’s !

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