Who has experience with doing a 2019 5.3 DFM DOD DELETE using DOD delete kit and HP Tuners

RobZ · January 10

I bought my 2019 GMC Sierra Elevation with 5.3 and DFM brand new, now at 95000 miles the truck is in for its third time with lifter failure. The extended warranty will run out in another 18000 miles. I need to make this truck reliable. I have been doing research and would be doing the work myself. I would be getting the DOD kit from Michigan Motorsports. It replaces the lifters with standard roller lifters. I would be leaving the stock cam in. Then I would need to use HP Tuners to unlock the ECU and use their software to turn off the DFM. I would like to speak with people that have done this and their success rate and any pitfalls. This is my daily driver and i am not looking to make more power, just more reliable, like a small block chevy should be. Thanks in advance for sharing your experience.

diyer2 · January 10

Sorry to hear this. I have a question, how often are you changing the oil?

RobZ · January 10

diyer2; I change the oil when the truck is down to 10%

newdude · January 10

12 hours ago, RobZ said:

I bought my 2019 GMC Sierra Elevation with 5.3 and DFM brand new, now at 95000 miles the truck is in for its third time with lifter failure. The extended warranty will run out in another 18000 miles. I need to make this truck reliable. I have been doing research and would be doing the work myself. I would be getting the DOD kit from Michigan Motorsports. It replaces the lifters with standard roller lifters. I would be leaving the stock cam in. Then I would need to use HP Tuners to unlock the ECU and use their software to turn off the DFM. I would like to speak with people that have done this and their success rate and any pitfalls. This is my daily driver and i am not looking to make more power, just more reliable, like a small block chevy should be. Thanks in advance for sharing your experience.

GM E90/E93 ECM Services – HP Tuners $449 to modify yours or $699 for a replacement ECM that is unlocked. Once that is installed, it is then 8 credits to access and tune.

Edited January 10 by newdude

Bikerjon · January 11

22 hours ago, RobZ said:

I bought my 2019 GMC Sierra Elevation with 5.3 and DFM brand new, now at 95000 miles the truck is in for its third time with lifter failure. The extended warranty will run out in another 18000 miles. I need to make this truck reliable. I have been doing research and would be doing the work myself. I would be getting the DOD kit from Michigan Motorsports. It replaces the lifters with standard roller lifters. I would be leaving the stock cam in. Then I would need to use HP Tuners to unlock the ECU and use their software to turn off the DFM. I would like to speak with people that have done this and their success rate and any pitfalls. This is my daily driver and i am not looking to make more power, just more reliable, like a small block chevy should be. Thanks in advance for sharing your experience.

You have had 3 lifter failures?

diyer2 · January 11

10% tells me nothing.

RobZ · January 11

Yes, 3 separate lifter failures. This time they are replacing all of the lifters and the Soleniods.

My question pertains to experience with performing the DOD and tuning, not oil.

diyer2 · January 11

Well Rob there is a reason you've had 3 lifter failures. Oil changes and oil quality make a difference.

See Bikerjons reply.

jakecase53 · January 13

I don't know much about the trucks myself right now. I just got mine, was driving a f150. I have a buddy that did the mod your talking about. He recommended it to me, I was just going to have the 4v mode shut off thinking that would solve my future problem of this. Anyway, he said its a mod doing that I need to have done also. He's satisfied with it and hasn't had anymore problems. Said he got a little more hp but also had more stuff done . Not sure if this answers your question some. Any experiences shared I would appreciate it being I'm new to the truck, it's problems and features .

Bikerjon · January 13

1 hour ago, jakecase53 said:

I don't know much about the trucks myself right now. I just got mine, was driving a f150. I have a buddy that did the mod your talking about. He recommended it to me, I was just going to have the 4v mode shut off thinking that would solve my future problem of this. Anyway, he said its a mod doing that I need to have done also. He's satisfied with it and hasn't had anymore problems. Said he got a little more hp but also had more stuff done . Not sure if this answers your question some. Any experiences shared I would appreciate it being I'm new to the truck, it's problems and features .

Is your truck a 2019 thru 2024 or a "T1"? If you have a 2018 Silverado as your profile says this is the wrong forum for you. You are welcome to use this forum but understand your truck is not what we are discussing here.

RobZ · February 1

So I guess nobody on this forum has done the DOD delete?

Hey Diyer2, I guess you know more than GM, the oil life is calculated by GM algorithm from actual driving data.

I don't think GM would suggest oil changes so infrequently, to the point of performing warranty engine repair.

I know every truck does not have lifter failure this often, but I am positive they will fail within the 10ok to 150k miles.

Have you bought a new T1 truck yet?

Fabian Robles · August 2

I have a 2019 silverado 5.3l l84 got a lifter failer at 97000 out of warranty i order a delete kit from AMS Racing, labor wise is not bad just a pain if you are doing the labor while the engine is in the truck few cuts here there but its part off the job. i got mine put back together, but having issues disabling the DFM. delete kit came with a diablo sport 3 intune to unlock the ECM and TCM, have tune the truck but i cannot disable the DFM it gives me the option to disable it but will not display it as disabled. any ideas why its doing that?

Edited August 2 by Fabian Robles

Fabian Robles · August 2

On 2/1/2024 at 10:47 AM, RobZ said:

So I guess nobody on this forum has done the DOD delete?

Hey Diyer2, I guess you know more than GM, the oil life is calculated by GM algorithm from actual driving data.

I don't think GM would suggest oil changes so infrequently, to the point of performing warranty engine repair.

I know every truck does not have lifter failure this often, but I am positive they will fail within the 10ok to 150k miles.

Have you bought a new T1 truck yet?

I just posted on here, no real issues with the labor, im running into a problem with disabling the DFM.

newdude · August 2

37 minutes ago, Fabian Robles said:

I have a 2019 silverado 5.3l l84 got a lifter failer at 97000 out of warranty i order a delete kit from AMS Racing, labor wise is not bad just a pain if you are doing the labor while the engine is in the truck few cuts here there but its part off the job. i got mine put back together, but having issues disabling the DFM. delete kit came with a diablo sport 3 intune to unlock the ECM and TCM, have tune the truck but i cannot disable the DFM it gives me the option to disable it but will not display it as disabled. any ideas why its doing that?

Sounds like you need to contact DiabloSport on this.

Colin Zwaschka · October 15

On 1/9/2024 at 10:42 PM, RobZ said:

I bought my 2019 GMC Sierra Elevation with 5.3 and DFM brand new, now at 95000 miles the truck is in for its third time with lifter failure. The extended warranty will run out in another 18000 miles. I need to make this truck reliable. I have been doing research and would be doing the work myself. I would be getting the DOD kit from Michigan Motorsports. It replaces the lifters with standard roller lifters. I would be leaving the stock cam in. Then I would need to use HP Tuners to unlock the ECU and use their software to turn off the DFM. I would like to speak with people that have done this and their success rate and any pitfalls. This is my daily driver and i am not looking to make more power, just more reliable, like a small block chevy should be. Thanks in advance for sharing your experience.

Rob, did you proceed with your DOD/DFM delete? I have a 2019 Silverado LTZ with 129,000 on it I just bought with a supposed bad motor, so priced accordingly. I pulled the valve cover and found that the #8 exhaust lifter is collapsed, so I'm planning to pull the heads and replace the lifters with non-DFM lifters. I'm trying to find a definitive answer to whether a cam swap is required, though. I know it was with L83-AFM engines, but the L84 has DFM on all cylinders, so I believe cam lobe profiles should be the same for all cylinders, so swapping the cam shouldn't be necessary. Thanks