My Mechanic that works on my older cars asked me about the engine in the Hybrid Tahoe and it occured to me that I know very, very little about the actual engine. I don't even know the cubic inch displacement(which he asked me), I told him 6.0 liter Atkinson cycle and he looked at me like I was speaking a different language(he's old school).
I looked online but found very little info., does anyone know any further details? it's history, the actual cubic inch displacement, does it share it's lineage with any other GM engines? is it the same 6.0 used in other GM vehicles?(I would assume it is not), is it a small block? any other details would be very interesting.
I'm guessing Hillbilly Hybrid knows the details of this engine.

 

This is taken from a GM document about the 2009 6.0 LFA, which should be correct to your vehicle. I found it to be informative, and hope you do as well.


2009 Vortec 6.0L V-8 VVT Hybrid (LFA)

VORTEC 6.0L Gen IV V-8 (LFA) HYBRID TRUCK ENGINE
2009 Model Year Summary

· New Engine for 2009 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid and GMC Sierra Hybrid. Continues from 2008 model year as carryover model for Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid, GMC Yukon Hybrid, Cadillac Escalade. Hybrid.
· Variable Valve Timing
· Active Fuel Management
· Variable Displacement Oil Pump
· Returnless Fuel Injection with Stainless Steel Fuel Rail
· Advanced Electronic Throttle Control
· E67A Engine Control Module
· 58X Ignition System
· Enhanced Noise, Vibration and Harshness Control
· Late Intake Valve Closing

Full Description of New and Update Features


New Engine for 2009 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid and GMC Sierra Hybrid.

The Gen-IV Small Block engine has been modified from the “standard” Vortec 6.0L V-8 configuration to mate with GM Powertrain’s new 2-Mode Hybrid transmission. This combination will be available as “New” for 2009 in the Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid and GMC Sierra Hybrid, and is continuing in the Tahoe, Yukon, and Escalade, from previous 2008 model year.

The modified Vortec 6.0L has been engineered with an aluminum cylinder block, and is specified with GM’s industry leading Active Fuel Management technology. This 6.0L also features GM’s cam-in-block variable valve timing.

This engine continues the evolution of one of the most important and successful engines in automotive history—the original Chevrolet small-block, which debuted in 1955. The Gen IV Vortec 6.0L LFA features technology that the creators of the first small block could not have imagined, yet they share one fundamental trait with the original: a market-leading balance of performance, sophistication, and durability, and now coupled with even greater levels of economy.

Variable Valve Timing
The Gen IV Vortec 6.0L’s industry exclusive cam-in-block variable valve timing (VVT) is included in these hybrid applications, and allows the powertrain system to take advantage of late intake valve closing for greater efficiency. VVT eliminates the compromise inherent in conventional fixed valve timing and allows a previously unattainable mix of low-rpm torque, even torque delivery over a broad range of engines speeds, and free-breathing high-rev horsepower.

The Vortec 6.0L’s dual-equal cam phaser adjusts camshaft timing at the same rate for both intake and exhaust valves. A vane-type phaser is installed on the cam sprocket to turn the camshaft relative to the sprocket, thereby adjusting the timing of both intake and exhaust valve operation. The vain phaser is actuated by hydraulic pressure from engine oil, and managed by a solenoid that controls oil pressure on the phaser. The phaser uses a wheel or rotor with four vanes (like a propeller) to turn the camshaft relative to the cam sprocket, which turns at a fixed rate via chain from the crankshaft. The solenoid directs oil to pressure ports on either side of the four phaser vanes; the vanes, and camshaft, turn as directed by this pressure. The more pressure, the more the phaser and camshaft turn. The Vortec 6.0L’s new E67A engine control module (below) directs the phaser to advance or retard cam timing, depending on driving demands. The dual-equal phaser can turn the camshaft over a range of 31 degrees relative to the cam sprocket (or 17 degrees advance, 45 degrees retard relative to the crank).

The benefits are considerable. The cam phaser changes valve timing on the fly, maximizing engine performance for given demands and conditions. At idle, for example, the cam is moved to an advanced position, which allows for exceptionally smooth idling. Under other operating demands, the phaser adjusts to deliver optimal valve timing for performance, drivability and fuel economy. At high rpm it might retard timing to maximize airflow through the engine and increase horsepower. At low rpm it advances timing to increase torque. Under a light load (say, casual everyday driving), it can retard timing at all engine speeds to improve fuel economy. Without cam phasing, a cam design must be biased toward one strength or another—high-end horsepower or low-end torque, for example—or profiled at some median level that maximizes neither.

The cam phaser is timed to hold the intake valve open a short time longer than a normal engine, allowing a reverse flow into the intake manifold. This reduces the effective compression ratio, allowing the expansion ratio to increase while retaining normal combustion pressures. Efficiency is gained because the high expansion ratio delivers a longer power stroke and reduces the heat wasted in the exhaust. This increase in efficiency comes at the expense of some power from the lower effective compression ratio, but that can be compensated for by the overall higher mechanical compression ratio (10.8:1, vs. the 9.6:1 of the regular Vortec 6.0L L76) and the use of the electric motors in the hybrid transmission.

Variable valve timing allows linear delivery of torque, with near-peak levels over a broad rpm range, and high specific output (horsepower per liter of displacement) without sacrificing overall engine response, or drivability. It also provides another effective tool for controlling exhaust emissions. Because it manages valve overlap at optimum levels, it eliminates the need for an Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) system.

Finally, cam-phasing helps maximize the fuel-saving benefits of Active Fuel Management technology (below). The cam phaser can adjust valve-timing for maximum torque when the Vortec 6.0L is operating as a V4, keeping the engine in this fuel-saving mode as long as possible.

Variable Displacement Oil Pump
The Vortec 6.0L for the hybrid application utilizes a variable displacement oil pump to minimize parasitic loss and thus increase fuel efficiency even further. Other Vortec Small Block engines use a fixed displacement gerotor pump which can use up to 2 horsepower more to operate than the variable displacement pump. A series of vanes rotating in a carrier develops oil flow and pressure based on requirements from the engine. An internal spring/slider mechanism allows the pressure and flow to change in response to what the engine needs to operate everything in the lubrication circuit, from bearings to AFM to VVT.



Active Fuel Management
The Gen-IV Vortec 6.0L hybrid engine features GM’s Active Fuel Management technology (AFM). AFM temporarily de-actives four of the 6.0L’s cylinders under light load conditions. Working in conjunction with the hybrid control system, it will provide significant fuel economy increases under the federal government’s required testing procedure and potentially more in certain real-world driving conditions. Yet truck owners don’t have to compromise on the Vortec 6.0L outstanding peak horsepower to go farther on a tank of gas.

Active Fuel Management stems from a simple premise: most truck owners have more power than they need much of the time. Many choose powerful V-8 engines to be prepared for the occasional heavy load, but during routine commuting that powerful engine operates at a fraction of its capability. Volumetric efficiency is impaired, and that means less than optimal fuel mileage. AFM offers a common-sense solution. It saves fuel by using only half of the Vortec 6.0L’s cylinders during some driving conditions, and seamlessly reactivates the other cylinders when a driver demands full power for acceleration or load hauling.

Managed by the new E67A engine control module (ECM), AFM automatically shuts down every other cylinder, according to firing order, during light-load operation. In engineering terms, this allows the working cylinders to achieve better thermal, volumetric and mechanical efficiency by reducing heat loss, combustion loss and friction, and lowering cyclical combustion variation from cylinder to cylinder. In addition, the pumping losses from the deactivated cylinders are almost completely eliminated by the valves not functioning. As a result, AFM delivers better fuel economy and lower operating costs. Perhaps the most sensible thing about AFM is that it harnesses the engine’s existing capabilities, starting with the potential designed into the E67A ECM. The only mechanical components required are special valve lifters for cylinders that are deactivated, and their control system. The incremental cost for the customer is nominal per engine. Active Fuel Management relies on three primary components: collapsible valve lifters, a Lifter Oil Manifold Assembly (LOMA), and the ECM.

One of the most sophisticated engine controllers extant, the E67A ECM (below) measures load conditions based on inputs from vehicle sensors and interprets that information to mange more than 100 engine operations, from fuel injection to spark control to electronic throttle control. AFM adds an algorithm to the engine control software to manage cylinder deactivation and reactivation. When loads are light, the E67A automatically closes both intake and exhaust valves for half of the cylinders and cuts fuel delivery to those four. The valves re-open to activate all cylinders when the driver demands brisk acceleration or full torque to move a load. The engine’s electronic throttle control (ETC) is used to balance torque following cylinder deactivation or reactivation. The transition takes less than 20 milliseconds, and can’t be detected by the driver.

Valve lifters are operated by the engine’s camshaft, and lift a pushrod that operates the valves in the cylinder head. In the Gen IV Vortec 6.0L, the deactivating lifters are installed in cylinders 1, 4, 6 and 7, while the remaining cylinders use conventional lifters. The hydraulically-operated deactivating lifters have a spring-loaded locking pin actuated by oil pressure. For deactivation, hydraulic pressure dislodges the locking pin, collapsing the top portion of the lifter into the bottom, transferring force to a lost motion spring instead of the pushrod. The bottom of each deactivating lifter rides up and down on the cam lobe but the top does not move the push rod. The valves do not operate and combustion in that cylinder stops. During reactivation, the oil pressure is relieved, and the lifter locks at full length. The pushrods, and therefore the valves, operate normally.

The final AFM component is the LOMA. This cast-aluminum assembly is installed in the Vortec 6.0L’s valley, in place of a conventional engine block cover. The LOMA holds four solenoids, control wiring and cast-in oil passages. The solenoids are managed by the ECM, and each one controls oil flow to a deactivating lifter, activating and de-activating the valves at one cylinder as required for Active Fuel Management.

The Gen IV Vortec 6.0L’s fuel injectors are identical for all cylinders; those feeding the de-activated cylinders are simply shut down electrically by the ECM during de-activation. When the cylinders are deactivated, the engine effectively operates as a V4. AFM operation is load based, as measured by the ECM using dozens of inputs, overlain with the driver’s demand for power as measured by throttle application. AFM’s response time varies with oil temperature, but in all cases is measured in milliseconds. Operation is always transparent to the driver. The engine returns to V-8 mode the instant the controller determines that acceleration or load requires additional power.

The benefits are substantial. The fuel savings reflected in EPA numbers may not account for AFM’s full impact. Owners who primarily travel long distances at steady speeds will see substantially greater fuel-economy improvements.

Returnless Fuel Injection with Stainless Steel Fuel Rail
The Vortec 6.0L is equipped with a "returnless’’ fuel injection system, also known as a demand system, and the latest-generation Multec injectors with USCAR connectors. The Gen IV V-8s represents one of GM’s first applications of USCAR-standard electrical connectors for the fuel injectors. The standard was developed to promote common, reliable connections across the auto industry and streamline regulatory oversight. The connectors are more compact than previous connectors, and designed for improved sealing.

Recently introduced on the Gen III Vortec V-8s, returnless fuel injection represents a paradigm shift for GM, developed to improve performance and decrease evaporative emissions. Previously, Vortec 6.0Ls used a return line between the engine and the fuel tank to manage fuel pressure by bleeding off excess fuel at the fuel rail and returning the excess to the tank. The new system eliminates the return lines and moves the fuel pressure regulator from the fuel rail on the engine to the fuel tank. Because it delivers only the amount of fuel needed by the injectors, and returns no fuel to the gas tank, the returnless system essentially eliminates heat transfer from the engine to tank. This reduces the amount of vapor generated in the tank and captured by the vehicle’s Onboard Refueling Vapor Recovery (ORVR) system.

With the returnless system, the 6.0L uses a fuel rail manufactured of stainless steel. Previous versions use a nylon rail. The stainless steel rail allows installation of baffles that manage fuel pulses in the returnless system and reduce noise.

Advanced Electronic Throttle Control
GM Powertrain has led the industry in applying electronic throttle control (ETC) to its Vortec V-8s, which are now equipped with ETC in all applications. The Gen IV Vortec 6.0L introduces the next generation in truck ETC.

With ETC, there is no mechanical link between the accelerator pedal and the throttle body. A sensor at the pedal measures pedal angle and sends a signal to the engine control module (ECM), which in turn directs an electric motor to open the throttle at the appropriate rate and angle. ETC delivers a number of benefits to the customer. Besides throttle pedal angle, the ECM measures other data, including the transmission’s shift patterns and traction at the drive wheels, in determining how far to open the throttle. ETC delivers outstanding throttle response and greater reliability than a mechanical connection, which typically uses a cable that requires adjustment—and sometimes breaks. Cruise control electronics are integrated into the system, further improving reliability and simplifying engine assembly.

The Gen IV Vortec 6.0L takes ETC to the next level by taking advantage of capability built into its advanced E67A ECM (below) and further streamlining the system. Its up-integrated ETC system eliminates a Throttle Actuator Control (TAC) module, managing the throttle directly, without a TAC. Eliminating the TAC reduces cost and improves reliability. The direct link between the ECM and the throttle motor improves throttle response time (albeit in millisecond increments that are not apparent to the driver) and improves system security by removing a device (the TAC) the must be monitored for malfunction


E67A Engine Control Module
An advanced controller manages the multitude of operations that occur within the Vortec 6.0L every split second. The E67A is the high-end controller in GM Powertrain’s new family of engine control modules (ECM), which will direct nearly all the engines in Powertrain’s line-up. In combination with advanced sensor technology, the E67A includes the ability to control and synchronize advanced technologies such as Active Fuel Management and cam-in-block variable valve timing.

The E67A features 32-bit processing, compared to the conventional 16-bit processing in previous Vortec engines. The E67A operates at 59 MHz, with 32 megabytes of flash memory, 128 kilobytes of RAM and a high-speed CAN bus, and it synchronizes more than 100 functions, from spark timing to cruise control operation to traction control calculations. The E67A works roughly 50 times faster than the first computers used on internal combustion engines in the late 1970s, which managed five or six functions.

The family strategy behind GM’s new ECMs allows engineers to apply standard manufacturing and service procedures to all powertrains, and quickly upgrade certain engine technologies while leaving others alone. It creates both assembly and procurement efficiencies, as well as volume sourcing. In short, it creates a solid, flexible, efficient engine-control foundation, allowing engineers to focus on innovations and get them to market more quickly. The family of controllers means the ECM and corresponding connectors can be packaged and mounted identically in virtually every GM vehicle. Powertrain creates all the software for the three ECMs, which share a common language and hardware interface that’s tailored to each vehicle.


58X Ignition System
The Vortec 6.0L has an advanced 58X crankshaft position encoder to ensure that ignition timing is accurate throughout its operating range. The new 58X crankshaft ring and sensor provide more immediate, accurate information on the crankshaft’s position during rotation. This allows the E67A ECM to adjust ignition timing with greater precision, which optimizes performance and economy. Engine starting is also more consistent in all operating conditions.

In conjunction with 58X crankshaft timing, the Gen IV Vortec V-8s apply the latest digital cam-timing technology. The cam sensor is now located in the front engine cover, and it reads a 4X sensor target on the cam sprocket. The target ring has four equally spaced segments that communicate the camshaft’s position more quickly and accurately than previous systems with a single segment. It provides precise control required for variable valve timing.

The dual 58X/4X measurement ensures extremely accurate timing for the life of the engine. Moreover, it provides an effective back-up system in the event one sensor fails.

Overview
The Vortec V-8s have fueled GM’s leadership in truck sales because they provide the right technology for the job. The new Gen-IV Vortec 6.0L LFA engine continues that tradition.

The Gen IV Vortec 6.0L LFA is built on the solid foundation laid by it’s immediate predecessor, the Gen-IV Vortec 6.0L L76, which launched in the GMT900 SUVs and pickups, and introduced a host of advanced technologies to the overhead-valve V-8, including up-integrated electronic throttle control, long-life spark plugs, GM’s Oil Life System, Active Fuel Management, variable valve timing,

 

I can't add much to that. No magic just a cousin of the non-hybrid 6.0L. This engine does have many features unavailable back in my Mr. Goodwrench days.

 

FYI the 6.0 liter engine is 366 cubic inches (+ or -). It is the closest engine in the line up to the small block 350CI engine from back in the day. Probably not a bolt on it that is shared, but that is were it fits in the size grouping.

I wonder if it is 2 or 4 bolt main engine?

 

Actually the bell housing bolt pattern is the only thing still "original".

 

it was actually awarded 2009 Ward's best engine- the LFA engine.

 

Evois, no major issue, but I believe it was in the 2008 list rather than '09 in which the LFA was recognized by Ward's.

 

I know it is the 2008 Ward's but would like to say it as 2009

 

Old Thread but I too was looking for 6.0 FLA engine information (FOUND IT) Thanks JimToonz (if he is still around it has been 5 years LOL) Looks like my newly acquired 2009 Chevy Tahoe is going to consume some oil. I just poured in a quart of M1 5w30 after driving it for about 1200 miles over the last month. It is right at the full mark, which is where it was at when I checked it right after I bought the Ho about a month ago. I was told by the previous owner that this Ho had always had synthetic oil run in it and was changed regularly. After searching around I see a couple of internet articles about this being one of the engines that had a bad drivers side valve cover interior baffle, this apparently allows the PVC system to pull oil out and it goes directly into the intake and mixes with air and gets burned in the engine? A couple of articles mentioned a GM redesigned valve cover replacement that uses a different type baffle? I guess that I will pull the air intake boot at the throttle body today and see if I see any oil laying in the throttle body/Intake. That seems to be the main indicator.
NO WAY this is an isolated incident, so who else has had this issue? and if they had it, was it resolved by a redesigned valve cover? Or maybe a catch can would work in this case? Will add a few pics here of the interior of the throttle body "IF" I get around to doing that today............about worn down from yesterdays traction battery cooling system cleaning Haha.

 

2600 miles and still no consumption on current oil change... Oil is still Clean as a whistle no carbon floating in the oil...

oil was changed at 835xx currently has 86,103 miles..