Don't know. As long as there's a quantifiable improvement, I can't see why I won't like it. Obviously, if it is only cosmetic or the gain is slight but the money is much more, I would pass. I'm sure the C8 isn't in that category. I only bought the C7 because I wasn't sure if the rear engine would take in the C9. There is NFW I would consider buying another C7. I don't consider myself skinny but I sat in the C8 and it wasn't cramped. Now certainly wasn't like my F250 but worse than the C7? No. Differently packaging? Absolutely.

Day I feel that old, I would be ready for cremation.

 

C9 is going to be Electric, or so was the plan before EV growth cratered.

This is why, personally, I think they just did what in the industry we call an MCE/MCA on the C8 (That's why 2026 got a "new" dash) So if they did 5 years of the old style they will do 5 years of the new one, likely. So we are looking at 2030 C9, Electric Corvette.

 

What is mce/mca

 

I am not the OP, but to answer your question, it’s probably good to understand that C7‘s have half solid lifters and half lifters that are solid with springs, that’s how the AFM system works… or more correctly how the AFM system fails

 

Mid-Cycle Enhancement/Mid-Cycle Action.

Its shorthand for when a car isn't new but gets a "refresh". Typical things are new bumpers, tailgate/truck, head and tail lights, hood, interior dash and center console. The C8 was only an interior MCE/MCA. The key thing to understand a ground up build versus a mid-cycle is that for a mid-cycle the Body in White DOES NOT change, neither does a frame on a Bof vehicle. Suspension, Braking, Steering components are usually unchanged (they may be modified if the electric architecture changes but mounting points don't change). "Hard parts" in the Chassis are the same (like control arms). The doors are the same, usually no change, everything rear of a B-Pillar (so rear seats, and cargo area) is unchanged. The front seat might get a minor re-skin, but usually not.

Marketing likes to sell a mid-cycle as "all-new", poppycock. I can give you some examples of Ford from recent years. 20-24 Explorer versus 25+. 21-23 F-150, versus 24+. 15-17 F-150 versus 18-20. 18-21 Expedition versus 22-24. 20-23 Escape versus 24+, Maverick and Bronco Sport just MCA'd for 25. I don't know all the GM ones off hand anymore but a classic old one was 04-05 Malibu versus 06-07. A car lasts typically 3 years before a refresh, some were as short as two some as long as 4. The refresh usually represents the "mid-point" in that body in whites usage.

Some go through double refreshes. Fusion was one 2013-2016, the first refresh was two years 2017-2018, the second refresh was 2019-2020

 

I was asking if the AFM lifter itself was defective or the valve spring (on top of the head) was broken.

This answer will determine what repair is needed.

 

Thanks for the explanation.

I guess we'll see what happens when 2030 comes. If it's all electric, I would be out. I don't see an electric car in my lifetime (20 years). We don't have the infrastructure to give me the same convenience as gas being able to refuel in 10 minutes and almost everywhere.

 

You’re still not tracking. AFM lifters have a spring in them that collapses, that’s how AFM disables cylinders 1,4,6 and 7 to run in 4 cylinder mode.

Recap, Gen V LT 1 has:
Valves and Valve Springs
16 Lifters
8 of the lifters are solid, normal.
The other 8 are the AFM lifters, half solid and a the other half is a spring, hence a lifter spring. So unless OP was misinformed, he had a stuck lifter spring…either stuck open or stuck closed.

 

We are still not tracking.

Two different issues. One is the AFM lifter itself, and the other is the intake and exhaust valve springs that are on top of the head. The AFM lifter is on top of the cam.

Two different areas of the engine all together, AFM lifters are located inside the block and the intake and exhaust valve springs are located on the head.

You can replace a broken valve spring (intake and exhaust) without removing the head but you must remove the head to replace a defective AFM or regular lifter.

So, the original question remains, what failed? An AFM lifter or a intake or exhaust valve spring? The answer to this question would determines what repair is needed.

 

OP clearly stated twice in the original post “lifter spring”. He didn’t say “valve spring”. So unless the shop got it wrong or the OP didn’t understand what they said, the only thing “lifter spring” could mean is an AFM lifter, not a valve lifter. Are we tracking now?

 

Lifter spring isn't a thing, so we really don't know if he means valve spring or lifter. I mean an AFM lifter isn't a spring, per say (it has a spring component but its not removable).

This is why words are important.

 

This has all the pictures

https://www.holley.com/blog/post/eve...n_v_lt_engine/

 

This is a picture of an AFM lifter, which is half solid and half spring. What would you call the spring portion of the lifter?

 

I edited my first post, since its not removable I wouldn't call it a spring. It's just part of the lifter. If something was a lifter spring, it to be would be serviceable separate of the lifter. This is not.

Again, this is why words are important. A valve spring, is separately serviceable from a valve.

 

You’re telling me a device made of elastic material, typically metal, that can be compressed or stretched and then returns to its original shape on an AFM lifter isn’t a spring? It doesn’t matter if it’s independently serviceable, there are actual WORDS that can be used to describe it, and if it’s not the “lifter spring” what is it?

So what would YOU call it, seriously?

 

I would say that the lifter has a spring as a component. But I wouldn't call an AFM lifter a "lifter spring" I would call it the spring from a AFM lifter.

Do people go around calling the springs in struts, "strut springs" instead of referring to it as a strut, or just calling it a spring?

You're missing my point, and that is just throwing the word spring around leads to confusion, so we should use the right terms. If someone mistakenly refers to the AFM lifter as a "lifter spring" they should be corrected. Language exists to communicate clearly, what good does it if you can't do that?

 

I understand the preference for precise terminology. However, within the context of a GM AFM system, the term 'lifter spring' is universally recognized in the automotive community to mean the internal spring responsible for collapsing the lifter. While 'plunger spring' is the more technically accurate name, using 'lifter spring' efficiently identifies the failed component in question, and most English language speakers, in this context, will understand it’s not a reference to a valve spring, nor to a conventional solid lifter:

So, what would you call this component, and why do you oppose the colloquialism—and widely accepted terminology—of 'lifter spring'?

 

A valve spring is on the intake and exhaust valve. There’s 8 lifters that have a spring in the bottom of it as part of AFM system. 8 do not. As pictured in the previous post.

 

exactly!

 

Elgin Industries is a leading expert in GM valvetrains. Here’s a quote from them.
”
The lifter spring will stay compressed to prevent the pistons from contacting the valves. This lifter design is a huge improvement over the old/troublesome design of the active fuel management lifters!”

You can find the quote on this page.
https://northernautoparts.com/afm-li...-00Xe4K6erCW4W

Let me know how it goes when you tell them you know more than they do and they’re using the wrong words that matter.