4XLR8N

I upgraded my suspension this spring as part of my Grand Sport project. Upgrades included C6 Z-06 shocks and C6 Z51 sway bars with metal end links from GM Parts House. I bought the parts in early December last year and installed them in May of this year.

On my trip to the NCM 20th Anniversary celebration, I noticed that a squeak began to develop going over bumps. It sounded like it was coming from the LF of the car, but sometimes the hatch would rattle a little bit too, so I wasn't sure. You know how sound can telegraph itself through a car.

Well anyway, long story short, I found my problem...the LF shock is broken. The c-clip that retains boot - and more importantly holds the piston rod - gave way. See the red arrows in the pics - they show the groove that the c-clip should be in and how it actually gave way and slid down the shaft.

The net effect was that the shock went to full extension and just rattled around in the hole in the upper control arm. It did damage the plastic inner fender liner as well because the shaft extended so far up into the control arm.

I called and left a message for GM Parts House. Hope they treat me right for a warranty replacement.

Has anyone else experienced this issue?

Vetteman Jack

Wow, haven't seen that one before. Hope you get taken care of in terms of a replacement.

4XLR8N

Thanks - I will let everyone know how it gets resolved.

Mickeyrx70

I put the same shocks in my '02 Z51 a few months ago. No problems so far, but I'm interested how others have fared.

yaknow

been running those shocks for several years and several thousand miles with no issues.

momo20

same I have had no issues since I put brand new 2012 Z06 shocks on my car from Gm parts house, I have one pretty decent autocross day on them, and about 6k to 7k on them with zero issues at all

Mickeyrx70

Any response from GM Parts House?

4XLR8N

UPDATE

I called GM Parts House on Monday. They advised that the quickest way to resolve would be to take the part to a local GM dealer for warranty replacement. GMPH did warn me that some dealers are not very cooperative...

So, I took the part to my local Chevy dealer. They have a really good Corvette tech, so I took the shock to him and asked his opinion first. He couldn't explain why, but agreed that the snap ring/clip had failed. So I headed over the to the parts counter, where the counter guy tried to demonstrate his superior knowledge of all things mechanical to get me to go away. Didn't work , so he got the Parts Manager...

His first shot: need to see the vehicle. I invited him over to my house, since that is where it is up on jack stands. Nope - need to bring it in. I asked if every part they sold over the counter required bringing the vehicle in if there was a need to replace the part under warranty. He didn't answer, but said they needed to verify if it was installed correctly. I about laughed in his face. I asked how he would do that since the part was sitting on the counter in front of him.

OK...I need the VIN he said. I said no problem, but be aware that my car is a C5 and this is a C6 Z-06 shock.

OHHHHHH...well, you IDIOT, GM will NEVER warranty that because you put it on the wrong vehicle.

Geez...how could I do something so stupid?!?

Anyway, it was obvious this was going nowhere, so I took the part and left.

Next day (yesterday) I called GMPH again. They asked me to send in pics, along with the VIN and mileage. They would evaluate based on the pics and get back to me. So, I sent them the same pics I posted above.

I just called GMPH for an update and they had not completed their review. I was told usually it takes 1 - 2 days. So, I expect I will hear from them tomorrow...

Rick369

I was considering buying the 2013 C6 Z51 sway bars and Z06 shocks from GM Parts House but after reading this I don't think I am. What the hell kind of service is this. First they tell you to go to a GM dealer who had nothing to do with the sale of the product. If I was the GM dealer I would tell you to pound sand. Now you have a car that is inoperable and god knows when you will receive a replacement part. GM Parts House should of shipped you a replacement part next day air and then had you ship the part back for evaluation, which could take weeks or months if they return it to the actual manufacturer for tear down to determine the root cause of the failure.

Dave68

I have often recommended Bilstein Sport shocks, as they have an excellent reputation for durability. In fact, many "upgraders" tend to shy away from OEM parts. For example:

Brake rotors
Headlight motor gears
Coilovers
Tires

Yes, Z06 shocks are upgrades, but they are GM OEM parts, as well. Bilstein and Koni are at the top of the shock upgrade hill.

4XLR8N

Not sure I agree on your point about the dealer - dealers (GM and otherwise) do warranty work all the time on cars they didn't sell. I really don't see much difference here just because it is a part and not a whole car. It is GM that pays the warranty expense, not the dealer.

That said, I do get your main point and totally agree - if GMPH wanted to blow me away with great customer service, they would have handled it similar to what you described.

Vette has been up on jack stands in the garage since Saturday.

I will keep you posted...

Architect

Agreed. Won't be ordering from GMPH anytime soon.

Cybermind

Well at least the good news is that a replacement shock is probably about 100 bucks. I doubt it will be replaced under warranty.

I said it in the past and I will say it again. This is the reason that I always recommend an aftermarket shock such as Bilstein (same price range) when replacing the OEM shocks. The Bilsteins are known to have excellent long-term reliability and come with a lifetime warranty. It is much easier to get a warranty replacement in a situation such as this. This is the difference between GM OEM and a respected name-brand aftermarket shock.

Good luck to you and hopefully Gene will make it right. I use GMPH all the time and I have always found their service top notch.

540i 6spd

I'm sure they will replace. Just sucks to go through the run around.

ScumOne

I'd be very surprised that Gene at GMPH doesn't get this taken care of for you. The dealers are always looking to pull this crap to sell more parts, so that doesn't surprise me one bit.

That said, though, I only bought the Z51 sway bars/bushings from GMPH, and opted for the Bilstein Z51 shocks for mine instead of the C6 Z06 shocks. So far so good.

4XLR8N

UPDATE #2:

I never heard back from GMPH, so I called today around noon and spoke with Patrick. He said that he had not heard anything back yet. I asked if he could please find out today - he said he would check into it and either call or send me an email.

At 4:20 pm today I still had not heard anything back, so I called again. Their phone number (484) 949-2099 would simply disconnect after about 5 - 10 seconds of unusual clicks and noises. I tried half a dozen times from both my home and cell phones.

So, around 4:30 pm I sent an email to Gene, Patrick and the general customer service email address:

Patrick:

Following up on my call earlier today. I have not heard from anyone and when I call your phone number (484) 949-2099 it disconnects. I tried several times.

Need to hear back today please before you close. It’s been over 3 days since I sent the attached email with the info you requested. I do not want to lose another 3 days due to the weekend. My car has been up on jacks since last Saturday.

Please call.

Bob

I also called Patriot Buick-GMC and asked to speak to Gene Culley. I got his voicemail, so I left an urgent message.

I continued to try the 484 number and guess what? Just after 5 pm it magically started working again - so that I could hear their message stating their business hours were 9 - 5. Hmmmmmmmm.

If I hear anything back today, I will update this post, but for now I am a VERY DISSATISFIED customer of GM Parts House.

john8642

Sorry to hear about your problems with GMPH. Gene has always given me great service and advise. Between this and them not price matching any parts that don't have specific part number (like the
C6Z06 clutch package), I guess I'll stop recommending them.

Cybermind

I really feel for you. It's obvious that you will not get it replaced under warranty. I was hoping that GMPH would've replaced it at their cost under the circumstances. I guess that is not looking good either.

Normally, a warranty replacement or repair for this sort of failure would be covered by the manufacturer. But in this case, it is basically a no-name shock. We don't even know who the manufacturer is now. It used to be Sachs but who knows. GM just picks the lowest bidder for their components, especially shocks since they are a frequent upgrade item.

If this was a Bilstein or Koni shock, I guarantee you would've had a replacement shock by now no questions asked. But as they say, hind sight is 20/20.

If it were me, I would chock this up to a learning experience and move on. Life's too short to lose the use of my Vette and the personal frustration for a 100 dollar item. Just my two cents

Rick369

The forum members should stop supporting GM Parts House until they immediately provide 4XLR8N with a no charge replacement shock. It's ridiculous that GM Parts House is playing this game. This is only a $70.00 part. If this is how they treat and service their customers, I wouldn't buy anything from them.

ScumOne

Yeah, this isn't right. If the mounting clip failed and ruined the shock after it was installed, it should be covered under a warranty or mileage timeframe.

What is that warranty spec on these C6Z06 shocks? 1200 miles (even for my light driving) is 3-4 months at best...and I have two C5's to drive.