[Z06] Buying 2008 Z06 on Wednesday
02-28-2015, 02:50 PM
#1
Instructor
Thread Starter
Buying 2008 Z06 on Wednesday
I'm thinking of buying a 2008 Z06 that is currently for sale. It has 21,000 miles. What things should I keep in mind as I examine the car? I will be driving the car straight from the seller to AH to get the heads done. Does anyone have a z06 specific checklist? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Last edited by Twin_Guns21; 03-09-2015 at 12:30 AM.
02-28-2015, 03:17 PM
#2
Drifting
Not knowing the service history of the car I would have American Heritage change out all fluids in the car, coolant & oil change will be done if you heads are bad. Do the transmission, rear end as well. I would have the dealer pull up a Carfax.
02-28-2015, 03:36 PM
#3
Tech Contributor
Member Since: Oct 1999
Location: Charlotte, NC (formerly Endicott, NY)
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1. Carefully check the sides of the car between the wheel wells from the rocker panels up to the door crease and the rear quarter from the gas opening back to the top of the wheel well for road rash and attempts to repair it. If repairs are not done properly you can get some paint peeling a few months after you make the purchase.
2. Check under the car around the lower control arm bushings, the metal frames in the floor board and other nooks and crannies for chunks of rubber. That will indicate a track history.
3. Check the seats for torn/worn upholstery especially on the side bolsters. The seat bottom cushions have a tendency to sink into the seat frame and the seat skin can become loose especially if the PO was on the heavy side.
4. Drive the car for at least 20 miles, city and highway driving. Turn off the radio and listen for noises. If you hear a thunk, thunk, thunk noise coming from the right side dash area open the hood and use a stick as a stethoscope to listen to the dry sump tank. If you hear the noise in the dry sump that means the O Ring around the internal tube has slipped and the tube is rattling inside the sump. If you need to have a dealership fix this problem it will cost just short of $500 as they have to remove the sump and take it apart to replace the O Ring.
5. Listen for valve train excessive noise. That is hard to define since LS engines make a fair amount of ticking noises when running. Excessive noise could indicate the guides are loose. You are taking care of this by going to AH but that might determine how you get it there.
6. Listen for noises from the drive train. Bring the car to a stop, hold it with the brakes like you are at a stop sign and then start slowly in low gear and listen for any clinking noise coming from the rear axles. Clinking noises on start up can indicate the rear axle shafts are loose in the hubs. They will move around in the hub and to fix the problem you have to replace both the shaft and the hub as both will be worn. This happened on my 08 and both rear axles and both rear hubs were replaced. This isn't a positraction issue and will not be cleared up by adding posi fluid and doing figure 8s in a parking lot. Positraction issues show up when the car is turning and the posi doesn't slip enough in tight turns.
7. Check the tires and the date codes on the tires. It is easy to get outdated tires on a Corvette due to the limited driving seen by the cars. With 24K miles the one you are looking at should be near the end of life on its second set of tires or just starting on a new set of tires.
8. When driving the steering shouldn't pull to one side or the other or the car shouldn't dog walk. Other than a small amount of drift to one side or the other you should be able to remove your hands safely from the steering wheel and not have to correct the car a lot. I once test drove an 08 Z51 for a friend. On the highway at 70 mph I could take my hands off the steering wheel and it would drift to the left or right depending on which side of the crown it was on. When it drifted to the edge of the lane it would bounce off the paint build up marking the edge of the lane and then drift back down. I drove for 4 miles on a straight section of the road without touching the steering wheel.
9. The transmission should shift easily. When it is cold it may nibble the gears a little on the 1-2 shift but that should clear up within a mile or so. Place your hand on top of the shifter and use your finger tips to pull it back for gears 2,4 and 6. Use the heel of your hand to get it into 1, 3 or 5. To get into the 1-2 or 6-6 gates you may need a small amount of side pressure to move the stick sideways. I can shift my 08 by using two fingers, the heel of my hand and very little movement of my arm. Most of the movement is in the wrist. If you don't try and aim a shift you can get a damn fast gear change. Aim it or grab the shifter with your hand to the side and you will have problems and be looking to spend a couple hundred on an aftermarket shifter to compensate.
10. Do any checks you would do on any other used car.
As for fluid changes have AH completely change out the coolant since they will be dumping a lot of it when they pull the heads. Same goes for the engine oil. Transmission and Diff fluid probably are original and still OK. Not a lot of need to change trans and diff fluid on such a low mile car. If it was approaching 150K miles the story might be different.
Bill
2. Check under the car around the lower control arm bushings, the metal frames in the floor board and other nooks and crannies for chunks of rubber. That will indicate a track history.
3. Check the seats for torn/worn upholstery especially on the side bolsters. The seat bottom cushions have a tendency to sink into the seat frame and the seat skin can become loose especially if the PO was on the heavy side.
4. Drive the car for at least 20 miles, city and highway driving. Turn off the radio and listen for noises. If you hear a thunk, thunk, thunk noise coming from the right side dash area open the hood and use a stick as a stethoscope to listen to the dry sump tank. If you hear the noise in the dry sump that means the O Ring around the internal tube has slipped and the tube is rattling inside the sump. If you need to have a dealership fix this problem it will cost just short of $500 as they have to remove the sump and take it apart to replace the O Ring.
5. Listen for valve train excessive noise. That is hard to define since LS engines make a fair amount of ticking noises when running. Excessive noise could indicate the guides are loose. You are taking care of this by going to AH but that might determine how you get it there.
6. Listen for noises from the drive train. Bring the car to a stop, hold it with the brakes like you are at a stop sign and then start slowly in low gear and listen for any clinking noise coming from the rear axles. Clinking noises on start up can indicate the rear axle shafts are loose in the hubs. They will move around in the hub and to fix the problem you have to replace both the shaft and the hub as both will be worn. This happened on my 08 and both rear axles and both rear hubs were replaced. This isn't a positraction issue and will not be cleared up by adding posi fluid and doing figure 8s in a parking lot. Positraction issues show up when the car is turning and the posi doesn't slip enough in tight turns.
7. Check the tires and the date codes on the tires. It is easy to get outdated tires on a Corvette due to the limited driving seen by the cars. With 24K miles the one you are looking at should be near the end of life on its second set of tires or just starting on a new set of tires.
8. When driving the steering shouldn't pull to one side or the other or the car shouldn't dog walk. Other than a small amount of drift to one side or the other you should be able to remove your hands safely from the steering wheel and not have to correct the car a lot. I once test drove an 08 Z51 for a friend. On the highway at 70 mph I could take my hands off the steering wheel and it would drift to the left or right depending on which side of the crown it was on. When it drifted to the edge of the lane it would bounce off the paint build up marking the edge of the lane and then drift back down. I drove for 4 miles on a straight section of the road without touching the steering wheel.
9. The transmission should shift easily. When it is cold it may nibble the gears a little on the 1-2 shift but that should clear up within a mile or so. Place your hand on top of the shifter and use your finger tips to pull it back for gears 2,4 and 6. Use the heel of your hand to get it into 1, 3 or 5. To get into the 1-2 or 6-6 gates you may need a small amount of side pressure to move the stick sideways. I can shift my 08 by using two fingers, the heel of my hand and very little movement of my arm. Most of the movement is in the wrist. If you don't try and aim a shift you can get a damn fast gear change. Aim it or grab the shifter with your hand to the side and you will have problems and be looking to spend a couple hundred on an aftermarket shifter to compensate.
10. Do any checks you would do on any other used car.
As for fluid changes have AH completely change out the coolant since they will be dumping a lot of it when they pull the heads. Same goes for the engine oil. Transmission and Diff fluid probably are original and still OK. Not a lot of need to change trans and diff fluid on such a low mile car. If it was approaching 150K miles the story might be different.
Bill
Last edited by Bill Dearborn; 02-28-2015 at 03:43 PM.
02-28-2015, 03:44 PM
#4
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Member Since: Nov 2013
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I do not understand why anyone buys a expensive car and then does the heads not all z06s suffer with the valve issue yes it's a troublesome issue but in the uk for some reason may be just a matter of number of zds are here it's not such a big issue
God help me if I have just put the curse on my zd
Ask the dealer to have it checked before purchase or if it's a private seller adjust the price to suit. Hope this helps
if you ar that uncertain about the valve issue ask the dealer to give you a report on the valve issue before purchase
Enjoy
God help me if I have just put the curse on my zd
Ask the dealer to have it checked before purchase or if it's a private seller adjust the price to suit. Hope this helps
if you ar that uncertain about the valve issue ask the dealer to give you a report on the valve issue before purchase
Enjoy
02-28-2015, 04:36 PM
#5
Drifting
I would just have Kohle do a pre-purchase inspection if his shop is not too far, I had him go through my car while it was there, only wrong with it was the heads.
02-28-2015, 04:44 PM
#6
Team Owner
Check axle nuts. Retorque or replace.
Grease ball joints.
Check for recalls done.
Alignment (would get checked and set to appropriate specs, factory alignments suck).
Grease ball joints.
Check for recalls done.
Alignment (would get checked and set to appropriate specs, factory alignments suck).
02-28-2015, 04:46 PM
#7
Instructor
Valve Guides
My experience recently: I bought a very low mileage 2006 ZO6 from my local dealer ( Weseloh Chevrolet in Carlsbad, Ca.) with only 3407miles on the clock. Carfax is perfect and the owner is local. Only used the car for coffee runs on Sundays ( go figure) . I did not concern myself with the "valve guide issue" ( no flames, please) because I think this may be blown out of proportion. It seems to me that some of these valve guide issues are on cars that are tracked or driven very hard or modded....However, as with anything I am sure there are exceptions. Unfortunately, the web has a lot of complaints and fewer positive comments on just about any subject. That is not to say there may be a problem but the real issue here, IMO, is just how extensive is the problem really ? I don't think anyone really knows so therefore a lot of folks are doing the preventative maintenance thing which is not a bad thing to consider.
However, let me share this. I have just recently come back from the darkside having owned a Porsche 996 for the past few years...aside from constant maintenance and astronomical parts prices, the big deal in the Porsche world is a faulty Intermediate Shaft Bearing ( IMS) . This took on a whole life of its own...reading the web you would think that ALL Porsche 996 cars ( and Boxsters for certain years) had this issue and they were all going to blow up any time. The fact is that less than 3% of this model had IMS issues. There is a fix for this where the IMS is replaced with an aftermarket ceramic bearing which can be done when replacing the clutch. When I had my ( 3rd) clutch replaced at 82,000 miles I had the original IMS bearing replaced with the ceramic upgrade at an additional cost of about $2000. But the real story is that the original IMS bearing pulled from the engine was in perfect condition.
So my bottom line is that your mileage may vary but look at all available information on potential issues and make your own decision. Get the heads fixed if it makes you feel better but I am not going to do mine.
However, let me share this. I have just recently come back from the darkside having owned a Porsche 996 for the past few years...aside from constant maintenance and astronomical parts prices, the big deal in the Porsche world is a faulty Intermediate Shaft Bearing ( IMS) . This took on a whole life of its own...reading the web you would think that ALL Porsche 996 cars ( and Boxsters for certain years) had this issue and they were all going to blow up any time. The fact is that less than 3% of this model had IMS issues. There is a fix for this where the IMS is replaced with an aftermarket ceramic bearing which can be done when replacing the clutch. When I had my ( 3rd) clutch replaced at 82,000 miles I had the original IMS bearing replaced with the ceramic upgrade at an additional cost of about $2000. But the real story is that the original IMS bearing pulled from the engine was in perfect condition.
So my bottom line is that your mileage may vary but look at all available information on potential issues and make your own decision. Get the heads fixed if it makes you feel better but I am not going to do mine.
Last edited by garyc442; 02-28-2015 at 04:54 PM.
02-28-2015, 04:49 PM
#8
Team Owner
When all data points do ~90% of cars having the issue, checking or just fixing it seems almost like a no brainer. This isn't a 5% thing. Even 50%.
02-28-2015, 05:16 PM
#10
Melting Slicks
Oh please no... Don't get them done if you don't want to, we are just trying to save people, even Tage admitted there was an issue from 2008-2009. There are over 100 people on this forum that had there's checked and were out and had them addressed. Mine was an unmolested 5000 mile garage queen and was ready to let go. There was another naysayer recently that opened a thread and jumped ship when he had his checked and is now begging people to have theirs checked.
02-28-2015, 05:39 PM
#12
Team Owner
Just from personal experience I personally know 3 people that dropped valves, one happened right in front of me. Out of ~18 car people I know between Utah and Arizona, 17 of 18 have had out of spec guides and 4 (1 guy had it happen twice, guy that bought my stock short block) failed motors from it. Only 1 was in spec, and that was at ~14k miles, and even then barely in spec and probably out by now. There is no way in hell, or any statistical way that 17 of 18 people I know personally have this issue and it is only a small number.
Talk to shops like RPM, CPR, FSP, etc. They can back up that just about every car that comes in has the issue and finding one in spec is a rare unicorn. Sad thing, even if it is in spec, doesn't mean it will be in another 5-10k, so IMO just get the heads done, in spec or out.
02-28-2015, 07:03 PM
#14
Drifting
All years, the newer models in my opinion have not seen the miles yet, but 89% of Member Cars Checked have been out of spec, so this backs up what Unreal is telling you.
------------------------[2006]-----------------------------------------
'06 Quicksilver Z06: 2006 Z06. 20,000 miles link
'06 Quicksilver Z06: 2006 Z06. 31,000 miles link heads purchased used
1981turbota: 2006 Z06. 25,000 miles link
1988Bullitt: 2006 Z06. 34,000 miles link
2006FRCZ19: 2006 Z06. 55,000 miles link
240sx2jz: 2006 Z06. 25,000 miles link
2K6Z06: 2006 Z06. 9,200 miles link
610slvZ: 2006 Z06. 27,000 miles link
adamgl: 2006 Z06. 23,500 miles link heads, cam headers, stock guides out of spec with solid valves
Al Green: 2006 Z06. 20,000 miles link
anth115: 2006 Z06. 23,000 miles link
biggfroggy: 2006 Z06. 13,000 miles link
BMurphy: 2006 Z06. 47,000 miles link
Bonnetts02Vette: 2006 Z06. 11,000 miles link
BoostedEBZ06: 2006 Z06. 35,000 miles link
bright1984: 2006 Z06. 22,000 miles link tune, cai, headers, exhaust
BrokerDon: 2006 Z06. 50,000 miles link
c6 zeee06: 2006 Z06. 15,000 miles link
caker: 2006 Z06. 18,000 miles link car raced "hard"
clogan: 2006 Z06. 39,100 miles link
ctsv510: 2006 Z06. 17,400 miles link link2
D-Rod: 2006 Z06. 11,000 miles link blower, meth, upgraded rockers, kooks
dmuellenberg: 2006 Z06. 99,500 miles link
double06: 2006 Z06. 10,000 miles link
erichg1000: 2006 Z06. 30,000 miles link
FRDnemesis: 2006 Z06. 22,000 miles link exhaust, intake, tune
GeneSch: 2006 Z06. 10,300 miles link intake and exhaust guides out of spec
H82BFST: 2006 Z06. 19,000 miles link
Homeboy77: 2006 Z06. 36,000 miles link
Is2scooby: 2006 Z06. 17,000 miles link
Joe in Az: 2006 Z06. 16,000 miles link tune, cai, headers
Josh B.: 2006 Z06. 37,000 miles link
Katech_Jason: 2006 Z06. 23,000 miles link
Katech SN#71
non member) 2006 Z06. unknown miles link Leo the Lion: 2006 Z06. 29,641 miles link
mariofromnewyork: 2006 Z06. 12,000 miles link
MIGHTYMOUSE: 2006 Z06. 135,000 miles link
mistermog: 2006 Z06. 11,000 miles link intake
musicmankeb: 2006 Z06. 16,000 miles link
nitrojunky: 2006 Z06. 39,000 miles link
"NO SHOW": 2006 Z06. 14,000 miles link
NV MY C5: 2006 Z06. 31,000 miles link
Peter Clark: 2006 Z06. 20,000 miles link
richy rich: 2006 Z06. 16,000 miles link
TRSCobra: 2006 Z06. 27,000 miles link
Turbosixx: 2006 Z06. 20,000 miles link
turbotank: 2006 Z06. 69,000 miles link
Unreal: 2006 Z06. 18,000 miles link inatke and exhaust valves out of spec
Z06-HEC*: 2006 Z06. 40,000 miles link
Zogman: 2006 Z06. 55,000 miles link
-------------------------[2007]----------------------------------------
021z: 2007 Z06. 49,000 miles link
2k Cobra: 2007 Z06. 43,000 miles link
blackc6z: 2007 Z06. 29,000 miles link cam, solid stainless exh valves, stock guides. no wear at 21k miles before cam/valve install
C5Lion: 2007 Z06. unknown miles link
C6Zhopeful393: 2007 Z06. unknown miles link
chris2000: 2007 Z06. 12,400 miles link
crf538: 2007 Z06. 18,000 miles link
Darius: 2007 Z06. 24,000 miles link dropped valve in original motor at 36k miles, worn valve guides in new replacement motor
Fifedogg: 2007 Z06. 26,000 miles link link2 cam, stock guides, solid exh valves
fly a Z06: 2007 Z06. 65,000 miles link tuned, k&n
GMuffley: 2007 Z06. 20,000 miles link
harrydirty: 2007 Z06. 13,700 miles link
hoefi: 2007 Z06. 11,000 miles link blown motor
ITCH: 2007 Z06. 15,144 miles link intake & exhaust guides out of spec
jedblanks: 2007 Z06. 16,000 miles link
jeffreystar: 2007 Z06. unknown miles link headers, intake
john_g_46: 2007 Z06. 88,000 miles link
Joshua Detwiler: 2007 Z06. unknown miles link
JRRSA: 2007 Z06. 8,000 miles link
Katech SN#70
non member) 2007 Z06. 35,000 miles link Kouasupra: 2007 Z06. 34,000 miles link
lane_change: 2007 Z06. 32,000 miles link cam
MarkC: 2007 Z06. 21,000 miles link
meanjoe: 2007 Z06. 5,000 miles link
NavyAirTraffic: 2007 Z06. 19,100 miles link
OVG: 2007 Z06. 18,863 miles link
parsonsj: 2007 Z06. 7,500 miles link
PeteZ06: 2007 Z06. unknown miles link
rio95: 2007 Z06. 15,000 miles link
rnoack: 2007 Z06. unknown miles link
rockinSeat: 2007 Z06. 22,000 miles link
ROUTE 66: 2007 Z06. 25,000 miles link
Spiffshady: 2007 Z06. 41,000 miles link
stew1100: 2007 Z06. 23,000 miles link
toroz06: 2007 Z06. 9,000 miles link
triblk6spd: 2007 Z06. 20,000 miles link
troy6166: 2007 Z06. 15,000 miles link cam, solid stainless exh valves, stock guides. no wear at 7k miles before cam/valve install
Uncledibble: 2007 Z06. 84,500 miles link
veilseven: 2007 Z06. 38,000 miles link
wagoetzmann: 2007 Z06. 24,139 miles link intake valve out based on X/2 - .0005" calc
Woz Z06: 2007 Z06. 16,000 miles link
Yankee15: 2007 Z06. ~20,000 link
youzzi714: 2007 Z06. unknown miles link
Z06guy07: 2007 Z06. unknown miles link
Z06pete: 2007 Z06. 13,000 miles link
Zoxxo: 2007 Z06. 71,000 miles link
zuli: 2007 Z06. 27,000 miles link
-------------------------[2008]----------------------------------------
08VRZ06: 2008 Z06. 24,000 miles link
1fastC3: 2008 Z06. 38,000 miles link
4wheels: 2008 Z06. 31,000 miles link
80atez: 2008 Z06. 25,000 miles link
AZDANZ06: 2008 Z06. 27,000 miles link
banipal19: 2008 Z06. 9,000 miles link link2
bigdog1250: 2008 Z06. 31,000 miles link
big_mike_eu: 2008 Z06. 15,500 miles link
BignastyBRP: 2008 Z06. 38,000 miles link
bktmbill: 2008 Z06. 7,700 miles link
blkbrd69: 2008 Z06. 20,000 miles link
BosnianZ06: 2008 Z06. 24,000 miles link
bp2826: 2008 Z06. 52,000 miles link
Buddy A: 2008 Z06. 12,500 miles link
ClarksZ06: 2008 Z06. 9,000 miles link headers, cam, tune
conner.mcgrath: 2008 Z06. 47,000 miles link
Cozmo: 2008 Z06. 26,500 miles link
DaOtherOne: 2008 Z06. 35,000 miles link katech stage 1
ericszr1: 2008 Z06. 25,000 miles link
flyloeZ06: 2008 Z06. unknown miles link
Glenm27: 2008 Z06. 22,000 miles link tracked
HMFIC: 2008 Z06. unknown miles link
JCox23: 2008 Z06. 10,500 miles link ferrea stainless valves (stock guides), cam, ported heads, intake, tb, headers
juanvaldez: 2008 Z06. 48,000 miles link
jwebsta32: 2008 Z06. 30,000 miles link
JP426: 2008 Z06. 17,736 miles link
Kneel 8250: 2008 Z06. 41,000 miles link Previous measurement at 34k miles showed in spec
Les: 2008 Z06. 26,900 miles link
londonk: 2008 Z06. 8,000 miles link
Mark Wade: 2008 Z06. 8,000 miles link
MHCvette: 2008 Z06. 12,567 miles link link2
Mike Hoppe: 2008 Z06. 11,000 miles link stock, intake and exhaust guides both out of spec
moose.b3: 2008 Z06. 40,000 miles link
mygiftmycurse: 2008 Z06. 22,800 miles link
MyLastCorvette: 2008 Z06. 9,000 miles link
Oskee: 2008 Z06. 10,000 miles link
property1: 2008 Z06. 18,000 miles video link link2
psp6158: 2008 Z06. 5,000 miles link
rapidroy: 2008 Z06. 18,000 miles link
SONKIST: 2008 Z06. 10,000 miles link
starr1: 2008 Z06. 17,000 miles link
timafey: 2008 Z06. 20,000 miles link
Titan C6Z: 2008 Z06. 13,900 miles link
vetteuphoria: 2008 Z06. 19,000 miles link
wolf8218: 2008 Z06. 23,000 miles link
yagrmiestr: 2008 Z06. 21,000 miles link
yrkZ06: 2008 Z06. 14,000 miles link
Z.06: 2008 Z06. 14,000 miles link
Zeaux6504: 2008 Z06. 20,000 miles link intake and exhaust out of spec
zman62: 2008 Z06. 4,000 miles link
-------------------------[2009]----------------------------------------
06HWRX: 2009 Z06. 17,500 miles link
1badtantrum: 2009 Z06. 14,300 miles link
71'AirStrike: 2009 Z06. 36,000 miles link
beden1: 2009 Z06. 6,400 miles link
chevybob: 2009 Z06. 10,000 miles link
CliffyDeuce: 2009 Z06. 19,000 miles link
cruzin2: 2009 Z06. 9,000 miles link
Dogged: 2009 Z06. 18,000 miles link
DON T.: 2009 Z06. 17,000 miles link
erick_e: 2009 Z06. 36,238 miles link
EWK: 2009 Z06. 7,666 miles link link2
EX1: 2009 Z06. 16,000 miles link link2 cam
jbs02somws6: 2009 Z06. 24,000 miles link cai
lawman34203: 2009 Z06. unknown miles link
LawrenceFromTorrence: 2009 Z06. 20,000 miles link
Maligator: 2009 Z06. 6,900 miles link
Mar48: 2009 Z06. 43,000 miles link
Mark200X: 2009 Z06. 50,000 miles link
Maxrr: 2009 Z06. 19,000 miles link
MHCvette: 2009 Z06. 30,642 miles link link2
morris: 2009 Z06. 32,000 miles link cam + track time
MTDave: 2009 Z06. 34,000 miles link
MyLs1Hauls: 2009 Z06. 10,000 miles link
nzk: 2009 Z06. 23,000 miles link
reasonable suspicion: 2009 Z06. 7,500 miles link link2
RegnaR: 2009 Z06. 22,000 miles link
rocksts: 2009 Z06. 19,000 miles link
stealth1281: 2009 Z06. 19,000 miles link
Wass: 2009 Z06. 45,000 miles link
wjnjr: 2009 Z06. 16,000 miles link link2 link3
-------------------------[2010]----------------------------------------
Gearpuller: 2010 Z06. 21,500 miles link
indyspeed: 2010 Z06. 5,743 miles link intake valve guides out of spec
oversteer: 2010 Z06. 7,500 miles link
roadandtrack: 2010 Z06. 7,500 miles link
Smkn 07: 2010 Z06. 34,000 miles link
-------------------------[2011]----------------------------------------
billyjo: 2011 Z06. 4,500 miles link
Dirty Howie: (2011 heads Z06). 32,000 miles link 2011 replacement motor
Minkster: 2011 Z06. 28,080 miles link
phipp85: 2011 Z06. 27,000 miles link intake valves guides out of spec
Z06_1: 2011 Z06. 16,000 miles link intake valve guides out of spec
-------------------------[2012]----------------------------------------
CGZ06: (2012 motor Z06). 400 miles link 2012 built replacement motor put in his '09 after original dropped valve
Hib Halverson: 2012 Z06. 15,000 miles link
-------------------------[2013]----------------------------------------
subfloor@centurytrans: 2013 Z06. <5,000 miles link supporting vendor, removed heads from 2013 Z06 with out of spec intake guides
-------------------------[427]----------------------------------------
Z06_1: 2013 427 Vert. 4,000 miles link intake guides out of spec
02-28-2015, 07:45 PM
#15
Instructor
Member Since: May 2014
Location: Lago Vista TX
Posts: 180
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Received 0 Likes
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1. Carefully check the sides of the car between the wheel wells from the rocker panels up to the door crease and the rear quarter from the gas opening back to the top of the wheel well for road rash and attempts to repair it. If repairs are not done properly you can get some paint peeling a few months after you make the purchase.
2. Check under the car around the lower control arm bushings, the metal frames in the floor board and other nooks and crannies for chunks of rubber. That will indicate a track history.
3. Check the seats for torn/worn upholstery especially on the side bolsters. The seat bottom cushions have a tendency to sink into the seat frame and the seat skin can become loose especially if the PO was on the heavy side.
4. Drive the car for at least 20 miles, city and highway driving. Turn off the radio and listen for noises. If you hear a thunk, thunk, thunk noise coming from the right side dash area open the hood and use a stick as a stethoscope to listen to the dry sump tank. If you hear the noise in the dry sump that means the O Ring around the internal tube has slipped and the tube is rattling inside the sump. If you need to have a dealership fix this problem it will cost just short of $500 as they have to remove the sump and take it apart to replace the O Ring.
5. Listen for valve train excessive noise. That is hard to define since LS engines make a fair amount of ticking noises when running. Excessive noise could indicate the guides are loose. You are taking care of this by going to AH but that might determine how you get it there.
6. Listen for noises from the drive train. Bring the car to a stop, hold it with the brakes like you are at a stop sign and then start slowly in low gear and listen for any clinking noise coming from the rear axles. Clinking noises on start up can indicate the rear axle shafts are loose in the hubs. They will move around in the hub and to fix the problem you have to replace both the shaft and the hub as both will be worn. This happened on my 08 and both rear axles and both rear hubs were replaced. This isn't a positraction issue and will not be cleared up by adding posi fluid and doing figure 8s in a parking lot. Positraction issues show up when the car is turning and the posi doesn't slip enough in tight turns.
7. Check the tires and the date codes on the tires. It is easy to get outdated tires on a Corvette due to the limited driving seen by the cars. With 24K miles the one you are looking at should be near the end of life on its second set of tires or just starting on a new set of tires.
8. When driving the steering shouldn't pull to one side or the other or the car shouldn't dog walk. Other than a small amount of drift to one side or the other you should be able to remove your hands safely from the steering wheel and not have to correct the car a lot. I once test drove an 08 Z51 for a friend. On the highway at 70 mph I could take my hands off the steering wheel and it would drift to the left or right depending on which side of the crown it was on. When it drifted to the edge of the lane it would bounce off the paint build up marking the edge of the lane and then drift back down. I drove for 4 miles on a straight section of the road without touching the steering wheel.
9. The transmission should shift easily. When it is cold it may nibble the gears a little on the 1-2 shift but that should clear up within a mile or so. Place your hand on top of the shifter and use your finger tips to pull it back for gears 2,4 and 6. Use the heel of your hand to get it into 1, 3 or 5. To get into the 1-2 or 6-6 gates you may need a small amount of side pressure to move the stick sideways. I can shift my 08 by using two fingers, the heel of my hand and very little movement of my arm. Most of the movement is in the wrist. If you don't try and aim a shift you can get a damn fast gear change. Aim it or grab the shifter with your hand to the side and you will have problems and be looking to spend a couple hundred on an aftermarket shifter to compensate.
10. Do any checks you would do on any other used car.
As for fluid changes have AH completely change out the coolant since they will be dumping a lot of it when they pull the heads. Same goes for the engine oil. Transmission and Diff fluid probably are original and still OK. Not a lot of need to change trans and diff fluid on such a low mile car. If it was approaching 150K miles the story might be different.
Bill
2. Check under the car around the lower control arm bushings, the metal frames in the floor board and other nooks and crannies for chunks of rubber. That will indicate a track history.
3. Check the seats for torn/worn upholstery especially on the side bolsters. The seat bottom cushions have a tendency to sink into the seat frame and the seat skin can become loose especially if the PO was on the heavy side.
4. Drive the car for at least 20 miles, city and highway driving. Turn off the radio and listen for noises. If you hear a thunk, thunk, thunk noise coming from the right side dash area open the hood and use a stick as a stethoscope to listen to the dry sump tank. If you hear the noise in the dry sump that means the O Ring around the internal tube has slipped and the tube is rattling inside the sump. If you need to have a dealership fix this problem it will cost just short of $500 as they have to remove the sump and take it apart to replace the O Ring.
5. Listen for valve train excessive noise. That is hard to define since LS engines make a fair amount of ticking noises when running. Excessive noise could indicate the guides are loose. You are taking care of this by going to AH but that might determine how you get it there.
6. Listen for noises from the drive train. Bring the car to a stop, hold it with the brakes like you are at a stop sign and then start slowly in low gear and listen for any clinking noise coming from the rear axles. Clinking noises on start up can indicate the rear axle shafts are loose in the hubs. They will move around in the hub and to fix the problem you have to replace both the shaft and the hub as both will be worn. This happened on my 08 and both rear axles and both rear hubs were replaced. This isn't a positraction issue and will not be cleared up by adding posi fluid and doing figure 8s in a parking lot. Positraction issues show up when the car is turning and the posi doesn't slip enough in tight turns.
7. Check the tires and the date codes on the tires. It is easy to get outdated tires on a Corvette due to the limited driving seen by the cars. With 24K miles the one you are looking at should be near the end of life on its second set of tires or just starting on a new set of tires.
8. When driving the steering shouldn't pull to one side or the other or the car shouldn't dog walk. Other than a small amount of drift to one side or the other you should be able to remove your hands safely from the steering wheel and not have to correct the car a lot. I once test drove an 08 Z51 for a friend. On the highway at 70 mph I could take my hands off the steering wheel and it would drift to the left or right depending on which side of the crown it was on. When it drifted to the edge of the lane it would bounce off the paint build up marking the edge of the lane and then drift back down. I drove for 4 miles on a straight section of the road without touching the steering wheel.
9. The transmission should shift easily. When it is cold it may nibble the gears a little on the 1-2 shift but that should clear up within a mile or so. Place your hand on top of the shifter and use your finger tips to pull it back for gears 2,4 and 6. Use the heel of your hand to get it into 1, 3 or 5. To get into the 1-2 or 6-6 gates you may need a small amount of side pressure to move the stick sideways. I can shift my 08 by using two fingers, the heel of my hand and very little movement of my arm. Most of the movement is in the wrist. If you don't try and aim a shift you can get a damn fast gear change. Aim it or grab the shifter with your hand to the side and you will have problems and be looking to spend a couple hundred on an aftermarket shifter to compensate.
10. Do any checks you would do on any other used car.
As for fluid changes have AH completely change out the coolant since they will be dumping a lot of it when they pull the heads. Same goes for the engine oil. Transmission and Diff fluid probably are original and still OK. Not a lot of need to change trans and diff fluid on such a low mile car. If it was approaching 150K miles the story might be different.
Bill
02-28-2015, 07:55 PM
#16
The only reason your car is not on the list is you don't have enough miles on the engine and you havent't checked them yet.
Drive the car, check them at 12k miles, report back - here is a pre-emptive "we told ya so.."
02-28-2015, 10:44 PM
#17
Instructor
I'm thinking of buying a 2008 Z06 that is currently for sale a few miles from my home. It has 24,000 miles. What things should I keep in mind as I examine the car? I will be driving the car straight from the dealer to AH to get the heads done. Does anyone have a z06 specific checklist? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Purchased used a 2006 Z06 in September 2006 with 427 miles (original owner passed away). Drove it daily for 6 years. Zero mods. 156,000 miles for daily sales calls in San Diego County. Never tracked. 4 sets of tires counting original GY. Switched to Michelins after OEMs and 1 set of GY. Never an engine, clutch, or transmission issue. Switched to Hawk pads at 25K due to brake dust issues and the Hawks lasted until I replaced them at 132,000 with another set of Hawks. Sold the car to a friend in September 2012 with 156,000 when I took delivery of my new 2013 Z06.
The 2013 currently has 68,000 miles. Zero mods, never tracked. OEM Michelin PS2 fronts replaced at 25K, rears at 47K.
That is 8+ years of daily driving a C6Z06 for over 220,000 miles with zero LS7 problems. No clutch replacements. No valve issues. Just oil and tire changes. Best bang for the $$ I have ever experienced. Recently added the 3D exhaust shield to reduce heat in console it has been a great accessory.
Go ahead and check the valves if it makes you feel good but I say drive it like you own it and love it like I have both of mine.
02-28-2015, 11:46 PM
#18
Le Mans Master
This is a great write up Bill, you are spot on.
1. Carefully check the sides of the car between the wheel wells from the rocker panels up to the door crease and the rear quarter from the gas opening back to the top of the wheel well for road rash and attempts to repair it. If repairs are not done properly you can get some paint peeling a few months after you make the purchase.
2. Check under the car around the lower control arm bushings, the metal frames in the floor board and other nooks and crannies for chunks of rubber. That will indicate a track history.
3. Check the seats for torn/worn upholstery especially on the side bolsters. The seat bottom cushions have a tendency to sink into the seat frame and the seat skin can become loose especially if the PO was on the heavy side.
4. Drive the car for at least 20 miles, city and highway driving. Turn off the radio and listen for noises. If you hear a thunk, thunk, thunk noise coming from the right side dash area open the hood and use a stick as a stethoscope to listen to the dry sump tank. If you hear the noise in the dry sump that means the O Ring around the internal tube has slipped and the tube is rattling inside the sump. If you need to have a dealership fix this problem it will cost just short of $500 as they have to remove the sump and take it apart to replace the O Ring.
5. Listen for valve train excessive noise. That is hard to define since LS engines make a fair amount of ticking noises when running. Excessive noise could indicate the guides are loose. You are taking care of this by going to AH but that might determine how you get it there.
6. Listen for noises from the drive train. Bring the car to a stop, hold it with the brakes like you are at a stop sign and then start slowly in low gear and listen for any clinking noise coming from the rear axles. Clinking noises on start up can indicate the rear axle shafts are loose in the hubs. They will move around in the hub and to fix the problem you have to replace both the shaft and the hub as both will be worn. This happened on my 08 and both rear axles and both rear hubs were replaced. This isn't a positraction issue and will not be cleared up by adding posi fluid and doing figure 8s in a parking lot. Positraction issues show up when the car is turning and the posi doesn't slip enough in tight turns.
7. Check the tires and the date codes on the tires. It is easy to get outdated tires on a Corvette due to the limited driving seen by the cars. With 24K miles the one you are looking at should be near the end of life on its second set of tires or just starting on a new set of tires.
8. When driving the steering shouldn't pull to one side or the other or the car shouldn't dog walk. Other than a small amount of drift to one side or the other you should be able to remove your hands safely from the steering wheel and not have to correct the car a lot. I once test drove an 08 Z51 for a friend. On the highway at 70 mph I could take my hands off the steering wheel and it would drift to the left or right depending on which side of the crown it was on. When it drifted to the edge of the lane it would bounce off the paint build up marking the edge of the lane and then drift back down. I drove for 4 miles on a straight section of the road without touching the steering wheel.
9. The transmission should shift easily. When it is cold it may nibble the gears a little on the 1-2 shift but that should clear up within a mile or so. Place your hand on top of the shifter and use your finger tips to pull it back for gears 2,4 and 6. Use the heel of your hand to get it into 1, 3 or 5. To get into the 1-2 or 6-6 gates you may need a small amount of side pressure to move the stick sideways. I can shift my 08 by using two fingers, the heel of my hand and very little movement of my arm. Most of the movement is in the wrist. If you don't try and aim a shift you can get a damn fast gear change. Aim it or grab the shifter with your hand to the side and you will have problems and be looking to spend a couple hundred on an aftermarket shifter to compensate.
10. Do any checks you would do on any other used car.
As for fluid changes have AH completely change out the coolant since they will be dumping a lot of it when they pull the heads. Same goes for the engine oil. Transmission and Diff fluid probably are original and still OK. Not a lot of need to change trans and diff fluid on such a low mile car. If it was approaching 150K miles the story might be different.
Bill
2. Check under the car around the lower control arm bushings, the metal frames in the floor board and other nooks and crannies for chunks of rubber. That will indicate a track history.
3. Check the seats for torn/worn upholstery especially on the side bolsters. The seat bottom cushions have a tendency to sink into the seat frame and the seat skin can become loose especially if the PO was on the heavy side.
4. Drive the car for at least 20 miles, city and highway driving. Turn off the radio and listen for noises. If you hear a thunk, thunk, thunk noise coming from the right side dash area open the hood and use a stick as a stethoscope to listen to the dry sump tank. If you hear the noise in the dry sump that means the O Ring around the internal tube has slipped and the tube is rattling inside the sump. If you need to have a dealership fix this problem it will cost just short of $500 as they have to remove the sump and take it apart to replace the O Ring.
5. Listen for valve train excessive noise. That is hard to define since LS engines make a fair amount of ticking noises when running. Excessive noise could indicate the guides are loose. You are taking care of this by going to AH but that might determine how you get it there.
6. Listen for noises from the drive train. Bring the car to a stop, hold it with the brakes like you are at a stop sign and then start slowly in low gear and listen for any clinking noise coming from the rear axles. Clinking noises on start up can indicate the rear axle shafts are loose in the hubs. They will move around in the hub and to fix the problem you have to replace both the shaft and the hub as both will be worn. This happened on my 08 and both rear axles and both rear hubs were replaced. This isn't a positraction issue and will not be cleared up by adding posi fluid and doing figure 8s in a parking lot. Positraction issues show up when the car is turning and the posi doesn't slip enough in tight turns.
7. Check the tires and the date codes on the tires. It is easy to get outdated tires on a Corvette due to the limited driving seen by the cars. With 24K miles the one you are looking at should be near the end of life on its second set of tires or just starting on a new set of tires.
8. When driving the steering shouldn't pull to one side or the other or the car shouldn't dog walk. Other than a small amount of drift to one side or the other you should be able to remove your hands safely from the steering wheel and not have to correct the car a lot. I once test drove an 08 Z51 for a friend. On the highway at 70 mph I could take my hands off the steering wheel and it would drift to the left or right depending on which side of the crown it was on. When it drifted to the edge of the lane it would bounce off the paint build up marking the edge of the lane and then drift back down. I drove for 4 miles on a straight section of the road without touching the steering wheel.
9. The transmission should shift easily. When it is cold it may nibble the gears a little on the 1-2 shift but that should clear up within a mile or so. Place your hand on top of the shifter and use your finger tips to pull it back for gears 2,4 and 6. Use the heel of your hand to get it into 1, 3 or 5. To get into the 1-2 or 6-6 gates you may need a small amount of side pressure to move the stick sideways. I can shift my 08 by using two fingers, the heel of my hand and very little movement of my arm. Most of the movement is in the wrist. If you don't try and aim a shift you can get a damn fast gear change. Aim it or grab the shifter with your hand to the side and you will have problems and be looking to spend a couple hundred on an aftermarket shifter to compensate.
10. Do any checks you would do on any other used car.
As for fluid changes have AH completely change out the coolant since they will be dumping a lot of it when they pull the heads. Same goes for the engine oil. Transmission and Diff fluid probably are original and still OK. Not a lot of need to change trans and diff fluid on such a low mile car. If it was approaching 150K miles the story might be different.
Bill
03-01-2015, 08:42 PM
#19
Racer
My experience recently: I bought a very low mileage 2006 ZO6 from my local dealer ( Weseloh Chevrolet in Carlsbad, Ca.) with only 3407miles on the clock. Carfax is perfect and the owner is local. Only used the car for coffee runs on Sundays ( go figure) . I did not concern myself with the "valve guide issue" ( no flames, please) because I think this may be blown out of proportion. It seems to me that some of these valve guide issues are on cars that are tracked or driven very hard or modded....However, as with anything I am sure there are exceptions. Unfortunately, the web has a lot of complaints and fewer positive comments on just about any subject. That is not to say there may be a problem but the real issue here, IMO, is just how extensive is the problem really ? I don't think anyone really knows so therefore a lot of folks are doing the preventative maintenance thing which is not a bad thing to consider.
However, let me share this. I have just recently come back from the darkside having owned a Porsche 996 for the past few years...aside from constant maintenance and astronomical parts prices, the big deal in the Porsche world is a faulty Intermediate Shaft Bearing ( IMS) . This took on a whole life of its own...reading the web you would think that ALL Porsche 996 cars ( and Boxsters for certain years) had this issue and they were all going to blow up any time. The fact is that less than 3% of this model had IMS issues. There is a fix for this where the IMS is replaced with an aftermarket ceramic bearing which can be done when replacing the clutch. When I had my ( 3rd) clutch replaced at 82,000 miles I had the original IMS bearing replaced with the ceramic upgrade at an additional cost of about $2000. But the real story is that the original IMS bearing pulled from the engine was in perfect condition.
So my bottom line is that your mileage may vary but look at all available information on potential issues and make your own decision. Get the heads fixed if it makes you feel better but I am not going to do mine.
However, let me share this. I have just recently come back from the darkside having owned a Porsche 996 for the past few years...aside from constant maintenance and astronomical parts prices, the big deal in the Porsche world is a faulty Intermediate Shaft Bearing ( IMS) . This took on a whole life of its own...reading the web you would think that ALL Porsche 996 cars ( and Boxsters for certain years) had this issue and they were all going to blow up any time. The fact is that less than 3% of this model had IMS issues. There is a fix for this where the IMS is replaced with an aftermarket ceramic bearing which can be done when replacing the clutch. When I had my ( 3rd) clutch replaced at 82,000 miles I had the original IMS bearing replaced with the ceramic upgrade at an additional cost of about $2000. But the real story is that the original IMS bearing pulled from the engine was in perfect condition.
So my bottom line is that your mileage may vary but look at all available information on potential issues and make your own decision. Get the heads fixed if it makes you feel better but I am not going to do mine.