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2. Fill and Drain Plug TORQUES
Oil Pan Drain Plug (14 mm Box wrench).....38 ft-lbs (5/8-18 Thread)
The Oil Drain Plug is a Helicoil insert which is installed to reduce wear and tear on an Aluminum Thread.
A 14 mm open end flex head Ratchet works perfectly on Oil Drain Plug.
3. Manual Transmission Allen Plugs use 17 mm Allen Wrench (see Note D Below).
Fill Plug Allen wrench torque........26 ft-lbs
Drain Plug Allen wrench torque.....26 ft-lbs
4. Differential Fill Plug use 3/8 inch Allen Wrench.
Always use a Fluid Pump when adding fluid to the Differential or Transmission.
5. Adding the Differential Oil Drain Plug to the ZR1 differential is a great idea.
The original ZR1 differential has no drain plug and the only way to remove differential fluid is to suck said fluid from the differential Allen Head Fill Plug. See Item #4LT5 Added Systems
Install item # 584029 DIFFERENTIAL DRAIN PLUG KIT can be obtained from Corvette Central (includes 1/8 inch pipe tap, 11/32 drill bit) Differential Drain Plug Kit
The kit provides a template that puts the hole just left of the center bolt in the valley of the differential. Just drill the hole gently and the differential oil and any shavings will drain completely. Then tap and install 1/8 inch Aluminum allen head pipe plug. Do not tap too deeply to make sure the pipe plug is tight and flush when finished.
Flush a bit with Mobile 1 75/90 gear lube after completing the tap before installing the 1/8 inch allen head pipe plug.
6. RADIATOR COOLANT
You want to only use the greencoolant. They have it at Napa and it meets 1825M GM Spec.
For Zerex the first gallon is called Regular Green Coolant (GM 1825M), the second gallon is called Original Formula (GM 1825M). Zerex ZXRU1 is 50-50 and Zerex ZX001 is undiluted. The third gallon is NAPA coolant (GM 1825M).
7. OIL FILTER
I concur with HammerZR1 on all fluids cited above except I am using the Mobile 1 M1-207 oil filter. Mobile 1 M1-207 Oil Filter
8. BRAKE and CLUTCH FLUID
For brake and clutch fluid Dot 3 or Dot 4 (Prefer Dot 4).
Notes: A. I change engine oil every 2,000 - 3,000 miles (5,000 miles if cross country driving). B. ZF Doc says until someone invents a copper magnet, change the ZF S6-40 6-speed transmission oil at 10,000 - 12,000 mile intervals so as to minimize the amount of deposits of the suspended spent synchronizer material from collecting in critical component contact surface areas. C. On previously owned cars/trucks, I change engine, transmission, differential fluid and coolant immediately upon purchase (extracting old brake/clutch fluid and cleaning brake/clutch fluid reservoirs). This assures proper fluid levels and reduces comtaminants accumulated over the previous life of the vehicle.
D. Be careful on inserting the 17 mm Allen Wrench into the Transmission Drain Plug. That Transmission Drain Plug often has road rash which prevents complete insertion of the 17 mm Allen. If not completely inserted you may strip the Allen part of the Drain Plug. Snap-On 17mm Allen/3/8 socket
Dress up the Allen part of the Drain Plug and then tap the 17 mm Allen into the plug using a small hammer for full insertion before applying a torque on the 17 mm Allen Wrench to remove the Drain Plug. I use a box wrench that fits over the long end of the 17 mm Allen Wrench for additional leverage making sure you keep the 17 mm Allen Wrench fully inserted in the Drain Plug you are removing.
17 mm Allen Wrench
E. Oil Viscosity.
Newer engines are built with tighter tolerances (use lighter oil).
High Mileage engines lose tolerances (use heavier oil).
Hot climates (hotter engines) thin oil (use heavier oil).
Cold climates (colder engines) thicken oil (use lighter oil).
Often starting colder engines (lighter oil).
Running engines for long hauls once started (use heavier oils).
Newer synthetic oils do not loose viscosity with use (use lighter oils).
In Fl or CA coastal (use heavier oils).
In SD winter ....definitley (use thinner oils).
Frequent oil changes (use thinner oils).
Infrequent oil changes (use heavier oils).
F. Changing Engine Oil on the LT5.
Let the engine sit over night so you can remove the oil filter without a mess as Mike suggests. Yes...some oil filters have a check valve of sorts but on Mobile 1 M1-207s the filter can be removed without any oil mess after sitting over night.
The LT5 engine and oil cooler will hold about 12 quarts of oil of which you drain about 8-9 quarts on an oil change.
So you get about 70 % of the old oil changed on an oil change. Next time you will get 70% of that 30% old old oil (9% of old old oil remaing), and on the third change you will get 70% of the 9% old old old oil remaining with 3% of old old old oil remaining. And so it goes
The oil pick up screen in the LT5 Oil Pan sits about 1/4 inch from the bottom of the pan (has nothing to do with changing oil :p). When you drain oil (depending on how the ZR1 is sitting) you will have about 1/4 inch of oil in the bottom of the oil pan that does not drain.
On a ZR1 just purchased I will change oil twice within a week or so of each change to get down to the 9% of original "unknown" oil remaining.
Last UPDATE of post 3 Jan, 2018
Thank You Dynomite Very good article on fluids to use for LT5 engine.
Drivers Side Cams........................................ ........Passenger Side Cams
1. Insert spark plugs with a bit of anti-sieze on the threads before installing the Cam Covers to assure that nothing drops into the cylinders. 2.Leave Jeffvette Billet Aluminum Camshaft Retainers in place as the cam cover journals will take the camshaft loads once the cam covers are in place. The Camshaft Billet Aluminum Retainers do prevent the camshaft longitudinal movement however.
a. Use Loctite 518 very thin coat on surface of cam covers. Do not coat 518 Loctite all the way to the edge of the journals (stay away 1/4 inch). leave 1/8 inch more or less space between Loctite 518 and outer/inner edges of any surface coated. Also, do not coat the cam covers all the way to the outer and inner edges (leave 1/8 inch more or less space between Loctite 518 and outer/inner edges of any surface coated). (Coat the grooves for the two camshaft rubber plugs on each end of each Cam Cover and same on each end of each head.
b. Lubricate all cam lobes and lifters with engine oil but do not get any oil on the Cam Cover interface surfaces. c. Place spark plug "O" rings in place and on the Cam Cover place a thin coat of 518 Loctite around each spark plug hole. d. On all surfaces keep thin coat of 518 Loctite 1/8 inch from edges of each/every surface. e. Set Cam Covers in place on Heads. f. Insert 36 SS Allen Head 8 mm and 3 SS Allen Head 6 mm Cam Cover bolts with Aluminum Stat-O-Seal Washers (Do not use Loctite or Anti-sieze on Cam Cover bolts). I also used eight 1/4 inch Aluminum Stat-O-Seals for the IH coolant housings. The Aluminum Stat-O-Seals make a great lock washer as well as prevent oil leaks around the SS bolts.
3. Tightgen all cam cover SS bolts in several steps a. Tighten All Cam Cover bolts using a #6 Allen Head wrench including the 3 #4 Allen Head bolts on the front edge of each Cam Cover. b. Check that the crankshaft is still free to rotate during and after tightening Cam Cover bolts. c. Clean any excess 518 loctite from cam covers.
4. Cam Inspection after several hours Run In a. Drivers side Cam Cover was removed after several hours of engine time after installation of regrind camshafts. The Cams and Cam Journals were found to be in perfect condition with no unusual wear marks. b. The Billet Camshaft Retainers were found to be in perfect condition with all bolts tight. c. The Lubrication condition was found to be perfect with all Cams and Lifters fully lubricated.
="2"%Last UPDATE of post 27 Aug, 2017
Suggested revisions to your procedure.
1. Camshaft retainers are readily available from Jerrys Gaskets on a purchase or purchase/rental basis for a fraction of the purchase cost.
2. Jerrys Gaskets also has, in stock, the correct size sealing dowty washer for the M8 cam cover bolts at a significantly lower cost than the bonded washers from Pegasus
3. Cam Covers utilize 24 M8 bolts for each cover, not 36.
4. The recommended Sealant for Cam Covers is Permabond A136, not Loctite. Loctite was used when Permabond A136 was NLA, Jerrys Gaskets was able to have Permabond A136 manufactured again, and is a stocking distributor of Permabond A136.
5. Regarding the Cam Cover FIlters. The factory filters were made of a foam material that disintigrated over time in that environment. That is the same material that Marc Haibeck uses. Jerrys Gaskets researched & tested a coalescing filter material that is better suited for the job.
6. I think you may misunderstand the design of the PCV system insofar as it pertains to the Cam Cover filter and the vent piping from the cam cover that has as its source, the Air Horn in front of the Throttle Body. Under normal driving when engine vacuum is present, the purpose of the piping to the Cam Cover is filtered, fresh air to purge the crankcase and avoid vacuum in the crankcase from the PCV system. At WOT, when crankcase pressure is at it's greatest and engine vacuum is at its lowest, crankcase pressure is relieved through the Cam Cover, passing through the filter and coalescing oil vapor for retention within the engine instead of ending up in the inlet air to the engine.
7. The tool size you provide is helpful but applies to socket head cap screws only. You may want to consider adding the torx size.
I hope you find this helpful in the light it is intended.
Suggested revisions to your procedure.
1. Camshaft retainers are readily available from Jerrys Gaskets on a purchase or purchase/rental basis for a fraction of the purchase cost.
2. Jerrys Gaskets also has, in stock, the correct size sealing dowty washer for the M8 cam cover bolts at a significantly lower cost than the bonded washers from Pegasus
3. Cam Covers utilize 24 M8 bolts for each cover, not 36.
4. The recommended Sealant for Cam Covers is Permabond A136, not Loctite. Loctite was used when Permabond A136 was NLA, Jerrys Gaskets was able to have Permabond A136 manufactured again, and is a stocking distributor of Permabond A136.
5. Regarding the Cam Cover FIlters. The factory filters were made of a foam material that disintigrated over time in that environment. That is the same material that Marc Haibeck uses. Jerrys Gaskets researched & tested a coalescing filter material that is better suited for the job.
6. I think you may misunderstand the design of the PCV system insofar as it pertains to the Cam Cover filter and the vent piping from the cam cover that has as its source, the Air Horn in front of the Throttle Body. Under normal driving when engine vacuum is present, the purpose of the piping to the Cam Cover is filtered, fresh air to purge the crankcase and avoid vacuum in the crankcase from the PCV system. At WOT, when crankcase pressure is at it's greatest and engine vacuum is at its lowest, crankcase pressure is relieved through the Cam Cover, passing through the filter and coalescing oil vapor for retention within the engine instead of ending up in the inlet air to the engine.
7. The tool size you provide is helpful but applies to socket head cap screws only. You may want to consider adding the torx size.
I hope you find this helpful in the light it is intended.
Regarding Item #3......Changed to 24 Cam Cover M8 bolts.
Regarding Item #4....Added A136... See.....Post 162 - Cam Cover Chain Guides, Filters, and A136 For use of A136.
Regarding Item #5.....See Marc still has the Foam Material Cam Cover Filters on his Website Cam Cover Filters.
Regarding Item #6....See.....Post 130 - Cam Cover Filters for function Cam Cover Filters and use of Oil Catch Can.
Regarding Item #7......See.....Post 67 - Removing Cam Covers (Engine In Car) for Inspections of Camshafts Described removal of Original Torx-40 Cam Cover Bolts Engine in Car.
Found your comments very helpful and always keep a check on my posts for updates and/or Current Technical Correctness
Pictures of all fasteners that need removal.......
And additional Facia removal tricks will be posted in this thread👍
As an aside.....
Front bumper Facia has to be removed for the removal of the fog light housings. Two small bolts on the outside end of each fog light housing are then removed and the fog bulbs removed before pulling the outside end of each fog light housing out.
A CD Player "Not Working" is often simply the result of a dirty Lens.
I have had three CD Players that would not play a disc when insert. (The disc would insert but not play). All three CD Players played a CD perfectly after inserting the CD Player Lens Cleaner once or twice.
I now insert the CD Player Lens Cleaner in the CD Player (that will not play a CD) at least twice. I also use the CD Player Lens Cleaner once in a while even if the CD Player is working perfectly.
Just take a mirror and look just behind Oil Dip Stick on the right Head just below the Cam Cover noting you have a mirror view......If you take photo you can then look at the photo with another mirror and you will see 10225122 or DUNN Head
This is my 95' (# 186) with Double Dunn Heads and if you look at this with a mirror you will see 10225122
03-17-2018, 04:13 AM
LT5/ZR-1 Fluids
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