Hi everyone! I'm new to the forum and Corvette ownership, and have owned my 99 vert approximately 2 months. The car was purchased from a local Corvette-oriented Chevy dealer with a little over 20,000 miles on it.

I have noticed the slight knock when cold, and after much research here on the forum, attributed it to piston slap that seems to be common.

I have a 60 day warranty from the dealer due to expire in a few days, so decided to have them diagnose the noise along with a couple other minor problems.

They told me they have confirmed a lifter noise, and will pull the head to fix it. Does this sound right, or are they chasing a problem they can't fix?

Anyone have this problem repaired successfully?

Thanks

 

I have an 03 with the same symptom... someone posted this the other day that shows there is a known bulletin on this issue....

http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/...ry.php?catId=6

 

Be happy they are doing what they are doing especially the used car portion of the dealer, good to see your not getting the run around.

The good thing is they have admitted their is a problem, so even if pulling the head for a lifter is not the problem, then they are still on the hook for fixing the problem.

Piston slap was not a problem in 99, but if yours was a late build you might have gotten a part or two slipped in from the next model year.

I would document the problem before giving them the car. Make a recording of the sound, get some friends to listen to it, have some witnesses as to what the problem really is, then you have something directly to compare it to after they fix it.

Ask for the old parts back too, make sure they just don't throw in some heavy oil to muffle the noise.

Sorry I just don't trust a dealer, especially one selling a used car, at all. Hopefully you'll have better luck.

 

Could be bent push rods. I had that problem in my 1998 Z28 with an LS1.

 

This particular dealer is particularly involved with the local Corvette owners, to the point they host local vette events in their parking lot, so am hopeful they are interested in doing the right thing here.

 

I have an '02 and it seems to have the same problem and has since I purchased it with 4000 miles on it last year. Recently I saw a post on the forum about this problem which stated there was a service bulletin on this problem and it involved a bad o-ring on the oil pump. Since I have the GM bumper-to-bumper 0 deductible which runs to 52k miles and Feb '09 I figure I'll just endure the minor noise and if the engine dies it will become GM's problem. I can't bear the thought of me voluntarily taking my car to the dealership for them to tear my engine out of the car and then tear the engine apart looking for an o-ring that may or may not be defective. Now if I lived near a major city like Miami or Houston where they sell alot of Vettes I might be a little more trusting of a dealership's ability to remove and repair a Corvette engine. Here in Alabama they sell many more pickups than all their cars combined. Three years ago right after I bought my first Corvette (A '96) I took it to the dealership to get the oil changed thinking some guy with alot more Corvette knowledge than I would be doing the job. Boy was I mistaken. Some young "Gomer" with an earring commenced to change my oil. I had to go out in the service area to show him how to open the hood. Needless to say that certainly lowered my confidence in that dealer.

 

www.pistonslap.com has alot of good infor on the LS1/LS6 motors and piston slap.

 

Anyone know how common this problem is for 2003 LS1 engines?

 

Yup,.....sounds like another one of these only change the oil "Every 15,000 miles wether it needs it or not"

 

There is no such thing as piston slap after 30k miles in a GM....

 

They may be looking at the lifters because of a bearing known to shed pin rollers.

 

I just got my vette back last night for that same issue. The dealer tore down the engine and were going to replace the rod and crank bearings, pistons, rings, and lifters. The car had a repair at another chevy dealer 1 year ago for valve train niose. When the tech was starting to put the engine back together he noticed a crack in the block. GM sent a inspector and they determined that the cracked block was caused from over tightening the head. I have the gmpp and they did put a long block in it. I hope it will be fine now.

 

Check this website out. Devoted to the dreaded GM Piston Slap. http://www.pistonslap.com/

 

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...551&forum_id=1

 

Thanks for everyone's feedback! I don't think my car qualifies for the o-ring repair due to the year, and talking to the service manager again today, they still think the heads need to come off. It's planned for next week to fit into their Corvette engine specialist's schedule (?!). I will let you know the outcome.

In any case, they are honoring the dealer warranty, and I always have the extended GM warranty that I purchased to fall back on.