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It sounds like you won't have peace of mind unless you swap them out, so I vote you just go ahead and do that.
Agreed and that's the direction this is heading. Was being optimistic that someone "in the know" could point out a sure fire way to tell. Without a lick of yellow I'm fairly certain they've been replaced - especially if the part for that year was always yellow. That's the detail I can't confirm.
It sounds like you won't have peace of mind unless you swap them out, so I vote you just go ahead and do that.
I agree with Clemson3. We had a hard saying in the Navy about documentation of work. Not documented? Not done. If you don't have the documentation, either through a service invoice or a searchable cloud record by a dealer who did the work, then I would get the springs replaced. I had mine replaced with OEM Chevy catalogue official part number springs and the work was done by my local dealer. There are other aftermarket springs out there that are allegedly as good or better. Just do your homework.
According the the anecdotal stuff out there, you can break a spring at your current low mileage, or it might wait until 95,000 miles. But the point is that this engine and certain VIN Lots have already DEMONSTRATED breaks, and those broken springs can result in a ventilated block and total loss of the engine if it occurs at high RPM.
Chevrolet should pay for all those disasters and pay warranty on all the fixes. But it'll never happen.
Pay possibly $8000+ later or spend the roughly $800-$1000 and get new springs and get it done right. This car is too nice and superb driving and fun to worry about such things.
Of course, you could always swap out for a nice new crate LS3 525 motor, add some nice Kook long tube headers as part of the swap, and have a rubber-shredding engine with a factory warranty. That thought is often on my mind. But your miles are too low. Get the new springs!!
Good luck,
Mike
Last edited by TomcatMike; 03-30-2018 at 12:13 PM.
Reason: Forgot the sig
I agree with Clemson3. We had a hard saying in the Navy about documentation of work. Not documented? Not done. If you don't have the documentation, either through a service invoice or a searchable cloud record by a dealer who did the work, then I would get the springs replaced. I had mine replaced with OEM Chevy catalogue official part number springs and the work was done by my local dealer. There are other aftermarket springs out there that are allegedly as good or better. Just do your homework.
According the the anecdotal stuff out there, you can break a spring at your current low mileage, or it might wait until 95,000 miles. But the point is that this engine and certain VIN Lots have already DEMONSTRATED breaks, and those broken springs can result in a ventilated block and total loss of the engine if it occurs at high RPM.
Chevrolet should pay for all those disasters and pay warranty on all the fixes. But it'll never happen.
Pay possibly $8000+ later or spend the roughly $800-$1000 and get new springs and get it done right. This car is too nice and superb driving and fun to worry about such things.
Of course, you could always swap out for a nice new crate LS3 525 motor, add some nice Kook long tube headers as part of the swap, and have a rubber-shredding engine with a factory warranty. That thought is often on my mind. But your miles are too low. Get the new springs!!
Good luck,
Mike
Great advice, thanks Mike. Was going to replace them as part of a Cam install because there's no sense paying the $800 - $1,000 now and then removing them and and throwing them in the trash as part of a Cam install. Not to mention paying X2 the labor since, quite literally, the same steps need to be taken .
Great advice, thanks Mike. Was going to replace them as part of a Cam install because there's no sense paying the $800 - $1,000 now and then removing them and and throwing them in the trash as part of a Cam install. Not to mention paying X2 the labor since, quite literally, the same steps need to be taken .
Just a quick note on a new cam. I was all hot-to-trot to get a new cam. I plan to have new Kook long-tube headers, new CATS, and new O2 sensors installed, possibly add a Corsa exhaust, in the next couple of months. Already have it budgeted with a quote from the shop.
I was told, candidly, by the shop, that a new cam is not a drop-in plug-and-play deal. The cam swap needs to be thoughtfully and logically engineered and installed and dyno'd. Probably needs to be dialed in and degreed professionally, depending on your requirements. You're talking a lot of money, so make sure that the headers and cam swap are worth the mere 40 to 50+ HP increase. He'll be glad to take my money, but we're talking $3500 for just the cam work alone.
Do the springs, mebbe the Kook headers, and have someone do a good dyno job with appropriate chip update so that the car remains driveable on the street and you can live with it long term everyday. That's far cheaper than adding the cam and new springs (and rocker arms) too.
Likely not. It appears daunting at first, but is doable at home. Get the dual valve spring compressor tool and it goes twice as fast.
Yes, it can be done at home. But ensure you have the spark plug hole adapter and compressed air to keep the valves closed and seated anytime the spring keepers are off. This is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL!!
Back to your VIN - mine was in the moderate risk category, so it was a no-brainer to replace the springs. Look at it this way - regardless if it's Low, Medium, or High Risk, the Impact if you drop a valve at 4000 RPM will be very HIGH, and you are looking at a new motor if the piston, rod, crank, block are all boogered up. Parts and Labor will run you the south side of $1000, depending on where you go. I bought my own Chevy OEM springs out of the catalogue, and my local Chevy dealer, who has a Corvette expert, charged about $700 for the labor. Cheaper than $6000+ for a new or used motor.
Since then, I have added new Kook Long-Tube headers and Kook Hi-Flo CAT-back X-Pipes. It was dyno'd with three runs to redline and pulled 383 RWHP, which equates roughly to 440-450 HP at the crank.
Go ahead - replace them. It's the right thing to do.
Yes, it can be done at home. But ensure you have the spark plug hole adapter and compressed air to keep the valves closed and seated anytime the spring keepers are off. This is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL!!
Back to your VIN - mine was in the moderate risk category, so it was a no-brainer to replace the springs. Look at it this way - regardless if it's Low, Medium, or High Risk, the Impact if you drop a valve at 4000 RPM will be very HIGH, and you are looking at a new motor if the piston, rod, crank, block are all boogered up. Parts and Labor will run you the south side of $1000, depending on where you go. I bought my own Chevy OEM springs out of the catalogue, and my local Chevy dealer, who has a Corvette expert, charged about $700 for the labor. Cheaper than $6000+ for a new or used motor.
Since then, I have added new Kook Long-Tube headers and Kook Hi-Flo CAT-back X-Pipes. It was dyno'd with three runs to redline and pulled 383 RWHP, which equates roughly to 440-450 HP at the crank.
Go ahead - replace them. It's the right thing to do.
Best of luck to you.
Mike
Quick caveat. To address the response from Trash, he provided me a very detailed way back in early 2015 how to do the valve springs without using compressed air. One has to rotate the crankshaft to TDC for the applicable cylinder. This allows the valves to drop only a very short distance onto the piston. This method can be time consuming. I got started, found I needed 3.6 hands, had no help, and aborted. It's tedious but doable.
Best thing is to get the plug hole adapter and compressed air - should work well regardless of the piston position.
Never too late to join this club I guess. 2003 Z06 with 36,500 miles and cylinder #3 has a broken valve spring. Looks like I got really lucky and the valve didn't drop and still holds compression but will be digging deeper for the inspection just to be sure. I'll get the car's build date number when I get the car back.
Add me to the statistics and please change your valve springs to those who have not
Last edited by camaross1618; 10-14-2018 at 04:51 PM.
Reason: picture too big
what springs would be best to go with, my 03 was built in april, is it in the range most dangerous or least or somewhere in the middle.Either way I am gonna swap em, was quoted 600 and parts. Just want to make sure I get good springs from gm, thanks jy
So I decided to change the valve springs in my 2003 z06. Build day 12/5/2002. Even though I’m not really in the so called danger zone. I have 41k miles on it. Well just picked it up from my mechanic and he said two of the yellow original springs had small cracks in them and he felt they were weak and probably would have failed. He also said the valves where those springs were located were a little lower than the rest. Looks like my cheap insurance might have paid dividends. Looks like I might have dodged a huge bullet there. Thanks to this forum and the OP. Owe you a beer if you’re ever in north Florida .
I have a 2003 april build z, using the numbers what % chance do I have breaking a spring out of total built? If I read this correct there are less than 200 reported overall and less in my build timeline. I know some will say ok don't replace springs and when your breaks don't say we didn't warn you but I really wonder if spending 1000.00 to fix a issue that is 98% sure not to happen if its money well spent. Sure if I was tracking car I could see need to swap regularly but just basic driving is it really a problem of any substance or simply a over reaction to a few reported breaks. How many I wonder haven't changed springs and no issues and still on the road. Don't take me wrong I applaud the study that's gone into this but would like some clarity of overall danger % wise, thanks
I have a 2003 april build z, using the numbers what % chance do I have breaking a spring out of total built? If I read this correct there are less than 200 reported overall and less in my build timeline. I know some will say ok don't replace springs and when your breaks don't say we didn't warn you but I really wonder if spending 1000.00 to fix a issue that is 98% sure not to happen if its money well spent. Sure if I was tracking car I could see need to swap regularly but just basic driving is it really a problem of any substance or simply a over reaction to a few reported breaks. How many I wonder haven't changed springs and no issues and still on the road. Don't take me wrong I applaud the study that's gone into this but would like some clarity of overall danger % wise, thanks
It is difficult to give a percentage chance of the event occurring. While there may be less than 200 reported issues that is ONLY from current members and is far smaller than the number of cars out there. I'm sure there are many more out there that haven't been documented here.
Regarding cost, it shouldn't cost $1000 to replace the springs. On the low end $70 for GM springs and about $150 for the LS dual valve spring compressor (which I highly recommend if doing it yourself). High end perhaps $225 or so for PAC springs and a shop to do the labor would run to about $600-$800 total (parts included).
Do not get lulled into thinking it only happens at high rpm (i.e tracking the car). Failures have occurred in all regimes, from idle at a stop light to normal cruise to high rpm events. No rhyme or reason. Some failures have occurred within a few thousand miles of the car being brand new, while others have had them fail approaching 90,000 miles. And there are those people who haven't had them fail at all. Ultimately it comes down to risk management. The odds 'might' be low that the springs fail, but the potential consequences are enormous should the valve drop. Is it worth the $250-800 insurance to salvage a potential $8000+ motor repair? That is MUCH more involved than the spring swap.
I was like you, mulling over whether I wanted to roll the dice on the swap. My car is a Jan 2002 build and on the outer edge of the bell curve failure zone. Then another member whose car was built one week after mine broke a spring. For peace of mind I swapped mine out at that point.
Hope this helps. If you want to perform the work yourself I have he LS dual valve spring compressor I would be willing to loan you. Two other members have taken me up on this so far.
It is difficult to give a percentage chance of the event occurring. While there may be less than 200 reported issues that is ONLY from current members and is far smaller than the number of cars out there. I'm sure there are many more out there that haven't been documented here.
Regarding cost, it shouldn't cost $1000 to replace the springs. On the low end $70 for GM springs and about $150 for the LS dual valve spring compressor (which I highly recommend if doing it yourself). High end perhaps $225 or so for PAC springs and a shop to do the labor would run to about $600-$800 total (parts included).
Do not get lulled into thinking it only happens at high rpm (i.e tracking the car). Failures have occurred in all regimes, from idle at a stop light to normal cruise to high rpm events. No rhyme or reason. Some failures have occurred within a few thousand miles of the car being brand new, while others have had them fail approaching 90,000 miles. And there are those people who haven't had them fail at all. Ultimately it comes down to risk management. The odds 'might' be low that the springs fail, but the potential consequences are enormous should the valve drop. Is it worth the $250-800 insurance to salvage a potential $8000+ motor repair? That is MUCH more involved than the spring swap.
I was like you, mulling over whether I wanted to roll the dice on the swap. My car is a Jan 2002 build and on the outer edge of the bell curve failure zone. Then another member whose car was built one week after mine broke a spring. For peace of mind I swapped mine out at that point.
Hope this helps. If you want to perform the work yourself I have he LS dual valve spring compressor I would be willing to loan you. Two other members have taken me up on this so far.
Best of luck.
Same situation as the C6 valve guides.. drive it off the lot and kaboooom, drive for 3 yrs kaboooom never know, Guys are doing the heads to be on the safe side, the C5 valve spring is the same deal, why wait, do it now.
and I do not see the plot... I was wondering if it is available?
My VIN ==> ...103636 for a 2002 Z06 built August 13, 2001.
I have a feeling that this is in the lower risk section...
i.e. : - Early 2002 models (VINs under 20000) are over 6 times as likely to experience a valve spring failure than the baseline.
03-30-2018, 10:09 AM
