zeeman

Thanks for that info.... I'll be sure to speak with the mechanic doing the job Monday and tell him possibly to change those out as well.... What's a few more dollars....

zeeman

Valve springs & valve seals were replaced Monday, the 11th at the Dealer.... Valve cover gaskets never needed replaced as well as the spark plug wires.... Mechanic told me the wires all came off easy without a problem..... And the valve cover gaskets had lots of pliability. Drove her home about 15 miles away and all went well.

Kept the old valve springs & seals only for originality purposes...In case I ever have a moment where I am drugged heavily and sell the Z, and the next owner wants all the original parts....

Now awaiting for the weekend to get here and expect 1st Rate Corvette Parts to call me to say my Black C6 wheels have came in. After that install, is when I will "Stabil"-lize the Z for the Winter.....

Thanks for all the comments and suggestions over the past few weeks.

Red99FRC

Got my valve springs, plugs, and wires replaced at LG Motorsports on Monday. Dropped the car off at 9:30, done at 1 pm!!! Great service, and they only charged me for 2 hrs of labor to do the job. Thanks, LG!!!

racebum

that's honesty right there.

mbrad

Having my springs, guide seals and plugs replaced today. Cant wait to drive it. New owner of a 2002 zo6 and after reading about the chances of valve spring failure thought I should be smart about it. Thanks for all the info.

skyavonee

gfacter

Just noticed this thread

2003 with a July 02 build date

Now I have heartburn

callie454

I used to live in FR.

Do yourself a favor and get those springs swapped out. Cheap insurance!

Trash

I was in the same position as you a few years back. While it might seem daunting, this project is very easy and inexpensive to do. After its done you'll be asking why didn't I do it sooner?

The hardest part is getting the plug wires off. Seriously.

$60-80 for OEM springs and a few more bucks for plug wires (you'll likely break one on removal) and you can get this gorilla off your back.

Best of luck.

gfacter

Looks like I found a winter project, already changed the plugs, so I know that PITA.

gfacter

Moved out here from the DC metro area, like the change of pace.

callie454

vettetown

Anyone have a link to the valve springs you are replacing them with?

charlie808

Finally got new donor engine in the car. Original engine tear down revealed 4 cylinder yellow valve spring failure. Donor engine came from car last titled in Texas with 28k on it, reportedly out of a side swipe total ( not reflected in car fax check). Interestingly, donor engine heads had already been worked and factory valve springs replaced with new doubles with titanium retainers. Obviously, someone either had bad luck with originals or had studied up and proactively replaced them. I would love to know if anyone has a line on previous owner of 2003 Z06 with vin: 1G1YY12S335127194, last titled in Texas.

charlie808

Just google PAC 1518. Those are recommended replacements, but shop it to a couple of places because I found a big difference in prices.

zeeman

I replaced my springs with OEM....All's well...

gfacter

So what did everyone do about torquing down the rocker arms? Manual says to find TDC. Hard to do with the engine in the car.

I just finished the springs and am stuck here




FYI My original springs were natural no color

Trash

To find TDC is fairly easy. Pull plugs and rotate the balancer (watching the timing mark) noting the intake and exhaust valve movement. Timing mark should be lined up when the intake valve closes and piston moves to TDC. I placed a long drinking straw in the plug hole to monitor piston movement. This allowed me to fine tune TDC. Bottom line is you just want the intake and exhaust lifters off the cam lobe and on the base circle.

You can torque the rockers for #1, rotate the crank 90 degrees and torque #8, repeat through the firing order. I used a offset box end wrench to on the balancer bolt to rotate the motor. It was a 24 or 26 mm or something like that.

Good luck.

gfacter

Thanks, I will have to find some straws tomorrow

Trash

Kind of a goofy solution I know, but it works and won't do any internal damage. Plus it was long enough for me to view as rotated the crank.