Once again, Z06 valve springs
#1
Race Director
Thread Starter
Once again, Z06 valve springs
Like many others who have LS6 engines, I am concerned about the valve springs. I took a peek today through the oil filler tube and managed to see one spring. It was not yellow, but appeared to be unpainted. My Z is a 2002 with manufacture date of April 02 ser #28XXX, which puts it right in the "danger zone". I bought it last September and it has 46000 miles. It still has the 1-4 skip shift installed and not even any scratches on the radiator supports so I'm thinking it wasn't beat too bad if at all before I acquired it. So since the valve springs are not yellow, what do you think are the odds that the springs may have been changed? I do not know how many owners previous to me but I know the car spent most of its former life in Iowa. I really don't want to tear it apart and change the springs if I don't have to. Thanks in advance for any assistance.
#2
Drifting
Like many others who have LS6 engines, I am concerned about the valve springs. I took a peek today through the oil filler tube and managed to see one spring. It was not yellow, but appeared to be unpainted. My Z is a 2002 with manufacture date of April 02 ser #28XXX, which puts it right in the "danger zone". I bought it last September and it has 46000 miles. It still has the 1-4 skip shift installed and not even any scratches on the radiator supports so I'm thinking it wasn't beat too bad if at all before I acquired it. So since the valve springs are not yellow, what do you think are the odds that the springs may have been changed? I do not know how many owners previous to me but I know the car spent most of its former life in Iowa. I really don't want to tear it apart and change the springs if I don't have to. Thanks in advance for any assistance.
#3
Racer
Like many others who have LS6 engines, I am concerned about the valve springs. I took a peek today through the oil filler tube and managed to see one spring. It was not yellow, but appeared to be unpainted. My Z is a 2002 with manufacture date of April 02 ser #28XXX, which puts it right in the "danger zone". I bought it last September and it has 46000 miles. It still has the 1-4 skip shift installed and not even any scratches on the radiator supports so I'm thinking it wasn't beat too bad if at all before I acquired it. So since the valve springs are not yellow, what do you think are the odds that the springs may have been changed? I do not know how many owners previous to me but I know the car spent most of its former life in Iowa. I really don't want to tear it apart and change the springs if I don't have to. Thanks in advance for any assistance.
#4
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If you're not sure if the springs have been changed and since you know you are in the VIN range for possible trouble, I would go ahead and get the springs changed. Better safe than sorry.
#5
Racer
Here is a write-up on replacing them. Its very straight forward and shouldn't take very long if you have all the tools you need. The spring compression tool and air compressor fitting should make for an easy job.
#6
Race Director
Thread Starter
That guy makes it look simple and he works REAL fast!. I have a few questions for now and undoubtedly more later. 1) I imagine that the cylinder being worked on has to be at TDC when injecting air to hold up the valves? Are the spark plugs easier to get at with the coil packs etc removed? I could barely reach the easy ones today when I was scoping things out. Ball park estimate how long this would take if one had never done such a thing before? I can just see myself dropping a retainer into the intake port or down an oil hole. I'm thinking maybe I can take off the easy stuff and leave the spring removal to someone who's done it before.
#7
Like many others who have LS6 engines, I am concerned about the valve springs. I took a peek today through the oil filler tube and managed to see one spring. It was not yellow, but appeared to be unpainted. My Z is a 2002 with manufacture date of April 02 ser #28XXX, which puts it right in the "danger zone". I bought it last September and it has 46000 miles. It still has the 1-4 skip shift installed and not even any scratches on the radiator supports so I'm thinking it wasn't beat too bad if at all before I acquired it. So since the valve springs are not yellow, what do you think are the odds that the springs may have been changed? I do not know how many owners previous to me but I know the car spent most of its former life in Iowa. I really don't want to tear it apart and change the springs if I don't have to. Thanks in advance for any assistance.
#8
Intermediate
That guy makes it look simple and he works REAL fast!. I have a few questions for now and undoubtedly more later. 1) I imagine that the cylinder being worked on has to be at TDC when injecting air to hold up the valves? Are the spark plugs easier to get at with the coil packs etc removed? I could barely reach the easy ones today when I was scoping things out. Ball park estimate how long this would take if one had never done such a thing before? I can just see myself dropping a retainer into the intake port or down an oil hole. I'm thinking maybe I can take off the easy stuff and leave the spring removal to someone who's done it before.
I removed my spark plugs after taking off the valve covers and I think it helped. Any extra room you can get will be good. I also have long tube headers though so if you have the stock manifolds it may still be a pain.
I had never done anything like this before either but it really wasn't that bad. I wasn't able to do it in one day because I ran in to a few problems and needed to buy some more things like the valve locks and the borescope. If I were to do it again it would probably only take me a few hours to do. Since it's your first time I would say give yourself at least a 6 hour window but if things go smoothly you can finish much quicker than that. Just take your time and it won't be a problem.
#9
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Like many others who have LS6 engines, I am concerned about the valve springs. I took a peek today through the oil filler tube and managed to see one spring. It was not yellow, but appeared to be unpainted. My Z is a 2002 with manufacture date of April 02 ser #28XXX, which puts it right in the "danger zone". I bought it last September and it has 46000 miles. It still has the 1-4 skip shift installed and not even any scratches on the radiator supports so I'm thinking it wasn't beat too bad if at all before I acquired it. So since the valve springs are not yellow, what do you think are the odds that the springs may have been changed? I do not know how many owners previous to me but I know the car spent most of its former life in Iowa. I really don't want to tear it apart and change the springs if I don't have to. Thanks in advance for any assistance.
Although my car had a low mileage when I bought it, I changed the valve springs for peace of mind. No way was I going to be driving thinking that at any time I could break a spring. Better to spend a hundred for springs than several thousands for a brand new motor.
Better to leave it to a professional to change those springs if you are not sure how to do it. That's what I did.
#10
Racer
Mine were not painted at all, but I changed them for peace of mind. Since I'm mechanically inclined I did it myself and like others have said it's not too hard.
Took more time threading the air hose in each cylinder than changing the springs. Also, Do not drop anything! I dropped a valve keeper and took 2 hrs to find.
Replaced mine with blue GM OEM springs from Summit. I believe they were less than $70. Cheap for my peace of mind.
Took more time threading the air hose in each cylinder than changing the springs. Also, Do not drop anything! I dropped a valve keeper and took 2 hrs to find.
Replaced mine with blue GM OEM springs from Summit. I believe they were less than $70. Cheap for my peace of mind.
Last edited by lane_viper; 04-04-2017 at 10:22 AM.
#12
Team Owner
Make sure you get a good-quality spring compressor - nothing makes the job more frustrating than the wrong one that bends or is a pain to use. I used the Crane tool which works great.
Last edited by Patches; 04-04-2017 at 10:43 AM.
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Black 02 (04-05-2017)
#14
Summit has the springs (blue) and the dual valve spring compressor cheap so you can do 2 at a time on the same cylinder. I got my wires and plugs from amazon.
you do NOT need to find TDC. The valve wont fall just be a little careful and it will be fine. When you apply air, the engine will just rollover to bdc, but since the rockers are off and air is holding the valve closed the piston won't hit the valve. Even if the rocker is still on it wont hit. Only way it will hit is if valve falls in and you force the motor around, not goibg to hapen. If you are just a little careful the valve won't drop. I did mine without TDC and I wasn't even worried. Once you do the first 2 you will see how easy it is, just repetitive. Tap the valve retainer with a mallet to break loose the retainers. Once the air is holding the valve closed, the valve won't drop, unless you run out of air lol. I only had 20k miles and I did not change my oil seals.
Of course you can get to the plugs easier with the coils and valve cover off, it doesn't matter what order you disassemble everything or the order you change springs. When you do the next cyl and apply air, the engine will just roll over a little as that piston drops. Nothing hits. No valves will drop in the motor. Just don't drop the little retainers, lay rags covering the oil return holes and have a magnet ready. Tap valve with mallet when done to make sure retainers are in right (you can see when they are not in right).
you do NOT need to find TDC. The valve wont fall just be a little careful and it will be fine. When you apply air, the engine will just rollover to bdc, but since the rockers are off and air is holding the valve closed the piston won't hit the valve. Even if the rocker is still on it wont hit. Only way it will hit is if valve falls in and you force the motor around, not goibg to hapen. If you are just a little careful the valve won't drop. I did mine without TDC and I wasn't even worried. Once you do the first 2 you will see how easy it is, just repetitive. Tap the valve retainer with a mallet to break loose the retainers. Once the air is holding the valve closed, the valve won't drop, unless you run out of air lol. I only had 20k miles and I did not change my oil seals.
Of course you can get to the plugs easier with the coils and valve cover off, it doesn't matter what order you disassemble everything or the order you change springs. When you do the next cyl and apply air, the engine will just roll over a little as that piston drops. Nothing hits. No valves will drop in the motor. Just don't drop the little retainers, lay rags covering the oil return holes and have a magnet ready. Tap valve with mallet when done to make sure retainers are in right (you can see when they are not in right).
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glbeauchamp (04-04-2017)
#15
Race Director
The original springs in my 03z were bare metal with an orange stripe fwiw. Replaced them soon after I got it with new gm 'blue' springs. It was my first time working on an ls series engine, not a particularly difficult job imo. Also did plugs and wires while I was at it.
#16
Racer
I used LeFrog's video as a guide when I did mine last year.
#18
Safety Car
As someone who had one break, I suggest changing them
#19
Instructor
Absolutely this. I used a crappy one and it just made it so much more of a pain than it had to be. All in all, a pretty straightforward job.