Any owner of a 2001 Corvette oil burner can obtain actual copies of all of Chevrolet's technical service bulletins on the subject by clicking on the following Internet site:

http://www.alldata.com/

You select 2001, Chevrolet, Corvette and then select the VIN series for your vehicle and give them a credit card number for a subscription at the rate of $24.95 per year and you can download and print out whatever you want.

Technical service bulletin #01-06-01-011 dated March, 2001 gives their oil consumption guidelines. The bulletin states that the accepted rate of oil consumption for the LS-1 engine is 2000 miles per quart. Any mileage rate per quart lower than that is unacceptable.

Technical service bulletin #01-06-01-023 dated October, 2001 entitled "Higher Than Expected Oil Consumption" reports that some owners have reported using 1 quart of oil every 400-600 miles. The bulletin goes on to describe how the problem is caused by an interaction between the piston rings and cylinder bore and gives a detailed description of how the #2 compression ring and the oil expander ring is to be replaced on each piston. All other rings are to be left on the piston and the pistons and bearings are to be reassembled "exactly" as they were removed. They do not install new connecting rod bearings as part of this engine rebuild.

The GM/Chevrolet Labor charts for reimbursement for this warranty work states that the skill level for the technician performing this work should be "A", the highest level.

This procedure is a poor substitute for engine replacement since the engine parts are already worn in and any change in position will result in abnormal wear even if the technician is successful in reassembling the engine as required. Problems my not become apparent until later in the engine life after the warranty has expired. Good luck.



:boxing :boxing

 

Or...You can use this great forum as a resource and ask Ken Fichtner for service bulletins. It's free and we all benefit!

Steve

 

Thanks for taking the time and effort to post. I also believe that within at least a certain amount of time - say 1 year or 12,000 miles they should replace the engine. We are paying a premium to get GM's best hi-performance engine built in some of the most modern, technologically up to date plants in the world. Not an engine built in the back of a typical dealership's service department.

 

May, 2001 Coupe, nada burn. :cheers:

 

We picked up our Vette on 11/4/00 as a 2001 model.... How do I know when it was built and if it's part of this oil consumption problem?? I don't really drive my car that much, so oil consumption hasn't been too obvious to me just yet.

Any idea if I should be worried?

 

My 2001 was built in May 2001- about two weeks before the 2002 production started. Any chance GM had changed the rings at the factory by then since the TSB was issued earlier in 2001?

Erik


[Modified by m81, 4:41 AM 5/20/2002]

 

Hey Now:
The way I remember it was, all 2002 Z06 from the beginning and a short time after the 2002 coupes got the new rings. So for all 2001 coupes, NO.