LS6 Valve train maintenance/bullet proofing
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Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 116
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From: Tucson, AZ
LS6 Valve train maintenance/bullet proofing
I have a 2004 z06 with 50,000 miles. Ive read about the 02 and 03 LS6s having spring breakage issues, and it not particularly being an issue with 04's, but it has been known to happen. I'm gonna put springs in it because doing some other repairs, I'm almost right there. I'm going with GM performance blue springs. Should I figure on replacing the springs, the trunions and the lifters? I've seen some things pointing to the trunions failing regularly and I think Ive seen some things about lifter failure being common. My plans are to keep the car stock, but drive it hard. Thanks for the input!
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2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
lifters you will have to pull the heads so I'd skip that unless you have one that needs to be replaced... you can reuse your retainers and locks and make sure to get new valve seals, might as well replace the valve cover gaskets and grommets while you're there... if you decide on a trunnion kit che makes the nicest one in my opinion... I would stay away from comp as those are known to fail
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Joined: Oct 2019
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Id recommend a BTR valve spring kit and upgraded trunion kit. You can even get a set of oem rockers with the BTR trunion upgrade already installed from Michiganmotorsports so you have minimal extra labor doing the upgrade. Brian Tooley is prob the best LS valvetrain supplier you can go with. Your looking at $199 for the pre-upgraded rockers and between $100-$350 depending how wild you wanna go with a spring kit. You will then have complete peace of mind knowing your not gonna break a crap yellow spring and trash the motor or loose a bunch of needle bearings and send them through the motor.
