Broken valve spring questions
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 115
Likes: 0
From: Middleburg FL
Broken valve spring questions
I recently broke one of my valve springs and I'm trying to find out if anyone knows the dealer book time for replacing it. What would be some reasons of why it broke besides a manufacturing defect? It broke at idle, not at redline, if that helps. Thanks for the info.
Pro
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 545
Likes: 1
From: Charlotte NC
Re: Broken valve spring questions (JACSZ06)
If you have stock h/c I would think it is probably a fluke. Depending on the miles, you might want to change all of them. I broke a spring a couple of months ago (forum members saved me!) and also was at idle. Labor for install should be in the $150-$300 range + springs of course. As to why it broke-one of those age old questions-who knows. :crazy: :crazy:
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 115
Likes: 0
From: Middleburg FL
Re: Broken valve spring questions (racetchr)
I have a 2002 with stock h/c and about 20k miles. It's still under warranty, so I'm not really worried about price. I was just curious to see how long it takes to replace them according to Chevrolet. Another question, if anyone knows, do they replace all or just the broken valve spring?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,372
Likes: 51
From: New Milford CT
Re: Broken valve spring questions (JACSZ06)
Could you describe how the car acted and sounded, when the valve spring broke? How did you know it was a broken spring? Glad they are fixing it for you!
Pro
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 506
Likes: 0
From: Atlanta Georgia
St. Jude Contributor
Re: Broken valve spring questions (CJS)
Since you have the stock heads with only single valve springs I would get them to do a compression check on the cylinder and make sure that you did not bend a valve. When the spring broke the piston had to have hit the valve. I would make sure that they check it. Believe me, I have been there before and bent a valve.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,104
Likes: 0
From: "In a van down by the river" CO
Re: Broken valve spring questions (LittleBoyBlu99)
:iagree: Valve springs break because of fatigue. In other words, your valvetrain has been overworked. Most likely, the engine has been redlined one too many times, or even over-revved too early. Since you've got only 20K miles, I doubt the spring broke because of normal fatigue (miles). More likely is your engine probably either 1: was over-revved several times, or 2: the engine was over-worked (over-revved or even run to hard) without being warmed-up. Do you take your car straight from the garage and run the hell out of it? If none of these apply, the the failure was most likely do to a stress riser on the spring itself (a small piece of metal or an impurity which causes heat to concentrate in one specific area; this is usually because the springs have not been shot peened from the manufacturer). Either way, I wouldn't worry too much since the dealer is covering it. Instead, use this as a warning not to subject your engine to any of the above situations. Chris.
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Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 115
Likes: 0
From: Middleburg FL
Re: Broken valve spring questions (lowdowndirty)
The car acted like it was misfiring. It turns out that it threw a code for a misfire. The check engine light, however, did not light up. I found out it was a valve spring from the dealer. I usually let the car warm up before doing any hard driving. I do drive it hard but I don't redline it. I didn't buy this car to keep it below 2500 rpm's. I know that it shouldn't take too long to replace it but the reason why I'm asking about how long it takes to perform the valve spring change is that the dealership has had my car for four days now. If by tomorrow I don't have it back I want some ammo to go in there with in regards to the amount of time this is taking. I feel like they're putting me on the back burner because it's warranty work.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 4,394
Likes: 6
From: Melbourne FL
Re: Broken valve spring questions (JACSZ06)
Start to finish the job should not take more than an hour. I am sure they are only changing the broken spring as well. They have put you on the back burner for some reason. maybe waiting for the spring to arrive??? But, I would call and ask. The job really is pretty simple to do.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2001
Posts: 2,372
Likes: 51
From: New Milford CT
Re: Broken valve spring questions (JACSZ06)
JAC, Thanks for the description of the symptoms. The dealer may be keeping the car for several reasons.
They may not have a spring in stock. They may have discovered that the engine was damaged by the dropped valve being bent. Now they have to order a new valve and a valve job. They get paid for warranty work, so that is not a reason to put it off.
I would call and talk to your service advisor. If you do plain talk, I bet he will to. Good Luck!
They may not have a spring in stock. They may have discovered that the engine was damaged by the dropped valve being bent. Now they have to order a new valve and a valve job. They get paid for warranty work, so that is not a reason to put it off.
I would call and talk to your service advisor. If you do plain talk, I bet he will to. Good Luck!
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 1,104
Likes: 0
From: "In a van down by the river" CO
Re: Broken valve spring questions (CJS)
Good luck w/ the dealer. However, don't expect them to listen to anything you've heard on the Forum. I would call and ask what the problem is. If it is only a spring, then all they need to do is remove the coil packs, the valve covers and the respective spring/locks/retainer. However, to do the job right, they will perform a compression check on all cylinders to check for any damage (broken piston, bent valves, etc). Your spring issue souds like a freak incident since you've stated you let the engine warm-up and don't constantly over-rev it. Good luck and keep us posted. Chris
