khartford

I wonder if the valve springs on my 03 Z06 should really be replaced. 27K miles and no problems to date....... A lot of attention has been paid to this purported problem but I don't remember reading anything from someone who actually experienced failure. Is this a case of Chicken Little?
Thanks for your response!

grantv

Read the #4 sticky at top of page. People post fairly frequently with 01-03 failures.
I bought new springs for my 04, even though the risk is much smaller. Of course... I haven't actually installed them.

MAD Matt

Remove the oil fill cap and shine a good flashlight down into the tube. If you see yellow springs, replace them ! Or, you can wait and save up for a new LS6 or LS3...it's your choice. New springs are probably a bit more cost effective in the grand scheme of things, why risk it?

Reggie Dunlop

Yeah, let me know how that works out. If you can see the valve springs though that opening you have a head shaped like a bowling pin.

ArmchairArchitect

I actually tried this but couldn't see any springs...though other guys have been able to.

I eventually used a cheap USB endoscope camera I bought on ebay for around $7 shipped. Worked like a charm.

JALLEN4

I have a 2002 that I bought with 4,000 miles last year and now has 5,400 on it. I hesitated to think such a low mileage car needed this done and spent a lot of time reading about the problem on-line. I did discover there were a number of very low mileage failures and a very large number of 100,000 mile cars that never had the 'fix'.

It cost me $608 last week to have new springs installed. I now drive the car much more confidently and with a much clearer mind.

nickb45502

$608 in Dayton??? I had mine done at QuikRev for less than 1/2 that. Jim is fantastic. I supplied all the parts too.Changed seals, plugs, wires while in there too.

JALLEN4

Four hours labor and parts cost. Two dealers quoted over $1,000. Mechanics need to make money also and I am confident it was done properly. I am happy and will be back when I need any additional work.

RomanNYC

yeah i paid $600 for labor and springs. changed at 15k miles... used Manley springs

MY03C5Z

There have been plenty of 02-03 owners that have posted up here in the last 5 years about catastrophic spring failures. Some get lucky when a spring lets go with no major damage, others have ruined the motor. It's your choice, a few hundred parts and labor or the chance it could cost you $5-10k down the road. And those are just the people that post here, I would imagine that is a very small percentage of all c5z owners out there. Changed mine myself after I got it in '11 with 36k on it, $80 for gm springs and about $100 for a good two spring removal tool.

MAD Matt

I didn't have any issue seeing the side of one of the springs. I used a high power LED flash light. BTW...My head is shaped just fine. You might want try it again but this time, turn on your flashlight Einstein!

Stroker87

if you take the cap off and the black plastic part the cap gos in then you can see them pretty easy even if your head is square, round, oval or even a bowling pin

laurent_zo6

I think my head is normal although some people might argue. I was able to just unscrew the oil filler cap and see part of a yellow spring with the help of a flashlight. Those springs were replaced quickly because am not a gambling man and don't have 6 grand lying around to buy a new LS6.

laurent_zo6

My springs were changed by Rick Kim at RKT Performance in Frederick, MD. Rick is a great Corvette mechanic. I brought him all the parts (springs, plugs, wires and seals). He charged me $400 which is a fair price.

WannaC5Z

The problem with this is getting the filler neck off is not easy and you will likely break it when prying the piece out that holds it in place.

glbeauchamp

I changed my springs in April on a 2002 with 42000 miles. I could see one spring looking down the oil filler tube. It wasn't yellow, but it wasn't blue either. Took off the valve covers and all the springs were bare metal color. I changed them anyway, along with plugs, wires, hats, etc. I would recommend replacing the wires at least because I broke two taking them off as they seem to have dried out and became brittle. It really isn't too bad of a job if you are even a little mechanically inclined. Cost with springs and accessories, compressor tool, wires, plugs, and gaskets was about $500 or so. Cheap insurance, in my opinion.

Spaceme1117

Check out this video to see what can happen should you break a spring and drop a valve:
Go to 4:10 minutes to see the damage.

So I think it is cheap insurance to keep your engine healthy.

ZO6comm2679

I have an 02 Z with 33, almost 34k, that I brought home a month ago. Changing the valve springs is pretty high on my priority list. I don't run the car hard though, so I'm hoping to get by for a few more weeks on the stock ones.

Spaceme1117

You could break a valve spring tomorrow just driving normally or never break one even at 150K miles running your car at a track every weekend. There is no way to know if it will happen.

I just consider a $70 set of spring and a few hours of time to be well worth it.

More than likely you will be fine until you can get to them.

ZO6comm2679

i just went to the dealership and ordered springs, seals and valve cover gaskets today. I'm going to look into a valve spring tool and a spark plug hole air hose adapter next.

I need to to build myself a workbench for the garage before I tear into it though...that way it all stays organized. I have a small pancake style air compressor that I use for tire inflation...I'm assuming that will be plenty to keep my valves from dropping. I'll have to check my service manual and see what psi is required.