JoesC5

I'm an old dog and the last new trick I learned( three years ago when I was a young 70 year old pup) was to yank the GM heads off my 09 Z06 and replace them with a set of PRC265 heads, before I had to replace my GM LS7 with a new one.

toofast07

I can say they are a blast to drive, had my guides replaced when I bought the car at 42k, plus added a 501 cam while at it , guides were bad I put a video on you tube showing them at ( street demon 117) you can see the amount of wiggle they had.

JWingo

Hope you're doing well. I, just as you, very seldom come here anymore. What does really amaze me is nearly 8 years later and it's still a debate. It seems the only potential repair for the heads is a visit to AHP. I do believe there are many out of spec guides on the road today when speaking specific to the LS7. Possibly the LS9 also. A few 2012's and 2013's have some abnormal rod side clearance/wear which introduces Ti to the oil and from there, the outcome isn't good. I've owned 2 C6 Z06's. 1 C6 ZR1. 2 C7 Z06's. 4 of all those had some sort of issue. Worn guides on 2 of the C6 cars. The ZR1 had a clutch that stuck to the floor. And before it starts, this is a pressure plate issue. Not a master cylinder or slave cylinder simple fix. Folks are pulling the pedal up not realizing that's the job of the pressure plate. When pulling the pedal up with your foot, it will pull the piston seal from the actuator rod. The C7's both had transmission issues. 1 was an M7. The other was an A8. Bought these cars new. Have a heck of a hard time believing it's perfectly normal to pay near $98k for a car and have this kind of problem. So, I stepped to the side hoping one day the "Fix" would in fact be identified. So, between self adjusting pressure plate issues, valve guides, transmission issues, I now have a ZL1. No it's not as fast and I truly do miss the C6, I can drive it like I stole it and I do not have to inspect the valve guides every 10k miles. It's disappointing that GM made such an amazing vehicle and missed the cylinder heads. Even more disappointing is their lack of responsibility to the issue. No one on here or on the streets should be having these sort of problems with a car that had an MSRP for $75k and up. Will they all drop a valve? No. Do they wear guides abnormally fast? It's a roll of the dice but I do believe more than we'd like to believe do have abnormal wear. Wish you all the best.

Undy

I remember back in late 2004, early 2005 when GM was testing the LS7 under wraps in mules there were leaked reports then of "valve train failures".

Dan_the_C5_Man

You aren't out of the woods just yet.. That ZL1 motor (and most of the latest GM V8's) are using Direct Injection, which has its own set of problems with intake valve coking, ultimately poor performance and valve guide wear. I think GM finally caught on and installed a factory catch can to help mitigate the problems, but I would look into it.

My Son bought a new 2017 SS with an A8 (against my advice, I only drive manual trans cars), and now he is fascing the infamous issues with the torque converter.

Let's face it, GM makes some of the best bang-for-the-buck performance vehicles, and occasionally they get the styling right as well, but as far as quality and long-term durability goes, it's a crap shoot.

JWingo

I agree with you. However,I bought 2 C7's.
Both cars had transmission issues. Just as your son, one was the torque convertor stator support. Supposedly corrected 12/2017. The other was an M7. It wouldn't stay in gear!
I dropped back to a 2013 ZL1. It has the LSA. It's a solid engine. The drivetrain is solid. I do love the old school muscle car look too.

Please don't take me wrong. I still go look on occasion at the C6. If I were to go back, I'd get another ZR1. I do love the 427. The C6/Z06 is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful cars out there.

All in all, if I were to acquire another C6/Z06, the heads would be added in. It looks like AHP package 4 could be the potential correction to the original error.