TronC6Z

Bluf: is dropped valves common among stock cars? How common?

Cheers all,

New owner of 2009 C6 Z06 and its been something I've I wanted to say since they used to spank my 03 terminator Cobra back in '09. Picked her up in Lafayette, LA yesterday with 19k miles on her. Stock minus the Nitto Invo tires and a CF ZR1 front splitters. I am super excited about our future together and I'm shipping her to Honolulu where I'm currently stantione.

One thing on my mind is the stories of the infamous valve guide issue with the Ls7. I'm driving her to Atlanta for the military shipping processing and I'm almost scared to death to open her up. I don't want to grenade my new baby... Do I need to limp until I get the heads addressed or should I be alright until I hit up American heritage for a set ? (don't plan on ******* her, just concerned about the evil right foot and my investment.

Again, I'm happy as hell to join the ranks

Best Regards,
Charles

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long_tall_texan

Short answer is this... Yes, the valve issue is real. However, driving it like a granny is no less likely to drop a valve than driving it like you stole it. Enjoy your car every time you get in. Just make plans ASAP to pull the heads to make sure she doesn't have a problem down the road.

For reference, I pulled my heads at 25k miles. All 16 guides were out of spec.

NotreOkc

Drive her and have fun. Fix the heads for your peace of mind when you get the chance.
My Z06 had 10K miles when I bought her and I drove her hard for another 38K miles before trading her in on my now ZR1. I never touched anything on the engine outside of fluids and I tracked her hard 4-5x a year for about 4 years.
Is the issue real...yes. Is the issue blown out of proportion on this site....yes.
Enjoy and congrats!

itomh

It is a serious issue, It's happened to a small percent of owners here on the forum. Do you need t address it? Maybe, maybe not? The question is, do you feel lucky? Do you have $15K+ in a cookie jar? I don't on all the for mentioned, made sense to me just to get them done.


Congtrats on you new purchase, she looks sweet!

farmington

Unreal

Yes it is real, yes it happens. There is no way to get accurate numbers, but based off what I've seen, it is far more common than anyone wants to accept. I've personally met over 10 people who have dropped valves. Seen it happen right in front of me at a stop light leaving a cars/coffee, and know people who it happened to more than once.

lbzraptor

Isn't Vengeance Racing in Atlanta? They could fix it before you shipped it.

Jaybird29

Congrats on the purchase. I would fix the heads as soon as your budget allows. I know others have put many thousands of miles and never touched them, but with my luck, I fixed my heads on my 11 Z with 12k miles. Having to spend a few thousand to fix heads is a hard pill to swallow, but if you drop a valve, you will be dropping some serious $$. Going through the hassle of getting new engine, finding a reputable shop to replace engine, lots of time lost driving and enjoying the car is not something that I would take the chance on.

JasonSB

I would at least get a wiggle test done. Its quick and will give you an idea if you are going to have issues.

TXGS507

VR is Cummings Ga... and yes, i'd take it to them if you could.
Congrats. These are great cars and owning one is a pure joy. There are a few guys on this forum in Hawaii who know these cars very well. Where you at? Schofield Barracks? 25thID? I am currently a CSM w 31 yrs in the Army. Thanks for your service and enjoy the car!

TronC6Z

I'm at Pearl Harbor onboard USS HOPPER. Chief Fire Controlman w/ 12 yrs. Looking forward to meeting some of the members out there. Thanks for your continued service!

I'm looking currently at doing the heads at HPT in Honolulu. Just concerned about my luck.

Charles

TronC6Z

Thanks everyone for the response, I guess I'll have to test my luck until I get them addressed which i plan to rectify as soon as budget supports.
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Charles

0Daniel@Vengeance

Congrats on the Z06. Feel free to email me or give us a call. Thank you for your service. Ron our owner, Robert our sale manager and Todd our shipping and receiving guy are all veterans. If we can be of any assistance let us know. Sales@VengeanceRacing.net or 678-513-7105

David @ Vengeance

LS1Steve

Beautiful color - same exact car as mine! The only difference is... my heads are fixed lol

You definitely have a better likelihood that your car will NOT explode versus explode. BUT, it sucks to constantly worry. It is a drain on life. A few thousand is well worth the piece of mind that the heads are fixed (fixed, not checked) and you can beat on it without worry. Get it done. Plus, I think that if you get it done somewhere reputable and keep the receipts, the money spent in the fix will hold its value when it comes time to sell.

Unreal

Simplest way to think of heads is like tires. They wear, and need $1000-1500 into them every so often. That is the downside of a 7krpm 505+ha n/a big v8.

TronC6Z

Thanks David,

I'll call when I get to Atlanta and solidify my schedule. I appreciate it.

Charles

TronC6Z

It's not so much a pain of having to get it done but knowing it hasn't been done yet and it causes a little stress. It'll be done soonest.

Comes with the territory i agree.

Charles

dmuellenberg

There are 2 issues here, although one is related to the other. The excessive valve guide wear happens to almost every LS7, not just a small percent. Just because your guides are out of spec doesn't necessarily mean you are going to drop a valve - depends on how badly out of spec they are. Now dropping a valve is a different issue (although it is most likely caused because of excessive valve guide wear). So yes, dropping a valve has happened to only a small percent of owners here.

But I don't think you have to worry too much about dropping a valve before getting the heads fixed. I put 100k on mine before I addressed the heads, and while most of the guides were out of spec, I did not drop a valve. But there are no guarantees.

MTPZ06

Excessive guide wear in the LS7 is very common. Failure can occur at lower mileage, higher mileage, or perhaps never. I didn’t want wait to see which one my car was...had AHP take care of my 09 C6Z back in 2015 under my GMPP warranty. With 15K miles, 14/16 guides were beyond GM service limits.

Gearpuller

Bought mine with 21,500 miles on it. Drove it 500 miles then pulled the heads, 7 intake 3 exhaust guides worn.
Has others have said even with worn guides you may or may not drop a valve. Why take a chance. Just fix them for the peace of mind.