LS7 Valve Questions
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 533
Likes: 271
From: Indianapolis, IN
LS7 Valve Questions
Guys -
Just trying to be honest, I only own a C3 and C7 and I am a member of the Circle City Corvette Club here in Indy. Great bunch of guys but they are more social verses technical type of club. One of the guys has a 70th (opps, its actually a 60) anniversary with a LS7. I asked him about if he was concerned about the heads. He told me that the valve issue was changed and that it was corrected for the later models of the C6.
So be gentle with a non C6 owner. Did the entire run of C6 have the same heads with issues or did GM actually make a change for the later models of the C6.
Honestly, I would love to get a C6 with the LS7, I would just put a little bigger cam and replace the heads, but if there was a change that did solve that problem it would be great to know before I add to the stable.
Thanks guys,
Ken
Just trying to be honest, I only own a C3 and C7 and I am a member of the Circle City Corvette Club here in Indy. Great bunch of guys but they are more social verses technical type of club. One of the guys has a 70th (opps, its actually a 60) anniversary with a LS7. I asked him about if he was concerned about the heads. He told me that the valve issue was changed and that it was corrected for the later models of the C6.
So be gentle with a non C6 owner. Did the entire run of C6 have the same heads with issues or did GM actually make a change for the later models of the C6.
Honestly, I would love to get a C6 with the LS7, I would just put a little bigger cam and replace the heads, but if there was a change that did solve that problem it would be great to know before I add to the stable.
Thanks guys,
Ken
Last edited by Ken_4fun; Jun 25, 2023 at 04:23 PM.
Drifting
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 1,577
Likes: 121
This has been debated quite a bit here and the majority here believe all LS7's have the head problem. Even the ones put in the Z/28. One member here had his heads replaced under warranty and the new heads they sent were not right either. Now the real question is whether those that were pulled and found to be out of spec would have failed or not. Some claim 100k on untouched heads and some have had failures within a few thousand miles.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 2,649
Likes: 863
Do some research on the LS7 Valve issues here of CF. You;ll find tons of posts about it, and in the end you'll see that while GM claims to have fixed the problem (they also claimed there was no problem in court) - the fact is that ALL factory LS7 heads are at risk for the valve failures.
Many theories as to why the valve failures happen, and what the proper fix is - but it does not seem that there are ANY LS7's that are exempt from the issue.
If it were my LS7, I'd pull the heads, and replace them with aftermarket heads - and call it a day. It's a ~$5,000 repair - but if a valve fails - the engine is toast, and guess what - there really aren't any new LS7 engines available from GM ... Let's just say IF / WHEN a valve fails, it's probably a ~$20K failure since you're now going to the Aftermarket for BOTH a block and heads.
Many theories as to why the valve failures happen, and what the proper fix is - but it does not seem that there are ANY LS7's that are exempt from the issue.
If it were my LS7, I'd pull the heads, and replace them with aftermarket heads - and call it a day. It's a ~$5,000 repair - but if a valve fails - the engine is toast, and guess what - there really aren't any new LS7 engines available from GM ... Let's just say IF / WHEN a valve fails, it's probably a ~$20K failure since you're now going to the Aftermarket for BOTH a block and heads.
Race Director
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 13,262
Likes: 3,150
From: SW Florida
2021 C6 of the Year Finalist - Modified
Do some research on the LS7 Valve issues here of CF. You;ll find tons of posts about it, and in the end you'll see that while GM claims to have fixed the problem (they also claimed there was no problem in court) - the fact is that ALL factory LS7 heads are at risk for the valve failures.
Many theories as to why the valve failures happen, and what the proper fix is - but it does not seem that there are ANY LS7's that are exempt from the issue.
If it were my LS7, I'd pull the heads, and replace them with aftermarket heads - and call it a day. It's a ~$5,000 repair - but if a valve fails - the engine is toast, and guess what - there really aren't any new LS7 engines available from GM ... Let's just say IF / WHEN a valve fails, it's probably a ~$20K failure since you're now going to the Aftermarket for BOTH a block and heads.
