C7 engine failure
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,596
Likes: 120
From: East Tennessee
But I agree, with nearly 40,000 cars out there what are you going to do, I'm not going to sell it or trade it in just because there is a 25/40,000 chance it may blow up. Who is to say they wont screw something else up in the newer ones that will be worse
It could be a mechanical issue, it could be a tuning issue, they did change around the oiling system on the LT1s so who knows. Either way I'll sleep fine tonight, and tomorrow I'll drive the car with a smile on my face. Sure I wont be happy if it does let go, but I'll cross that bridge if and when I get to it..
Drifting
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,300
Likes: 39
From: White Oak NC
Lotta people "poo" "poo"ing the report not worried about the engine? Reminds me of when some Keyboard Kommandos with way too much time on their hands cluttered up the C6 Z06 board with a new thread at least every week howling that LS7s were dropping valves left and right when in fact, as confirmed by people like Katech who've been working on LS7s all day long for years now, very few stock LS7s did that and were mostly covered under warranty. Often the dropped valve claimants, when they were asked if the engine was really left stock, said "of course, except for this or that tune, cam, header, CAI, chip, etc." which is not the LS7's fault.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 2,554
Likes: 92
From: Suppliers of dirty oil for 50 years Oilberta/ In Mex enjoying the winter.
St. Jude Donor '11
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jan 2014
Posts: 1,114
Likes: 220
From: Colorado Springs, CO/Augusta,GA Colorado
I don't stay awake worrying about blown engines BUT it should be a concern. One poster said there has only been two.....hmmm that is definitely not true, as there have been a few reports of engine replacements. One guy reports that his engine blew and caught on fire at 98 mph and of course...yep another concern....he states was in a safety course and it really doesn't matter to me if he was or not, as the engine shouldn't throw a rod just because he accelerated to 98 mph.
As long as it isn't "your" engine people tend to overlook problems that really should be looked into. Yes engines do sometimes go south. But come on, when a magazine reports the engine blew during their testing, the manufacturer should be doing something to reassure people that they don't have anything to worry about.
It seems that some people wouldn't mind if their engine blew as long as it is fixed/replaced. I guess I must value my time a bit more.
Before anyone starts shouting, I am NOT bad-mouthing (read my first sentence). I don't expect mine to blow. BUT IT HAS HAPPENED TO OTHERS. Be glad it is not you!!
As long as it isn't "your" engine people tend to overlook problems that really should be looked into. Yes engines do sometimes go south. But come on, when a magazine reports the engine blew during their testing, the manufacturer should be doing something to reassure people that they don't have anything to worry about.
It seems that some people wouldn't mind if their engine blew as long as it is fixed/replaced. I guess I must value my time a bit more.
Before anyone starts shouting, I am NOT bad-mouthing (read my first sentence). I don't expect mine to blow. BUT IT HAS HAPPENED TO OTHERS. Be glad it is not you!!
Pro
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 667
Likes: 36
And that is just a pretty high percentage considering the small percentage of owners are represented on the forums.
Pro
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 667
Likes: 36
Its more like half a dozen that have come and gone, maybe 4-5x more than that since most owners dont come here or any other forums.
But I agree, with nearly 40,000 cars out there what are you going to do, I'm not going to sell it or trade it in just because there is a 25/40,000 chance it may blow up. Who is to say they wont screw something else up in the newer ones that will be worse
It could be a mechanical issue, it could be a tuning issue, they did change around the oiling system on the LT1s so who knows. Either way I'll sleep fine tonight, and tomorrow I'll drive the car with a smile on my face. Sure I wont be happy if it does let go, but I'll cross that bridge if and when I get to it..
But I agree, with nearly 40,000 cars out there what are you going to do, I'm not going to sell it or trade it in just because there is a 25/40,000 chance it may blow up. Who is to say they wont screw something else up in the newer ones that will be worse
It could be a mechanical issue, it could be a tuning issue, they did change around the oiling system on the LT1s so who knows. Either way I'll sleep fine tonight, and tomorrow I'll drive the car with a smile on my face. Sure I wont be happy if it does let go, but I'll cross that bridge if and when I get to it..
As gm will not care if it is production fault or not, you mod it, and it goes boom, you are paying for it.
Melting Slicks
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 2,596
Likes: 120
From: East Tennessee
You are right of course, owners of stock cars have no worries if the engine failure rate is a little high, but owners who modified, or who are thinking of modifing their cars should be paying very close attention.
As gm will not care if it is production fault or not, you mod it, and it goes boom, you are paying for it.
As gm will not care if it is production fault or not, you mod it, and it goes boom, you are paying for it.
But back in 2011 there were a few new stock coyote engine blowing up, didnt stop me from putting a 2.3 TVS on a 2011 GT with 1100 miles on it though. Turned out to be a great 10 second daily driver, but that was a 26K car, not a 60K car.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 5,139
Likes: 482
From: H-Town Texas
I don't know, to me it seems like the jury is still out. There needs to be more miles put on these things to really know for certain the true reliability of this engine. If I were placing bets, however, I put my money on the engine being sound. GM's pushrod V8 small blocks have a pretty outstanding reputation in this department. I doubt there is a major engineering flaw causing these few motors to blow up.
But it is a new design, and some things they haven't really done before in an engine of this caliber, so I guess it's wait and see thing.
But it is a new design, and some things they haven't really done before in an engine of this caliber, so I guess it's wait and see thing.
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Race Director
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 11,128
Likes: 1,905
From: Missouri City, TX
That's a throw back of over 45 years of automotive history. I have a Caddie 3.6L also. The last car I had with a drop-in filter was my 67 Camaro 327.
Pro
Joined: Nov 2013
Posts: 693
Likes: 158
From: Milwaukee WI
It certainly doesn't hurt to do a quick audio/visual inspection of the filter. Several years ago I picked up a couple of AC/Delco filters for my 6.6 Duramax and I noticed one rattled when I picked it up. I shook it in the store and a couple of little fragments of metal came out of what should have been the clean side. I have made it a habit of checking filters closely since then. I really like the open construction drop in cartridge filter in my Cadillac 3.6, I wish GM used those for more of their engines.
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,327
Likes: 17
From: Maryland
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,327
Likes: 17
From: Maryland
I like your "fixed." It occurs to me that it is quite interesting that this one.. or two C7 engine that blew are getting so much press just before the launch of the Z06 and the constant barrage of positive reviews of the C7 Stingray. Coincidence?? I think not. I have long suspected that there are real trolls, paid trolls out there that spin stories and even sometime make them up to hate on GM.
Go to GMINSIDENEWS and you will see it quite often. On any given day you will see 3 or more new accounts created and their first.. and very often only.. post is on that says that a GM car just tried to "kill their puppy." When I was at MTForum a long time ago a guy was blatantly outted as a Honda hired troll by a previous Honda employee
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2012
Posts: 173
Likes: 0
I like your "fixed." It occurs to me that it is quite interesting that this one.. or two C7 engine that blew are getting so much press just before the launch of the Z06 and the constant barrage of positive reviews of the C7 Stingray. Coincidence?? I think not. I have long suspected that there are real trolls, paid trolls out there that spin stories and even sometime make them up to hate on GM.
Go to GMINSIDENEWS and you will see it quite often. On any given day you will see 3 or more new accounts created and their first.. and very often only.. post is on that says that a GM car just tried to "kill their puppy." When I was at MTForum a long time ago a guy was blatantly outted as a Honda hired troll by a previous Honda employee
Go to GMINSIDENEWS and you will see it quite often. On any given day you will see 3 or more new accounts created and their first.. and very often only.. post is on that says that a GM car just tried to "kill their puppy." When I was at MTForum a long time ago a guy was blatantly outted as a Honda hired troll by a previous Honda employee
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,327
Likes: 17
From: Maryland
Forum chatter should be taken for face value but I would expect some PR concern considering one of the most popular auto magazines has experienced failures in two cars firsthand. If there is an issue regarding failure frequency then I would like to at least be aware and my firsthand experience just happens to be seeing a white C7 blow a motor and catch fire at Roebling Road on August 16. I have no idea if the owner is active on these forums or not.
Well thus far out of almost 40K the occurrence has been very limited to a few vehicles. With GM being under the microscope because of the ignition recall of the Cobalt I doubt seriously that if this were a real concern a recall would not have been issued immediately. Worst case scenario I could see is GM recalling the C7 for a oil filter change, perhaps to a new speced AC Delco or even a Fram or Mobil 1. This has not yet turned into a PORSCHE RECALLING $230K GT3s for a ENGINE CHANGE
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 5,394
Likes: 281
From: cumming ga
Guys the metal never made it thru the filter it was already in the crank or block just saying. Any metal wear would not produce a piece of metal big enough to wipe out a bearing.
z51vett
Doug
z51vett
Doug
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2012
Posts: 3,960
Likes: 1,106
The 3.6 filter configuration may differ based upon whether used in a primarily RWD or FWD platform (most Cadillacs have some form of AWD option regardless of basic drive setup).
Except for one of the cats which is very close to where you need to get to the drain plug it is a very easy oil change to do.