“Get your heads fixed!” The internet was RIGHT?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 5 июл 2024
- Every Corvette enthusiast who's set foot on the internet has heard about the dropped exhaust valve issue that the LS7 is famous for. But is that what happened to Goldie? I blew my motor on the track and it's finally time to tear it down and find out what happened.
Авто/Мото
Hey Josh, you're right about being concerned about being under a car. You can never be too careful. Lost my best mate when a jack stand collapsed on him and he was an experienced diy'er. Makes me very conscious of what can go wrong and very cautious when under one myself now. Sorry about the LS7's dropped valve, that's a bummer. Still bright side, we can now all follow your content on the rebuild! Have a good one from M8 from way down in NZ. Grant
Oh man, I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. I'll start putting a jack stand or two under there for extra insurance. 🤝
@@JoshVanVeld have you heard of any car lifts like yours failing and injuring or killing anyone?
@@keithkalson4722 I have not and I kind of doubt that any of them have ever failed unless they were being used improperly. There is a safety locking mechanism so it's not resting on the hydraulics. There's just something that creeps me out when I'm crawling around under there, probably because I don't do it that often.
With all the work you’re doing I recommend you get yourself a lift. It’ll serve you well in the long run and you’ll have an extra spot for all your cars. Trust me, it’s worth it…I know a thing or two about safety😉
@@CodeBlueNurburgringAtom I'm conflicted because a four-post has a lot of benefits but isn't as great for working on the car as a 2-post, but I don't really have the room for a 2-post...
Grumpy old veteran tip #1. Throw a wheel or two under your cars and trucks when you have them off the ground. I thought everyone did this but evidently not.
Sorry for your loss.
I had to laugh at the comment though about being crushed by a car. I literally think about this every single time I get under a car.
It’s cool seeing you go through all the motions (and emotions 😭). I think all of us DIY car guys can share in your experiences. I’m happy the damage wasn’t worse than it could have been. I’m sure the final build will be amazing.
Thanks buddy! Fingers crossed that we can salvage something 🤞
Your attitude and patience is awesome!! A 700 HP build with a Z06 chassis and weight around 3200lbs coupled with your driving skills, good-night to the GT3 and GT3 RS! I am looking forward to see how this all turns out!
Less then 3,100
Replace your Dual mode (NPP) exhaust with aftermarket ones like Corsa and save about 20 lbs or more.
Concur ❤
@@David-jh8mpprob is sound regulation. If he plans to put headers I doubt with those exhaust it can pass sound regulation
Love joining you as you figure this all out. Love how you dove right in and started disassembly of the engine.
Thanks for what you do!!!
Good luck Josh. Living vicariously through your videos! I wrenched on a 240Z in high school and college. Loved every minute. My back can't take it anymore.
I like your videos man. i also had a yellow c6 z06 so this hits close to home. while I never had this issue I applaud you for taking on the project yourself. keep up the high quality videos and if you stay consistent you will become the next good automotive youtuber. you have earned my support.
also your garage is sick!!
Thanks dude!
Keep plugging along brother. We’ve all been there. Makes Goldie’s return to the track/street feel even better!!!!! Good luck!!!
Dont give up. I was in the same boat as you when I blew my engine on the track. Postive and organize attitude kept me going and now my car is running again.
I already ordered my upgraded heads from American Heritage, but this just proves that I made the right choice. Thanks for being willing to share what you have learned, I'm glad the damage wasn't worse
We need to look at the block and see if it has been cracked, if no crack it’s possible to get it bored or resleeved.
For your intended purpose I would stay away from a heavy heads/cam build.
I built my motor with the guidance of Tony mamo, he may be the one to help you proceed further. The cost is not cheap but that has to be accepted in this sport.
I would remove the hood and front bumper and get a engine hoist, valley cover hoist bracket, and a hoist leveler. Then yank the engine. Removing the radiator makes it a lot simpler, the clip on the lower passenger side is a real pain too.
Your comment about getting crushed while under the car is golden. My friend is a mechanic and he told me stories of having cars and trucks with severe frame rust through and having to work under those death traps. Talk about work place safety, doesn't exist in the automotive world.
A ray of sunshine for you. My friend Mark just had the same thing happen to his 04 Ram Viper engine. He will live on Ramen Noodles for a long time to get that Viper repaired.
And yes! I think the same thing every time I’m under any car. Wishing the best in minimal damage. Thanks for the video.
Cammed LS3 should be the replacement! Seriously, glad to see you not giving up. Your tenacity is inspiring.
Thanks man! LS3 would be a wise route, but I'm not known for making wise decisions!
Baby cam and small turbo! 😊
Your editing and music selection is spot on!! Love it
Haha glad you enjoyed it.
Been following you for a while now and sucks this happened. I have to give major props for actually going in and tearing it down your self, think I would of been too mad to even attempt that!
Thanks John!
Thanks for the video. Good luck as you continue to dig into this.
Sorry to see your Z06 out of commission during peak track season. For once I'm glad to have listened to the internet and addressed heads before my car saw any track use. Best of luck with the rebuild, looking forward to watching more!
Thanks man. You made the smart move!
Hi Josh. OK so it was a dropped valve. When you get the engine out and tear down, be sure to check the cheeks of the big end of the Titanium connecting rods. These can begin galling and is another LS7 failure point. The best option for the valves is going to Moly coated stem Titanium intakes with precision machined bronze guides. These will rev the best and keep the valvetrain stable at high RPM. I would not do the old school stainless steel intake valve with the double valve spring deal. That's for drag race engines that don't sit at high RPMs. Not really suited for track cars. Its a heavy valve and beats up the whole valvetrain. These dual springs have an issue with surging at high RPM and this reduces valve control and greatly increases fatigue of the springs. Katech has Spintron data showing the issues with stainless steel intakes and dual springs vs Titanium intakes and honeycomb springs. Their engineering data in the lab and on the Corvette race cars bares out their solution. Also stay away from the stock DLC coated titanium intake valve stems and hard iron valve guides. This combination didn't work out well as the coating failed and trashed the guides and valves stems. The shops try to salvage the original Ti valves and get them re-coated and polished. This doesn't seem to work out long term as QC on the rework seems sketchy. Katech is offering the molycoated stem Titanium intakes/bronze guides as the update. This valve issue as you know has been an issue for a while now. Katech has the best solution using what I stated above. You have the early issue of the exhaust valve and Katech will replace all 8 of those with the updated valve. This will also get the bronze guide. Katech will set the guide clearance very tight and fix the bad valve job. You send the heads to them, for about $3,000 they will completely overall the heads as stated above as a service for folks that want their LS7 heads fixed right and for good. You can do overkill here and get Titanium exhausts but these Titanium valves are expensive. My 2009 LS7 I plan to pull the heads and send them to Katech and do the above. That one head got trashed. Contact Katech and see if they consider heliarc welding it to fix it or just scrap it and replace the head with a good used casting. A good used head I see going for $1000.00. Obviously that #6 piston is done but also check that #6 connecting rod and see if it got bent. Maybe OK or not, you need to see it. Those Ti rods are roughly $800 new each. Many guys take them out and replace all the rods with forged steel rods, replace the crank, pistons, rings. That entire assembly new and balanced is about $2500. Doesn't take too many hurt Ti rods to make a conventional forged bottom end look cost effective. R.E.D., Racing Engine Development in Oceansdie CA is the most qualified shop for fixing the LS7 block. Steve Demirjian developed the re-sleeving process with Darton who manufactures the sleeves. Steve engineered his own tooling for precision boring these blocks for new or replacement sleeves. He would be the go to and would give you good advice on what to do. I did look into replacement OEM LS7 blocks. Apparently engine shops and dealers bought up the last of the GM LS7 blocks before they were discontinued. I did see NOS LS7 blocks for about $4000.00 for what appears to be new LS7 blocks. Depending how bad the engine scattered, there is metal in the intake. A good used clean stock intake is $200.00 so conventional wisdom is to throw out that intake and not risk any metal shrapnel getting back into the new engine. The oil tank, oil lines and oil cooler will all need to be cleaned of metal and other junk from the engine failure. The oil tank is 2 piece so you can disassemble it and clean it out. The other items maybe just replace them. Lingenfelter can modify your 8 qt tank and increase it to 11 qt like a late model tank. Avaid makes an oil tank insert and good windage tray setup that does well in solving oil starvation on the track. That would be minimum level upgrade to improve the oiling system. You had concerns about oil starvation. When you get to the bottom end apart and check the bearings and crank journals, they will tell the story (ask how I know). As far as pulling the engine, it can come out the top. Go to Harbor Freight and get the engine crane and engine stand. There is a engine lift bracket with a hand crank and screw that allows you to change the balance point to align the engine during pulling and especially reinstalling it to get aligned with the torque tube input shaft. The hood is light but get help when removing so you don't scratch the car. Before you unbolt the hood, match mark the bracket positions of the hinges to the hood. That way you can put it back on in exactly the same position without having to do all that effort of re-alignment. The timing chain should be updated to the C5 race chain (?) as the stock chain had some issues. Replace the stock LS7 crank damper with an aftermarket Fluidamper or equivalent as the stock damper when tracked would begin to slip the collar/rubber joint. For the clutch, use a Z06/ZR1 stock GM high performance clutch and pressure plate. Install a new GM slave cylinder. Install the Katech clutch bleeding extension hose as this makes the clutch servo bleeding and fluid maintenance much much easier. For the clutch disk alignment tool, don't use the cheap plastic molded alignment tool that comes with the clutch. Get a machined one that fits better and gets a perfect alignment. This will help greatly when trying to re-install the engine and get the input shaft back into the clutch.
This is the G.O.A.T. comment right here! 🐐 Thanks for taking the time to spell all that out for me.
Stay tuned for the next video, I have a plan of attack forming in my mind and I’d like to get your reaction.
Awesome comments buddy, I'm not a real Chevy guy, been mopar all my life like dad and grampa, truth be told, I've never heard of these catastrophic, apparently common failures that chevys have, on any Mopar engine I'm familiar with, my 383 and 440 engines have all been bulletproof with addition of arp rodbolts.. the new generation of hemis have been pretty good from what I've heard...
@@jeffrey501green The 6.4 in my wife’s Durango seems pretty strong!
@@JoshVanVeld 6.4 durango... sounds quick!! My son has a 2012 superbee 392 hemi with 80k he has put most miles on it, he bought it in 2014 with 7000 miles, we put cat back full race exhaust and CAI plus cross brace underhood, he has wailed on that engine, alot of stoplight drags etc, that 392 hemi is strong!!
This man's done his research
Ok I'm listening... watched this and I'm locked in now. Change my ls7 heads this winter. Baby it until then. Please keep showing your adventure with your z. Love watching it.
Interesting to see the real world challenges involved with taking off the head in the car with the full set of OEM bits, so many RUclipss just show the engine on the stand which as we all know is much easier. Subscribed!
If only I had a dream garage like yours with almost any tool I needed, I'd never dread doing almost any job. Try doing this stuff in a neighborhood of townhomes in the middle of the street with no cover from the elements, working out of a service cart and two stationary boxes in a basement, along with ramps, a floor jack, and jack stands.
I really appreciate your real-world experience of taking stuff apart and your honesty about what you know and don't know. Good job.
Lived the townhome life (and apartment life before that) for a lot of years and I know how fortunate I am to have this garage, but back in those days I was doing brakes and oil changes and that was about it.
Kudos for getting it done even without a good workspace!
The most difficult thing I did pre- having a garage was installing a Racing Beat intake on my RX-8. It was amazing how working on the car in a parking lot drew the car guys out of the woodwork, I met neighbors I never knew I had 😆
The entire episode i was pleased by how organized and tidy your garage is .. good job though
Fix the block and do a Raceproven Motorsports stage3 package along with a vented catch can. That will car will a beast.
Rpm's heads/cam package over katech? I'm leaning towards rpm but I live in Detroit & katech is like 30 mins away.
@@lifeonmars03 I mean if Katech is that close to u. Use them.
@@davidmasseria8687 thank you
RPM has been proven to make the most power consistently and reliably over other builders. Send it to RPM...Im running their B3 Cam and Fran's incredible tuning, and couldn't be happier
@ryanbrown918 yes I love that cam & the way it performs. You didn't lie one bit
I think you’re an excellent mechanic Josh. I love how organized and neat you are. I love this car 👍. Subbed
What I lack in skill and experience I make up for with cleanliness and bad jokes 😬
great video Josh - we're alike, in that, i dont know everything and sometimes i worry about how far i go and if i can get it all back together CORRECTLY.. i think anybody without formal training feels this way. i really enjoy your tone and your ethics regarding disassembly; it's important to be methodical with all these parts to keep track of! keep making videos and i'll keep watching! regards
....great video, currently in process replacing my Ls7 with a stock long block. My mechanic is doing it this time, but your video is giving me the confidence to do it myself when the original block goes back in rebuilt by KA Tech.
I would say I'm about as experienced as you in terms of working on cars, but I've never had the confidence to remove a head. So props to you for that.
Knowing that the engine is at least partially trashed makes it a lot easier to take the leap. 😁
Josh, I have the exact same car, year, color and all. Mine dropped number 8 exhaust valve at the track. The LS7 can be resleaved. The cylinder liners are thin on the LS7 so have a machine shop check for a crack. Sometimes when they crack a cylinder liner they can crack the block, but being aluminum it can be welded. Mine has been welded for two seasons of track days with no issues. Texas speed and Scoggins Dickey Chevrolet are your friends when it comes to parts, gaskets and seals. Texas speed sells the PRC billet heads and they are awesome flowing heads. Just whomever you get your parts from make sure they know you are road racing and not drag racing. They all seem to push huge cams and such because they mainly build drag cars. If your other head is still good and you want to save some money reworking the stock heads, I have one good stock head and will make you a hell of a good deal on it.
This is what youtube is all about! Thanks Randy! I’ll keep you posted as my plans come together.
@@JoshVanVeld also summit racing had the atp bolts for 126.00 I got mine last week for my head swap. 13mm and 10 mm sockets is all you need to install, use impact sockets thou,ask me how I know!!
respect for your man to man talk to yourself, we all have been on our backs trying to fix an ole daily
hey Josh, I’ve been following your entire C6Z journey. I’m really hoping for you the block isn’t cracked, if your block is salvageable then it would be a miracle ❤ I bought a c6z that looks just like yours 3 months ago, and I immediately scheduled it to get the heads fixed at a local reputable shop. Their schedule was booked, so daily driving my c6z for 3 months sure kept me awake at night, but I’m happy to report the car finally made it to the shop yesterday. ❤ best of luck to you, if the block isn’t cracked then it sounds like you can get the car back up and running in no time and a fraction of the money [:
Thanks for following along and congrats on the purchase! Glad to hear you'll be able to sleep soundly 😄
Josh, get in touch with BTR (Brian Tooley Racing) and get a camshaft that eliminates valve bouce off the seat. That should greatly increase valve longevity. If you want extra peace of mind, swap over to a SS exhaust valve but that heavier valve is all the more reason to seek a cam that is designed to eliminate vavle bound off the seat.
That motor is notorious for having bad valve guides, which allows the valve to move laterally causing the stem to break. At a minimum, the fix is new valve guides. There are other ways to prevent reoccurrence, but the valve guides are the main culprit.
@@ClinttheGreat everyone knows about the issue, but it's seems there are many different options on causes and solutions. Some say it's guides, some hollow steam valves, some say machining issues (lack of concentricity and/or rocker alignment), and other say buy aftermarket heads because the entire LS7 head is the issue.
I don't think there is any silver bullet for longevity in a high lift, large valve motor. The best you can do is make sure you have good parts, good machine work, and slowing down the ridiculous ramp speeds of the LS7 camshaft. Even with all of that, regular valve guide checks is a good idea.
thats not whats happening lol and BTR makes some basic ass cookie cutter cams, they work, sure but BTR is just the most used cam kit in the lsx game like RPM is the most used recipe for n/a ls7's
Great video man. Keep up the good work. Loved the fastener drop moment.
At least you were willing to dive in and try to figure out what happened and try to fix it a lot of people aren’t willing to do what you did so thumbs up.
🤝
Overall, very impressed with you willingness to get into project, having limited experience or knowledge as to what you were doing. Nonetheless,, you narrated very well, which allowed the viewers to remain engaged!! Great job
Thanks man! Love getting feedback from other RUclipsrs!
I really appreciate your patience with this project and your willingness to document it all. I'd be so heated about the engine failure that I'm not sure there'd be much useable footage during teardown if it were me 😂. I still think the C6 Z06 is one of the coolest enthusiast cars, and I'm excited to see what's next for the engine.
Fastener/tool plinko is my least favorite game. Hearing "tink tink tink...tink" in a cockpit is the worst.
This experience has forced me to learn patience, it feels like I don’t have any other choice 😅
Exhaust valves are hollow steel sodium filled. Intake valves are TI made by Del West. An article stated GM told/requested Linimar Manufacturing to do a 100% inspection process on the heads (they did the machining) as of Feb 2011. Most issues involved engines made 2008-2010. Mine is a 2013. I have nearly 120K miles w/o any issues. So far, so good. Since most inventories were 'just in time' I'm hoping I have the fully inspected heads.
Thanks, I was confused about which materials were used in which valves. This car is an '07 so GM's story about the issue being limited to a specific run of heads starting in '08 doesn't hold water with me.
@@JoshVanVeld Granted, those years are a bit fuzzy. 2007 engines tended to have needle bearing trunnion cage failures, sending the bearings all over the oil passages. And I've heard of valve drop failures in cars as late as 2011. An interesting note is mine came with a 100,000 mile transferable power train warranty. I put lots of milage on early so if a problem did develop, it would be on GM's dime.
@@Sandy-oy2lr It’s amazing how many miles you have on yours!
I got my 2011 37k miles C6 Z06 this summer. I took it easy on the motor, never wound it past 5k RPM. After a few months I found a pair of used heads complete for $1200 shipped. Had those heads reworked (guides, cut seats, Manley solid inconel ex valves, ti retainers) then pulled the heads off my motor and installed the "new" heads. First time I wound it past 6500 I was hooked. Love the mile wide powerband of the LS7.
That's awesome! I'm jealous of your smart approach with the heads.
I wish it was that easy to work on anything with the heads on my 02 SS Camaro. Great Video
Thanks 👍
Yeah I'm all about insurance policies. I have those quick jacks as well and still always put jack stands under them, a couple notches below full extension (to help avoid tipping). Even though they aren't touching the bottom of the car when jacked, I figure it's better than nothing.
Great video and good luck!
I normally can’t watch videos longer than 10 minutes due to my short attention span but I was fully invested in this one. Good stuff, sorry to hear about your dropped valve but hopefully you can just get those cylinders re-sleeved and get some aftermarket heads and get her back on the road! (Could also do a forced cam upgrade while everything is already off 😉)
Thanks man, glad you made it all the way through! 😁
Thanks for the video, I understand why it took some time to come to grips with the situation. I would give Vengence Racing a call,as they are out of Cummings, GA. Your so lucky, that they are close by. I have a C4/5/7 and (all yellow) and hope to see you at the track someday!
Great video and very well made. It was very peace full to watch frome Norway…..but sad to see your problems ☺️
Thank you! I'm hoping to get enough subscribers in Norway to have an excuse to come visit someday. The story eventually has a happy ending (I hope).
Go with aftermarket heads, dont bother with fixed oem heads they will drop eventually again. Great content!
I would say this I do not agree with only if you keep the hollow. Exhaust valves but changing to the stainless still you'll never drop avalv with the guide issue that has been addressed. He should put moldstar 90 guides a $500.00 cost but worth it
@@philortega6516 ive had my oem heads fixed with solid SS manley valves and they were completely out of spec after only 8k miles. I now have brodix br7s which if you ask any reputable shop, are much more reliable than oem cast.
@@louiC6Z what changes are made from the OEM head that make it more reliable? What are the geometry changes made that cannot be duplicated in the OEM head?
I can't lie - your garage and tool game is strong! 👍
Thanks man. On the global scale it’s maybe 6 out of 10 but it makes me happy!
Digging the subtle humor, elevator music and chill attitude. Good stuff 👍👍🍺🍺. Subscribed.
🎷🎷🎷🪇🪇🪇🥁🥁🥁
Wow, I feel the same way. I put my 4200 pound Crown Vic on jack stands and slide under and I think of the same thing. Man if these jackstands fail, then what lol. After a while, it goes 😊 I still stay a little nervous lol.
Glad I subscribed to your channel. Entertaining, informative and a bit of comedy. Thanx for the vid!!
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment, glad you're enjoying the channel! 🤝
Man you’re doing probably the only high quality C6 content out there. As popular as this platform is, no one is really showcasing it or working on it the way you are.
Also as a C6 GS daily driver, I highly recommend a catch can for yours. A lot of that oil in the intake was from blow-by. Obviously “the incident” added a ton and coolant. All of the LS motors suffer from it though. A lot of people go for the top tier Mighty Mouse setup but I have the Elite Systems can and it’s doing the job just fine. It catches an alarming amount for a N/A motor so I think it’s worth it once you get her back on the road with fresh heads and valves etc.
Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate it! I had an Elite Engineering catch can on my C5Z (installed by previous owner) and it definitely caught a lot of oil. I'm putting it on my to-do list.
Guy clearly has plenty of money but didn't want to spend a few thousand to prevent catastrophic engine failure. Well deserved.
Finally another video worth watching! 👏🏼 watching this while making breakfast 👍🏼
What was for breakfast?
I love your commentary! Years ago there was this show called mind of the married man ….you are like mind of the auto diy’r!
Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed it. I haven't heard of that show, I'll look it up.
Another wonderful video. Sucky situation. Love the videos and all the commentary ha!
Thanks!
at the rate values are going for C6 Z06s it would be foolish to not pay a few grand and get the heads addressed. its worth it
As a master technician, I have to say good job on that tear down! Just stay with it and you’ll be back jamming gears in no time.
Dang, thanks man, I appreciate it!!
Texas Speed has everything needed to update and fix the issues with the stock motor and will upgrade it all as well. They are the LS experts.
With the music in the background I feel like I'm watching Mr. Rogers garage lol great video!
😂😂😂 Haha I may have subconsciously been going for a Mr. Rogers Neighborhood vibe - watched a lot of hours of that when I was a kid!
Josh, I had my LS7 heads reworked by an experienced Corvette shop in 2007, just a year after buying my 2006 Z06 new. New semi race cam, billet roller rocker valve train and valve keepers, springs, head ported and milled 0.010: for more power. Also get rid of the heavy stock untuned headers and Cats and get the Kooks Tube headers with low restriction Racing Cats and X mid pipe - huge power gain of 150hp > 650hp, and 150 lbs lighter. The stock clutch can handle it as long as you don't slip it at high RPMs and do drag strip burnouts. Now at 23,000 mi including track days and still going strong. I have the same Recaro Race Seats.:)
Sounds amazing! Does the valve train have a maintenance schedule?
Him: Why did the engine blow up?
Dropped valves has entered the chat....😬
Don’t feel too bad. Breaking it and fixing it is part of the culture. It’s how you get close to the car.
Good shit man. Love the positive vibes 🤟🏼
i love this series
Great video Josh. Sorry to hear about the dropped valve. I am aslo concerned about my ZR1 dropping the valve at some point, so I will be doing a head re 'n' re some time soon. PS- Please use Jack stands when working under your car please. I have seen what a vehicle can do to the human body when squished by a failing scissor hoist. Cheers and can't wait to watch your next video.
Thank you! I got a ride in a C6 ZR1 back when they were new and it completely blew my mind. Planning to own one someday 😎
Katech issued a bulletin on this some time ago, stating that valve seat concentricity (valve guide to valve seat) was a very likely culprit. My guess is that the seats were ground independent of the valve guides. And the guides, being a powder metal variety, were machined to their spec separately. Does no one any service to say, "you should have addressed this before hand".. just glad your damage is limited, and looking forward to seeing where the build goes from here. MAST has some great heads (what I bought for mine) and possibly, on the shelf for quick turnaround. Either way, better to catch this issue now, rather than later. Best of luck.
yes, the tools were way out of tolerance and GM didn't not find out until customers kept coming back with blown engines. then they hired lwayers and found a way to refute any lawsuit against that issue but had to offer a indefnite fix for c6z roof delamination. Same thing with the ti coating, they spec half what the german company they contracted said was the min thicknesst hat would work. This is why and for a plehtora of reason the ls7 is forever the greastest motor gm ever built and the shittiest
Yeah I just want to say thanks for sharing im glad im not the only one takes deep breaths cussing in my head know I have to take the whole serpentine system of but focusing on the heads right now. Love to see that you have money and still DIY.. You have character sir. Im watching the video six months old so Im hoping its done by now. but yeah Im a big ls fan
Thanks man! Hate to let you down but not done yet…
Large treated wood blocks never collapse and you can stack them a good two feet high if done properly.
I believe the LS7 uses dry liners, meaning if you have coolant in the cylinder, your block is cracked. As someone else stated these blocks are aluminum and can be welded.
I cracked my block with fixed heads and decided to go with a RHS block for my new build. I'll try and repair the LS7 block for a future build.
Good luck with your project, I'll be following along.
Good to know, thanks for the insight!
You probably have a machine shop nearby who can actually will that block up if it is actually cracked...... But I think it is just scored. But if you ever need a cylinder head or engine block welded there is a shop located in West Los Angeles California called Kelly's block welding service that has been around since the 1940's..... And they do excellent work.
Fingers crossed you can salvage the block! I don’t know much about internals, but it seems strange that you have issues on both sides. Maybe the drivers side was having issues earlier (that sound you had at the autox?). Or maybe one failed causing the other side to crater shortly after?
Anyhow, another great video. Thanks for sharing and we’re looking forward to the next one!
I say keep stock power, but upgrade all the oiling stuff, maybe even a full blown “true” dry sump system that can handle the high rpm and g/forces.
Cheers, Rod
Thanks Rod! We’ll take a look at the other head soon and hopefully get some more answers.
Awesome garage setup. I love the gran turismo style background music btw. Sub'd!
Thanks dude! More is in the works.
Dang, I came here to watch car content and got a motivational speech. Can't wait to see what's next for the car!
😂😂😂
That's a nice clean garage. We need a garage tour!
Thanks! Good idea!
@@JoshVanVeld i want to see your OCD setup!
Agreed with this. @Josh Van Veld's Racing Mind - do you have links to the rolling tool cart?
Katech has been an OEM race team partner since the 80’s. Resleeve, refresh, new Katech cam, re tune, fly.
Probably one of the best comments.
The video editing is impressive.
Look into keytech oil pumps they make a great oil pump for the Z06 with high scavenging capability since you’ll be tracking the car, you can also upgrade to the ZR1 oil dry sump system which holds a little more oil. ATI balancer will help as well if you do a head cam package. Texas speed has great products as well.
Katech but yes. I agree
Hopefully the block can be saved, good time to add upgrades AFR heads, cam swap, etc. also check into the later model Z06 improved dry sump oiling system if you don't have it already. Good luck!
Definitely going to upgrade the dry sump in the future. Thanks!
Sorry for your troubles. After watching your videos I've learned two things, I need to get my heads done and I need a set of quickjacks. Throw a tire under the jack for some insurance.
Not getting my heads fixed right when I bought the car is definitely high on my list of "most expensive mistakes of all time". 😢
Make wooden wheel cribs there the best for this type of work.
Yeah LS7 dropping valves is very very real. Its been well known for 15+ years. Point is when you get into a C6Z, set aside money to have the heads/valves addressed. Good luck with everything!
I just pulled the heads from my 09 z ,70k on it never been rebuilt.
Ex valve I check was .015 wiggle in the guides that are oblong.
It'd a machining error from the supplier I caught it after a 130mph pull from 4thto 3rd
new sub here... just wanted to say very nice video production.. A+
Thank you Philip!
Ohhhhhhh Josh dropped another video. :D Makes my day
This comment made my day, so we’re even. :D
Dang! I was hoping the engine would be salvageable. Sounds like a engine swap is coming. This is good for future content on the channel. I definitely enjoy the progress and Josh’s attitude. I feel like I can relate. Keep up the good work buddy!
P.S. - Great. Now I’m paranoid about getting under the car. Thanks Josh… Jk.
Josh, look for Chris Sullivan on RUclips. He does a lot of work on Corvettes and other HP cars. He did one session where he did and engine swap on his Z06. This is a good tutorial on R&Ring the engine from the top. Also, you did not blow up the engine. GM did a crappy valve job and had questionable (spin welded) 2 piece exhaust valves that caused the failure you experienced. 100% their fault. The day before that engine failed, any GM service manager would inspect and tell you that engine is fine and drive the car with confidence. GM coverup.
13:43 Me every time im under my 95 while its on jack stands. Great video! Sorry about the motor :(
Nice shop man!! I have same car and have had no issues with stock heads but I don’t race it . I think that it’s the high rpm’s that these heads can’t handle. I definitely want to replace my heads and maybe do a cam swap at same time.
Hey Josh! Love the content man. You have a cool head and good outlook! Definitely looking forward to the next vid!
Tough break buddy, just did my heads on my 08 Z at 30k miles. Had 6 valves that were out of spec 😮
Yikes! Not a moment too soon it sounds like. 😀
Very good to know about the LS7 engine. Wow man, that is just the pits. But, it could have been much worse.
True!
I love your vids and I'm sorry about your LS7 but if it just needs to be resleeved that should be possible and while you're at it you can get some nice aftermarket heads and make her into an absolute beast. Best of luck!
Lol stock heads are a "beast" after repaired
Great video JVV! Sorry about the engine, but looking forward to following the entire journey and seeing what decisions you are faced with and what choices you make.
Let's see, 19 mins of video....what's that 19 hours to video and edit?
BTW, Happy Fathers Day tomorrow!
Hey Rob! Two days working / shooting, three days editing, so your estimate is off, probably closer to 30 hours to get this one done.
Thanks and happy Father’s day to you too! It’s not the same to not have the old man around anymore…
Wow. I wondered. Dang good on you. Great content.
Josh, I really like all your videos. not the BS we all seen from other stupid car videos. Keep it up and let me know when you want to run at COTA!!!!!
Thanks Jerry! I’ve got a long road before I’ll be ready for COTA but we’ll get there.
Man you are lucky! That can absolutely be resleeved!
I have studied Metallurgy for a while, not a hell of a lot, but I have learned something because I have a gunsmith who is not only a master gunsmith but he's one of the top Engineers on call with several companies around the world. He does know quite a bit about metallurgy. Understand it is that titanium if it is subjected to bending forces too much, it can turn quite brittle. It at that point does not take too much of an impact to cause a portion of it to break or even shatter at times. Considering a valve inside of an engine is subjected to both a lateral force from The Arc of the rocker arm and the impact forces of it hitting the valve seat, it seems like somebody would have thought that titanium is not the best material to make a valve out of. Just saying. But the issue as I'm seeing it fits this scenario perfectly.
Thank you! Sadly I was mistaken when I talked about it in the video and the exhaust valves are hollow sodium-filled stainless steel. It's the intake valves on the LS7 that are titanium.
Love your video series on ur Z06 its well produced and you have very easy going non assuming style. What's better than your car lift is something called the EZ carlift made by a small business, I think the guy is a Russian emmegrey. It's a screw type sizzor jack so you can infinitely raise a car to about 2 ft off the ground. It's a few hundreds more than ur jack.
Thanks man! I'll look into that.
Maybe the vette fanboys who all want to ignore the issues, especially when they have an LS7 car for sale on BaT will take a look. Despite the famous GM "explanation letter" the issue is real and persists. These engines are addicting for how they love to rev and get to redline so quickly, which unless your dont have a pulse makes it easy to have a failure happen.
Hello Josh, thanks for showing the tear down. How many miles are on your car? I recently purchased an 08 with 11,000 miles and planning to get the heads done ASAP.
Right around 50K miles. If I had it to do over again I would have gotten the heads redone as the first step in the project. 11K is practically brand new!
Do it yourself it's not bad use ahp for the heads
Hey Josh. Great video! I hope things go well with the rebuild.
Another great video and glad you found the culprit. Not sure how broken parts can make it from one cylinder to another without major catastrophic event. Wonder how the cylinders look on other side with head off. Me thinks head gasket damage allowed coolant into non coolant locations and damaged piston and rings brought oil to party. Was there coolant in oil? Just curious. Still…if block intact and not structural damage…you may have a chance to salvage it. Love your organizational skills….wish I could attain that level…lol. But you are definitely right about staying organized and it’s effect on attitude. Drive on!
Next video we'll inspect everything more closely now that I've got a better idea of what to look for. I'm guessing it's a low probability that the block can be saved and I don't want to risk bits of metal floating around and killing version 2, so it might be best to start from a clean slate. Time will tell!
I just picked up a 08 z06 with fairly low miles about a month ago. I am also a impulsive buyer and I didn't do a lot of research. car is pretty much a full bolt on car but heads were not done. Have an appointment to drop it off in about two weeks to do the bronze guides. Plan was to also make a track car, but not sure how I feel about it with the whole heads issues... I feel like it is always something that will be in the back of my head as a concern.
Haha I'm in a similar boat with my M Coupe I just bought where I didn't do full research before buying and it's going to take a lot of work and investigation before it could hit the track with low risk. I don't regret it but I wish I had gone in with my eyes wider open.
I would absolutely get the heads on yours fixed ASAP so it sounds like you're on the right track there. These things are phenomenal amazing track cars with the upgrades I've done so far. Tracking any car hard is going to risk the motor so you just need to decide whether you can stomach the risk. And that means asking yourself what you would do if you blew the motor and it was a total write-off. Same goes for putting it into a wall (or into a deer crossing the track).
What I'm realizing is that planning to track one of these things regularly is potentially a big-budget operation and if you are really serious about track time (which I am), a base C6 is probably a smarter choice in terms of long-term running costs. Then again, take a look at the Spec Racer Ford video I did last year - if you REALLY value seat time and want to go racing someday, that's probably the right approach.