wolf8218

Story begins in March, jedblanks, Z.06, and myself meet up at Jed's house to take a look at my and Z.06's valve wear using the wiggle test.

Both of ours look out of spec.

Z.06 takes his car to mac haik and gets his car inspected under GM factory warranty. His heads are re-machined and guides/valves replaced on GM's dime. (don't know specifics)

After hearing the news of his success, I take my car to the same service adviser (usual valve train noise complaint), although this time I'm using a vehicle one warranty sold to me by a forum vendor when I bought the car.

First few days go by, and they tell me the guides are in spec. After a few conversations with the warranty and service adviser regarding the diagnosis of the cause of the noise, I decide to go to the shop and check out their measurement procedure.

of course the tech has been reading the dial indicator wrong

Measurements are way out of spec and as of 5/9 the adviser will be contacting the warranty adjuster with the outcome. They will probably send out an inspector.

Here are the measurements (only right bank because the warranty only authorized one side)

#2
In .015
Ex .01

#4
In .007
Ex .01

#6
In .01
Ex .008

#8
In .012
Ex .011

Car is completely stock, save for catback exhaust. 23000 miles. Oil change at time of purchase (22000 miles). Mobile 1 oil used at dealership (Munday chevy)

FrankTank

Good luck I hope they don't try and screw you, I know some of these aftermarket warranty companies , some people just cashed them in and had the head work done. At least your car is stock , so I can't see how they could deny you.

Keep us posted

FSTFRC

LFZ

This is even more reason to not take your car to GM to get heads addressed. You are much better off going with a set of WCCH heads or such and having a shop or yourself install it for the right piece of mind.

MudZ06

How can I invest in WCCH? Because they are making a ton of money off of GM, lol.

forg0tmypen

Lol theyre private but ya thatd be a good investment..

Z.06

Well, IMHO they are not making the money off of GM. They are making it off of concerned Z06 owners because of GM's refusal to take full responsibiliity for what was manufactured by GM and their chosen suppliers and sold by their dealers under their watch. I had to push pretty hard to get my heads taken care of, even though I was under the GM driveline warranty, I am the original owner, and my car was unmodified.

I hold the firm opinion that GM's responsibility for their own supplier's manufacturing error (or their design error if you are in that camp ), does not end when their warranty ends. It is a latent defect in the car. I am glad I have new heads, new valves, and new springs and am now confident to drive my Z06 the way it should be driven. All Z06 owners should be given the same confidence, at GM's expense.

JoesC5

I agree, as GM reuses most of the parts off the old heads. What's to prevent the same problem resurfacing 20,000 miles down the road.

The tech at the dealership isn't a pro at determining what is good and bad with the old parts.

Going with all new parts from an aftermarket vendor like Texas Speed and Performance is the way to go, in my opinion.

wolf8218

I'll be doing something along those lines depending on the outcome.

glenB

You might not be covered: Breakdown – Means the total failure of a covered part to perform the function for which it was designed, due solely to defects in material or faulty workmanship and not as the result of wear and tear.

Unless you purchased the wear and tear option

And yes, I've read every thread about the valve failures, but he isn't dealing with GM ..... and he will have to prove that the failure is not due to wear and tear but to faulty workmanship.

Good luck

GMuffley

Indeed

wolf8218

Actually I don't have to prove that. Several reasons:

It's not a breakdown. It's an abnormal operating condition in the engine.

It's plainly stated in the GM FSM that the tolerances are for the life of the vehicle.

Warranty actually goes through Ally (the adjuster's voicemail actually identifies him as part of Ally's North American Mechanical Group)

So yes, it's GM.

glenB

You're right, it's not a breakdown, read your contracts definition of a 'breakdown' and then look under 'What's Not Covered'.

And no, it's not GM, it's Ally... just like GMPP isn't GM. BTW, Ally could just be the administrator of the contract, happens all the time. I'm not all that familiar with this contract.

What works for GM doesn't always work in the aftermarket.

I just checked the service manual, and it gives a tolerance, but it doesn't state that the tolerances are for life, that's a new one on me.

I'm just pointing out that it can and may be declined based on the terms of the contract. GMPP would mostly cover it, I can't say for sure about VehicleOne.

Ok, just did some checking, VehicleOne was a product from GMAC, as was GMPP, which is now Ally, but the link for service contract takes you Universal Warranty

http://dealer.gmacinsurance.com/deal...e_protect.aspx

Linked to

http://www.uwcdealers.com/products/vehicleone.html

Again, good luck and I hope they step up for you, but just be ready.

Dirty Howie

No time to read now ............


DH

Mark2009

The tech at the dealership should not be assembling the heads; he probably has neither the experience or the tools. This is not to say it is not happening, but the owner should be aware of how his car is being repaired (and if it were me I would not tolerate this).

In most cases I've heard of (which is only a few), when GM sends bare heads the dealerships sends those and the old heads to a local machine shop for inspection and assembly.

Also a good time to reiterate that it would be wise to replace the exhaust valves even if you have to pay for them out of pocket (newer ones -- post 02/08 -- are a bit beefier, and who knows what kind of abuse the old ones have tolerated, even if they measure okay and look good). I think some have gone this route and I think the dealership went along with it.

wolf8218

I am ready for them to refund me the full purchase price of the warranty if they don't cover it, lol.

I did buy the wear and tear option on the policy (includes suspension parts, etc). I've read it extensively and even had the discussion over the phone with the adjustor.

his words: "If the failure of the part is due to a manufacturing error (design, quality control or otherwise) the fix should be covered by your policy."

as far as I know, they sent Z.06's heads out to the machine shop for assembly.

Update as of 15 minutes ago they are sending another inspector out from the warranty co within the next 48 hrs. this is to verify the measurements.

I'll keep you guys posted.

'06 Quicksilver Z06

they've left themselves plenty of room to screw him, if they get it made up in their minds to do so.

I have my old Vehicle 1 contract and under Part 1 Definitions, that's the first thing that it says:

"Breakdown – Means the total failure of a covered part to perform the function for which it was designed, due solely to defects in material or faulty workmanship and not as the result of wear and tear."

And then on page 2 of 9 it says:

At Our election, We will reimburse You or a Repair Facility for the fair and usual cost to repair or replace any Breakdown of any parts listed below, unmless otherwise excluded unere MAINTENANCE SERVICES AND COMPONENETS NOT COVERED, or CONDITIONS NOT COVERED sections of this contract...


And then on page 3 of 9 it says

2. Conditions not covered.

E. Any repair or replacement of a covered part if a breakdown has not occurred , or repair or replacement of parts in connection with a covered repair when those parts are not necessary for the completion of the covered repair, or were not damaged by the failure of the covered part.

Hopefully, they cover this.

One other thing, there's a clause in there which allows them to put used parts into the car:

"Replacement parts may be new, remanufactured, non-original manufacturer's parts, or parts of like kind and quality, as deemed appropriate by the Administrator.

But they have left themselves plenty of leeway to make him pay first and then reimburse him, OR to simply not cover anything at all since no "Breakdown" has occurred.

Good luck to the original poster.

Good luck, but that's exactly what I did. Cancelled mine and put the refund toward's what I spent on the WCCH heads.

But in your case, it's looking like they are going to play ball. Otherwise they would likely not bother to send another inspector out for something that they knew they weren't going to cover in the first place.

glenB

I agree, it could be an uphill battle, but he has posted that he has the 'wear and tear' option so he may be covered.

They will definitely put the onus on the contract holder to prove a manufacturing defect.

wolf8218

Thats what I have this forum for, right? LOLOLOLOLOL

z0sicktanner

Class action law suit.