JerriVette

I had a 2001 C5Z06 that had to be re rung...it was not a big deal...GM had a world class technician complete the "fix" under warranty and the car never had that problem ever again.

I bought the first production version of the Gen II CTS AWD FE2 3.6 liter DI and its been flawless for 50k miles..

I wouldn't sweat the first year worries if you want the corvette..

If you need an excuse to not buy a corvette for a few years...that first year bugs story is convincing enough..

Good luck deciding what suits you best..

JMO

JoesC5

But with the rings in your LS6, all you got was some extra oil consumption. I never heard of a C5 blowing up because of excessive oil consumption(unless a owner never checked his oil level). With the LS7, there is absolutely no warning or evidence of impending engine failure. It just happens. And you can't get by with just replacing the rings, you buy a new engine when a valve head breaks off.

z06inVB

My 01 LS6 never burned a drop of oil in 130k miles. The LS 3 in my 12 could crapped its first HB at 300 miles and is ready for another at 6k miles.

It's a crap shoot really.

Gearhead Jim

Unfortunately, that has a lot of truth in it.
GM's resolute refusal to fix known problems is a real bummer.

b4i4getit

Thats a good point. The LT1 also has sodium filled exhaust valves. I wonder if this engine will be prone to the same problems.

1985 Corvette

You know, I have seen a lot of, "Just spend the two grand to get the heads fixed and you are good." That seems like settling for accepting engineering issues which really need to be addressed by GM. I have never seen anything like this in Corvette powertrain history. It's a little disturbing considering valve drops aren't just going to go away and the motors aren't getting any younger. The more of these stories that pop up the more the higher mileage ones will take a hit on private selling in the future. It's out there, it's an issue, and unfortunately it will probably grow more as time goes on.

Can't imagine how many pages a thread will blow up to if a few of the 427 convertibles have a failure in the future.

Kappa

Why is everyone so stuck on the LS7? The 1/2/3/6/9/A also exist with relatively few problems.

Even with the LS7's problems, I still wouldn't call it less reliable than comparable engines. The AMG 6.2 is facing a possible class action suit and its a well known occurrence for the coolant hoses to pop off engines in the GT3 Porsches, spilling coolant all over a rear wheel and causing accidents at trackdays.

sshu

The issues with the LS7 is what is driving me away from from it.

Oil starvation issue: 2006-2008
Valve Guide issue: 2006-2011(GM claims it has been checked from 2012 on)

Even if I buy a 2009+ and spend 2k to change the valves, I don't know how comfortable I would be owning one out of warranty. If there are any issues with the LT1, it won't be known for many years to come.

It is true that many other manufacturers have had issues,

BMW E60 M5 2006, vanos issue. E46 M3 2001-2003.5 vanos issue
Benz C63 2007-2010, valve guide
911 99-08, IMS, RMS issue

I wouldn't worry much because you have a warranty and GM seems good about backing up their warranty and replace the engine even if you blew it on the track as long as it's stock.

Z06-TT

im just hopping it take the boost im going to throw at it.. TT FTW

JoesC5

You would have been a real hoot if there had been an internet back in the early 1980's. I can see it now as you post on the Oldsmobile forums, "noting wrong with engines A, B, C, D & E so why is everyone concerned about your diesel engines going "boom". Hell people, you have a warranty, don't you? Never mind that it expired just a couple of months before your engine blew."

or in the Cadillac forums where you say, "nothing wrong with A,B,C,D & E engines so why is everyone so concerned about the 4-6-8 engine not working. Hell people you have a warranty don't you? Never mind that it expired a couple of months before your engine quit running."

or on the early 1970 Vega forum where you say "nothing is wrong with engines A,B,C,D & E so why is everyone so concerned about your engine burning a quart of oil every 200 miles in your Vega? Hell people, you have a warranty don't you? Never mind that the warranty expired a couple months before you started burning oil and the engine wouldn't run worth a **** because it fouled the plugs after 200 miles of driving."

Oh, and every one else does it.

OBSSSD

Early LS1's had plenty of problems including severe oil consumption in many cases. Did they forget to test that one before they released it for use in the 1997 vette?

There will be lifter failures in the LT1 DOD engines along with other problems, but that's what you get when you have to be the first one with something. Early LS2 and LS3 cars also had problems even though they were "tested way more than any of us will ever drive our car".

gs_M6

Oil consumption was through the PCV system and was fixed by 01' Piston slap has proved to be benign and occurred in about 10% of Gen III, issue was fixed by Gen IV with a full floating pin. Most comments in this thread have been pulled out of the ***.

example

gs_M6

Was not a problem with the LS6.

MitchAlsup

The only tecnological part that worries me is the direct injection stuff.

Audi, VW have DI carbon buildup problems in spades, Porsches a little, but Mercedes seems not to have any.
Toyota puts additional FI inthe ports to avoid the issue.
Honda is not doing DI right now.
There are not enough miles on Ferrari, Lambo,... to get a reading, nor would a reading be comparable to lower strung engines.

michaelinmech

Is anybody worried about the LT1 ?


North Korea/Syria/Nuclear Power - Potential Worry

Global Financial Crisis - Potential Worry

Energy/Pollution/Gun Rights - Potential Worry

LT1 - Not so much

JeffInDFW

As for Direct Injection fouling....My wife drives a MINI with DI, 2007 to 2010 were stunning how bad it was at fouling the valves. For 2011 it was improved a LOT, but still there. Now, I used to have a Sky Redline for a DD and it was Direct Injection. If you guys are concerned about GM and DI, go check the LNF engine on the Sky/Solstice forum. The word is, GM spent extra time working this problem and used some trick I can't remember (valve timing?) that has seemed to work! Fouling has NOT been a problem with GMs first DI engine.

Now, what HAS been a MAJOR problem has been DOD. In the 5.3 truck engines, it was a fiasco. Read the forums. Now, they seem to have gotten somewhat of a handle on it by the time the Camaros L99 DOD for automatic SS cars came along. It is not failing constantly like in the 5.3, BUT it is the first thing you yank if you mod the car. Personally, I would not leave that junk in my C7 any longer than it took to get it home and in the garage. I do not want those lifters in the engine. Until this swap has been figured out (part numbers), I would not be happy.

As for the LS7, GM should absolutely be sued. Their last bulletin on the subject was insulting. None of the other LS engines are dropping exhaust valves. GM is full of bull saying "only a very small number of cars were effected". Just on this forum alone there are WAY too many cars effected. GM needs to man up, let us know in detail what went wrong (not just some vague machining error), exactly what is needed to keep it from happening, and recall the cars to find out exactly which ones have the bad heads then fix them. Hello.

Quick Silver Z

Don’t leave out the LS4, I had no issues with mine!

Glenmcp

I would be more worried about all of the electronics than the engine. Anything could happen, but my guess is GM has the engine in great shape.

C5 Tweaker

After having an LS1 that burned 1 quart per 1k which was re-ringed without improvement, and most of the C7 startup videos show blue smoke (not black, not condensation), it seems there may be some basis for concern.

JerriVette

You nailed it....for those who need an excuse to NOT buy the new c7 right away....this one is socially acceptable.....

I say buy when the time is right for you and forget all the excuses.....

Nobody cares anyway.

Warranties are great ...if you really want the lt1...then just figure out how long you'll keep it..the mileage you'll use it and for pennies you can add a gmpp warranty..

I'll buy when the time is right for me...