Red-N-Ready

Iam looking at an '01 Z06 to purchase and wondered if anyone could shed some light on when GM attempted to correct the oil consumption problems (ring seat). I have the vin# of the car and it wondering if I could check by it. Did they attempt to correct around a certain production #? Iam sure this has been talked about many times before here on the forum, so please forgive my lack of knowledge concerning this issue. Any words of wisdom is greatly appreciated!

Casselvette

I don't believe the problem was fixed with any of the '01 cars. For the most part the problem was solved for the '02 model year. I heard that some early '02's may have had the problem as well but I'm not sure.

Someone with more knowledge will shed some light on this. Just my 2 cents though, I would be very reluctant to purchase an '01. Why not look at '02 and avoid the oil issue and gain 20 HP.

redman8

I had a 01' Convertable and they never fixed the oil consumption problem, so i took them to lemon law court. They lost and never showed up to the hearing. So i got all my money back and got my first Z06 a 02'.(Chevy paid for most of it..LOL...Dummies). Last month i got my second Z06 a 04' brand new. Neither Z06 have the oil problems.
I was told by chevy it was the O rings.

RICHARD D. HUDSON SR

You Can Take The Vin# To Your Local Gm Dealer. Ask For A Service History On That Vehicle. Good Luck With Purchased. I've Had The Oil Consumptions Problem On My 01 Z-06. Gm Replaced Motor With 405 Hp Ls6

QuikZilver

I have an 01 Z that just turned 30,000 miles. I burn about 1 quart for 3,000 miles. So, my Z does not have the oil consumption issue at all. I love my 01.

z06matt

Mine 01' Z06 doesn't have it either

CIPSZO6

I have a 01 and it had the Oil Consumption issue. I pressed my GM Service Dept and they replaced the Gasket under the intake and now the Oil Consumption issue is gone.

Good Luck

Red-N-Ready

Thanks for all the info. From what I've seen out there, I can pick up an '01 for about $5K less than an '02 with similar mileage. I would guess it probably has something to do with the poss. oil consumption issue. Just ran onto an '01 with 8500 miles for $27,800. Not a bad price. What do you guys think?

Shylor

It was fixed, in the form of a warranty claim, it's wasn't a recall if that is what you mean. Any dealership can take the VIN# and tell you if the rings were replaced. I'm sure there are many 2001 cars out there that haven't had any problems and didn't get the re-ring. It's all up to the owner.

QuikZilver

I bought my 01 Z06, last July for $32,000. It had 13,900 miles when I bought it. That price sounds good, but honestly, I have not priced out Z's since I bought mine. The Z is a GREAT choice!! Good luck!!!

C66 Racing

I don't think GM really sorted this out until mid 02. My early 02 had similar issues and was covered under the same TSB. Mine did burn oil, but I never did anything about it until I replaced the motor during my 2003 season.

From what I've read, the problem is common to all 01 Z06, but the reason it doesn't show up on some is that the cause is highly driver dependent. Again, from what I've read, the rings flutter at high rpm low load situations, such as from cruising down the freeway in 3rd (which is doable) instead of 5th or 6th. For those who drive it "normally", they usually don't have a problem. The oil leak isn't nearly as bad when the car is under load, such as hard acceleration as the rings don't flutter in that case.

This problem isn't one that would lead to engine damage unless you let the oil level get low. Since there is a low oil level sensor, this is unlikely.

Hope that helps a little.

Z.06

I have had my 01 Z06 since new and it has over 20K on it now. Mine has never had an oil consumption problem. It gets about 2500 miles to the quart, which is pretty normal in my book. There is no discoloration or soot around the exit of the exhausts.

One of my friends has an 01 Z which has had the oil consumption problem and was totally fixed by his dealer. Always seemed like a pretty normal driver to me. Go figure, GM.

Evolution

I have an 01 SW Z, has 43K on it now. I don't drive it normally, and have never had a problem. The problem was only supposed to be on the first of the 01 Z's. Atleast that is what I heard.

With that low of mileage, and for that price it sounds like a good deal. If it is a certified GM used, then just get a warranty if you are concerned.

1 Nasty Z

I have a 01 Z (build date 7/00) and have never had a problem with oil consumption. I also have read that the very early 01's did'nt have this problem. The ring change came in around November of 2000.

ztheusa

It never was a problem with the 01. It was a problem with the drivers.

A Z06 is NOT a race car nor is it a motorcycle. It is a very light sports car with a huge V8 that doesn't need to be run all over in low gears. It's called "torque."

Drive like a fool=high oil consumption

GOLD72

You are totally wrong. Any 01 can have the problem regardless of build date. Mine was 10-10-2000 and burned a qt per 800-1000 miles. Frank Calmes and his wife (Hot Leggs) both got very early 01s (probably close to the first ones off the production line in July 2000) and both had to have rering jobs. The design change was not identified and fixed until the start of the 2002 model year. With the '02 rering job, my Z now gets 3000 to 3500 miles per qt.

GOLD72

1 Nasty Z

Sorry, but there was an Dave Hill discussion at Midamerica two years ago about this problem and he talked about the date when they changed the ring tension to a lighter ring in November 2000. This then caused all the problems. The early 2000's had the previous 97-99 rings in them. Just relaying what I was told????

Shylor

This explains a lot about the issue. http://www.c5registry.com/2k2z06/page5.htm

1 Nasty Z

This still does'nt mention the ring change that took place in 11/00. This does however explain that this is caused primarily by driving profile. (high RPM-Low Loads).
Thanks Shylor

SouthernSon

I believe it was in 'Corvette Magazine' that the article stated the change in rings, and thus oil control fixed, came about mid year of 2002. One of the considerations in my purchase of the '03 Z.