I'm a Ford guy but I like watching the LS-7 valve/guide repair videos so I can learn. To bad GM dropped the ball on handling this issue properly. Thanks for posting this. It's still a kick butt engine! USA all the way! 🇺🇸
Born a chevy kid (my first true love car was a 1992 Camaro Z28), and then discovered the Muscle car era (lol). I lost my way a bit with GT500s but I can tell you therese nothing that can touch the LS or the C6 Corvette in terms of value and power to dollar, and overall ease of working on them. Working on getting my own C6z, and the first thing is pulling the heads to get them fixed.
Nice to see the whole process. I think I will have somebody else swap the heads for me, this is more time/energy than I would like to spend in the garage for this
This video helped me out a lot. Sending mine out to Katech to get milled/ported w/ Ti/Mo intakes, Ferrea Hollowstem exhausts and PSI1511 springs. Keeping everything else stock at the moment but will be doing a cam hopefully next year
@@jacobmontes5000 Just because you have not worked on a car that doesnt really matter, It would more depend if your mechanically inclined or not. If you can use tools, measuring equipment, and follow instructions then you should be able to do it.
Getting ready to swap my LS7 heads tomorrow. Found a spare set of low mileage heads (which had egged exhaust valve guide bores) 6 weeks back, had them reconditioned; new guides, seats cut, head skimmed, Manley inconel exhaust valves, BTR Platinum double springs, Ti retainers, BTR 1 piece 3/8 pushrods, stem seals. Gonna install BTR v2 trunnion upgrade while I'm at it. After a few hundred miles with the "new" heads maybe I'll even rev it past 5500 for the first time. Love this motor. My heads will get reconditioned for my buddy's 13k mile Z. Maybe his heads will provide the cores for his brother's Z. Git er dun!
@@southfloridagearheads6504 Hopefully they'll be good for the next 150k miles. Next thing to watch for (!!!) is the coating from the conrods flaking off into the oil. I'll get my oil tested every other oil change.
yes, I would do another check though at 10-15k miles just to see. would be great to run it out past 100k but that would take me quiet along time just being a weekend car haha
@@southfloridagearheads6504 I was going to check my current heads then I said f*** it, replace 'em. With the cylinder pressurized via compressed air (or with a rope fed into the cylinder via the spark plug hole though I've never seen it done) I think you can check without pulling the heads. Remove the ex spring and retainer then hold the valve stem and depressurize the cylinder (don't drop that valve, Joe!), try wiggling the valve stem. At least that's what I planned to do before my f*** it moment.
I never realized how big of a problem this was until I was looking to buy one. I've watched many videos on this subject. One person on here had just left the place that he bought the car from and 1 mile down the road the car stopped running. He called the dealership immediately and they sent a tow truck to pick up his car. At first the dealership was not going to fix it for free. That's when he started posting videos all of the dealership and what they did to him. They might not of known of the issue but once the issue happened immediately after delivery they should have made it right without making you jump through hoops. I just think it's wrong with any car manufacturer that knows there is a defect with their product and will not take care of it. Ford is real big with that. They've had trouble with their diesel engine going back almost 15 years now. Thanks for sharing this information. Also I like how you have your garage setup I'm thinking about doing something similar.
Thanks for the comment! thats a sad story after just buying the car. I got lucky catching mine before the engine went. Check out the wiggle test I did on the valves. scary!
Thanks very much for taking the time to make this video! Im about to do the same thing minus the header swap and this will be a tremendous help. How many miles on your Z?
Just subscribed. I was looking at this 2008 Zo6 that’s has headers and a cam, but the heads are stock. I do not know if the previous owner got them machined or not. He/ she didn’t give the dealership the modding list.
yeah tough to confirm that without a build sheet. maybe something worth doing once you get the car just for piece of mind. externally the stock casting wouldnt look any different so you probably couldnt tell.
@@nick__cars I deff prefer to buy stock, untouched cars unless its coming from a reputable shop with documentation. If you watch this series we did (link below) this was a car purchased with no build sheet, unknown mods.. we only knew it had a cam and exhaust. it was one headache after another but we eventually got it done right. who ever put the car together had no business working on corvettes. th-cam.com/video/wmGgqDGsOTU/w-d-xo.html
Is there a way to de-cabonize the piston tops while the heads are off? Or is it not worth it? Also saw the comment you put on the heads at the end with the paint marker. That was great!!
yeah if you dont have an angle gauge or torque wrench that measures angle the paint marker is the best way. You can try soaking the pistons by putting a bit of sea foam on them. then brush it clean. i dont think its really worth it unless they are really bad
I was planning on ordering a whole head kit from AHP and just sending them the core, but my god this looks like the biggest pain in the ass. Think I'm gonna have a shop do it. Roughly how long did it take you just to pull everything off? And I mean time actually spent turning a wrench, not overall time.
If you think this is bad, you dont even want to know how bad DOHC engines (Ford Coyote) are to pull heads. LS engines are literally the easiest performance engines to work on.
Hi, do LS7 heads/build require lash caps and if so on which rocker do you install the lash caps on? All the rockers or just the intake side or exhaust side?????
I have checked again and again but this vid just wont load and play properly. Anyway, I have similar car and enjoy the vids. Next time I'm not doing anything except a few bolt ons!
I'm having issue with my ls3 08 vette. luckily gm made these easy to fiddle with. especially if anyone has worked on an LS1 Camaro or trans am, these vets have a lot of workspace under the hood
@@southfloridagearheads6504 I've heard the LS7 have valve train issues, my vette is starting to have a tick, sounds like a lifter. but mine is a 08 LS3
@@southfloridagearheads6504The dealership Bob Hurley ford out of tulsa ok, sold me this Corvette without a air filter after a hard 12,000 miles later, i got ticking noise. I just think to be safe, pull the heads and have them completely gone through and replace everything I can on the top end & say a prayer
I should make one of those. its the most challenging part of the cylinder head removal. It takes about 205 little quarter turns with a combo wrench to get the hidden bolt out.
Awesome walk through. Sucks GM didn't swallow the pill they should have and recalled these engines.
It's taken all this time and now I see after market offerings that are all price ranges to a wide range of valve angles.
I'm a Ford guy but I like watching the LS-7 valve/guide repair videos so I can learn. To bad GM dropped the ball on handling this issue properly. Thanks for posting this. It's still a kick butt engine! USA all the way! 🇺🇸
thanks for this, I had a lifter failing and caught it right on time. Btw that alternator bracket sucks.
Born a chevy kid (my first true love car was a 1992 Camaro Z28), and then discovered the Muscle car era (lol). I lost my way a bit with GT500s but I can tell you therese nothing that can touch the LS or the C6 Corvette in terms of value and power to dollar, and overall ease of working on them. Working on getting my own C6z, and the first thing is pulling the heads to get them fixed.
Nice to see the whole process. I think I will have somebody else swap the heads for me, this is more time/energy than I would like to spend in the garage for this
This video helped me out a lot. Sending mine out to Katech to get milled/ported w/ Ti/Mo intakes, Ferrea Hollowstem exhausts and PSI1511 springs. Keeping everything else stock at the moment but will be doing a cam hopefully next year
awesome! a mild cam would wake it up nicely, just don't go too crazy and ruin the drivability
Ran across this when looking at a '09 Zo6 = Eye opening !!
You saved that engine, great work.
Extremely well done video. A+
I heard Funeral For a Friend in the background. Respect.
Great band!
@@southfloridagearheads6504 would you recommend me doing this if I have never worked on a car??
@@jacobmontes5000 Just because you have not worked on a car that doesnt really matter, It would more depend if your mechanically inclined or not. If you can use tools, measuring equipment, and follow instructions then you should be able to do it.
Underoath and ADTR got my attention first. Great taste in music honestly.
Getting ready to swap my LS7 heads tomorrow. Found a spare set of low mileage heads (which had egged exhaust valve guide bores) 6 weeks back, had them reconditioned; new guides, seats cut, head skimmed, Manley inconel exhaust valves, BTR Platinum double springs, Ti retainers, BTR 1 piece 3/8 pushrods, stem seals. Gonna install BTR v2 trunnion upgrade while I'm at it. After a few hundred miles with the "new" heads maybe I'll even rev it past 5500 for the first time. Love this motor. My heads will get reconditioned for my buddy's 13k mile Z. Maybe his heads will provide the cores for his brother's Z. Git er dun!
awesome! I'm still running this set 10k+ miles later
@@southfloridagearheads6504 Hopefully they'll be good for the next 150k miles. Next thing to watch for (!!!) is the coating from the conrods flaking off into the oil. I'll get my oil tested every other oil change.
yes, I would do another check though at 10-15k miles just to see. would be great to run it out past 100k but that would take me quiet along time just being a weekend car haha
@@southfloridagearheads6504 I was going to check my current heads then I said f*** it, replace 'em. With the cylinder pressurized via compressed air (or with a rope fed into the cylinder via the spark plug hole though I've never seen it done) I think you can check without pulling the heads. Remove the ex spring and retainer then hold the valve stem and depressurize the cylinder (don't drop that valve, Joe!), try wiggling the valve stem. At least that's what I planned to do before my f*** it moment.
yes after my findings on mine, i wouldnt even bother measuring anymore, just pull them and get it done. @@scudzuki
I never realized how big of a problem this was until I was looking to buy one. I've watched many videos on this subject. One person on here had just left the place that he bought the car from and 1 mile down the road the car stopped running. He called the dealership immediately and they sent a tow truck to pick up his car. At first the dealership was not going to fix it for free. That's when he started posting videos all of the dealership and what they did to him. They might not of known of the issue but once the issue happened immediately after delivery they should have made it right without making you jump through hoops. I just think it's wrong with any car manufacturer that knows there is a defect with their product and will not take care of it. Ford is real big with that. They've had trouble with their diesel engine going back almost 15 years now.
Thanks for sharing this information. Also I like how you have your garage setup I'm thinking about doing something similar.
Thanks for the comment! thats a sad story after just buying the car. I got lucky catching mine before the engine went. Check out the wiggle test I did on the valves. scary!
BEST video out there thanks brotha!!!
Thanks! cheers man!
Just had my heads done bye vette doctor in long island N.Y. amazing job highly recommended
Awesome! I actually grew up on Long Island
Well organized, bro!
glad you enjoyed!
Good job.
Thanks very much for taking the time to make this video! Im about to do the same thing minus the header swap and this will be a tremendous help. How many miles on your Z?
So glad my lifter went out on the passenger side and not the driver side so much easier to work on
Nice miata!
Just subscribed. I was looking at this 2008 Zo6 that’s has headers and a cam, but the heads are stock. I do not know if the previous owner got them machined or not. He/ she didn’t give the dealership the modding list.
yeah tough to confirm that without a build sheet. maybe something worth doing once you get the car just for piece of mind. externally the stock casting wouldnt look any different so you probably couldnt tell.
@@southfloridagearheads6504 you think I should pass on it?
@@nick__cars I deff prefer to buy stock, untouched cars unless its coming from a reputable shop with documentation. If you watch this series we did (link below) this was a car purchased with no build sheet, unknown mods.. we only knew it had a cam and exhaust. it was one headache after another but we eventually got it done right. who ever put the car together had no business working on corvettes.
th-cam.com/video/wmGgqDGsOTU/w-d-xo.html
@@southfloridagearheads6504 omg and I agree! I have a 13 stock Grandsport and it’s an automatic 😂🤦🏾♂️. I’m going to check that vid out
good work !
Is there a way to de-cabonize the piston tops while the heads are off? Or is it not worth it? Also saw the comment you put on the heads at the end with the paint marker. That was great!!
yeah if you dont have an angle gauge or torque wrench that measures angle the paint marker is the best way. You can try soaking the pistons by putting a bit of sea foam on them. then brush it clean. i dont think its really worth it unless they are really bad
I wish I could talk to you. Love the setup.
The car came out great and is still running strong. Let me know if you have any questions.
I was planning on ordering a whole head kit from AHP and just sending them the core, but my god this looks like the biggest pain in the ass. Think I'm gonna have a shop do it. Roughly how long did it take you just to pull everything off? And I mean time actually spent turning a wrench, not overall time.
I've done a few c6z builds since this video. you could have the heads off in 2 hours.
If you think this is bad, you dont even want to know how bad DOHC engines (Ford Coyote) are to pull heads. LS engines are literally the easiest performance engines to work on.
I stayed to listen to ADTR
haha hell yeah!
having my heads replaced right as we speak in cummings GA
awesome! what heads are you going with?
@@southfloridagearheads6504 im not sure but its at vengeance racing in cummings ga but I will find out to let you know and thank you for your video
@@TheRockmart awesome, I hear they do great work.
Hi, do LS7 heads/build require lash caps and if so on which rocker do you install the lash caps on? All the rockers or just the intake side or exhaust side?????
intake only
I have checked again and again but this vid just wont load and play properly. Anyway, I have similar car and enjoy the vids. Next time I'm not doing anything except a few bolt ons!
Nice video, but safety glasses are your friend, especially while using airtools under the car.
Should i still worry about this on a 2008 c6 with 50k miles i’m looking at?
ls3 or ls7?
@@southfloridagearheads6504 ls3 i believe it’s a base model
@@ilovesnow2399 the ls3 doesn't have this issue.
@@southfloridagearheads6504 Thank you very much for clearing that up this is helpful 💯
How long did this process take?
2 hours or so
How many miles were on your ls7 when you did this?
about 20k. I checked the valve guides and they were way out. check out this video
th-cam.com/video/uLGDT9YHKeM/w-d-xo.html
So oil does not need to be drained out? 🤔
for pulling the heads? no you do not need to drain the oil. Would recommend fresh oil after all the work is complete though.
I'm having issue with my ls3 08 vette. luckily gm made these easy to fiddle with. especially if anyone has worked on an LS1 Camaro or trans am, these vets have a lot of workspace under the hood
@@southfloridagearheads6504 I've heard the LS7 have valve train issues, my vette is starting to have a tick, sounds like a lifter. but mine is a 08 LS3
@@southfloridagearheads6504The dealership Bob Hurley ford out of tulsa ok, sold me this Corvette without a air filter after a hard 12,000 miles later, i got ticking noise. I just think to be safe, pull the heads and have them completely gone through and replace everything I can on the top end & say a prayer
@@southfloridagearheads6504 just curious what did you end up spending on those?
I need a video specifically on separating the alternator bracket! That is a B*🤬! Good video though
I should make one of those. its the most challenging part of the cylinder head removal. It takes about 205 little quarter turns with a combo wrench to get the hidden bolt out.
Lol wish there was a answer