Drop vavles, cam

[MEATHEAD1]

Dang it, I was shopping today for cam, long tube headers, I was told that heads need to be redone for valve drop issues, before I get started I am not going say were the shops are, they are very well established shops that back there stuff and have a very great REP.
As a bonus I was shown the heads and the problem, trust me when I say this there is a problem. My question to all you peeps, has anyone else been told they need to address this issue first.
From what I have been told by both shops its mainly on the LS7.

[KennyGS]

I'm curious... what exactly needs to be done on your heads?

[motorman]

Originally Posted by KennyGS

I'm curious... what exactly needs to be done on your heads?

contact katech and they will tell you what you need to do

[toppthat]

Originally Posted by MEATHEAD1

Dang it, I was shopping today for cam, long tube headers, I was told that heads need to be redone for valve drop issues, before I get started I am not going say were the shops are, they are very well established shops that back there stuff and have a very great REP.
As a bonus I was shown the heads and the problem, trust me when I say this there is a problem. My question to all you peeps, has anyone else been told they need to address this issue first.
From what I have been told by both shops its mainly on the LS7.

check out mast motorsports,worth every cent.

[KennyGS]

Originally Posted by motorman

contact katech and they will tell you what you need to do

Thanks, but I was asking meathead1 to give a basic explanation of what his heads needed done.

[raidmagic]

I responded in the other thread that you posted in, you need to determine if your car is an early or late 07. Contact your dealer this is a known issue

[ironhorse]

Call and speak to Richard at WCCH West Coast Cylinder heads (818)705-5454 (818)996-5673 fax www.proheads.com. I am going with Brodix BR7 heads for LS7 motor...

[iburke]

Yes if you are going to race your 06-07 Z06 have the valves replaced.

Mine dropped a valve at 30k miles luckily it was still under warranty. Took the whole engine and cats. with it. The warranted bill at the Chevy dealer was over $17k...

[MEATHEAD1]

Its the valve guide I seen first hand one that was getting ready to go and one that has. As far the year and Gm they filed bankruptcy. So no deal for replacement for me under warranty.
This a very serious problem modded or not.

[MEATHEAD1]

Originally Posted by ironhorse

Call and speak to Richard at WCCH West Coast Cylinder heads (818)705-5454 (818)996-5673 fax www.proheads.com. I am going with Brodix BR7 heads for LS7 motor...

There was one shop that I visited said that is who they use

[clogan]

One easy check that you should do is to pull your spark plugs...see if there is oil on the threads (the threads should be dry). Oil on the threads indicates valve seals and guides are probably shot, and need R/R before a catastophy happens. Dry threads is certainly no guarantee that all is well, but wet threads indicate upcoming trouble. Some have said that if you have oily threads on your spark plugs, that you should PARK YOUR CAR, and not drive it until the heads are fixed.

Once valve guides are shot, the valves can wobble, and eventually break, with the valve head dropping down into the engine, only to be hit by the piston, which breaks a rod and puts a hole in the block. Soon after that, the really bad stuff happens.

Good luck.

[MEATHEAD1]

Originally Posted by clogan

One easy check that you should do is to pull your spark plugs...see if there is oil on the threads (the threads should be dry). Oil on the threads indicates valve seals and guides are probably shot, and need R/R before a catastophy happens. Dry threads is certainly no guarantee that all is well, but wet threads indicate upcoming trouble. Some have said that if you have oily threads on your spark plugs, that you should PARK YOUR CAR, and not drive it until the heads are fixed.

Once valve guides are shot, the valves can wobble, and eventually break, with the valve head dropping down into the engine, only to be hit by the piston, which breaks a rod and puts a hole in the block. Soon after that, the really bad stuff happens.

Good luck.

Thank you for the info, I am upgrading to camera that I can put through the spark plug and look around the cylinder.

[ArKay99]

What Raid and Ivan said. Remember, the LS7 rocker ratio is 1.9:1, so the ramp is more severe. Couple that with a 7k red line and a bigger cam, the valve springs are going to take a beating. There were a lot of documented spring failures in the earlier LS7's...then sump issues...supposedly all fixed in 2009. If you are going to road race the car, I would suggest looking into improving the sump system.

[the machine]

I have posted this before but it deserves repeating...

It is critical with an LS7 to warm up the motor before beating it. The tollerances on this motor are very close and designed to only be correct when the engine is at opperating temps. Metal expands when it heats up and aluminum moves much more than cast iron.

I never rev higher than 3000 RPM until the engine oil reaches 100 degrees. Do not go by water temp as that is controlled by the thermostat to get hotter sooner.(the hotter water helps warm up the metal) The metal in the engine needs to soak the heat to expand into it's design specs. The metal temp is better represented by oil temp than water temp, and there is no metal temp guage.

[Frank-n-Vett]

Originally Posted by the machine

I have posted this before but it deserves repeating...

It is critical with an LS7 to warm up the motor before beating it. The tollerances on this motor are very close and designed to only be correct when the engine is at opperating temps. Metal expands when it heats up and aluminum moves much more than cast iron.

I never rev higher than 3000 RPM until the engine oil reaches 100 degrees. Do not go by water temp as that is controlled by the thermostat to get hotter sooner.(the hotter water helps warm up the metal) The metal in the engine needs to soak the heat to expand into it's design specs. The metal temp is better represented by oil temp than water temp, and there is no metal temp guage.

I totally agree and in my opinion I would change your valve srings regulary, why else would a valve fail. Springs are cheap.
http://www.briantooleyracing.com/