Engine Failure problems of the 2008 Chevrolet Corvette

I was concerned about excessive valve train noise and after reading several Corvette forum threads about improperly machined heads by gm's supplier linamar, and that numerous vehicles have had valves drop and ruin the engines, I took my car with 9500 miles on it to a Corvette specialty shop to have my valve guide clearance tested. I had (2) intake valve guides outside of service specifications, (4) exhaust valve guides outside of service specifications, and a combination of (10) other intake and exhaust valve guides at or near the maximum outside of service specifications. The car is being repaired with proper re-machining of the heads to make the valve guides concentric, new intake and exhaust valve guides installed, as well as new seals, valves, springs, etc. 88% of the Corvette forum members who have had their cylinder heads tested for excessive valve guide wear, were out of service specifications. . Read more...

Wear issue is with the valve guides in the cylinder heads. If the issue was not addressed, the hollow, sodium filled exhaust valve could break and destroy the engine. The repairs were made before the car had an engine failure while driving. Mileage on the car was around 32,000.

The ls7 engine has a defect that causes accelerated valve guide wear. Continuing to drive the car will eventually lead to a valve dropping and causing catastrophic engine failure. Once this occurs there will be a loss of power steering, power brakes, and water/oil could get on the tires leading to a loss of control of the car. In a few cases fire has erupted. . Read more...

I was concerned about excessive valve train noise and after reading several Corvette forum threads about improperly machined heads by gm's supplier linamar, and that numerous vehicles have had valves drop and ruin the engines, loosing a valve while driving will result in loss of power ssist for steering and breaking while on the road . I took my car with 13500 miles on it to a Corvette specialty shop to have my valve guide clearance tested. I had (8) exhaust valve guide and (3) intake valve guides outside of service specifications, and a combination of (5) other intake valve guides at or near the maximum outside of service specifications. The car is being repaired with proper re-machining of the heads to make the valve guides concentric, new intake and exhaust valve guides installed, as well as new seals, valves, springs, etc. I can provide data on the failed guides for documentation 88% of the Corvette forum members who have had their cylinder heads tested for excessive valve guide wear, were out of service specifications. . Read more...

I was concerned about excessive valve train noise and after reading several Corvette forum threads about improperly machined heads by gm's supplier linamar, and that numerous vehicles have had valves drop and ruin the engines, I took my car with 27000 miles on it to a Corvette specialty shop to have my valve guide clearance tested. I had (2) intake valve guides outside of service specifications, (4) exhaust valve guides outside of service specifications, and a combination of (10) other intake and exhaust valve guides at or near the maximum outside of service specifications. The car is being repaired with proper re-machining of the heads to make the valve guides concentric, new intake and exhaust valve guides installed, as well as new seals, valves, springs, etc. 88% of the Corvette forum members who have had their cylinder heads tested for excessive valve guide wear, were out of service specifications. . Read more...

Checked engine heads and valves due to the ongoing engine failures of the ls7 engine. Number 7 inlet valve was found to be stressed to the point of imminent failure due to the factory machining being out of alignment with the valve stem and the valve seat. 2 other inlet valves were found not concentric and were replaced also. The exhaust valves were found to be out of factory specifications with the valve guides so all 16 valve guides and 8 exhaust valves were replaced also and the heads machined to factory specifications. When these engines fail, the engine stops and you have no power steering or vacuum power to the brakes so you struggle to stop the car and steer it to a safe place. The engine block, being aluminium, normally ventilates with a conrod out the side and oil and coolant is deposited on the road surface. Not a good situation in my opinion as we drive our car on major highways fairly regularly. General motors is aware of the situation and so far has done nothing to show any concern for the motorist who owns the car or the innocent motorist minding his/her own business on the highway.

Vehicle is completely stock with only 18,000 miles on it. It has never been on a track or used for anything other than a weekend toy. Complete engine failure as a result of a valve breaking off inside the engine while driving casually at 50 mph. As a result the engine stopped running taking with it the power steering and power assisted brakes. I was on a country road approximately 45 miles from the nearest gas station or service facility of any kind. There was also no cell phone service and was left stranded. I have since had a brand new engine put in at a total cost of over $ 16,000.

The 7l 427 engine has a valve failure problem. The valve heads break off inside the engine while running. This happened to me as I was driving along a highway at 60 miles per hour not accelerating braking or turning, in a very remote part of texas. The engine seized up. This is a known issue by gm with a much higher than expected failure rate yet has never had a service bulletin nor recall. The car had 18,000 miles on it at the time and had never been to the track or abused in any way. Oil was changed at 3,000 mile intervals by a certified shop. Between towing and repair the total bill was over $ 16,000. Because the car had been in service over 5 years despite the low mileage, gm picked up only 45% of the costs leaving me with over a $ 10,000 bill. This is a high performance very expensive sports car that had a complete engine failure at 18,000 miles.

I was concerned about excessive valve train noise and after reading several Corvette forum threads about improperly machined heads by gm's supplier linamar, and that numerous vehicles have had valves drop and ruin the engines, I took my car with 40000 miles on it to a Chevrolet dealer to have my valve guide clearance tested. I had intake valve guides outside of service specifications, exhaust valve guides outside of service specifications, and a combination of other intake and exhaust valve guides at or near the maximum outside of service specifications. The car is being repaired with new heads and guides. Gm needs to issue a recall on this issue, there have been numerous engine failures as a result of a dropped valve into a cylinder which can cause accidents and fires. Gm is very aware of this issue, but refuses to do anything about this huge safety risk to drivers, passengers, and nearby vehicles if the engine fails going down the road.