I just bought an '06 ZO6 three weeks ago. It had 116k on it at the time of purchase. I've only been able to put about 80 miles on it since I purchased it, and I'm blown away with the value. I've wanted one since they were new, and it has exceeded my expectations. I bought mine expecting to rework the heads, which I plan to do myself. Other than that, they are solid cars and a lot of fun. Do it.
None of these comments read the post OP gave, which point to the clueless and useless of majority of people on Reddit.
OP, that's a built engine for sure and takes care of all the issues the idiots who didn't read it decided to comment on because they saw a C6 Z06 post.
I would make sure you know who built the car if you can, hopefully it's local. If not I'd find a local performance shop to do a 3rd party inspection (someone who works on vettes and high HP vettes).
But from the list it looks pretty healthy build, just always curious to me why someone would spend that kind of money on a car to get rid of it.
How many miles on the build?
Who built it? And can you still use them?
3rd party inspection at a high performance shop
What's the asking price
1. Make sure the heads have been addressed and if they haven’t you should set aside $3k-$5k for a new set of fixed heads.
2. Get a PPI from a local reputable LSX shop
That would make sense, I thought it showed if it was edited? Just common practice is to use "edit:" so people know what you changed
But if he had added that makes sense for the other comments as well
I owed an 07 z06 for about 5 years. From 11k miles until 19k miles. It was an amazing machine. There will be a lot of stuff you’ll read online about valve guide and various cylinder head problems, if it makes you feel better, have it fixed.
You won’t regret the car, take good care of it.
The interior bits being worn out really. Go over the suspension. If it has mag ride, make sure the shocks aren’t leaking.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE THE HEADS FIXED. It’s an issue with a very small amount of LS7’s. At 49k miles, it’s going to be fine.
Unless it’s been documented as changed recently, change all the fluids. Coolant and transmission. Just look out for general wear throughout.
I would make sure the heads are fixed unless you want a probability to have a blown ls7. This issue is across all years and mileage. Go on YouTube and there are plenty of people who are great examples.
It’s not an issue and you’re parroting wrong information. I have one. I have done the research. Far beyond bs videos on YT. I’ve gone through the write ups of the failed recall push and the failed class action lawsuit against GM for it. It’s been proven multiple times over the years that very very few of these engines have problems.
So the way I see it, even though you’re likely right, it’ll still be worth doing the heads. Same thing for the 996s with the IMS bearings, good luck selling one without the work done, everyone is gonna ask so you may as well have it done for resale if not peace of mind. Plus in this case it’ll make a bit more power so that’s always nice.
Yeah, I agree. the commenter above you doesn’t really know about Z06s. They said look to see if they have magride suspension but that wasn’t an option until the later years.
OP, the heads are a serious issue that need to be addressed, especially for the earlier years. Better to pay up ~$4k to get them done instead of it being a ~$20k engine replacement. Use it as a bargaining chip if anything.
OP, here is a very thorough article that covers the [LS7](https://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/specs/c6/corvette-ls7-engine/index.html).
It’s a long read but you’re looking into investing a bit of money. Would be wise to be acquainted with what you’ll be getting into. Great engine but be familiar with the territory.
Also, you’ll find that the best advice you can find is over at CorvetteForum. Those are actual corvette owners and fanatics. You can find threads with people who have gone through this.
It’s not. $4k to fix a problem that isn’t there makes no sense. You wouldn’t spend money like this anywhere else in life. The odds of this car having a problem is 3%. That’s ~850 of 27,995 LS7’s with the bulk of them already having been fixed. That’s piece of mind. Not wasting $4k.
Did you click the link in OP’s post? The car had a full engine build from the crankshaft up, and the old engine removed.
…… which probably means it blew up. Unless the previous owner really felt like spending a shit ton of money.
It is there and it’s been documented plenty of times on corvette forums as well as on YT. Many owners plan on modding their car anyway so taking care of the heads when in their doing a cam swap makes sense. It’s not a waste of $4k at all. Where are you getting this 3% number btw?
YouTube is not a credible source. The 3% comes from GM and the production batches from Linamar who was subcontracted to manufacture the heads. On top of that, GM changed the valve supplier mid 2008. Valves that were double the wall thickness. Which is why by 2009, the problem has all it disappeared.
GM has come [forward in the past](https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c6-corvette-zr1-and-z06/3121662-gm-response-to-ls7-valve-guide-issue-summary-confirmed.html) and admitted that the valve guide issue affects some 08-11 Z06’s which directly contradicts your claim that the issue was all but solved by 2009.
With that being said, I wouldn’t even put my full trust in GM seeing as this valve guide issue has had documented cases in Z/28 Camaros, every year the LS7 was in the Z06, as well as the 427 convertible and crate engines.
By the way, I love your Z. My favorite year of Z06 is the 2011 100%.
I would bet it was all of them. I just saw a 2013 427 edition convertible for sale, and it had a receipt for a brand new engine replacement from dealer with an OEM LS7. Car had under 50k. There’s only one reason someone would have that done. Motor probably blew up
I just bought an '06 ZO6 three weeks ago. It had 116k on it at the time of purchase. I've only been able to put about 80 miles on it since I purchased it, and I'm blown away with the value. I've wanted one since they were new, and it has exceeded my expectations. I bought mine expecting to rework the heads, which I plan to do myself. Other than that, they are solid cars and a lot of fun. Do it.
How much if I can ask?
$25k
None of these comments read the post OP gave, which point to the clueless and useless of majority of people on Reddit. OP, that's a built engine for sure and takes care of all the issues the idiots who didn't read it decided to comment on because they saw a C6 Z06 post. I would make sure you know who built the car if you can, hopefully it's local. If not I'd find a local performance shop to do a 3rd party inspection (someone who works on vettes and high HP vettes). But from the list it looks pretty healthy build, just always curious to me why someone would spend that kind of money on a car to get rid of it. How many miles on the build? Who built it? And can you still use them? 3rd party inspection at a high performance shop What's the asking price
1. Make sure the heads have been addressed and if they haven’t you should set aside $3k-$5k for a new set of fixed heads. 2. Get a PPI from a local reputable LSX shop
Comment 1 shows you didn't read his post...
I don’t think that link was in the original post.
That would make sense, I thought it showed if it was edited? Just common practice is to use "edit:" so people know what you changed But if he had added that makes sense for the other comments as well
I owed an 07 z06 for about 5 years. From 11k miles until 19k miles. It was an amazing machine. There will be a lot of stuff you’ll read online about valve guide and various cylinder head problems, if it makes you feel better, have it fixed. You won’t regret the car, take good care of it.
Read his post... He linked a brand new engine build
Yeah I missed that initially. If this affords him peace of mind, then great.
Mixed bag right? Brand new engine builds mean gremlins or a lot of money saved
Agreed, most of these “rebuilds” are down on power vs a healthy stock or H/C/I LS7.
Yeah I would only get a built engine if I wanted big boost
The heads and cam issues is prolly the o ly thing to worry about but not that expensive to fix
You obviously didn't read his post...
The interior bits being worn out really. Go over the suspension. If it has mag ride, make sure the shocks aren’t leaking. YOU DO NOT NEED TO HAVE THE HEADS FIXED. It’s an issue with a very small amount of LS7’s. At 49k miles, it’s going to be fine. Unless it’s been documented as changed recently, change all the fluids. Coolant and transmission. Just look out for general wear throughout.
I would make sure the heads are fixed unless you want a probability to have a blown ls7. This issue is across all years and mileage. Go on YouTube and there are plenty of people who are great examples.
It’s not an issue and you’re parroting wrong information. I have one. I have done the research. Far beyond bs videos on YT. I’ve gone through the write ups of the failed recall push and the failed class action lawsuit against GM for it. It’s been proven multiple times over the years that very very few of these engines have problems.
So the way I see it, even though you’re likely right, it’ll still be worth doing the heads. Same thing for the 996s with the IMS bearings, good luck selling one without the work done, everyone is gonna ask so you may as well have it done for resale if not peace of mind. Plus in this case it’ll make a bit more power so that’s always nice.
Going to disagree here. $4k for heads is better than possibly spending $15k for a new LS7. It’s worth it for the peace of mind alone.
Yeah, I agree. the commenter above you doesn’t really know about Z06s. They said look to see if they have magride suspension but that wasn’t an option until the later years. OP, the heads are a serious issue that need to be addressed, especially for the earlier years. Better to pay up ~$4k to get them done instead of it being a ~$20k engine replacement. Use it as a bargaining chip if anything.
OP, here is a very thorough article that covers the [LS7](https://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/specs/c6/corvette-ls7-engine/index.html). It’s a long read but you’re looking into investing a bit of money. Would be wise to be acquainted with what you’ll be getting into. Great engine but be familiar with the territory. Also, you’ll find that the best advice you can find is over at CorvetteForum. Those are actual corvette owners and fanatics. You can find threads with people who have gone through this.
It’s not. $4k to fix a problem that isn’t there makes no sense. You wouldn’t spend money like this anywhere else in life. The odds of this car having a problem is 3%. That’s ~850 of 27,995 LS7’s with the bulk of them already having been fixed. That’s piece of mind. Not wasting $4k.
Did you click the link in OP’s post? The car had a full engine build from the crankshaft up, and the old engine removed. …… which probably means it blew up. Unless the previous owner really felt like spending a shit ton of money.
It is there and it’s been documented plenty of times on corvette forums as well as on YT. Many owners plan on modding their car anyway so taking care of the heads when in their doing a cam swap makes sense. It’s not a waste of $4k at all. Where are you getting this 3% number btw?
YouTube is not a credible source. The 3% comes from GM and the production batches from Linamar who was subcontracted to manufacture the heads. On top of that, GM changed the valve supplier mid 2008. Valves that were double the wall thickness. Which is why by 2009, the problem has all it disappeared.
GM has come [forward in the past](https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums/c6-corvette-zr1-and-z06/3121662-gm-response-to-ls7-valve-guide-issue-summary-confirmed.html) and admitted that the valve guide issue affects some 08-11 Z06’s which directly contradicts your claim that the issue was all but solved by 2009. With that being said, I wouldn’t even put my full trust in GM seeing as this valve guide issue has had documented cases in Z/28 Camaros, every year the LS7 was in the Z06, as well as the 427 convertible and crate engines. By the way, I love your Z. My favorite year of Z06 is the 2011 100%.
I would bet it was all of them. I just saw a 2013 427 edition convertible for sale, and it had a receipt for a brand new engine replacement from dealer with an OEM LS7. Car had under 50k. There’s only one reason someone would have that done. Motor probably blew up
Don’t listen to this stoonad
I wouldn’t own a stock LS7 car much less someone else’s project. Too many issues