03' Z06 Problem Please Help

[Pmars]

I recently purchased a 2003 Z06. The car only has 4500 miles on it and has been well taken care of as far as i can tell. I had the car for 2 weeks when it went dead on me in the garage. When i finally got it to crank back up it sounded like the engine was going to jump out. I had the car towed to the local chevy dealership and after about 10 days they finally tell me that a valve has been thrown into the piston springs and cracked the head and the engine will need to be replaced. The car is under warranty but the factory rep came down today and said he was going to run the car through the computer and find out if it has been over revved. If it has been, then the warranty will not cover it. This is very bad news, since i spent almost everything to buy the car. I have not mistreated this car at all, never came close to red lining it. I thought the rev limiter was to make sure you didnt break your engine. Anyway, I have a few questions that I hope someone can answer for me.

1.Does the rev limiter keep you from breaking the engine?
2.Would I know it if I had hit the rev limiter?(As far as would I have felt the engine do something weird)
3.Can they deny my claim if the rev limiter has been hit?
4.Is there anything I can do if the rep says i have to pay for the engine?

[Joe Wilson]

It is my understanding that the rev limiter is to keep such a thing as broken valves due to over-revving from happening. The rev limiter creates a miss in your engine at a high rpm to keep it from revving even higher. You probably couldn't tell how high the former owner has revved it, but it shouldn't matter much if the limiter is working correctly. I'm not sure what rpm the rev limiter is set for, but you could find out probably at a good Corvette dealer. Good luck
Joe

[GTblues]

The rev limiter should protect the engine from this scenario, it jumps in around 6500 RPM (it happens pretty quick in first gear) to make sure you don't overrev. And you would absolutely know that you hit it as you immediately lose power, and it makes a distinct "chattering" sound. I know because I have bounced off mine several times, no harm no foul, that's why it's there, not that I would recommend making a habit of doing this. Hopefully it is not because of some stunt driving by the previous owner and the warranty will take care of it. I absolutely love my 03 Z and I hope you get to enjoy yours for years to come! Best of luck.

[bunyz06rabbitt]

It sounds like what you're trying to say is a valve dropped onto a piston and the engine needs to be replaced now. That means that a valve either broke or a keeper failed. But Pmars, what happened? What did the rep decide?

[mlupone]

Originally Posted by bunyz06rabbitt

It sounds like what you're trying to say is a valve dropped onto a piston and the engine needs to be replaced now. That means that a valve either broke or a keeper failed. But Pmars, what happened? What did the rep decide?

lurking

[camarobrian]

My dad and I went out to Spring Moutain racetrack in Las Vegas in April and raced Zo6s for 3 days. Great track by the way if you are looking into a driving school this is the one. Anyway they said that the ONLY way to over rev the engine is to downshift into the wrong gear. Since the LS6 is throttle by wire it is impossible to over rev it with the throttle. So unless you were racing and missed a shift, which is really easy to do, then the valve or some other component failed. Good luck with the dealer.