2009 Chevrolet Corvette

I HAD A VALVE DROP AND THREW A ROD THRU MY ENGINE TRAVELING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS ON A BUSY HIGHWAY. I LOST ENGINE POWER, POWER STEERING, AND SPILLED OIL AND OTHER CHEMICALS ONTO THE ROADWAY. A THICK CLOUD OF SMOKE BILLOWED FROM UNDERNEATH AND OUT THE BACK OF THE CAR MAKING IT UNSAFE FOR CARS TRAVELING BEHIND ME. THE DEALER WHO HAS SINCE INSPECTED MY CAR HAS STATED IT IS A KNOWN ISSUE THAT THE "LIFTERS ARE WEAK". AFTER QUITE A BIT OF READING, IT APPEARS MANY OTHER OWNERS OF THE SAME CAR HAVE EXPERIENCED A MULTITUDE OF ISSUES WITH VALVES, LIFTERS, HEADS, ETC. GM IS AWARE OF FAULTY PARTS BUT I CANNOT FIND ANY NOTICE OF RECALLS. MAKE/MODEL: 2009 CORVETTE Z06; ENGINE: LS7. *TR

I EXPERIENCED AN ENGINE FAILURE. THIS RESULTED IN A SUDDEN AND COMPLETE LOSS OF POWER AT AN UNEXPECTED TIME. THIS OCCURRED DURING A HIGH PERFORMANCE DRIVER EDUCATION EVENT AT AUTO CLUB SPEEDWAY IN FONTANA, CA. THERE WAS NO WARNING BEFORE THE MOMENT THE ENGINE FAILED. THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE WAS THE HEAD OF ONE OF THE EXHAUST VALVES SEPARATED FROM THE VALVE STEM AND FELL INTO THE CYLINDER, DESTROYING THE CYLINDER HEAD, PISTON AND CYLINDER WALL. THE ENGINE MODEL IN MY 2009 CORVETTE IS THE LS7. A GOOGLE SEARCH ON 'LS7 DROPPED VALVES' WILL FILL MANY PAGES.

HAD TO HAVE CYLINDER HEADS REBUILT BECAUSE MANUFACTURING ISSUE WITH VALVE GUIDS WEARING QUICKLY OUT OF SPEC AND IF NOT CORRECTED DESTROYING THE ENTIRE MOTOR. I GOT A CHECK ENGINE LIGHT WITH MISFIRE WHICH WAS CAUSED BY WORN GUIDES. SENT HEADS INTO BE REBUILT AND FOUND OUT THAT THEY WERE WAY OUT OF SPEC. SOME AT .030 AND SPEC CUT OFF AT .006

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. SOURCE: HTTPS://WWW.CORVETTEFORUM.COM/FORUMS...-REGISTRY.HTML 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.