ls7 reliabliltiy

[scott_fx]

Hey guys,

The shop owner of the shop who's building my '66 chevelle got a deal on a couple LS7's and; as a thank you for sending him 3 more clients, is hooking me up with an LS7 at a good price. I was wondering; since this is a daily driver, how is the reliability of the LS7. The original plan was to rebuild a LQ9 and add a mild cam... obviously this LS7 is going to be a lot better. However, i want to know if i should treat it any differently?




(side note... if anyone wants an lq9 that has been refreshed i know where you can get one. :D)

[srh3trinity]

I believe there are a few known issues with the early ones. Do you know the history of these? You could dig around on the z06 forums to see what they have to say about them. It is obviously GM's go to engine for track based cars. Does it have the dry sump system with it? If not, those pieces will add a lot to the price or you will have to convert to wet sump.

[Schwartz Performance]

Some of the early ones had valve guide problems. We haven't experienced that with any of the 80+ ls7's we've done, but some have.
I also recommend the trunnion bearing upgrade in the rockers, and ARP rod bolts.

-Dale

[scott_fx]

Thanks guys. They are supposed to be low mileage engines (he got a couple as a package deal). I'll be up there tomorrow afternoon to discuss the details with him and check the progress of the build

Dale,
As for the trunnions, would the comp cams 13702-KIT be a good choice?

Also, since it's a daily Id like an oem clutch. Is that a mistake? I live in Los Angeles so traffic is a consideration.

[Schwartz Performance]

Yeah that's a good one, we usually send them out to Harland Sharp for the upgrade- probably the same parts.

I like the stock LS7 clutch. We've used them up to 675hp with no issues.

-Dale

[tommycomfort]

We've been running a stock LS7 clutch in our Chevelle for over two years with zero issue. 500hp at the wheels.
Tom

[71RS/SS396]

Yeah that's a good one, we usually send them out to Harland Sharp for the upgrade- probably the same parts.

I like the stock LS7 clutch. We've used them up to 675hp with no issues.

-Dale

Dale, I like the Harland upgrade as well over the comp one. The parts are not the same, Harland uses a trunion shaft that is hollow on the end with a oil hole to get more oil to the bearing, I rockwell tested the comp and harland shafts and the harland one is definitely harder.... 60 vs 63 iirc.

[Schwartz Performance]

Good to know!!

-Dale

[scott_fx]

Thanks everyone for the feedback and advice!

[CarlC]

I'll jump on the bandwagon for the LS7 clutch. With close to 40k miles + a stupid number of track days, if it were not for the normal discoloration of the metal surfaces, it would be tough to know it was not new. Even the original machining marks are still on the FW and PP.

[scott_fx]

I'll jump on the bandwagon for the LS7 clutch. With close to 40k miles + a stupid number of track days, if it were not for the normal discoloration of the metal surfaces, it would be tough to know it was not new. Even the original machining marks are still on the FW and PP.

awesome. I just ordered the clutch, pressure plate and pilot bearing. I believe the engine is relatively low mileage so i'm hoping the flywheel is good or can be resurfaced.

I ordered the comp trunnion kit.

I'm very excited about this new addition to the build.... my wife... she isn't as pleased