- Joined
- May 3, 2004
- Messages
- 175
- Location
- St. Louis
- Corvette
- 2000 Dark Bowling Green Metalic Convertable
About a month ago I reported here that the Chevy dealer and the extended warranty people agreed that the piston slap in my 2000 was excessive and that they needed to replace the pistons. The job is now done and it runs great with no more "ticking" when it's cold.
I have discovered in reading previouls posts here that piston slap is a standard in LS1 engines when they are cold but it goes away when they warm up. A technical discussion said it had something to do with the length of the piston sleve and the stiffness of the rings. Still, the normal "slap" was nothing to worry about. Personally, I couldn't tell you when it gets too loud but the experts said mine was. To me it just sounded like a valve lifter that needed adjustment.
They pulled the engine out from the bottom of the car. To do that, the steering and exhaust had to come off. Then the engine was disassembled down to the short block and pistons removed. I'm told the block was okay and the new pistons were much better than the old ones. I'm not sure how, but they said they were coated - which I assume lengthens life.
My car is up on a lift and there are piles of parts underneith and the engine upside down on a stand. I was worried about the box of possible leftover parts when they put it back together. But it runs great and there are no leaks - yet.
In St. Louis, ELCO Chevrolet sells a lot of Corvettes - new and used, and their Corvette mechanic is very good.
I have discovered in reading previouls posts here that piston slap is a standard in LS1 engines when they are cold but it goes away when they warm up. A technical discussion said it had something to do with the length of the piston sleve and the stiffness of the rings. Still, the normal "slap" was nothing to worry about. Personally, I couldn't tell you when it gets too loud but the experts said mine was. To me it just sounded like a valve lifter that needed adjustment.
They pulled the engine out from the bottom of the car. To do that, the steering and exhaust had to come off. Then the engine was disassembled down to the short block and pistons removed. I'm told the block was okay and the new pistons were much better than the old ones. I'm not sure how, but they said they were coated - which I assume lengthens life.
My car is up on a lift and there are piles of parts underneith and the engine upside down on a stand. I was worried about the box of possible leftover parts when they put it back together. But it runs great and there are no leaks - yet.
In St. Louis, ELCO Chevrolet sells a lot of Corvettes - new and used, and their Corvette mechanic is very good.
