Chevy Performance "Crate Motor" Warranty Adventure

[10BamBam01]

Hi, Everyone. On July 4th my brother and I installed a new Chevy Performance ZZ454 in my 72 GMC K1500. I am already having some issues that require warranty service. I now get a chance to experience the real value of GM's crate warranty and I thought others might be interested in how this turns out as well. Therefore, I'm starting a thread to document this process so others can learn from this experience. Here are the details so far:

July 4th - completed install of ZZ454 purchased new from Summit with the following components:

Holley 770 Ultra Street Avenger carburetor
Chevy Performance dizzy (part # 93440806).
Summit # 250022-1 110 GPH Fuel Pump
Sanderson headers (#SNH-BB8-SEC Silver Coated)
Driven BR30 Break-in oil
PTP-7-509BL motor mounts

I swapped the new water pump on the ZZ454 (long style) with my existing 402 pump (short style). Had to do a minor cut to the cross member to get the headers to fit. Also had to grind the walls of a spark plug socket to install the #3 spark plug. Plugs had to come out to install the headers once the engine was bolted to the new mounts.

Primed the engine with oil using a primer tool. The engine fired right up on the first attempt and ran perfectly with some minor adjustments to the timing. Ran the engine according to start-up instructions. Drove for 30 miles and then changed the break-in oil with Driven XP8 5W30 racing motor oil (non-synthetic). Drove the truck back home 97 miles with open headers. On Monday I had a new dual 3" exhaust system installed with a H pipe. Since then I have driven the truck another 100 miles or so and have been generally pretty happy with it. I've been careful to vary my speed and all the other standard break-in procedures for a new engine.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I noticed a rhythmic ticking sound coming from the engine. I crawled under the truck with the engine running and noticed a drip of oil coming from the top / back of the driver's side cylinder head. It's a slow drip but nonetheless it's an oil leak.

The ticking sound concerns me because 1) it's new and 2) it disappears as engine speed increases. I'm thinking it may be a collapsed lifter and that the clicking disappears because the oil pressure increases with the increase in RPMs. I am praying that this hasn't caused any other issues with the engine.

I called Summit this morning. They instructed me to call my local GM dealer for warranty repair, which I've done. I have an appointment for it on Monday at 8:00AM. We shall see what the dealer finds and how GM responds. I'll keep this thread updated as I progress.

[61K10]

Just wondering, why 5-30 oil? did the eng come with an intake all ready installed? I had a big block leak from the rear of the intake.

[10BamBam01]

Originally Posted by 61K10

Just wondering, why 5-30 oil? did the eng come with an intake all ready installed? I had a big block leak from the rear of the intake.

The use of 5W30 is per the startup instructions.

Yes, the engine came with an intake.

[AcampoDave]

So the oil leaks at the head gasket?

[70']

Couple things....

Ticking could be an exhaust leak.
Are you sure oil leak isn't coming from rear of valve cover?
I hope they don't void your warranty by putting on a used water pump, as many times they state that must be new.

[truckster]

Originally Posted by 70'

Couple things....

Ticking could be an exhaust leak.
Are you sure oil leak isn't coming from rear of valve cover?
I hope they don't void your warranty by putting on a used water pump, as many times they state that must be new.

I had the same concern about the water pump. Hopefully they'll be decent with you.

[10BamBam01]

Originally Posted by truckster

I had the same concern about the water pump. Hopefully they'll be decent with you.

I thought about the valve cover too. I'll check that today.

How would they legally void the warranty because of a used water pump when I can prove that the water pump works fine and is also a GM product?

[GASoline71]

It's their way out of buying you a new engine since you "modified it".

According to those instructions... did you have to bolt the heads on?

I see it's a roller camshaft so no cam break in required.

Gary

[10BamBam01]

Originally Posted by GASoline71

It's their way out of buying you a new engine since you "modified it".

According to those instructions... did you have to bolt the heads on?

I see it's a roller camshaft so no cam break in required.

Gary

I appreciate the input. We'll see what they have to say about it but I think I'll be able to counter that pretty easily since it's their water pump that I'm using and it's just the shorter version of the same pump. If they aren't going to warranty an engine that needs to have some things swapped to fit then they should state that more plainly up front. They state that some of the head bolts may need to be replaced to fit the stock exhaust and the 6qt oil pan may need to be swapped out for some applications as well. I would think a small claims court would see through that pretty easily but if someone has first hand experience with them using a different water pump as a basis for denying the claim then I'd love to know that before I take it in tomorrow.

The heads were already bolted on.

[cadillac_al]

It just might be a loose rocker and a leaking valve cover or intake manifold. I wonder if the warranty covers small stuff like that? We'll find out.

[10BamBam01]

I was able to narrow the leak down to the very back of the left valve cover. It was tough to spot but I was able to find it and tighten the valve cover bolt. So I think that has solved that problem. The ticking noise is still there, however.

[10BamBam01]

Took the truck into the Chevy dealer on Monday. They did a pretty thorough investigation into the clicking noise by removing the valve covers, inspecting the valve train / valve lash. No issues could be identified. They finally stated that they believe the noise is coming from the fuel pump, which is brand new from Summit. Summit has a 1 year warranty on that pump so there is really no warranty work related to the zz454 engine itself, at this time.

The dealer did a good job of documenting what they inspected and that there were no issues with the engine or how it was installed. Hopefully this will prove valuable later should any other issues arise.

For now, I'm on a mission to replace the fuel pump (considering switching to an electric pump). The only other issue is to fix the leaks that have cropped up again with the valve covers. I narrowed the original leak down to the left bank in the rear. I fixed that the other day but now the right bank is leaking from them removing it and reinstalling it. Apparently they weren't able to find the leak even though oil was smoking off the header by the time I got it home. Ugh!

In any case, not much to learn about the Chevy Performance warranty process this time around, which I'm actually very grateful for. Thanks for the input and participation from everyone.

[geezer#99]

If you go electric pump, put a regulator in too!
And enjoy the valve cover gasket boogie too!!

[Tillik]

2 weeks ago;

My truck has a stock 350 and it had developed a really bad tick. Also at various speeds the truck would bog down intermittently. Everyone assumed it was a lifter tick. I pulled the valve covers and everything was fine.

I had mentioned I think its coming from the fuel pump. I was told it couldn't be that it's gotta be something else. Before I pulled my motor I pulled the fuel pump.

It fell apart as I slid it out. The pin that secures the pivot point of the lever had broke the retainers. The lever was working just slopping around. So it would still work but tick was super bad and getting worse. Installed a new pump and tick went away. Not sure what would cause this to fail but I'm glad it was such a simple fix.

I had an frame mounted electric pump on my 4x4 and I hated it. It was loud and went out a couple of times over the years. I hear in tank fuel pumps are pretty nice for noise tho.

Putting in a new crate engine soon, stuck between the 350HO and the ZZ4. Hope this works out well for you!

[10BamBam01]

Originally Posted by Tillik

2 weeks ago;

My truck has a stock 350 and it had developed a really bad tick. Also at various speeds the truck would bog down intermittently. Everyone assumed it was a lifter tick. I pulled the valve covers and everything was fine.

I had mentioned I think its coming from the fuel pump. I was told it couldn't be that it's gotta be something else. Before I pulled my motor I pulled the fuel pump.

It fell apart as I slid it out. The pin that secures the pivot point of the lever had broke the retainers. The lever was working just slopping around. So it would still work but tick was super bad and getting worse. Installed a new pump and tick went away. Not sure what would cause this to fail but I'm glad it was such a simple fix.

I had an frame mounted electric pump on my 4x4 and I hated it. It was loud and went out a couple of times over the years. I hear in tank fuel pumps are pretty nice for noise tho.

Putting in a new crate engine soon, stuck between the 350HO and the ZZ4. Hope this works out well for you!

Thanks for sharing your experience. Maybe I should just stick with a mechanical pump and be done with it. Probably another thread right there.

As for the ZZ454 - I think it's a good investment. It's definitely got some umph now. I haven't really hammered on it since I'm still breaking it in but I've lit the tires up a couple times and it definitely got my attention. The thing I really like about it is the endless possibilities down the road to get some serious horse power out of it.

[10BamBam01]

Originally Posted by geezer#99

If you go electric pump, put a regulator in too!
And enjoy the valve cover gasket boogie too!!

Definitely will put in a regulator. I've now got more time in on valve covers than I ever imagined possible. What a pain in the ! Makes me just furious that the dealer couldn't put them back on correctly and then I had to carefully remove all the gunky sealant that was on there. Took me a lot of time to replace them. I'm taking them on their maiden voyage here in a bit to see if they leak. Wish me luck.