[VIDEO] GM Ordered the LT2 V8 Engine that Seized in a 2020 Corvette Sent to Detroit for Inspection

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[VIDEO] GM Ordered the LT2 V8 Engine that Seized in a 2020 Corvette Sent to Detroit for Inspection


A couple days ago we started hearing about a YouTuber with a 2020 Corvette Stingray whose engine had suddenly seized up. General Motors has also heard about it and is stepping up to find out more information about the cause of it. Considering the implications, we dove in to find out more about what happened as well as what GM is doing about it.

Jake Spiczka of MidwestRide had hooked up with several other YouTubers including Tall Guy Reviews, MR. ORGANIK, and Officer Jones who borrowed his Black 2020 Corvette Stingray for shooting content for their channels. Jake’s car is non-Z51 with the 2LT package and he tells us that he got the car with 5 miles on it and it had over 1,800 miles on the odometer when the incident occurred.

The Tall Guy Car Reviews channel actually captured the moment the car loses power (at 6:43) and coasts to a stop, so we jumped over there to see more:


You can see both youtubers in the car are suddenly surprised with the loss of power. The gauges were showing alerts for “0 PSI” oil pressure. To make matters worse, the wheels of the Stingray were completely locked up and a tow truck was required to get the Corvette to the dealership. Once at the dealership, the Corvette was examined and when service personnel cut open the oil filter, they found metal shavings in it.

Now at this point, you are probably thinking to yourself, what did these guys to Jake’s Corvette? Or…what did Jake put the car through before loaning it out his colleagues? The good news is that it appears they did nothing the C8 Corvette wasn’t built for. Data logs from the car’s black box were downloaded and sent to Detroit for analysis and it showed the car wasn’t being banged against the rev limiter according to Jake, so GM requested the engine be taken out and sent to Detroit where their engineers will open it up and give it a thorough inspection to determine the cause of the seizure.

[VIDEO] GM Ordered the LT2 V8 Engine that Seized in a 2020 Corvette Sent to Detroit for Inspection


Jake has made three different videos about this incident and if you want to follow along, start here with Part 1. Below we have embedded Part 2 in which Jake visits the broken 2020 Corvette at the dealership and provides the update on the engine inspection:


In Part 3 of Jake’s saga, he provides another update Tuesday morning and it’s at this moment that Jake relays the info that his engine may be the second LT2 V8 to have seized up.

We were hoping that what happened to Jake’s 2020 Corvette was unique to this point. That the LT2 seized up in the first place is why GM is so interested in doing the inspection of the engine in Detroit. These things do happen and now it’s up to the powertrain engineers to diagnose the cause and determine if it is systemic and what, if any, changes need to be made.


As you see in the third update, the seized engine is out and Jake’s LT2 replacement engine has been mounted to the DCT and both are ready to be lifted into the engine bay. In an email to us, Jake also shares some of the other updates that were done during the engine swap:

Overall the engine was completely replaced, any internally lubricated part was replaced, all lines except coolant lines were replaced and the fuse block (had blown starter fuse) was replaced as well as the starter which they stated was found to be getting a little hot that was drawing too much amperage once they replaced the engine. Starter was replaced because they said it could’ve become a problem down the line.

So now it’s a waiting game and we may never know the actual cause. But we can watch to see if GM makes any changes to the service requirements much like it had to do at the start of C7 production when the LT1 engines began having similar issues and the 500-mile oil change was instituted.

Despite GM advising owners that their Corvette’s first oil change isn’t due for 7,500 miles, what can it really hurt to have the engine oil changed once you reach the 500 break-in point?

The answer is nothing…


Source:
MidwestRide

Related:
[VIDEO] 2020 Corvette Stingray’s Oil Change Procedure is Different than Previous Generations
[VIDEO] 2020 Corvette Stingray Receives First Oil Change
Chevrolet Makes It Relatively Easy For You to Change the Motor Oil in the 2020 Corvette

 



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11 COMMENTS

  1. “Data logs from the car’s black box were downloaded and sent to Detroit for analysis and it showed the car wasn’t being banged against the rev limiter according to Jake…”

    According to Jake, an ‘influencer’, not the data recorder.

    Okay….

    Because these ‘influencers’ have only done good things for the car’s reputation, right? Just saying…

  2. The Dry Sump to a Corvette is not new. The LT2 engine is an LT1 derivative, also not new. What changed, is where Corvettes Engine crew needs to look. Are the three pumps sucking the engine dry? Is there any restriction to the motor oil accessing the moving parts, is oil pumped to the engine or gravity fed? The C1 started with an oil pan and never looked back for years, even when they stepped up to a V8 from a very reliable straight 6. The engine failure sounds like oil didn’t get to where it was needed or was extracted before it did it’s job. I would think the dry sump system is different just because of engine placement in the new car!

  3. And that’s why GM asked for the blackbox data that is used in car crashes and warranty claims to see if there was underlying data that the car was abused. Although it appears there was some aggressive driving based on the YouTubers own video, the data shows it wasn’t the driving that caused the engine to seize up.

  4. A Sherlock Holmes mystery has happened with a non-Z51 Corvette: A seized engine. It appears that their was some enthusiastic driving done during the life time of this Corvette. Was the 200 mile break in followed by the 500 mile break in followed by the 1500 mile break in procedure, meticulously followed? Sherlock likely will also want all of those logs to have a determination made about why the Oil Pressure gauge showed, “no pressure.” Was the, “Check the oil at every (or every other) gas stopped done in the factory suggested manner of 175 degree engine with engine idling? Was oil ever added? If so, what did the dip stick show? The Track performance booklet supplied with the track section in the owner’s manual specifies what needs to be done before operating the car in the track mode (on the track, the only place the track mode is allowed to be used under warranty.) Will any oil leak be reliably detected that existed prior to the seizure? Will the oil tank be checked? Oil holes drillings in the components of the engine be checked? All Oil lines. One or more oil pumps? Sherlock Homes might even want to know the condition of the battery at the time of the seizure. Filings in the filter is not good. When and how did that happen. Did the owner check the dip stick oil during checks for filings in the motor oil that might have accumulated on the dip stick? Can’t wait for all of these answers and more. AF

  5. Is the oil drain plug magnetized to attract metal shavings? Ditto for the dipstick? It wouldn’t cost anything to make these preventative measures standard equipment. Does GM do it? They should. Wheel locks should also be standard.

  6. Guys, a few of the cars have bad oil pumps. This was likely one of those cars. The drivers did not harm the car, and all other cars are fine. The few with the bad oil pumps are going to fail, and that will be the end of it. GM will fix them and thats that.

  7. some guys might have a 2020 corvette for over a year or longer before hitting 1500+ miles. How many grenades are still waiting to pull the pin?? Of course there was no oil pressure once the engine seized!! Rethinking my purchase as I do not drive many miles.

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