[BubbaThaLuva]

So here it goes. The following are merely facts. This post is meant to be informative, nothing more.

I decided to drive my 2006 A6 Monterey Red Corvette 1000 miles to Texas for 23 Days of Leave on Dec. 10, 2009. I left around 5am Dec. 10 and the air was very cold and it was still dark outside. About an hour into my drive, the sun came up over the horizon and lit up I-10 Eastbound for me. I noticed only a few 18-wheelers on the road and the outside temp gauge said 28 degree, so I decided to break my current landspeed record of 165. The car felt great as she was accelerating. I let off the accelerator at 170 because two 18-wheelers were blocking me. Anyway, all was well and there were no issues. About an hour from Las Cruces, NW my low tire pressue light came on and the Service Active Handling warning came on. I stopped and added some air. 30 min from Las Cruces the light came on again and I started losing about a pound of pressure every 10 miles or so. I found a Discount Tire in Las Cruces on my GPS and headed straight there. They found a poorly installed TPM sensor and had me back on the road in about an hour. The service active handling light went off about an hour after I was back on the road. I began noticing a high frequency vibration noise every time my RPMs were at 2700. No sound before an no sound after, just at 2700 RPM. I had a similar issue with my Isuzu Rodeo that turned out the be a loose bolt on the firewall so I didn't think much of it. A day after I arrived in Beaumont, TX I was driving the car around and all the sudden all of my gauges shut down and hit 0. The car still ran, but the shifter was very difficult to move and I could tell the power steering was out as well. Instead of shutting the car off and risking being stranded, I drove to the nearest Cheverolet Dealer and parked it (this occured around 10:30 pm so the service dept. was closed). I had my brother pick me up and I went back to the Chevy place first thing the next morning. They found a melted wiring harness stuck to left header tube closest to the driver's seat. I had transfered the remaining GMPP warranty and figured it would be covered. However, the GMPP adjuster stated that the melted wiring harness was due to the aftermarket header installation. They said that whoever installed the headers re-routed the wiring harness incorrectly. That cost me $416 to repair. They said I was fortunate that none of the computer cards that were attached to the wires were fried. I also asked them to check out the vibration noise at 2700 RPM. They said it was coming from the header pipes and there was nothing they could do about it.

Fast forward to the weekend of the Auto-Cross at Firebird. I followed Wishbone to drop off his rental car and pick up his Vette at Gateway Chevy. While there, I asked some of the guys to listen to my 2700 RPM noice. They indicated it sounded like something in the flywheel or started and would need to look closer. I left the car with them began praying that GMPP would cover this one. The next day, they said we needed a new starter and flywheel and that GMPP decided to cover it without even sending out an adjuster! However, after installation of these parts, they were still hearing the noise. Further inspection indicated that the noice was coming from the torque tube bearing. They felt as though the torque tube bearing was damaged during the installation of the torque converter. There is a warning sign printed on the torque tube that tells you not to let the torque tube hang from the transmission. Apparently that was done. I was able to inspect the damaged torque tube and confirmed what they found. Because a new torque tube claim with GMPP would have caused them to send an adjuster out causing my claim on the flywheel and starter to be denied, they suggested I get a used/rebuilt torque tube on my own ( a new one was $1400 ) for about $400. The GMPP did not cover the removal of the header tubes during the repair of the starter and flywheel. After labor, deductible and cost of the used torque tube, I was out another $615.

After picking up the Vette, I noticed another sound that was coming from under the passenger seat. The sound was only during slow speed left turns. I called up the service guy I had just gotten it from and they said it was a common sound after a Vette sits for that long without being driven and to give it 100 miles to go away. 100 miles later the sound wasn't gone and I noticed a few small drops of tranny fluid on my clean garage floor. The car also now idles at 2000 RPM after I've been driving it a bit and put it in park. However, from a fresh start it idles at 800 RPM.

Background facts about my car. My car was purchased from fellow ACE member TXAZC6. When purchased the car had Haltech Intake, FAST 90 Throttle Body, LG Longtube Headers, Cam, Magna Flow Exhaust installed and tuned by Loud Pedal Motorsports.

I will be bringing the car back to Phoenix this weekend to have them fix the new noise and tranny leak and hopefully even the idle issue. After that, I will be working with Chuck from Corvettes of Westchester (recommended by Wishbone who found him on Corvette Forum) because he specializes in tuning automatic corvettes. Hallelujah! Holy shit! Where's the Tylenol?

[Wishbone]

Wow Brother I see we are letting out some frustration. Is Kristine coming out with you as well. Dont worry we are going to get your car back up and running correctly in no time.

[Bigfoot99]

Wow, sorry to hear about your troubles.

[TheCMSH]

Well, say goodbye to the tune, they flash the stock program back into the computer and you're really gonna be screwed. Then they'll say the custom tune and the aftermarket hardware was the start of the problem, blah, blah, blah, GMPP will deny the claim, flag the car, and you're permanently hosed.

You need to take it to a Corvette specialist, which isn't going to be a dealership. You had issues, you were in Phoenix, why didn't you take the car back to LPM? Sounds to me like Gateway just started throwing parts at it since it was covered by GMPP. It also sounds like you drive the car pretty hard (obviously) and fast, well, stock components aren't designed to handle that kind of use and last for very long. A highly modded, hard driven car just isn't going to be as mechanically reliable in the long run as if you left it bone stock and drove "normally".

I'm not trying to bash you here, I'm trying to give you some perspective, once the modding starts it almost has to continue down the drivetrain.. I also understand being down in SV you don't have a lot to choose from, other than the dealer, for service. I almost hate to say it because it sounds cliche, "you wanna play, you're gonna pay"

Sorry for your troubles but since you posted it up, I'm just respectfully kicking in my

[4point3]

Wow, sorry to hear about your troubles.

Wow>>>that is one hell of a story, sorry to hear about all the agravation. But look at the plus side....you have a light under the hood right? j/k hope you get the vette up and running soon.

[TEXAZC6]

After picking up the Vette, I noticed another sound that was coming from under the passenger seat. The sound was only during slow speed left turns. I called up the service guy I had just gotten it from and they said it was a common sound after a Vette sits for that long without being driven and to give it 100 miles to go away. 100 miles later the sound wasn't gone and I noticed a few small drops of tranny fluid on my clean garage floor. The car also now idles at 2000 RPM after I've been driving it a bit and put it in park. However, from a fresh start it idles at 800 RPM.

Damn, Brandon, sorry to hear about the issues. The only thing from your post that I can shed some light on since I didn't have any of the other issues is the noise and the tranny fluid.

The noise is most likely from the headers rubbing on the tunnel. I had it a few times and the folks at LPM finally got it adjusted enought that it wouldn't rub anymore when turning. If the took the headers off to do any of the above repairs then it likely just needs to be adjusted again, shifted to the right from under the rear if the car if I remember correctly. I also had the drops of tranny fluid (ask Big Poppa's winshield on the way to Laughlin after the torque converter install and it was because it was overfilled. If they don't fill it with the car running and in neutral (I think that is the correct procedure for filling but it was a while ago) otherwise it will drip a little everytime it gets hot.

No info on high idle. I had some issues with it idling too low before the torque converter but nothing like you described.

Hope this helps and keep us posted.

[c6speed]

I like waffles.

[Wishbone]

Well, say goodbye to the tune, they flash the stock program back into the computer and you're really gonna be screwed. Then they'll say the custom tune and the aftermarket hardware was the start of the problem, blah, blah, blah, GMPP will deny the claim, flag the car, and you're permanently hosed.

You need to take it to a Corvette specialist, which isn't going to be a dealership. You had issues, you were in Phoenix, why didn't you take the car back to LPM? Sounds to me like Gateway just started throwing parts at it since it was covered by GMPP. It also sounds like you drive the car pretty hard (obviously) and fast, well, stock components aren't designed to handle that kind of use and last for very long. A highly modded, hard driven car just isn't going to be as mechanically reliable in the long run as if you left it bone stock and drove "normally".

I'm not trying to bash you here, I'm trying to give you some perspective, once the modding starts it almost has to continue down the drivetrain.. I also understand being down in SV you don't have a lot to choose from, other than the dealer, for service. I almost hate to say it because it sounds cliche, "you wanna play, you're gonna pay"

Sorry for your troubles but since you posted it up, I'm just respectfully kicking in my

First and foremost I want to hit on some of your lashings that you so call your 2 cents. Brandon purchased the car with those mods and in no way was he abusing the car. The 2007 Corvette stock is capable of going up to the speed he was going. that is what is was built for. So when you say a stock car is not ment to do what you feel is Sport driving is FALSE. Second a corvette is not a grocery getter, it is a world class sports car that competes with the best of the best. So how can you make the statement a stock cars parts were not designed for his type of driving.

Second, in the defense to not taking it to LPM for reasons that can not be spoken about but none the less is a descision that Brandon made in what he felt was best for his car. I was a point man on Brandons car being fixed and have tons of pictures to prove what mechanical parts were damaged and why! I will post pictures when I get home today but I am at the office and am unable to post them at this time. However, in know way did Gateway throw parts at his car and their reputation for taking care of Corvettes are pretty much impecable. Two of the service writers have Z06's and know Corvette's in and out. Not to mention both of their technicains have been through the Z06 and ZR1 training to rebuild a Corvette from the ground up. The flex plates teeth were chewed up from the starter. The starter was not disengaging from the flexplate which caused the damage, hence the 2700 rpm rattle we were lookiing for. However upon driving Brandons car, I noticed much more then that and so did John my service writer. He had vibration throughout the cabin at different intervals. Upon complete inspection it was clear and noticable how the tourque tube was bent from being hung from the engine as an improper mechanical repair move. Due to the tourque tube being bent, the iner bearing was now slanted which had no where for it to go but to go out which was causing his vibration. Gateway did a great job at working with GMPP as well as workiing with Brandon to take care of his mechanical issues with the least amount of money out of his pockets. But the exhaust system was never put iin correctly from the begining which the pictures prove this as well on many different levels. I am not here to bash anybody but if people do not know the facts, they should merely ask questions if they are concerned and would like to help. Making aqusitions about what could of happened does not help the situation. As for what is happening to Brandons car now. Something has changed and it is evident when driving his car. The vibration when turning left which is most probably due to exactly what TEXAZC6 was explaining that he had the headers adjusted a couple of times before the noise went away.

As for his warranty, Brandon and I discused this in detail how he really was screwed when he bought the car. At that time I was unaware as others were on what would or would not be covered under the GMPP warranty. So the way his car is acting right now is nothing less then very poor tuning. The car starts up and runs cold at 1000 rpm's. After engine is up to temp. his rpm's go up to 2000+ rpm's. His car needs to be fixed and it doesn't matter where he takes it, his car has had engine parts replaced, so he is screwed if there is a problem with the enginie. So Chuck Cow is a leading proffesional Corvette Mechanic in both builds and tunes. Once again I do not need to tute his horn either. But Brandon will benifit from taking his car to any Corvette specialist. So if he chooses to have Chuck tune his car I am two thumbs up as he has the credentials to back up his services.

WISHBONE OUT

[BubbaThaLuva]

Let me make this clear. I didn't post this to bash LPM. I was just putting facts out there. I don't feel that I was screwed by Phil when I bought his car. I also don't think that LPM did anything malicious when modding and tuning the car. I also think that the car ran fine for Phil and for me until I drove it for 1000 miles non-stop. Phil probably never drove it that far in one setting. I drove up to Prescott and back with no issues and drove it pretty hard on the way down through Wickenburg Victor and the crew. It wasn't until I actually put a real road trip on the mods that some problems showed up. I know the 2700 RPM sound would have eventually started no matter how easy or hard I drove the car. That issue is now fixed. I called LPM about the issue and even had the Gateway Service talk to the Jason at LPM to fully explain what was found. If LPM thought they did something wrong, they had every chance to make it right. They didn't feel that was the case and so I let Gateway continue with the repair. There are no hard feelings with LPM. I just chose not to go back. I asked Gateway if they reset the PCM and they said no. However, the car just isn't acting the same. I don't feel its a lost cause or anything. I don't feel like my driving or care for the car was the cause of any of this. These issues have not turned me off to being a Corvette owner. It is an expensive hobby.

Another issue I forgot to mention in my first post which is probably related to a tuning issue is when get up to about 35 mph and let my foot off the gas, there is enough idle to maintain that speed for a while and the engine will sounds like it can't decide to shift up or down. It will stop if I slow it down to around 30 or speed up to 40. It only does it right at 35.

If I have offended anyone by posting something that could be considered bad for the LPM business, I appologize. I feel that it would be wrong for me not to share my experience with the rest of the ACE forum. At a minimum it might help a future first time Corvette buyer make a smarter decision on what kind of vette to buy. The main thing that really triggered me to finally break down and buy one was listening to Glenn Rodney's Vette. I loved the sound of it and knew I wanted one. I also knew that a stock C6 didn't sound like that. I don't regret buying Phil Thompson's Vette. I love the way this thing sounds and the way it shakes at idle. Those things that I love about it came from the mods that LPM did. Had I not bought the car, I also wouldn't have met some of the great people I've met.

GMPP covered a harmonic balancer back in September even after they sent an adjuster out and knew what mods were on the car. They did not cover the wiring harness. They did cover part of the starter, flywheel, torque tube issue without sending out an adjuster. I don't think they "blacklist" a car and permanently ban it from any coverage. Think they actually listen to adjusters and service techs and make a decision. I now know that if I'm ever in a position to buy another one, I know that I must weigh the pros and cons of going with a mod vs stock and the implications that has for warranties. The best course of action is to find a way to have modified one that is still fully covered by a warranty.

Once again, I appologize if someone feels offended or attacked. That isn't my goal.

[Bigfoot99]

If you're talking Gateway Chevy at the I-10 and the 101, there is NO WAY in HELL I'd EVER take my car there.

They are a bunch of d!ckheads looking to make a buck.

I had an active handling problem a few years back and took it for a diagnostic. They tried to convince me it was a bad harness from battery leakage.

IT WAS NOT. Yes, the battery had leaked, but did NO damage to the harness. They were trying to scam me thinking I would not try a harness myself or figure it out. Their TechII scanner should have told them my steering wheel position sensor was reading out of tolerance for voltage. But instead LIED to me.

F$CK Gateway Chevy.

[TEXAZC6]

Let me make this clear. I didn't post this to bash LPM. I was just putting facts out there. I don't feel that I was screwed by Phil when I bought his car. I also don't think that LPM did anything malicious when modding and tuning the car. I also think that the car ran fine for Phil and for me until I drove it for 1000 miles non-stop. Phil probably never drove it that far in one setting. I drove up to Prescott and back with no issues and drove it pretty hard on the way down through Wickenburg Victor and the crew. It wasn't until I actually put a real road trip on the mods that some problems showed up. I know the 2700 RPM sound would have eventually started no matter how easy or hard I drove the car. That issue is now fixed. I called LPM about the issue and even had the Gateway Service talk to the Jason at LPM to fully explain what was found. If LPM thought they did something wrong, they had every chance to make it right. They didn't feel that was the case and so I let Gateway continue with the repair. There are no hard feelings with LPM. I just chose not to go back. I asked Gateway if they reset the PCM and they said no. However, the car just isn't acting the same. I don't feel its a lost cause or anything. I don't feel like my driving or care for the car was the cause of any of this. These issues have not turned me off to being a Corvette owner. It is an expensive hobby.

Another issue I forgot to mention in my first post which is probably related to a tuning issue is when get up to about 35 mph and let my foot off the gas, there is enough idle to maintain that speed for a while and the engine will sounds like it can't decide to shift up or down. It will stop if I slow it down to around 30 or speed up to 40. It only does it right at 35.

If I have offended anyone by posting something that could be considered bad for the LPM business, I appologize. I feel that it would be wrong for me not to share my experience with the rest of the ACE forum. At a minimum it might help a future first time Corvette buyer make a smarter decision on what kind of vette to buy. The main thing that really triggered me to finally break down and buy one was listening to Glenn Rodney's Vette. I loved the sound of it and knew I wanted one. I also knew that a stock C6 didn't sound like that. I don't regret buying Phil Thompson's Vette. I love the way this thing sounds and the way it shakes at idle. Those things that I love about it came from the mods that LPM did. Had I not bought the car, I also wouldn't have met some of the great people I've met.

GMPP covered a harmonic balancer back in September even after they sent an adjuster out and knew what mods were on the car. They did not cover the wiring harness. They did cover part of the starter, flywheel, torque tube issue without sending out an adjuster. I don't think they "blacklist" a car and permanently ban it from any coverage. Think they actually listen to adjusters and service techs and make a decision. I now know that if I'm ever in a position to buy another one, I know that I must weigh the pros and cons of going with a mod vs stock and the implications that has for warranties. The best course of action is to find a way to have modified one that is still fully covered by a warranty.

Once again, I appologize if someone feels offended or attacked. That isn't my goal.

Wanted to clarify something with Brandon and everyone else reading this. The only mechanical work done by LPM was a 30K mile service and some help with the header rubbing issue.

The Cam, FAST90, headers, and CAI were done by the now defunct AZPS and the torque converter was installed by Xtreme Motorsports. If I got you confused Brandon, I'm sorry. When we spoke a few weeks ago, I recommended that you contact Jason at LPM to see if he remembered the CAM specs from when he used to work for AZPS. If I gave you the impression that they actually did the work, that was my fault.

As for the tune, that was done by NicD here on the board who has done tuning for ALL of the companies listed above.

Hope that clears up the muck a little bit and makes sense as far as the reaction, or lack thereof, that you might have gotten from LPM.

[Jason L]

Edit - Thanks for setting that straight Phil

To the OP I have talked to you a few times about the car and said we would be happy to take a look at it at no charge just to make sure your concerns were addressed.

This post has been edited by Jason L: 09 February 2010 - 12:14 PM

[Sidewinder]

Sorry to hear about the problems with your car Brandon. It took us a few attemps to get the exhaust straight but finally got it nailed down. As far as the tune goes, PM sent that will probably give you some relief

[NicD]

I'll add that the FAST intake might be leaking if the idle is at 2000 rpm or something may be wrong with the TB because that's not normal... as if I needed to say that. LOL! I kind of remember the car from A LONG time ago.

This post has been edited by NicD: 09 February 2010 - 01:03 PM

[Bigfoot99]

I'm glad Phil straightened that out. I wasn't sure (and why I didn't say anything), but I didn't think LPM had started up when he had gotten the car built up.

[BubbaThaLuva]

Yep, thanks Phil for setting me straight. I guess I always thought that LPM did all the work since there was the nifty LPM sticker on the back glass. Another part of this post is for my own personal education. I knew by posting this, I'd get some feedback and lots of different points of view. I'm not nearly as smart about Corvettes (or any cars for that matter) as I'd like to be.

As far as Gateway goes, the jury is still out as far as I'm concerned. Eddie stayed in the shop very late that Friday night I dropped by just to listen and figure out where the sound was coming from. They didn't charge me for that diagnostic and I could have driven her back to SV and not used them if I wanted. I know the Chevy place in Nederland, TX that initially check out the sound were retarded. I don't doubt that at one time Gateway might have had some shady people, I think all business like that go through different people at different times and sometimes gain their entire reputation on one service employee. How things go this weekend will determine my final opinion.

[Jason L]

Well like I said Please bring her by if you need anything checked out. Also hopefully the things that were said that "can't be mentioned" are corrected at this point considering the work we did was minimal

[old yeller]

I like waffles.

Me Too!!!!!

[Wishbone]

To both Jason and Mark from LPM. My comments about why Brandon did not bring the car to you was not for me to say. Those words have to come from him and I would not want words from my mouth be a reflection of Brandon. I do a good job hurting my own image and don't need to hurt anybody else by putting words in there mouths. Sense Brandon was completely confused as to who did what to his car you can only imagine what others might think when names are brought up. Neverless, I do have pictures of all of his parts and tear down while at Gateway and in the pictures you can easily tell there are some red flags. When you have different shops working on your car it is really hard to determine what has been done sometimes unless you were there watching them every minute.

Brandon and I have both spoken about his situation and in no way had any plans to trash talk anybody or any business. Their was no intention what so ever to rag on you and LPM. I have nothing against you guys or your shop. We just want to get his car running like it should and was looking for help and guidence to his situation.

Please feel free to call me Mark or PM me if you have any questions or concerns.

[Buccaneer]

To both Jason and Mark from LPM. My comments about why Brandon did not bring the car to you was not for me to say. Those words have to come from him and I would not want words from my mouth be a reflection of Brandon. I do a good job hurting my own image and don't need to hurt anybody else by putting words in there mouths. Sense Brandon was completely confused as to who did what to his car you can only imagine what others might think when names are brought up. Neverless, I do have pictures of all of his parts and tear down while at Gateway and in the pictures you can easily tell there are some red flags. When you have different shops working on your car it is really hard to determine what has been done sometimes unless you were there watching them every minute.

Brandon and I have both spoken about his situation and in no way had any plans to trash talk anybody or any business. Their was no intention what so ever to rag on you and LPM. I have nothing against you guys or your shop. We just want to get his car running like it should and was looking for help and guidence to his situation.

Please feel free to call me Mark or PM me if you have any questions or concerns.

Hey, if you need someone to keep the "carbon build up" down from sitting around (you know how dangerous that build up can be on a motor ) let me know and I'll be more than happy to go for cruises in a C6 for you while gone. Ok, so it's not a C3 CF, but you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.

[Ted Yoder]

I like pancakes, but not as much as waffles.

[Jason L]

To both Jason and Mark from LPM. My comments about why Brandon did not bring the car to you was not for me to say. Those words have to come from him and I would not want words from my mouth be a reflection of Brandon. I do a good job hurting my own image and don't need to hurt anybody else by putting words in there mouths. Sense Brandon was completely confused as to who did what to his car you can only imagine what others might think when names are brought up. Neverless, I do have pictures of all of his parts and tear down while at Gateway and in the pictures you can easily tell there are some red flags. When you have different shops working on your car it is really hard to determine what has been done sometimes unless you were there watching them every minute.

Brandon and I have both spoken about his situation and in no way had any plans to trash talk anybody or any business. Their was no intention what so ever to rag on you and LPM. I have nothing against you guys or your shop. We just want to get his car running like it should and was looking for help and guidence to his situation.

Please feel free to call me Mark or PM me if you have any questions or concerns.

I hear what you are saying just wanted the record straight that we adjusted the catback to prevent it from rubbing and changed the fluids and that was really it so unless we under/over filled the oil or the catback fell off chances are we wouldn't be to blame there. We haven't seen that car in a LONG time but we are again happy to assist in anything that needs to be fixed. Also the Tune stuff would be as easy as letting Nic Re-flash it if he still has the tune from 3 years ago. If not it can be re-tuned locally and not have to deal with mail order, Nothing against chuck but without driving his car its going to be pretty tough to get the tune spot on with the mods that he has.

Oh and I prefer French Toast to either pancakes or waffles? (No idea where that is coming from btw)

[Sidewinder]

To both Jason and Mark from LPM. My comments about why Brandon did not bring the car to you was not for me to say. Those words have to come from him and I would not want words from my mouth be a reflection of Brandon. I do a good job hurting my own image and don't need to hurt anybody else by putting words in there mouths. Sense Brandon was completely confused as to who did what to his car you can only imagine what others might think when names are brought up. Neverless, I do have pictures of all of his parts and tear down while at Gateway and in the pictures you can easily tell there are some red flags. When you have different shops working on your car it is really hard to determine what has been done sometimes unless you were there watching them every minute.

Brandon and I have both spoken about his situation and in no way had any plans to trash talk anybody or any business. Their was no intention what so ever to rag on you and LPM. I have nothing against you guys or your shop. We just want to get his car running like it should and was looking for help and guidence to his situation.

Please feel free to call me Mark or PM me if you have any questions or concerns.

It's all good

I think everything has been straightened out.

[jstrutt]

I have a LPM hat and sticker so keep you're friggin waffles blah.

[old yeller]

Oh and I prefer French Toast to either pancakes or waffles? (No idea where that is coming from btw) quote


All this talk is making me hungry.