I had my 2006 Cadillac XLR at the dealer for a vacuum leak. The rubber coupling between the air intake and the plennum had to be replaced due to a split on the underside. The tech made the needed repair and put everything back together and then proceeded to start the car and expressed that he heard a weird sound. The car immediately shut off, he then proceeded to check his work by removing all the parts that were previously taken off. After reinstalling all that was removed, he again started the car and again heard a weird sound only now louder.

The lead/head technician thinks that something may have fallen into the heads while the plennum was off. They used a fiber optic camera to look into the heads to see what they could find, but found nothing other than two stuck valves. So at this moment my engine (4.6 Liter V8 Norstar) is being removed for futher investigation. The shop manager calculated that it will take 26 man hours to remove the engine and investigate what happened. All work will be covered under warranty and if the damage is significant they will replace the engine with a new one. I will not know until next week what damage was done.

 

Wow... Rob that stinks, but then again hopefully you'll get a brand new motor..

 

Dang Rob, thank God for the warrany....I thought the XLR had the Vette engine?

 

What a nightmare. Good luck to you.

 

Valves jammed down and pistons coming up = bent valve stems and maybe cracked piston(s).

I'd want to see the damage before they fix it. You do not want trouble down the road and they say it's a new problem with no warranty.

A mechanic(?) forgot to put the oil back in a Viper where my wife worked once, the guy never got a block before the engine seized and that meant one newly unemployed mechanic looking for a job.

 

Got the verdict today, they found a nut in the 4th left valve and a bolt in the 3rd left valve. The nut and bolt that were found had nothing to do with the initial repair. This is the puzzling part, all nuts, bolts and washers from the initial repair are accounted for. So they are rebuilding the top half of the engine. Two new heads, new valves, fuel rails and coil packs. There was no damage to the pistons or block. FP only the XLR V has the supercharged Corvette engine. Here are some pictures from GM ICU............

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Wow, nice to see they had the proper tooling to drop the drive train assy. This reminds me of the Prowler drive train. I find it difficult to believe that this incident has nothing to do with the initial repair they performed. Couldn't this head job been performed in-frame? One is hopefull that this time around there wont be any parts leftover!

 

My thoughts exactly. Can you push like hell for a factory crate long block ?

IMO =They're making this look like it was a factory issue that their tech must have just dislodged, while it sure sounds like he dropped the nuts!!
Good luck. I really hope its as good as new when completed.

 

Anyone mention sabotage ?

 

This is a thought that has been running through my brain, I cannot see any other way that a bolt and nut would be in there. The tech is a very dedicated and stand up young man, I cannot see him doing it on purpose or being that inept in making repairs. He is the only tech that is allowed to work on XLR's and there three other XLR's that he works on regularly. I know all the owners and they have never had any issues with his work or work ethic.

 

Many many years ago I saw something similar happen where I worked. It seemed one mechanic during the day always made a bigger mess than the rest of the mechanics. The night janitor crew that cleaned the shop didn't care for the bigger mess to clean. Needless to say, he would be short parts or have extra parts left over when finished on a repair job. They figured it out and it was handled.

 

Another employee jealous of the XLR Tech walks by and drops the nut & bolt into the head. ?

 

Bet he doesn't sleep his girlfriend again......

 

Got to see the actual nut that was involved (did not see the bolt) it looks to be about 1/4" nut that is now completely flat and elongated. Here are a few close ups of the damaged valves, head and piston from GM ICU, on Monday I will have a sit down with the service manger and insist that a new engine be installed.

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"The nut and bolt that were found had nothing to do with the initial repair"

Yah. Right. Must have been a bad tank of gas.

 

Just leaving parts lying on the dirty cement floor, and leaving coolant in the cylinder to drip into the oil pan screams incompetence!
NEW MOTOR NOW!

 

Had my sit down today with the shop manager and it went somewhat well. They are going to replace all 4 pistons, valves and head on the right side of the engine. While the pistons are removed that will check the block and all the internals. Then they will compression test the engine, if they cannot get the correct compression the engine will be replaced. If there is any other damage found then they will just replace the engine. If after all repairs are made and there are any issues, they will replace the engine. They gave me a 2012 Malibu as a loaner.

I still think at this point it would in everyones best interest to just replace the engine now. The shop manager said that he will get together with the general manager of the dealership to try to push the issue for a total engine replacement.

 

Whatever happened with your XLR?

 

My XLR is alive and well and running better than when it went in. The dealer and tech did an excellent job.

 

Glad to hear it! When this thread tapered off it was looking like a nightmare in the making. Did you end up with a new engine?