2006 Chevrolet Corvette Trick Flow Specialties Cylinder Heads Install - "Trick" Or Treat

The old head gasket residue has gotta go. Newer-style factory gaskets used on LS engines don't leave much behind, but what is there must be removed carefully. It's all just rubber, basically-razor blades are a bad idea, so we try using a toothbrush. No good. Believe it or not, a plastic putty knife seems to work the best. Fingernails work, too, for the fine stuff. Remember to mask off all routes to the interior of the engine before doing any of this! Afterward, we do the obligatory blow-out-the-M11-holes procedure (we don't want coolant or any residue down there that could crack the block or interfere with bolt tightening). All masking is then removed.

Now we turn the crank to top dead center at the firing position for cylinder 1. (With the front cover on, we can't look at the alignment of the cam and crank sprockets, so this is most easily determined by temporarily taking the lifter guide out and watching this cylinder's lifter movement.) This gets us in the place we need to be when beginning to install the rocker arms. We use a 24mm open end on the crank bolt, as it's the only thing that will fit in the Vette's tight confines at the front of the engine. A final wipe with solvent-soaked rags is in order on the deck surface before the head gasket is put in place in the correct orientation. At this point, displacement markings are also noted (6.0L, seen at rear of gasket) and verified correct for our application.

An up-close look at TFS' handiwork is in order before we bolt the heads in place...

...Some technical highlights of the GenX heads: The intake side features a Gen III-style "cathedral" port, and (as with the exhaust side) utilizes a 13.5-degree valve angle for decreased valve shrouding and increased mid-lift airflow. Strength-enhancing features include relocated spark plugs (also said to be a boon for flow), and a rigid casting for high-horsepower applications...

...They are currently available as big as 235cc on the intake, and you can also buy them in Fast As Cast guise, i.e., sans CNC porting, for significant dollar savings with close to the same flow. As you can see, TFS has impressive offerings to fit any LS application!

With the heads cleaned and all holes and passages blown out with compressed air, the driver-side head's deck surface is wiped and laid in place on the block. Care is needed to gently guide it onto the alignment dowels, which will also ensure the head can't slip out of place before you start putting bolts in. We repeat for the passenger side.

All ten M11 and five M8 ARP head bolts on each side are inserted and snugged, using SAE 30 oil on the threads and under the heads, per ARP's instructions (the company's Moly Assembly Lubricant can also be used in lieu of oil-GM recommends threadlocker on the M8 bolts). They are then torqued in steps to a final 85 ft-lb (M11 bolts) and 29 ft-lb (M8 bolts) using GM's sequence, which is conveniently duplicated in the Trick Flow instructions. "Dem bolts is tight, damn!"

The rocker arms are up next. We notice some aluminum burrs in the rocker bolt holes where they intersect the intake ports, so we run a bolt through each. The intake ports are blown out afterward to make sure nothing gets into the engine once the valves are operational. We then mask off the intake ports to avoid any parts drop mishaps (as an alternative, one could also install the intake now). The pushrods are cleaned in mineral spirits, blown out, and inserted. Assembly lube is used on the lower tip of each, and will also go on each upper tip just before each rocker goes on. These pushrods are Trick Flow's 5/16-inch, 0.080-wall, 4130 chrome-moly units in 7.500-inch form (length needs vary by exact LS engine and camshaft, so we'll be double-checking this shortly).

Harland Sharp calls these aluminum roller rockers "pedestal mount," and they're an interesting variation on the factory GM stand mount rockers. Individual cylindrical black pedestals (not shown; they're visible in our parts beauty shot) replace the factory stand. The pedestals provide a stable base to prevent the flex one might see with a SBC-style stud mount system; but unlike the factory stands, they don't prevent the rockers from rotating out of place. So to keep each pair of rockers in proper alignment with respect to their valve stems and pushrods, they are connected via a guide bar that slips between them-which is a whole lot better idea than old-school guideplates. These are also available in 1.8 ratio, and in adjustable form for race applications.