LS1 Rebuild, Bearing & Component Questions..

[SLP IROC-Z]

considering pulling the motor and sending everything out to have checked. since im new to ls1s and whats out there for new technology i am wondering what everyone recommends for main, rod and cam bearings for these engines? also interested in ring sets. it will obviously be run hard and will see lots of street use. i want to do it once and do it right. aftermarket balancer of choice? powerbond? oil pump, stock, ported, aftermarket?

[DemonWithin99]

stock ls6 ... lol

[Slowhawk]

biggest thing to worry about is the machine work. That will make/break a motor.

[SLP IROC-Z]

biggest thing to worry about is the machine work. That will make/break a motor.

what do you reccomend for a balancer/underdrive pulley, powerbond? ported oil pump neccessary?

[KLAB]

Joe I have an LS rebuild book if you want to borrow it. Seems to be helpful.

[Slowhawk]

what do you reccomend for a balancer/underdrive pulley, powerbond? ported oil pump neccessary?

depends on what your doing with the motor. Stock H/C = use stock shit.

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

What balancer did you Use John? that was well built piece.

[My84Z]

Slp

[My84Z]

If your going that far y not do a forged 348

[Slowhawk]

SLP is Powerbond

[SLP IROC-Z]

pulled the cam out tonight, found the bearings are wiped out and the cam is damaged as well. glad i didnt throw the new heads and valve train on this short block lol.

[ZFreie]

Esh bummer

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

yeah looks like valve float to me!!!!!

[ZFreie]

yeah looks like valve float to me!!!!!Also would explain the ticking lol

[SLP IROC-Z]

i dont know if you guys can see the nick on that lobe, ill circle it and reload the picture.

[SLP IROC-Z]

:idontknow:

[ZFreie]

i dont know if you guys can see the nick on that lobe, ill circle it and reload the picture.Oh i could see it haha

[irockidz28]

yea thats not ideal.

[Slowhawk]

caused by oil quality or oil pressure.

[SLP IROC-Z]

was probably abused and neglected before i got it. i put 12k on it since last spring and did 6 oil changes using mobil1 and an ac delco filter. never had to add oil to it, oh well.

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

id say it was the guy before you!

[SLP IROC-Z]

well the block and rotating assembly are at the machine shop!

[SLP IROC-Z]

going to give don a call tomorrow, thinking about rods, pistons and camshaft.

[c4boom]

mine has a summit on it :shrug:

[SLP IROC-Z]

talked to machine shop today, everything was in great shape. theyre going to polish the crank, hone the block, resurface the deck due to some corrosion and instal new cam bearings. waitin on the rod bolts to come in so they can check the rod sizing and the rings.

[irockidz28]

nice!

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

thats some Great News!!! guess your sticking with stock stuff!

[SLP IROC-Z]

got everything back from the machine shop, hope to have it together soon. glad i had the rod size checked with those arp bolts, they closed up a bit and needed a hone to be right again. everything else was in awesome shape. bores were good, main line was good, cam line was good. they cleaned the block, installed new cam bearings and honed the cylinders. polished the crank, cleaned the pistons and checked them and the rods.

[941LE]

nice pile of stuff you got there!

[irockidz28]

nice!

[BadBird505]

nice!

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

Done Yet!?!?!?!?!

[SLP IROC-Z]

havent started on it yet, ive had the cab off my truck since last friday, itll be back together in a day or two. then ill have time to put the short block together.

[SLP IROC-Z]

if youre around saturday mike theres a truck meet and dyno day at dez racing.

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

Finally doing studs!!!!!

[SLP IROC-Z]

yup bout time lol.

[SLP IROC-Z]

going to order those new tsp long tubes and ORY, absolutely smokin deal for that setup. going to cash my cats in and sell my manifolds. i want 11s.

[My84Z]

Yeah I have been looking at them too what a deal! You gonna throw a cam in that thing?

[SLP IROC-Z]

i think im going to stick with the stock cam and put the money towards the long tubes, doing both is just going to cost to much. it would be nice though.

i called tsp earlier their y pipe is 304 stainless just like the headers, sweet setup for 630 bucks!

[KLAB]

i think im going to stick with the stock cam and put the money towards the long tubes, doing both is just going to cost to much. it would be nice though.

i called tsp earlier their y pipe is 304 stainless just like the headers, sweet setup for 630 bucks!

wow I want some!! :sCh_elmodance:

[941LE]

hows the quality compaired to kooks or ARH?

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

Don sed there pretty damn good!

[Slowhawk]

They look good but heavy as hell. Don't know about fit though.

[SLP IROC-Z]

theyre hard to get a hold of, every time a shipment comes in they sell out!
cranks in, lol. looks like i need a new cam retainer, there was metal jammed in the seal.

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

SO PRE PAY FOR A SET!!!!! hahah and cant you just change the seal?

[SLP IROC-Z]

i was hoping so, only found part numbers for a new retainer so far. ill look into it more. i dont want to tie $600.00 up into something i dont know when ill receive lol.

[SLP IROC-Z]

powerbond balancer is here, comp cams trunion upgrade & c5r chain are on the way. i ordered a ported and blue printed melling pump but ws6store said it was back ordered, ill have to check out other places.

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

dont get the melling you have to grind the front cover. the LS6 pump or even your stocker ported will be plenty.

[84ta406]

Just curious where did you have the machine work done?

[SLP IROC-Z]

lawrence crankshaft in haverhill, mass. theyre in miller machines old building.

[Slowhawk]

Depending on the melling pump they can actually dry out the oil pan at high rpm.

For reference, my car has a LS6/stock pump with our own porting. Same as all the motors we build. Never seen the need for a mellings.

[SLP IROC-Z]

thanks don, ill probably go with an ls6 pump than. i need to call you about cams..

few new parts

[SLP IROC-Z]

finished putting the pistons/rods in this evening, shit takes time around here lol.

[84ta406]

Looks good man, Just curious but what did you set the bearing clearances at?

[SLP IROC-Z]

i forget the exact numbers, everything is within gm spec though.

[SLP IROC-Z]

might as well right?????

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

get rid of all the troubled rust spots. why not!?!?

[SLP IROC-Z]

yep, the strut towers are going to suck. i think im going to do the passenger side first that way i can put that side back together before taking the drivers side all apart.

the areas i did so far came out mint, i wasnt shooting for perfect because i did that on the other car and i was never happy so i said anythings better than dingy orange paint and scattered rust spots.

[KLAB]

That's awesome Joe! Shoulda called me jackass!

[SLP IROC-Z]

haha sorry kevin, ended up doing the passenger side strut tower today, had to sand the primer down a couple times due to fish eyes, i hate body work. i got it decent so tomorrow morning im going to spray the orange onto half the radiator support and the passenger strut tower. once dry reassembling that side, when i have more time ill do the drivers side. what did i get myself into??

[SLP IROC-Z]

first coat done, i am excited!

[941LE]

looks good joe!

[SLP IROC-Z]

thanks mike! i did another coat of base and just cleared it, god this color looks good wet lol. ill get more picturs after its all cured! all done with spray bombs, when you see it you wont believe it.

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

That looks fuckin greatttt

[SLP IROC-Z]

all done and dry with 2 coats of clear! looks better than the color on the car!

[BadBird505]

looks great!

[holokosta]

Nice man

[ls6monte]

Nice Joe!

[KLAB]

looks niceeee jackasssss

[frankzlt1]

That looks real good.

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

looks to me like you should pain the whole car that color!!!!

[SLP IROC-Z]

i know right? when i put the first coat down i was pissed because it was wicked red like red-orange, after the 2nd coat it looked alot better then we got clear and that set it off. i know the cars been painted in sections but none of it looks like what i sprayed today. i dont know if its just cause the paints old or if it was the wrong shade to begin with or if the color under the hood is just off but i think it looks better. my dad says this orange looks more like the hugger from the 60s.

[Formula413]

Looks great, where did you get the paints & clear?

[SLP IROC-Z]

Looks great, where did you get the paints & clear?

alex i ordered the spray bombs from a local autobody supply, sanel auto parts can get them to. all i had to do was give them my paint code, they mixed it and put it in the spray cans. pretty cool huh? plus they gave me half a pint in a can to save if i need another spray bomb filled. the primer and clear i got from sanels. the base coat and clear coat are acrylic urethane. for spray bombs they laid down real nice, especially the cans the base coat was in, there isnt a run.

i wanted to do the bay quickly and cheap, it definitly worked out great. about a days worth of work to do half the bay, the other half ill get to when i have more time.

[ZFreie]

alex i ordered the spray bombs from a local autobody supply, sanel auto parts can get them to. all i had to do was give them my paint code, they mixed it and put it in the spray cans. pretty cool huh? plus they gave me half a pint in a can to save if i need another spray bomb filled. the primer and clear i got from sanels. the base coat and clear coat are acrylic urethane. for spray bombs they laid down real nice, especially the cans the base coat was in, there isnt a run.

i wanted to do the bay quickly and cheap, it definitly worked out great. about a days worth of work to do half the bay, the other half ill get to when i have more time.Never knew that, thats pretty bad ass

[SLP IROC-Z]

couple pics in the sunlight, sorry had to lol.

[Formula413]

You seriously are going to have to do the rest of the car with spray bombs now LOL

[SLP IROC-Z]

started the other side tonight, shes naked! you can see the bare section on the frame rail, this is where the line lock was leaking brake fluid, it ate all the paint off. i wire wheeled it before taking this picture. going to clean it up more with 3m roloc discs and spot blasting then por15 it. i decided to pull the brake booster and clutch master out because it would have looked kind of half assed if i didnt paint past the booster, it took about 5 minutes to get it out so no big deal. there probably wont be much more progress until next week, things are going to be busy here the next few days. stay tuned.

[941LE]

nice work joe. this project gonna turn into the 3rd gen? lol

[SLP IROC-Z]

hell no lol. im doing much better at managing things with this car haha. also being less picky has helped to!

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

i still say spray the whole car in rattle can!!!!!!!! Looks Bitchin.... Hahaha

[SLP IROC-Z]

haha. painting the car is next winters project, atleast for now i wont be ashamed to open my hood at shows or the track.

[ZFreie]

haha. painting the car is next winters project, atleast for now i wont be ashamed to open my hood at shows or the track.I feel like I should be ashamed of my car now hahah

[Motaboata]

I feel like I should be ashamed of my car now hahah

U have nothing to worry about! Park next to me you will b fine!

[irockidz28]

I feel like I should be ashamed of my car now hahah

Race me and you will feel better hahahahah

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

Race me and you will feel better hahahahah

DO IT!!!!!!

[VinnyDz28]

It's coming out great Joe! Can't wait to see her when she's all done!

[KLAB]

hows the strippin goin joe bahahaha

[SLP IROC-Z]

almost done with that side kevin! ill take to take pictures. lol

[SLP IROC-Z]

i had to strip the passenger side guys. i used acrylic enamel for a base coat, well what i didnt know was it has to cure for along time before you can clear it. well i cleared it about 2 hrs after i sprayed it so even though it looked amazing after about 1.5 weeks it was still soft. so now i stripped it down and going to do it again with better paint.

[KLAB]

lot of work all over again but its best thing todo

[SLP IROC-Z]

its starting to look more like a motor...

[ls6monte]

Getting there Joe!

[irockidz28]

nice!!

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

Hurry the fuck up its almost dyno day!!!

[SLP IROC-Z]

idont think she will be there but i will be !

almost done with the primer.

[SLP IROC-Z]

todays progress. 4th gen engine bays are not fun to sand and paint, to tight!

i am putting the color on tomorrow, ran out of primer. figures.

[Formula413]

How come you are re-doing the section that was already done?

[SLP IROC-Z]

well i sprayed that side with acrylic enamel and not knowing better i cleared over it right away. well acrylic enamel needs alot of time to cure, like months before it can be cleared. it is a cheap paint, soft finish and long cure time. so after almost 2 weeks it was still soft and i didnt want to make the same mistake on the other side of the bay so i stripped it down and started over. spraying it with dupont chromabase this time.

[holokosta]

at least you chose to do it right way man... I'm sure your gonna appreciate it later on when paints not burning off your engine bay haha... A lot of people (including myself) would probably be like "eh fuck it"

Good job it looks sweet

[SLP IROC-Z]

hell yeah kosta, if i kept using that setup i would have been really kicking my self down the road because it would have gone to shit quick and looked terrible. it was so soft you couldnt put pressure on it or it would leave an imprint. bit the bullet and decided not to continue to make the same mistake, it sucked but its all finished now and it looks even better plus its done right!


FINALLY! dupont chromabase and an expensive clear. looks killer and will dry this time!!

[941LE]

nice job Joe

[SLP IROC-Z]

heres some more. i did the firewall to, it was a major pita to sand but came out slick.

[frankzlt1]

Looking good

[irockidz28]

looks awesome!

[SLP IROC-Z]

now the fun part! puttin shit back together lol.

[941LE]

lol its where you will find all the unnecessary bolts GM used!

[SLP IROC-Z]

money is flowing in again, car will be done very soon! i am pumped!

[KLAB]

money is flowing

take me to this stream of currency... :shiftyeyes:

[c4boom]

nice cuz you owe me a bracket run

[SLP IROC-Z]

finally got the heads back! they are 799s, with some decking, a valve job and pac 1218s!

[941LE]

Sweet joe. So when will we see this thing?

[SLP IROC-Z]

by summer nationals!

[BigMac76]

Worcester Summer Nats? That thing should be sick!

[SLP IROC-Z]

yeah i go every year its a great time! thanks man, it will essentially be a stock ls6 with a little more compression, high performance bearings, stronger valve train and arp rod bolts. im dying to get this car done, i just got some money so now i should be able to complete it! im pysched!

[BigMac76]

That's great to hear man. I'll be there at Summer nats, I live seriously like 3 mins away from Green Hill Park down by Dino's, amazing Italian restaurant!

Look forward to seeing the car, looks like a beast!

[Slowhawk]

This has been a long ass stock motor rebuild quest.

[SLP IROC-Z]

This has been a long ass stock motor rebuild quest.

lol i know right. you know how it goes when you have a shop, your own shit comes last.

im putting the heads on the short block now, tomorrow ill put the rocker arms together and get the valve covers back on.

[SLP IROC-Z]

i know im a pic whore, heads are on!

[SLP IROC-Z]

tomorrow my plan is to call a glass company and get a new windsheild put in the car and put the comp trunion kit in the rocker arms then install them in the motor. i have some parts ordered, theyll be here wednesday and then ill be able to put more together. hope to have the motor back in by the end of the week and next week assemble the trans. i was hoping to put everything in the bottom but our front lift is occupied so ill have to do it from the top.

[My84Z]

Put a nice cam in it

[ZFreie]

tomorrow my plan is to call a glass company and get a new windsheild put in the carLet me know how much a windshield is, I'm in need of one.

[SLP IROC-Z]

Put a nice cam in it

maybe next year. i would have cammed it if i had the money to do headers and have it tuned, unfortunatly diidnt have the extra 1500 to do all that.

[BigMac76]

Hey, those pics are from 2005! Hahah, just kidding man. Hate it when my camera does the same thing there and resets the date because my ass was too lazy to charge the battery before it died out. Looks like it's coming together nicely and quick.

@ZFreie: Call up your insurance company and put glass coverage on the car. Call JN Phillips about 2 or so weeks after and tada, free windshield. It'll be a lot cheaper than actually paying out of pocket for it. Coverage on my car for the year was like $50 or $60. Beats the hell out of $400+.

[ZFreie]

Meh, 400$ for the next 15 years isn't to bad lol

I'm pretty sure this is the original windshield...

[SLP IROC-Z]

new hampshire has no windshield coverage, go figure.

[SLP IROC-Z]

motor is all together, glass company is coming tomorrow to put a windsheild in the car. i got half the bearings i need for the trans, guess i had the wrong p/n for the input shaft bearing. i think it will be on the road next week fo shizzle!

[ZFreie]

glass company is coming tomorrow to put a windsheild in the car.$$$? pm me if you wanna lol

[KLAB]

who is doing the glass

[SLP IROC-Z]

safelite

[KLAB]

xfn5hMQYJ4o

[SLP IROC-Z]

guess that doesnt work for 12" long cracks lol

[SLP IROC-Z]

new windsheild is in. engine is all together, going to put it in the car sunday. sam ordered me TSP long tubes and offroad y as an early birthday present! going to put trans together monday. once the headers and y pipe show up ill get the car running then its off to don for a tune up! i am so pumped, i cant wait to drive it again!

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

AWESOMEEEEEE!! Congrats!

[KLAB]

hellll yeah!!! hit me up ill come by to help!

[SLP IROC-Z]

i think ill have it running tuesday, im going to throw the manifolds and cats on it for the break in. it will be alot quieter and safer to break the motor in with them on instead.

[KLAB]

Good call

[c4boom]

tune still going to be way out man but not as bad as with the long tubes

[My84Z]

Eh it has a maf and safe timing it'll adjust fine

[SLP IROC-Z]

tune still going to be way out man but not as bad as with the long tubes

it will only be for a few days, the tune would be alot further off with the long tubes on.

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

MAF should take care of most of it. Wish my car had one maybe the extra head flow and 2 point drop in C/R wouldnt effect the car so bad.

[KLAB]

it will only be for a few days, the tune would be alot further off with the long tubes on.

I can vouche for that lol

[SLP IROC-Z]

motors in!!!

[941LE]

congrats!

[irockidz28]

sweeeeeeeet

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

its not running yet!?!?! WTF!

[SLP IROC-Z]

tomorrow??? wednesday???

[Slowhawk]

Eh it has a maf and safe timing it'll adjust fine

John nailed it. No reason to waste time changing over. Headers are fine.

[SLP IROC-Z]

the headers wont be here until monday though, i dont want to wait until the last minute to fire it up and break it in. they were supposed to be here this friday so now i am even more crunched for time.

[jayws6]

Looks Great joe. Why didn't u wait for headers to go on before you set motor in

[c4boom]

so he dont loose a week of break in time

[SLP IROC-Z]

it ran for the first time tonight! sounded great! to bad i still have to put the trans together before i can say its done. have a few odds and ends to finish as well.

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

Awesome!!!!!

[ls6monte]

Nice Joe!

[SLP IROC-Z]

runs so smooth and quiet! motor never ran like this before, feels very responsive

[SLP IROC-Z]

since everything in the cooling system was empty i took the opportunity to rid this car of dex cool. i filled it with zerex g-05 coolant 50/50 with deionized water. i looked this up and it seems like a popular thing to do, will not cause issues. g-05 has a better additive package than dex cool.

[SLP IROC-Z]

couple pictures, engine bay looks so nice now, engine looks much cleaner to. the water pump housing is disgusting but i figured it would be a waste of time cleaning it since ill prob have to replace it soon.

[BigMac76]

Yeah dex-cool's inhibitor is shit man. Found this out at work because some of our systems used it, but not for long. Looks like she's coming together great. Wished I was closer, would be able to lend a hand easier.

[My84Z]

Looks good but now the iroc will never be finished!

[irockidz28]

Awesome!! Can't wait to see it in person

[SLP IROC-Z]

trans is almost all back togther, hoping to have it in the car tonight and drive it! too many different projects going at once on this car!

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

Done Yet!?

[SLP IROC-Z]

not yet :( had to get some work done on the dmax thats in the shop, tomorrow is another day!

[BigMac76]

To quote pizza....

Done Yet!?

???

Because you know he's going to ask again today lol

[SLP IROC-Z]

just gotta put the tailshaft housing on the trans and then its ready to go in!!!

[SLP IROC-Z]

trans is all together, went to put it in and fought with it for an hour than said hmmm and went on the computer to see the deal on this "updated" pilot bearing i picked up. yeah not going to work. taking it all back apart tomorrow. yippie!

[jayws6]

sorry to hear man hopeit works out

[c4boom]

lame glad i just got the beefed up stock style from tick

[SLP IROC-Z]

all together and done! put 35 miles on it tonight, feels great to drive it again!

[KLAB]

awesome time for a ride!!

[SLP IROC-Z]

yes

[SLP IROC-Z]

drove about 130 miles yesterday!

[SLP IROC-Z]

Texas Speed Stainless Steel Long Tubes & Offroad Y Pipe! These Things Are Sweet! $585 Shipped For Everything, Why Buy Pacesetters Seriously?? Kooks & ARH May Be A Little Nicer But Twice The Money. Ill Post Up How They Fit! Shipping Weight Was 59lbs.

[BigMac76]

What grade stainless, 304, 409? Wonder how they'd hold up under the heat after about 10k miles on em. They do look sweet though man!

[SLP IROC-Z]

they are 304 stainless steel, 16 gauge

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

they will take the heat just fine and discolor just like kooks and arh's. Looks Great Joe!!! bet yah cant wait till they get on!!! doing em before nats?

[SLP IROC-Z]

im sure theyll turn colors, 304 stainless will do that. the downpipe on my truck is yellowed from the heat.

mike, i just checked out those OBX headers and they arent the same at all. tubes are run completely different, collectors are different as well. they are designed after the FLPs. TSPs look more like hookers.

[ILuvPizzaTimes10]

Ahhhh yeah i was just looking quick!

[BadBird505]

if i still have my car next year i'll be installing TSP headers, can't beat em' for the money

[KLAB]

yeah if I do an LS swap OR get an LS car going with those saw them in person @ Joes look like real good quality and POLISHED AS SHIT! :klab: