Quote:
Originally Posted by oldman
I've found the LT1 to be an easy engine to work on. The parts I would be carful of are:
1) the thrust bearing, Tim M did his I never did mine (stock crank)
2) do you need to line bore mains when changing to studs, normally yes but if the mains have guide pins, maybe not. It has been explained to me as put the crank in and if it spins easily, you are golden.
3) I did multiple torques before final torque using APR lube on the con bolts, IMO I should have found my old one or got a new bolt stretch gauge (after market rods). Use stretch gauge if applicable period.
4) I would have and should have gone with a 3 bolt cam and gear and toss all that phasing stuff away.
5) luv the Katech oil pump, it was not available when I built my engine
6) C5R timing chain (don't know if it works with 3 bolt cam and gear)
7) I torque my ARP head studs -10 ft-lbs less from memory, I did a few calculations and have no idea why the ARP studs are so tight that IMO the studs are actually deforming. Never had a problem, your milage may vary.
8) cracking in the port is a problem and I found that aftermarket studs or the bolts that come with rocker fulcrums are too long and increase the chances of cracking in the top of the port
9) aggressive lift race cams make power but they compromise valvetrain, guide, valve and seat integrity, live with 20 HP less and a cam that can go 100K miles
10) get an LT1 valve spring installer, on the car or off it was easy peas' to use.
11) Johnson lifters, LS7 lifters are not really made for most aftermarket cams.
Things common to all good builds
1) get a piston ring filler, don't do that by hand
2) check and check again lifter preload
3) get that funnel shaped piston installer, made it so easy
4) run the clearance called for by application, a heavy track car needs more clearance.
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Excellent advice! I appreciate the time you took to share that knowledge.
Luckily the katech pump was available after some searching and I have that part already.
I installed Johnson lifters during my coolant loss debacle, and after I had an LS7 lifter on the verge of pushing the roller out. They look ok still but I'm going to change them again because I just don't want to risk anything.
I definitely worry about the valve seats with those big cams, but from what I've read the spintron cams don't have the valvetrain instability issues. If you have any feedback on that I'm all ears
. I've also decided a while ago that valve springs were now a maintenance item and I was going to swap them yearly. I just don't want to risk anything and with that valve spring tool they're an easy enough swap. Honestly I want the horsepower, and if that requires some extra maintenance I'll do that.
My plan is to bring the block to a reputable machine shop and have it cleaned up, the cylinders look pretty good, there was no issues with the rings, it looks a lot cleaner than I expected.
I'll look into that ring filer, I was just gonna do it by hand but I'm sure you're right.
My plan is to have a notebook handy with all the specs I want and record everything. I have read about the tight clearances and was planning on buying 0.001 extra clearance bearings.
It's a long list of parts I need to buy.