[KingLT1]

sounds good!

[GreyGhost702]

Originally Posted by Baddawg53

Here's one thing I'll add ... If I ever have to bleed that slave cylinder again I'm probably just gonna sell the car, you just cannot get to it. What a dreadful design, and I had no idea there was a kit to help it. So I had to go back and remove the shifter, trans mounts, loosen the engine mounts and drop the trans down a few inches just to barely get to it. What an absolute nightmare.

Check out Tick Performance for a remote bleeder setup. I installed mine while I had the tranny down, call it a "pay it forward" move. When I go to reinstall, I'll be able to bleed the slave on my feet, from under the hood. The shifter hardware is also terrible. Took me nearly an hour to get those shitty pins out. I may have been overly cautious about how far I had dropped the tranny to get at them, but I was worried about breaking things so I dropped it the bare minimum to get my hand up there a thin flathead to push the stupid release tab on the pin. I honestly thought about threading the tranny for a pair of bolts for the shifter. But I don't plan on dropping the tranny often so, I guess I'll deal with it.

[Baddawg53]

I really wish I would have known that existed before I bolted everything in. Just entirely too difficult to access that bleeder as it is. Hopefully the next guy doing this project doesn't make the mistake I did.

[GreyGhost702]

Originally Posted by Baddawg53

I really wish I would have known that existed before I bolted everything in. Just entirely too difficult to access that bleeder as it is. Hopefully the next guy doing this project doesn't make the mistake I did.

That's why car forums exist IMO. BS'ing as a community about a particular car is all fine and well, but it's the technical aspect, the issues/repairs, and the modifying that make these threads invaluable. Everything from Torque Specs and procedures, to build combo's. It's documentation. One persons struggles becomes education for the next. Like deciding how far to push the stock LT, and choosing upgrades to suit your goals.

I was following this thread chasing the topic of thrust bearing issue, but you ended up going with a new/different block entirely. I have a second block with a spun thrust bearing that most machine shops wouldn't touch, kept telling me the block is a paper weight. I found a heavy equipment machine shop that says they will absolutely make it perfect again. Money is tight at the moment so the block will have to wait, as I am currently elbows deep in my good block from my car. But the thrust bearing issues in the LS/LT engines are not an uncommon thing to hear about, and it inspired me to take extra care with my block. I ended up going with a full 360 face thrust bearing from ACL, along with ARP main studs and an align hone.

One thing that was similar between the bad donor block and my good block, the crank at the thrust bearing (Main Cap #3) the crank appears to get hot like at no other point on it. I see heat coloring on both cranks. Obviously the block with the spun thrust, there's more severe heat coloring. But even on my good engine that was relatively babied for it's 17,000 mile life, showed heat coloring in the same spot. Whether its acknowledged or not, something is going on in these engines that is putting strain on the #3 main. My bearings came out perfect, all still factory red coated and my thrust came out in-tact. I will add, that while the thrust came out in-tact, the driveline side WAS worn free. If you have ever looked at the factory thrust, basically they are held together by a couple crappy tack welds to keep them in one piece during install. Otherwise, all that holds those thrust bearings together is 3 little tabs. So essentially, 180 thrust bearings could float, once the welds break/wear out. And trust me, they will. The ACL bearings are a 1 piece half thrust bearing, giving you a total of 360 degrees of thrust surface. The factory is essentially a 3 piece half thrust bearing, and only 180 degrees of thrust surface. The 180 thrust bearing is not a GM unique thing either, plenty of factory motors only run a 180 thrust, including Ford. You really don't need more than a 180 thrust to get around town. But if you're on the track or playing heavy foot a lot, I think the crank is being taken for a walk every so often and eventually penance must be paid.

[Baddawg53]

@greyghost702, I 100% agree with everything you said. These forums are still the first place I go to research anything with my car. Tons of helpful information and lessons learned.

I can't believe the thrust bearing is what it is on this car, I'm sure there is some engineer speak answer for it, but I'm not sure I'll ever really understand making that a weak link. Mine fell apart as I removed the crank, it was worn more than the main bearing that spun.

[Baddawg53]

Car got dyno'd today, fell a little short of the 600 mark but the torque numbers were good. With tons of piston to valve clearance and a relatively mild cam, the opportunity is there to really add more power, but I think I'll end up being happy with these numbers. I wish it made power a little later but it slowed after 6400 rpm.

Final numbers are 595/525. 50 hp increase and 75 tq increase over my previous setup. It also idles better than the crap cam that was in there previously.