[Chrome383Z]

I rented a puller from oreillys… I think was actually for a dodge or Chrysler…. Search a little on here and you’ll fine it. Worked fine.

[cjperformance]

Krom laughs from atop his mountain at the idea that there is engine damage, but asks the four winds to be kinder to the seals in the future.

I only did a leakdown on 2 cyls since they were all so close on compression. #3 and #7, with #7 being the one that looked sus from the plugs.

#3 was 2% and #7 was 4%. So proceeding with the assumption the engine is good to go.

Ill put in new plugs and check them again after it gets some milage on it to see if #7 still looks different compared to the others.

[radz28]

That's sounding like promising news! 2/4% is about what's expected, yes? So it is starting to sound like you're likely good to go!

[KingLT1]

Sounds like it survived... turn the boost down a little and send it.

[cjperformance]

Yeah, too bad I was looking forward to putting something stronger in!

2-4% is super good as far as I'm concerned. I sure as heck didn't do that with the engine at operating temps like it says though. My hands already look like they've been in their own little car accident after cramming them into the pass side to get those plugs out. Can't imagine doing that with the engine hot. Also prob not the best idea to pull plugs from aluminum heads when hot. Was always told that was a good way to remove threads from aluminum heads. Never tried it myself to find out!

Anyway, I still have to order the seal and do the work...

If I have to, I'll just dial the shift points back down and revert back to having the TCC stay unlocked in TUTD mode until I can find some answers on the TCC slip issue.

At least that way I don't feel like I'm burning up the TCC, and should be easier on the rest of the drivetrain too.

Looking into whether the Procharger supplied balancer bolt is reusable or not. I know the stock one is not, but some say the PC one is. It didn't have TTY instructions... just torque to 250 ft-lbs. May have to call PC and find out for sure.

Will the crank snout protrude past the seal when I take off the balancer? I've got some seal/race drivers, but they are flat.

[laynlo15]

Originally Posted by KingLT1

Sounds like it survived... turn the boost down a little and send it.

More timing less boost.
It can be done and still fast. At the NMCA I was still able to make several 9 second passes, DA and Temps were higher than I run all year and on just 9.2 lbs of boost I still ran 9.94, 9.95 and one pass at over 141 mph, not a lot of timing compared to what we have run in the past. I did have one pass where the number 5 plug wire came off and thought I'd broke something again. You have higher E than I do so add that couple degrees of time like Mike and I were talking about, go back to your previous pulley and as King said, send it.

[cjperformance]

Ordered the LS3 seal and some other odds n ends. With any luck ill be able to get that swapped out in the next week or two.

Im slow, i know....

[KingLT1]

Originally Posted by laynlo15

More timing less boost.
It can be done and still fast. At the NMCA I was still able to make several 9 second passes, DA and Temps were higher than I run all year and on just 9.2 lbs of boost I still ran 9.94, 9.95 and one pass at over 141 mph, not a lot of timing compared to what we have run in the past. I did have one pass where the number 5 plug wire came off and thought I'd broke something again. You have higher E than I do so add that couple degrees of time like Mike and I were talking about, go back to your previous pulley and as King said, send it.

I agree but I would probably run less of both for the street. Then have a track tune. It makes a difference when you can cool the car down between passes and get some heat out of the engine vs making pulls on the street when the engine is hot.

[toohighpsi]

Originally Posted by KingLT1

I agree but I would probably run less of both for the street.

I don't know what either of you guys are talking about, I only know one thing - more boost and more timing!

[JSH]

Originally Posted by toohighpsi

I don't know what either of you guys are talking about, I only know one thing - more boost and more timing!

Sounds like something I would say

[cjperformance]

Quick update:

LS3 seal installed, but waiting on a couple addl things before I can get it back together completely.

A chunk of belt was caught behind the balancer somewhere. Obviously from one of the previous belt shredding incidents. When I took off the balancer, the chunk in the pic fell out. Not sure if that had anything to do with the seal issue or not. There's some potential that it had wedged itself behind the balancer hard enough that it touched and damaged the seal.

There was also some rust in strange places on the balancer hub/shaft. I can understand why there was some closer to the front since it's basically not protected, but I was surprised to see some towards the rear tapered section. That should be inside the engine and exposed to oil.

I considered getting a new ATI balancer and crank pulley, but didn't want to delay any longer, so I just took some 2000 grit sandpaper and polished it all up as well as possible. Looks like none of the sealing surfaces themselves had rust.

Emptied the catch can for the first time. Wasn't sure it was even working given the seal issues, but there was about a teaspoon or two of oil in there. It probably only has a couple thousand miles on it (if that). But the presence of oil seems to indicate it is doing what it is supposed to do.

Given the good compression test and leakdown results, it seems more likely to me that the belt got jammed around the balancer and worked its way deep enough to ruin the seal rather than strictly due to crankcase pressure.

[radz28]

I’m not suggesting it’s apples-to-apples, but I had a front seal failure, on another car, where the clearcoat stopped, right at the balancer-to-seal-interface (similar area to yours), and the edge of the clearcoat was enough to chew a brand new seal up pretty quick.

Your diagnosis definitely seems plausible, given my experience.

[laynlo15]

Originally Posted by toohighpsi

I don't know what either of you guys are talking about, I only know one thing - more boost and more timing!

Haha, more timing less boost on stock pistons. I know you love them both as I do but we are saving pistons if we can.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by laynlo15

Haha, more timing less boost on stock pistons. I know you love them both as I do but we are saving pistons if we can.

My most recent MAP was 31.0 minus 11.80 uncorrected barometer equals 19.20 boost/vacuum. Pistons and short block are OEM. Isn't this about where you are? [BTW, Kong says I don't need more boost but rather a more aggressive valve train and heads]