About2Bite

I was running Mobil 1 synthetic... Or I paid for Mobil 1 synthetic. I had my oil changed at a local place (Duke of Oil). They overtightened my drain plug, so I had to replace that with a new one, and my oil filter was way too tight, oil was leaking at the filter.

They could have put anything in, who knows

I guess I learned my lesson. This is the first time I had taken my Vette to this shop since the person I knew there left the place. Typically do it myself.

I'm still concerned about the oil pressure drop. It went up about 15 pounds when the motor is cold with the new oil and filter. But I don't know what the pressure was originally when cold.

Anyone have a high volume oil pump that can let me know their pressure around 86 degrees? I am currently at about 55 psi with the new filter/oil (At 86 degrees)

neutron82

ouch!... my buddies c6z recently lost a lifter and took out his cam out of the blue much like in your case... my sympathy goes out to you and hope you get it back together soon... on the bright side, now is the perfect opportunity to do some upgrades

About2Bite

I'd love to do heads and a cam but I'm worried there may be problems with the bottom end. I still don't know the reason for my oil pressure drop. It went back up after I replaced the filter and put in fresh oil but damage could have been done right?

Last thing I want is to do a heads cam to the motor to find the bottom end needs to be rebuilt.

Don't think I can do the bottom end myself either since I don't see it being possible without pulling the motor.

racebum

oil pressure went up and you installed 30w?

this statement should really concern you, as in what was in it before

i would never use a 30w api sm or sn oil with a cammed engine or one that's raced / driven hard, hell i wouldn't even use it in a stock c5. too little zinc and phosphorus. api SL would be better, mobil 1 high mileage is such an oil, cheap too. even the shell rotella variants or a 5-40

if your car did not have low oil pressure and you have lobe wear like that you absolutely are using too delicate of an oil. the film strength and add pack are not working

if you insist on 30w move to something with a good film strength and better add pack. plenty of choices exist

About2Bite

I never knew it to be a concern. I always run valvoline synpower 5w30 or Mobile 1 5w30.

The Valvoline 5w30 I just put in will be coming out since it has be ran with this cam.

I'm not sure why the pressure dropped, I'm just hoping it's not from a spun bearing. My pressure has gone up but I'm not sure it's back to where it was originally.

Edit: The original oil that saw the drop in pressure had about 3,000 miles on it. The pressure only dropped during the last few miles.

neutron82

if you are able to get the motor out you could have a machine shop check everything and get it refreshed if need be and might as well go ahead with heads/cam while it's apart, assuming you have the funds for it... just do whatever is in your means because it can get really crazy (expensive) really quick... if you want to take your chances I would at a minimum replace the cam, lifters, oil pump, and pull the pan to make sure there is no junk in the pickup screen... also check the rockers, pushrods, valvetrain, etc just to make sure nothing is scarred up and replace if needed

About2Bite

Can the oil pan be removed with the motor in the car?

I'm looking at the comp trunion kit, ls7 lifters, same trex cam, oil pump, balancer (possibly), and valve springs.

neutron82

if you have a 2 piece pan you can get the lower part off and inspect the screen but if your pan is a 1 piece then you will have to suspend the motor somehow and drop the cradle a little bit to get the pan off

ZZ06

hmmmm. I was running Pennzoil Ultra in mine when it went. Infact I thought maybe it was oil starvation due to having an 01Z and it having severe oil consumption under high rpm. But the pan was full. I never really let it get to add anyway. When I ended up hydro locking the LS6 a couple 2 1/2 years later, I got curious as to the condition of the replacement cam and took a peak at the lifters and cam.....yet again I had one or two lobes that had very minor pits. It just wasn't making a noise......yet. The oil I primarily used after the first one got trashed was Mobile 1. I got to scratching my head because it looked like in due time I was bound for it to happen again. The first cam was from Texas Speed. This one was a custom grind straight from comp. I spoke with the shop about it and apparently over the years with the EPA having tighter emissions due to govt restrictions, a lot of high performance oils have less ZDDP and phos in them. I was not the first guy they spoke with nor heard about with an "ate camshaft". I believe the standard mobile and Pennzoil, etc. are perfect for factory conditions. But once you change tolerances with springs and a camshaft(among various other parts), IMO "off the shelf" oil just wont cut it. Not for the long haul at least. My first cam lasted 3 years. Oil pressure was always good. The only thing this new motor will ever get is VR1 racing oil (non-synthetic for now).

racebum

even for factory conditions the z06 cam has 550 lift which is actually getting up there. when the c5 was designed api SM had a higher zddp level. now a days api SM and SN in 30w only are neutered, the high mileage has something like a 50% higher zddp level than standard 30w mobil 1

i have seen the same scaring in a solid tappet vtec honda from the 90s due to low zddp oil and 8400rpm use. the bearings in that motor also were hammered though

since mobil1 high mileage is the same price it really surprises me more of you don't use it if you can't afford redline or mobil1 race

really good article here http://www.memphisbritishcars.org/ne.../oil200702.htm

that explains it. article is a bit older so some of the oils named like mobil1 are only higher zddp in the high mileage formula in 30w or 40w+, this seems to be how they side step the epa. amsoil has also renamed their oils since this was written.

off the top of my head....and i could be off slightly, api SM and SN are 800ppm zddp across the board. epa limit. mobil 1 high mileage is nearly 1100ppm and redline is nearly 2000ppm along with zrod and valvoline race oil and mobil 1 race motorsport oil

note. all the really good oils like mobil1 race, redline, zrod etc run around 12 bucks a quart. worth it imo if you have an expensive motor with high cyl pressures and aggressive cams. redline and M1 race are even perfectly stable at ridiculous temperatures passing 300deg. from some of the recent test data i looked at awhile back mobil 1 race may actually be the best easily available motor oil out there which knocks redline out of top spot. mobil1 race uses a group 3/4/5 hybrid base that seems to have a better metal/additive adhesion than a pure group 5 ester while still maintaining a very high temp operating ability like redline. for what you guys run into with these scard cams this is what you're looking for.

if you want to be cheap my personal opinion is shell rotella and or valvoline Vr1 conventional would provide better wear protection than standard mobil1 and it costs like $11.99 a gallon

direct link to M1 race oil https://mobiloil.com/en/motor-oils/m...l-1-racing-oil

frodo84

What about using ZDDP additives?

ZZ06

I do remember reading somewhere that the high mileage Mobile 1 did have a higher ZDDP level than the standard 5w-30 and 10w-30. I also heard Mobiles 0W-40 was even a little higher. My shop recommended VR1 and so did Texas Speed and they are the ones who built it. After doing some heavy research about Vr1. I see why it clears the shelves at autozone so quickly. Its probably one of the cheapest racing oils out there. With its massice protective properties,i see why. A bottle of 10w-30 VR1 is $6.99.

About2Bite

Ok, I found small garage I can rent short term to work on this car.

I plan on buying a cherry picker and engine stand. I'll pull the motor and tear it apart. Probably buy a new rotating assembly if necessary but definitely replace the main and rod bearings along with the pistons and rods/rod bolts. I'll pull the heads and replace them with some ported 243s.

I might go and pull the trans as well and upgrade that.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks for the help so far.

Also, does anyone know the size and tolerance , including roundness, on the crank and cylinder bore (surface finish also)? I plan on getting some nice micrometers or a snap gage and a decent bore gage for the cylinder. I have access to master ring/roll gages to set my gages with.

Thanks!

ZZ06

If you truly plan on tackling this job, I will strongly advise you purchasing the service manual for our cars. Plus I couldn't help but notice you said cherry picker?? It is much simpler to lower the cradle, suspension, the entire driveline vs pulling it out. If your looking to purchase a new rotating assembly, your gonna want to have it all balanced or youll get all sorts of vibrations and the car will run worse and create more problems than you originally started with. Not doubting your knowledge or skills but wouldn't want to see a fellow member get in over his head and wind up carting a whole mess of parts along with the car to a shop.
Good luck.

About2Bite

I have friends who have pulled these motors apart time and time again and a couple co-workers who have built their ls motors. So I have a hand in the project. I also have the manual, I plan on looking thru it.

Thanks!

Bill Curlee

When the OP stated:
" I'll pull the motor and tear it apart. Probably buy a new rotating assembly if necessary but definitely replace the main and rod bearings along with the pistons and rods/rod bolts. I'll pull the heads and replace them with some ported 243s."

Balance was my very FIRST concern.. That needs to be at the very TOP of the list or you will most likely be doing this project TWICE!

73Corvette

Friends that pull their motor TIME and TIME again wouldn't be very comforting for me... Now a friend that pulled his apart 10 years and 200k miles ago would give me a green light... THIS forum is going to be YOUR friend... study it, research it, breath it, Good luck

racebum

exactly and it can be found for less if you're thrifty. VR1 is perfectly fine unless you're getting into high heat. that's where redline and mobil1 race shine. VR1 has a GREAT additive pack and for drag racing and street driving a high performance engine it will save cams and bearings.

racebum

it's not just the additive. what base stock or hybrid of stocks are used has an affect on how the additives cling to the metal. this is one thing mobil spent a lot of effort to get right with their race oil. you also have shear strength to factor in

About2Bite

Yes, I will have it balanced. I will most likely buy the package from texas speed. $250 for balancing.

Most of the people I know race their cars. Many 100% track cars that are taken on and off the trailer. They pull parts out and upgrade all the time.

I'm pretty mechanically inclined and do my research and work with knowledgeable people. I appreciate the input and I do plan on making sure it is done right... I enjoy being the person who has done all the work on my Corvette.