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LT4 Engine clattered and seized looking at options
My motor seized yesterday... Clack-ity, clack and stopped. was going 20mph so I coasted into a parking spot. Tried to start and it barely started with funny noise but stopped, when trying to turn it over it turned slow, like it had a spun main or rod bearing. Got it towed home and am going to pull the motor.
1996 LT4, 80K miles, had a recent history of low oil pressure, noticed the lifters making a little noise a few minutes before before it stopped
So I'm looking at options, I bought the car to have fun with
with a one year only, LT4 engine I'd pull the engine and tear it down and find out exactly what went wrong; and two, assuming no damage to the block, I'd do everything I could to keep the original engine, or as much of it as possible, in the car; I would not swap it out for some generic rebuild unless finances and circumstances left me no alternative. I own a 96 LT4 and I believe that these cars will rise in value and having the original engine will play a large part in it.
Reminds me of my 61 fuel injected C1, someone swapped put the 283 fuelie for a (then new) 327....probably seemed like a good idea at the time, but in retrospect it was a complete disaster.
with a one year only, LT4 engine I'd pull the engine and tear it down and find out exactly what went wrong; and two, assuming no damage to the block, I'd do everything I could to keep the original engine, or as much of it as possible, in the car; I would not swap it out for some generic rebuild unless finances and circumstances left me no alternative. I own a 96 LT4 and I believe that these cars will rise in value and having the original engine will play a large part in it.
Reminds me of my 61 fuel injected C1, someone swapped put the 283 fuelie for a (then new) 327....probably seemed like a good idea at the time, but in retrospect it was a complete disaster.
Sounds like you spun a rod bearing. But you won't know until you get it apart. You can easily convert your engine to a 383. 400rwhp? Doable but not inexpensively.
The car is new to me, always wanted a corvette. When I did the research looking for what was a affordable and possibly special car I chose the 96 LT4.
I will definitely save the original engine. My intention is to enjoy and preserve it in its original state but possibly swap the motor. If swapped, the old motor will sit right next to my 68 mustang straight 6 (-:
If I had $10K more I would have went with a ZR1 then I wouldn't need more power.
That's awful! did you run the car low on oil. that is way to early to spin a rod bearing. "assuming"
you will not need a stoker to get close to the 400 bhp mark. Cam + springs, porting & tune will net a great performance increase. I pulled about 60HP out of my LT1 with only a LTCC conversion, CAI, PO. had a Rigged resonator delete. with cheap stainless mufflers. & my tuning. I'm Sure you will have no problems with a bearing OR crank kit.
with only a LTCC conversion, CAI, PO. had a Rigged resonator delete. with cheap stainless mufflers. & my tuning. I'm Sure you will have no problems with a bearing OR crank kit.
What is:
LLC conversion?
CAI?
PO.?
Rigged resonator delete?
If the block is good I may just do a crank kit with new bearings. Just need to figure out which one I need form the mabbcomotors site.
What is:
LLC conversion? LTCC = http://www.bailey-eng.com/LTCC.html
CAI? Cold Air Intake. PO installed a SLP. I do have ram air from the front plate
PO.? Previous Owner
Rigged resonator delete? PO. chopped the resonators out. welded in straight pipe. I just recently installed my. LT headers, H pipe back
If the block is good I may just do a crank kit with new bearings. Just need to figure out which one I need form the mabbcomotors site.
LLC conversion? LTCC = http://www.bailey-eng.com/LTCC.html
CAI? Cold Air Intake. PO installed a SLP. I do have ram air from the front plate.
PO.? Previous Owner
Rigged resonator delete? PO. chopped the resonators out. welded in straight pipe. I just recently installed my. LT headers, H pipe back.
Very Nice looking 96 by the way!!!
Last edited by THE 383 admiral; 04-14-2016 at 04:50 PM.
My motor seized yesterday... Clack-ity, clack and stopped. was going 20mph so I coasted into a parking spot. Tried to start and it barely started with funny noise but stopped, when trying to turn it over it turned slow, like it had a spun main or rod bearing. Got it towed home and am going to pull the motor.
1996 LT4, 80K miles, had a recent history of low oil pressure, noticed the lifters making a little noise a few minutes before before it stopped
So I'm looking at options, I bought the car to have fun with
Looking at maybe a short block and rebuilding my heads??
Maybe a stroker?? I'd like a tame (inexpensive) 400Hp to the rear wheels
Whats my options with a LT4, what have others done?
Sorry to hear about your engine man. Would you mind telling me a little bit about the low oil pressure like what you experienced? Im brand new to C4s and want to keep an eye on that. Thanks.
They have rebuilt LT1 short blocks for $795with no core charge. Shipping is $250 to Sothern Ca
800 bucks ?? I certainly respect someone on a budget but this actually sounds to cheap. Its a lot of hassle getting these sorts of things warrantied if it fails. There will be lots of things that you will be paying for in the event of a short block warranty claim. Does it even have a warranty ???
Would you mind telling me a little bit about the low oil pressure like what you experienced?
Well, telling you might make me look stupid for even driving it
On hot days the "Check Gauges" light flickered at idle and it indicated no pressure on the gauge when idling.... nothing a can of STP did'nt correct . It never had valve noise until a few minuets before it stopped and then it only sounded like one noisy lifter and WAS indicating decent oil pressure so I wasn't that concerned.
Note that the GS owners manual indicates it may only have 6psi of oil pressure on hot days when idling.
I planned to go thru the engine soon but couldn't resist trying out my new tires and shocks, end of that story.
800 bucks ?? I certainly respect someone on a budget but this actually sounds to cheap. Its a lot of hassle getting these sorts of things warrantied if it fails. There will be lots of things that you will be paying for in the event of a short block warranty claim. Does it even have a warranty ???
Yes, Check it out, I'm not sure its built to the Corvette LT1 spec though.
with a one year only, lt4 engine i'd pull the engine and tear it down and find out exactly what went wrong; and two, assuming no damage to the block, i'd do everything i could to keep the original engine, or as much of it as possible, in the car; i would not swap it out for some generic rebuild unless finances and circumstances left me no alternative. I own a 96 lt4 and i believe that these cars will rise in value and having the original engine will play a large part in it.
Reminds me of my 61 fuel injected c1, someone swapped put the 283 fuelie for a (then new) 327....probably seemed like a good idea at the time, but in retrospect it was a complete disaster.
IMO Since engine has history of low oil pressure, I doubt this is going to a crank kit repair. Once pan is off You should have somewhat of an idea whats happened. Realistically you need to know what your budget is. Rarely does budget get smaller is does however usually get larger. Too many cars are disassembled with hopes of repairing that never happens. Don't pull engine unless you know repairs can be completed. If block isn't damaged rebuilding at least short block would be worthwhile for the matching number thing. If you need car running find a used 96-97 LT1 install that while you rebuild the LT4. There are very few short cuts building a High Performance and reliable engine that going to last. Don't dog the LT1 it has to last until the LT4 is ready.
I'm going to try to find time this weekend to pull the pan and investigate.... I will update this thread with my findings.
my own LT4 suffered symptoms very similar to yours in respect to the oil pressure issues; turned out to be that the gear on the end of the oil pump drive stub shaft had stripped. Too bad you have to pull the intake manifold to access it, BUT, you might be able to pull the oil pump (which you'll probably do anyway at some point) and inspect the gear from the bottom....and by the way, googling this issue leads me to believe that this failure is not that uncommon.
The $800 shortblock you found is definitely not fast and I'd be concerned about long term reliability. Of course with the right cam, head work, etc you can get there...just costs money.
Would want to know what kind of machine work they do, tolerances they hold, type of crank and pistons, bearing info, rings, etc
Probably ok for a desperation short term install but if you plan to keep the car long term, build it right.
04-14-2016, 10:36 AM
LT4 Engine clattered and seized looking at options
Sounds like you spun a rod bearing. But you won't know until you get it apart. You can easily convert your engine to a 383. 400rwhp? Doable but not inexpensively.
. It never had valve noise until a few minuets before it stopped and then it only sounded like one noisy lifter and WAS indicating decent oil pressure so I wasn't that concerned.
