Dynamo6969

came out to charleston wv to see my dad and a mechanic he knows to get new exhaust and my new bosch III fuel injectors put in.

everything went great, then i left earlier today, driving home and the oil temperature began to skyrocket (usu. runs 210-225F ~80MPH) to 275F+ (eventually hit 302, the light came on and i shut it off, this was on the side of the road after i realized the oil temp was so high)

when i got out of the car and popped the hood the engine was making an awful squeaking noise at all RPMs (worse at higher revs)

got it to a garage and told them all of this, they listened to the engine and said it sounded like it was about to blow a rod.

they told me i need a new engine or rebuild it...

i am not car savvy enough to take on this task (or have the money at this time for that matter) but i was wondering if y'all have any suggestions on new engine/rebuilding the engine, where to get it, what to get, etc.

a user on this forum is selling a 383 stroker that im interested in but not sure if i can just drop it in to replace...
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-p...3-stroker.html

all suggestions are welcome and appreciate

thanks in advance,

Kyle

mods: TPIS a/c delete, bosch III injectors... also a no-cat exhaust with magnaflow mufflers

also if you guys need any pictures or more information i can post them on here, the car will be back in the driveway in the morning

THE 383 admiral

the 383 is not a great idea it will cost you money to tune... and your TPI system will choke it out.. especially if it was a descent build...

im sure you can handle dropping the oil pan if you could slide a rod back and forth with your fingers and it made noise.. or take a peek at the Main & rod bearings & crank journals
you may get away with just new bearings.. of course a new oil pump & screen

Dynamo6969

okay so a no go on the 383, thats fine, its literally the first engine i saw on here and i had heard of a lot of ppl turning L98s into the 383 strokers...


any chance u have pictures/schematics for this? i have never done ANY engine work except taking off the A/C Compressor and throwing on the delete kit (i did not install my new injectors, though i did help the guy and understand that for the most part)

i have never even seen the bottom end internals of an engine in person so i need all the help i can get :/

appreciate the possible cheap(er) solution suggestion!

cv67

Soudns like a spun bearing. Depending on how bad your block may have been bit too but no telling til its apart. Could be minimal also.
For 2k hard to beat a decent 383 long block you could always upgrade the intake later if you wanted.
However if youre Ok with stock then by all means leave it that way if youre not a wrench head

Dynamo6969

im completely fine with stock, but i dream big with this car! i wish i could become a wrench head, i just dont have the means to become one really... i've been trying to read these forums as much as possible since my dad (original owner) gave me the car last march.

since right now i dont have the money and have to save up (dad is going to help me a little) do you have any idea what it would cost (ballpark) to get it taken apart and looked at? i dont even know anywhere to go... im in charleston WV

if its 'just' a spun bearing, how much do you think someone would charge me to fix it? (assuming minimal damage to the block)

i want to find out as much as possible and make the most informed decisions possible with this car as I go forward

if nothing from the engine is salvageable, i can build it from scratch... basically whichever is cheaper/more reliable (lasting the longest so i can stop dropping every paycheck into this car)

thanks again for all the help guys

THE 383 admiral

just going with advance auto as a guideline.. then use the P20 20%
Part No. M-55 oil pump 17.99
Part No. 55-S1 oil P.U. screen 6.99
Part No. 8-2555CP std rod bearings [no damage] 34.99
Part No. 4663M std main bearings [no damage] 44.95
you will need a timing cover seal, oil pan seal,


the trans will need to be pulled... shop time most likely $400 - 500+
Part No. 12820P crank with M&R bearings [your crank damaged] 275.99
190.00 not as nice crank set
you will need a timing cover seal, oil pan seal, rear main seal

383vett

If it is a spun bearing (it sounds like it might be), at best, the crank needs to be turned. The block most likely needs to be align bored. You're talking some $$$ here.

slickfx3

find a good used engine and have them drop it in.


unless you can be on top of everything every shop; machine or installation; does or does not do to the Vette, you are better off leaving it alone...because fluffing these people, and loosing sleep over what they said or did or did not do, or they break some things, like brittle connectors that cost your money, and paying an endless stream of invoices... it is a full time job; the Vette while durable is freaken getting old.

Dynamo6969

any suggestions on where to find a good used engine? time is not a factor, thats really the only thing i have plenty of right now...

also does anyone know any forum members/reliable corvette guys in the charleston WV area? im less than a mile from downtown charleston

slickfx3

they pop up

check out these guys

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-p...-c5s-look.html

and this guy sells local here, he'll ship...

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv...926529792.html

slickfx3

see what I mean, car was driving fine, then the injectors went in, and I am not kidding, that crap always happens, one mod, or repair leads to a screw up and the screwed up situation almost never get completely fix, I am talking about other people touching the car, hey even I f-up the car sometimes, even with the best intentions, and most shops only has one intention and that is to take your money and rush the job for the next sucker

I say most not all shops, even a good honest shop with no Vette experience is going to tear, rip, beat on your brittle, crusty and old and dying vette. which is just as bad as a Vette shop that whats to rip you off with the vette tax

and when the chips are down no one stands behind anything including their leaky, pan, cover, radiator, trans, power steering, leaks, or blown "racing transmission" leading to searching for another a hole to do the job,and that a hole will yet again overcharge for and not stand behind.

unless you are like some experts here that can do all the work themslefs with all the lifts, air compressor and specialty tools you are going for a Vette ride, and you being ridden.

Dynamo6969

i had the warm start issue with the crappy stock multec injectors so i bought the new bosch IIIs and the guy and i did the job together, so i know it was done well, just took some time because he was teaching me a bunch of stuff (and BSing with me) the whole time. I've watched the FIC video on changing the fuel injectors a bunch of times, just wanted a car guy there to help me out

i understand what u mean though, i build computers and do other IT work and i laugh at best buy and other service shops at how crappily they do the work. thats why i do all my own IT work, get it done right the first time

THE 383 admiral

Look for someone in the middle of pulling out a low mileage L98.. still $$ shop labor and if they are reputable
I still say drop the pan.. and look. Your not driving anyway.. you may have caught it before crank damage
If so installing bearings... Hopefully just rod bearings. Is not nearly as much work pulling and installing a motor

samsonb

Have you run a datalog to check your BLM's and other things?

Dynamo6969

im going to drop the pan and look, im honestly not sure what to look for, i don't even own jackstands lol... i'd have to jack it up with the stock vette jack and the jack from my dads car (and pray it doesnt fall on my face)

car just got back to the apartment this morning, i dont know how to run a datalog or what a BLM is

THE 383 admiral

well lil steps... drop the oil. look for metal or lead from the bearing/s
ramps or stands and a jack as a fail safe your going to need a good selection of tools and questions are unlimited via internet
1 link how to remove the pan
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c4-t...moval-l98.html
once the pan is off you can check each rod by wiggling back & forth listen for noise
you would etch numbers on every rod & cap 1357 driverside <> 2468 passengerside
then unbolt. you should ask someone you know with some engine experience to guide you with the basic tricks removing the caps, removing a bearing, one @ a time, covering the studs with a rubber tube and so on... or ask online it's not that hard. just take your time DO not rush or force anything.. now you will see if any damage has been done to the rods or the crank surface.. you would inspect the main bearings and crank surface 1 @ a time... then you can evaluate and decide what you will do

SunCr

Holy Crap - you don't really know what's wrong, but you're all ready thinking about a new engine? This year blows head gaskets right and left (though mostly left at #7), so that would be the first thing I'd check. Usually, you can just pull the #7 plug and then crank it by hand and see if any coolant flows out the hole. Assuming it does, you'll need to get the oil out of the pan because it's probably got a bunch of coolant in it which will destroy the bearings. Then tear apart the top end. Have the heads rebuilt and put on some new head gaskets and it might just stay together for another 50,000 miles.

TTOP350

A few years ago I bought a 96 chevy truck crate shortblock from GM and it was 1100$
It was a 4bolt block, crank/bearings, PM rods/bearings, pistons/rings,wristpins. I have used them quite a bit.

Dynamo6969

im just looking in to all possibilities, keeping an open mind and my options open, as i said before i dont really have any money right now so im just doing as much research as possible so i can make the best decision for my car and my budget (which i havent budgeted out yet, probably want to stay under $4k w/labor but thats a real rough number)

cadmaniac

Before you do ANYTHING, take the belt off the front and make sure it's actually the engine making the noise. Taking the belt off eliminates any and all accessories on the engine. From there (assuming the noise is still there) I'd get a stethoscope and see if I could narrow down the noise and get the best general idea of where it is coming from. I'm also having a hard time thinking if there is a reason the work done might effect the lubrication of the engine. Sounds weird that this happened after the injector change.

I agree with draining the oil also, and looking for signs of debris, also take the oil filter to a machine shop and have them cut it open and look for shavings/debris. If there is debris, I would look at it step by step, rod by rod, bearing by bearing as previously suggested.

The one thing somewhat easy on C4 corvettes is lower engine work. Get some ramps, and as suggested take your time, label EVERYTHING so it gets put back together correctly. Hopefully the crank is ok. Even then, parts are realitively cheap, if you do it yourself.

Best of luck to you.