When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Honestly, I wouldn't know how to answer that. By glitter, do you mean if was a mix of colors?
Doubt it tho, they are all a silver color.
I can almost guarantee where any iron in your oil is coming from; you have a rounded off cam lobe(s). and corresponding damage to the roller lifter. My 96 had three lobes (all towards the rear of the engine completely grooved by the corresponding roller and some others that the hardened surface was beginning to wear through. The cure a LT4 "Hot cam", a new set of lifters and a new timing chain. Do the "Hot Cam" swap. You can thank me later.
Yeah for sure, that's the cam i'd go with. Not trying to be the fastest guy, and it has a nice sound and lope to it. I'm a paranoid guy when it comes to my cars. And with the engine apart, i'd want to replace parts.
@mtwoolford so you're saying that's all it'd take to fix it? Doubt it, but I'm just making sure.
Yeah for sure, that's the cam i'd go with. Not trying to be the fastest guy, and it has a nice sound and lope to it. I'm a paranoid guy when it comes to my cars. And with the engine apart, i'd want to replace parts.
@mtwoolford so you're saying that's all it'd take to fix it? Doubt it, but I'm just making sure.
Back in the olden times, LT4 crate engines with Hot Cams were rated (perhaps optimistically) at 425 hp. Edelbrock advertises a LT1 upgrade, manifold / head and cam combo, very similar to the aforementioned LT4 Hot Cam crate engine, also at at 425 hp. Looking at dyno results for LT4 hot cam combos from back in the day usually netted at least 30 hp at the rear wheels.
But I digress.
Here's my story. It's sad but true. Bought my 96 LT4, maybe 90,000 miles NOT MUCH for a SBC. But still, I always pull the valve covers for a little lookey see. One rocker arm completely off the valve stem, two others partially off their respective valve stems. Well that bears further investigation. Pulled the matching lifters; rollers all buggered up. Removed radiator. Remove or pull A/C condenser out of the way. Pull front end off engine...getting the crank hub off isn't difficult, just different than any other SBC except for LT based engines; drop pan. Replace stock timing chain with oem "extreme duty set", replace water pump drive bearing in block with new...if that bearing is shot the after end on the water pump drive will not run true and the gasket in the timing chain cover will never seal, or not for long anyway. At the very least also replace the oil pump stub drive with new...the housing is made of some sort of phenolitic plastic and tend to fail over time. I can't stress how important this is; just goggle LT oil pump drive failures. Rolled in a new set of main and rod bearings. New high volume LT specific oil pump.
Engine never used oil, so rings were okay.
The LT4 Hot Cam kit comes with new springs. With the springs off replaced the valve stem seals; LT4 can use regular blue, sometimes black seals, but try to find the factory ones, red colored for the exhaust valve stems (they're rated for a higher temperature)..
Now for the good news and the bad news. The LT4 "Hot Cam" kit is a true drop in, and one of the few bargains for these cars. Now the bad news. LT4 heads use a non adjustable pedestal mount for the rocker arms with an LT4 specific 10 mm stud and you CANT use other rocker arms designed for 3/8th inch adjustable rocker arms. Now if any of your rocker arms are damaged, good luck finding those little jewels. And they will be EXPENSIVE. I had to get three. A better idea (LT4 and regular 3/8th inch adjustable studs both use the same thread pattern / size where they screw in the head) would be to replace the LT4 pedestal mounts with the aforementioned 3/8ths studs and rocker arms. At this point you can use either guide plates with hardened push rods, or self aligning rocker arms.
reseal the timing chain cover, bolt oil pan back in place. From there on everything just bolts to the outside of the engine.
piece of cake. I did mine after work lying on my back under the car on a pier jutting out into San Francisco Bay. Nice views, but a little breezy.
Eventually I replaced the oem oil pan with a Canton road race pan with Canton's recommended oil pump and Canton pump pickup.
Last edited by mtwoolford; 04-19-2019 at 12:40 AM.
I use magnets that attach to the specific oil filter you are using. Then cut it open and investigate. If there is metal then there is a problem. I bought the magnets from Summit and use them on both Corvettes.
Quick update. I have been busy and blah blah blah. Anyways.
I took the serpentine off the car today. And the engine still squeaks when running. So that eliminates the tensioners and idler pulley. Here is a pic of my oil pressure on a cold start.
I will throw my hat in the ring. I have a 96 lt4. At 90,000 it also had 2 cam lobes wiped out. It had a very slight noise but car ran fine with good oil pressure. Ported heads and hot cam= big smiles.
Yeah, I know for a fact I'll put the lt4 hotcam if it has to come apart. I'm also having zf6 shifting problems, but that is another story. Waiting on one of my cars to sell, so I can fix the 96.
Yeah, I know for a fact I'll put the lt4 hotcam if it has to come apart. I'm also having zf6 shifting problems, but that is another story. Waiting on one of my cars to sell, so I can fix the 96.
some flakes are normal
if it drives right , doesnt have unusual noises, id just drive it like you stole it
Based on everything Ive read Id pull the passenger side rocker cover and inspect. If all looks well id go for an oil change and Id pull the filter after 500 miles and have a look. .I just took my covers off and I felt the play on each rocker when in closed position and made sure they all felt the same.. that would be my suggestion here. It sounds like your analysis could simply be the oil was way overdue and he just changed it to sell it. FWIW I have a pretty loud hiss from the intake in my 96.. I think they all hiss quite a bit. I think tearing down the motor at this point would be a severe over-reaction to the evidence. You might just buy a 4 filters and do them at 100 mile intervals (leave the oil).
Did you use any crankcase or oil additives before changing the oil? I have used Seafoam in the past to clean out several crankcases and when you drop that oil afterwards it will be really dark to muddy looking and because the Seafoam will break up the sludge, a lot of metal flakes will come out in that oil change. When I use Seafoam before an oil change I always buy some cheap oil and a cheap filter to do a quick 30-60 min run just after. Then I drop the cheap oil/filter and put in the good oil I will use for the long interval.
It has always amazed me at how much garbage comes out of the oil when you add about 1/2 quart of Seafoam to a higher mileage engine about 10-30 minutes of drive time before you change it. It scared the crap out me the first time I did it on a 2003 Ford Mustang GT. I thought the engine was a goner. Then I did it on 2000 Crown Vic, 1996 Chevy P/U and a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis and I got the exact same results. Black to Muddy oil with a lot of shavings. Subsequent oil changes have been clean as a whistle.
if it drives right , doesnt have unusual noises, id just drive it like you stole it
supercharge it
Drives great. Just that squeak that concerns me when the engine is running.
Originally Posted by barchetta1
Based on everything Ive read Id pull the passenger side rocker cover and inspect. If all looks well id go for an oil change and Id pull the filter after 500 miles and have a look. .I just took my covers off and I felt the play on each rocker when in closed position and made sure they all felt the same.. that would be my suggestion here. It sounds like your analysis could simply be the oil was way overdue and he just changed it to sell it. FWIW I have a pretty loud hiss from the intake in my 96.. I think they all hiss quite a bit. I think tearing down the motor at this point would be a severe over-reaction to the evidence. You might just buy a 4 filters and do them at 100 mile intervals (leave the oil).
But hey, what do I know?
The hiss is coming from a vacuum line on the driver side of the intake manifold. That doesn't concern me. It's the squeak. At first, I assumed belt or pulley related. But we know that's not the case.
How do I know when the rockers are in the closed position?
Originally Posted by Krusty84
Did you use any crankcase or oil additives before changing the oil? I have used Seafoam in the past to clean out several crankcases and when you drop that oil afterwards it will be really dark to muddy looking and because the Seafoam will break up the sludge, a lot of metal flakes will come out in that oil change. When I use Seafoam before an oil change I always buy some cheap oil and a cheap filter to do a quick 30-60 min run just after. Then I drop the cheap oil/filter and put in the good oil I will use for the long interval.
It has always amazed me at how much garbage comes out of the oil when you add about 1/2 quart of Seafoam to a higher mileage engine about 10-30 minutes of drive time before you change it. It scared the crap out me the first time I did it on a 2003 Ford Mustang GT. I thought the engine was a goner. Then I did it on 2000 Crown Vic, 1996 Chevy P/U and a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis and I got the exact same results. Black to Muddy oil with a lot of shavings. Subsequent oil changes have been clean as a whistle.
Have you used a stethoscope to dial-in if the noise is coming from the top of the bottom of the engine? If it’s near the top how much effort is it on an LT 4/LT one engine to pull the valve covers.
The hiss is coming from a vacuum line on the driver side of the intake manifold. That doesn't concern me. It's the squeak. At first, I assumed belt or pulley related. But we know that's not the case. How do I know when the rockers are in the closed position?
When the car shuts off its likely going to have 2 valves in some sort of open position (on each bank), the rest should be virtually closed which means the rocker is free of the push rod and will wiggle. Im being very general here and you could research further how to be sure each rocker is off the lobe but in general you wiggle them all and they should all wiggle the same except two.. if you find one that is tighter or looser than the others rotate the crank a little to be sure something is wrong. Based on what Ive read in this thread relative to the lt4 youd be looking for one or more super loose.. which could be a cam failure of some sort wear it got worn away and is adding iron to your oil. Im sure someone else could be more specific and detailed but thats what Id be looking for based on your oil analysis.
As far as the squeal someone brought up a good point here.. water pump is still spinning with belt of and of course the optispark.. At this point the squeal is most troubling because the iron content could be explained by a long oil change interval... seems that the interval is your only hope at this point but it is fathomable at minimum.
Good luck.. Im confident this will not require a tear down.. positive thinking
Have you used a stethoscope to dial-in if the noise is coming from the top of the bottom of the engine? If it’s near the top how much effort is it on an LT 4/LT one engine to pull the valve covers.
Not much effort at all to remove the valve covers. I need to get a stethoscope first.
04-18-2019, 10:03 PM
