yes

 

Who do you mean?

 

Who?

 

Chuck Cow

 

LS3 installed in a 2002 C5

 

OP,
my setup is somewhat similar to yours. Stock LS1 short block. 243 heads (not ported), Halltech air bridge, FAST 102 intake, Nick Williams 102 throttle body, TexasSpeed MS3 cam, LG 1 3/4 long tubes with high flow cats. 99 C5 A4
Produced 391 WHP, 417 Ft-Ibs on Mustang Dyno

There was a 04 Z06 in shop at same time. He basically had a similar type setup, with the addition of trick flow heads and more modern Brian Tooley cam. He made ~430 WHP.

 

Awesome. Thank you for the info. It is nice to hear some real world results. Has it been solid mechanically for you? Do you have any suggestions or things you would have done differently if you had to do it over? I am planning to try and get the old engine out this weekend. Wish me luck.

 

Made good progress today. It was really hot so I took it kind of easy but still managed to get the water pump off, the intake and fuel rails off, the exhaust manifolds, power steering, coils and pulled the rocker arms so that I can do the Trunion upgrade and get them ready for the new heads and engine.



Monday I will pull the torque tube and get the old engine out. Then the fun part begins. Figure I will just post progress to this thread.

 

Got some progress photos on the body work today. Looking great. Getting pretty excited.

 

Subscribed , in the same situation my LS1 gave up on me , have a GM LS364 crate engine(6.0l iron block LS3 heads)on order from Summit.
I have also just started the same process but unsure if i should take out engine from above or lift the body(i have a lift)from the cradle , what is your plan ?

 

I am going out the top. I have the whole front bodywork being repainted and the hood off. I have the rear subframe disconnected and the 5 bolts out of the front of the torque tube. I started separating the torque tube from the bell housing and engine but it seems to be binding a bit. I got it pulled back about 3/4 of an inch but was one jack shy of what I needed until today when I bought a 3rd one. It’s up on RV jack stands right now. 12 ton rated. I was able to get it up 2 feet. So far that has been high enough. I would prefer going out the bottom, however, I don’t have access to a lift currently. So it’s a matter of run what you brung. Once I figure out the torque tube thing the old engine is about ready to come out.

I have to say, I am really having a great time doing this and taking my time. Not in a rush. I have the ST to daily drive until I’m done. And all the advice is wanted and appreciated. Learning as I go. I’ve always been fair with a wrench, but this corvette is a little bit of a different beast. Again, thanks for all the help and advice.

 

I’m settling on what to do with the headers and X-pipe. I have borla axle-back but I don’t want to put those heavy exhaust manifolds back on. Seems like kind of a waste to do so.

 

Tomorrow is Saturday once again... hope to actually get the engine all the way out ... fingers crossed.

 

So can the original engine be fixed, or is the block junk?

Or maybe you don't know yet.

 

EDIT: Wrong thread. lol

 

Stingroo, are you saying I'm in the wrong thread?

 

I am not sure yet. I need to pull the heads and see how deep the damage is in cylinders one and eight. Figured there is time for that after I get it all back together.

 

Got the first bit Bach from the body shop today.

 

 

I should preface this by stating again that I am really taking my time with this. My kids are pitching in and it is quality time. Today the goal was to get the old busted engine out. We didn’t quite get that far, however we did get the rear end and torque tube completely removed. Looks like one side of the transaxle is leaking slightly and seeping around the driver side half shaft. Add that to the list. I have also figured out how tired my suspension is. It’s nearly 20 years old and has endured a couple of cold winters in Idaho and Utah and a LOT of hot hot summers in Arizona. I watched the videos from Chris on his MyCorvetteLife YouTube channel, and I have pretty much decided that I will mirror what he recently did and install the same bushing set that he upgraded to. I will also find new upper and lower ball joints all around that have a grease zerc. No easier time than now while it is all torn apart anyway.

I have read lots of threads here where people discuss pulling the torque tube and rear bits without a lift. I currently have the car up on RV jack stands rated at 12 tons each. I have it about 2 feet in the air. I found that to be plenty of room for working under the car as well as plenty of clearance to roll it all out the back once I had it detached and dropped. I used 4X4 blocks and a jack under the rear subframe. Another jack and block under the front of the torque tube, a third jack and block under the oil pan to keep it from tipping back to far and damaging the dash. Once I got everything separated I replaced the jack under the oil pan with a jack stand with a hockey puck. That must really be a big deal as there are stickers all over the torque tube as well as notes in the shop manual warning against tipping too far and the damage it will cause.

I am reasonably close to being able to hoist the engine out the top. I am trying to do it without cracking into the AC system as right now it is ICE cold. I got the nut off and the bolt completely lose on the top of the compressor, and got both the bottom bolts out so the compressor would separate if the frame was not in the way of those 2 top bolts. My current plan is to drop the entire front Kmember about 3 inches to give me enough clearance to take that front bolt all the way out and pull the compressor off the long bolt behind it to separate it from the block and tie it out of the way as much as possible. I will let you all know later if I have success with that. Any of you that have done this before, I would love any advice you have to give me here.

Because of the issue with the crank case pressurizing and pushing oil out the rear main seal, there is a lot and I mean a LOT of oil under the car that I need to clean up. You will see in the pics that the transmission is covered in it. Same with a lot of the exhaust and floor boards etc.. I will spend some time just cleaning stuff up once I get the engine all the way out. I am hoping to replace a lot of the exhaust. I would love to do headers and Xpipe if I am in a position to do so. If not, at the very least I will give the outside a good cleaning. I really hate the idea of putting the stock exhaust manifolds back on. They are so heavy.... Just feel clunky and out of place. Headers etc... are the biggest expense that I really had just not planned for, but I think I will get measurably better results with the cam and heads if I figure out a way to do headers at the same time. They are just SO expensive....

As far as cleaning the oil off the bottom of the car, I am hoping for suggestions on detergents that will not harm wiring or the floor board materials etc. On the big stuff that I can separate, like the control arms etc I will probably pressure wash once I get the old bushings and ball joints out, and then maybe some light polishing. I found a board member selling front and rear springs from a Z06 as well as the Z06 sway bar that I may pick up to replace mine with. I can’t imagine that being covered with oil for over a year did my existing springs any favors.

So below, see images from todays progress. As always, I would love any suggestions or insight anyone has to offer. Thank you for all the help and encouragement so far. I really think this will be worth it in the end and even more importantly I am having a blast doing this with my children. Part of the reason this car means what it does to me is that it was the last car my father and I worked on together. This week was the 3rd anniversary of his passing and I like passing down some of his knowledge and passion for fixing things on to his grandchildren.