Well Folks, I finally got around to it....the heads and cam replacement that I've been collecting parts for for the last year!


Here's what I've got the parts to do:

"Freshened" 243 heads...new seals, lapped the valves, checked for straight-ness.
New BTR springs / seats / retainers.
LG 5X3 cam.
LS7 lifters.
New lifter buckets.
Comp Cams rocker arm trunnion upgrade.
New Melling oil pump.
New Comp Cams 7106 timing set (more on ~this~ later!)
New head bolts.
LS6 valley cover.
LS6 valve covers.
Powerbond 25% UD pulley.
New motor mounts.
New starter (two long-bolt version.)
PCV catch can.


I started the tear-down on Saturday morning...everything went pretty well, no big surprises. I had to drop the cradle about an inch in order to get the steering rack out of the driver's side wheel well. Of course I had to disconnect both upper control arms and remove the DS shock for clearance. I also dropped the front sway bar out of the way for easier access to the rack and the balancer.

The first surprise came when I got to the timing cover. I never witnessed a drip / leak from the engine, but it was ~clearly~ seeping.





The second surprise came when I pulled the timing cover. The chain was a little worn / stretched.




The third little surprise came when I pulled the cam. Keep in mind that I've never heard any tapping or strange noise, nor have I seen any metal in the filters that I've changed. There is the same damage on two separate lobes. I looked at the rollers on all of the lifters, but saw no signs of damage to the rollers.



It looks like I might have caught it just in time to preclude more damage.


I got the head and timing cover surfaces cleaned up, and got the new cam and lifters installed. I got ready to install the new, man-sized timing set. Here is a comparison shot of the new vs. the old:




I thought to myself "Self, will this thing FIT behind the timing cover?!" As it turns out, it does fit behind the timing cover. It does NOT, however, fit behind the oil pump. But those crafty devils at Comp Cams thought of ~almost~ everything; they included 3/16" spacers for the oil pump so that the chain will fit. What they did NOT include was a way to make the oil pickup tube move forward that same 3/16" so that it would mate with the freshly moved oil pump! I imagine that a person could make the thing work if they were to remove the oil pan and re-position the pickup tube, but even then I'm dubious as to whether the tube would hit the forward lip of the oil pan.




Soooo.....I ordered a single-roller timing set. Waiting on parts.....

Well, I figured that I could still install the heads....that way I could measure the pushrod length and get them on-order. As it turns out, I only ordered ONE set of head bolts! ****. Waiting on THAT, too!

I did, however, manage to get the new engine mounts and starter installed. This evening I'll clearance the valley for the LS6 valley cover and get that thing installed. I will probably be able to get one of the heads installed, along with the associated header.

While I'm awaiting the new parts, I have plenty of other stuff that needs cleaning!

Update 22 June 2015:

While I was cleaning and waiting on parts to arrive, I just kept thinking that I ~must~ be doing something wrong regarding the timing chain. I mean, hell, if Comp Cams says it fits, then maybe it actually does, right?!
So I figured that I'd see if I could get the oil pick up tube installed into the pump with the pump installed on the provided spacers. I left the cam gear and chain off so I could get my fingers in and around the pump. To my utter surprise, it actually FIT! Next I removed the pump, installed (and lubed) the new o ring, and trial fit the pump / spacers / pick up tube again; all fit smoothly! So, off the pump came (again.) I installed the cam gear and chain, got it TQ'd to spec, and reinstalled the pump / spacer combo. I TQ'd it in place, and here's what it looks like:








The clearance looks closer than it actually is. There's about .040 between the chain and the pump body.

Feeling very good about myself and the world in general, I bolted the timing cover (loosely) in place and began to install the Powerbond underdrive pulley that I got from a buddy. He got the new, unused pulley with his C5 when he bought it and didn't plan to use it, so he made me a pretty good deal for it.
Well, sometimes I could just kick the shiite out of myself; I didn't compare the pulley to my old, stock pulley. I stuck that basterd on there, pulled it all the way down until the (longer) snout bottomed out on the oil pump drive gear....then wondered to myself "WTH?!! It still needs 1/2" before it's seated correctly?!" Then "WTF?!! The AC pulley part of the balancer is sitting 1" too far forward to line up with the pulley on the AC compressor!" THEN I decided to look at the part number stamped proudly on the PD UD pulley...PBU1480SS25 is what I saw, and it definitely IS NOT the correct part number for my humble C5! SHIITE!!!



The trully crappy thing about THIS situation is that I don't have a "hand" shaped harmonic balancer puller. I have a three-jaw, which is what's required when removing the stock balancer. The PB UD pulley has three 3/8-16 tapped holes that look to be 5/16" deep. I'm pretty sure that there's no hope of pulling this balancer off using those holes! I ordered a puller, and plan to get some grade 8 bolts...I'll heat the hell out of the snout on the pulley and try to pull it off. I'm predicting failure, and foresee me using the three-jaw to remove the outer ring from the balancer, then using the three-jaw to remove the center part. Sigh....

On a positive note, I did get the block modified to accept the LS6 valley cover. The difference between the LS1 and the LS6 covers is that the LS6 has a PCV port built in.
The LS6 cover is on the left, the LS1 cover is on the right.



The block has to be clearanced to fit the black PCV tunnel. In this picture, I'm pointing to the spot that conflicts with the block:




This is a shot of the area of the block that has to be clearanced. This is the second try, because I didn't go deep enough on the first. Before I started, I stuffed some clean, oily rags in the holes in the valley, then cleaned the walls of the valley so that the duct tape would stick. I also taped cardboard over both head surfaces. I used a Dremel tool with a flex attachment, and a few different carbide burrs to grind out the area. I also flooded the bit with spray lubricant while I was grinding. I also placed clean, oily paper towells in the floor of the valley to help make clean up of all the sub-microspopic aluminum particles easier:




In-process:




And after I finished it off with some sanding drums:



After this, I got the valley completely clean using carb cleaner and towels, then a vacuum, then compressed air. Then I removed the tape, cleaned the valley again, and finally I removed the oily rags from the valley and cleaned it again.
The valley is the cleanest part of the engine.

On the #1 cyl, I put a fat bead of non-hardening gasket sealant on the edge of the valves that will be closest to the pistons. I'm planning to rotate the engine to ensure there's adequate PTV clearance.
I bolted the driver's side head in place, got it TQ'd down to the second step in the manual, and used my Comp Cams adjustable pushrod tool to measure pushrod length. I really can't get my head around it, but even with the base circle of the cam lobes being .050 smaller than the stock, the pushrodlengthcheckertool shows the "zero clearance" measurement to be 7.335". This means that if I want to have .065 preload on the lifters, I'll need a 7.40" pushrod. I just don't get it. I checked the intake AND exhaust valve on the #1 cylinder, and both are the same. I'm gonna have to check another cylinder before I order the pushrods...

I also installed the new starter....the one with two long bolts.
I got the two new motor mounts installed, too. Having the cradle down 1" really helped, but I still had to remove the aluminum standoffs from the block to get the mount bolts on the engine mounts to clear. PITA, but it's done.

Hopefully the new cylinder head bolts will arrive soon...

Anyway, that's where I'm at right now.

Thanks,


More to follow!

Regards,
KoreaJon

 

Nice! No major projects without a few snags lol. It will be worth it in the end

 

Subd - looks like a fun build!

 

Nice project you are taking on. Keep us posted on your progress. What kind of hp/torque numbers are you hoping to see after the build is complete?

 

I'll post some more pictures soon...with an update (key ominous music....)

I'm imagining that it will produce 420 RWHP or so. This assumption (hope) is based on ToqueZ06's spec sheet.

http://www.toquez06.com/dyno/dyno.jpg

My build is pretty similar, I have Kooks LT headers, I'm installing an LG G5X3 cam, (jury is still out on the UD pulley...more on THAT, later!) and bigger injectors. I'm installing freshened 243 heads. The tune is gonna be a little more difficult, though.


Regards,
KoreaJon

 

Two things you wasted time on: You dont have to lower the cradle any to remove the streering rack. Just slide it to the passenger side. You dont even have to remove it unless you want to. Also, the sway bar doesnt need to be touched either. Its not in the way

 

Well, you live and learn, I guess!
It sure didn't look like the rack would come out of the passenger side, but ok.
I had to remove the mount bolts for the ECBM, and the sway bar was in the way....the new sway bars I bought will probably arrive before I finish the engine anyway, and it took about 30 seconds with the impact, so no harm done!
Anyway, if this cam doesn't work out like I want, I'll remember the advice when I change it out!



Thanks,
KoreaJon

 

Updated the OP.

 

DID YOU USE RED "High Strength Locktite on those CAM BOLTS?????


I SURE DO HOPE SO!!!

 

Yeah...and make sure you use red locktite on the bolts!!!!!

I just got through breaking down and rebuilding my WHOLE motor (AGAIN!!) that had about 400 miles on it because of cam bolts that werent red locktited. The cam gear came loose, moved the cam slightly forward and took out a lifter. The lifter roller broke and then took out the cam. Which then took out all of my brand new coated bearings. Luckily I caught it and shut the motor down before the cam gear came all the way off. Or Id be replacing my LS6 valves also cause they would be bent lol. So yes, you do live and learn lol. This was my first time rebuilding an LS motor so I didnt know. I know now though!!

 

SOB!! I followed the manual....it didn't call for locktite, so I didn't use it. Danm it!

OK, no problem. The timing cover isn't tight, and the (wrong) balancer has to come off, so I'll locktite the bolts. It's odd that I didn't use the locktite, BC I'm normally pretty religious about using it on everything....

BTW, the manual indicates that a 5mm bead of locktite should be put on the threads of the head bolts.....is this correct?

Thank both of you for the heads up, I really appreciate it!

On another note, I got a little more work done last night. I took the springs out of two of the original lifters and shimmed them solid with washers. After they were shimmed up, I reinstalled the pushrod cups into the lifters, and reinstalled the retaining clips. This gave me two solid lifters with which to check my PTV clearance. I removed the driver's side head, installed the lifters, then reinstalled / torqued the head back down. I installed the rockers and pushrods on the #1 cylinder, and slowly rotated the motor through a few revolutions; I didn't feel anything amiss, so I continued on the premise that all is well internally.

I spent quite a bit of time with a dial indicator on the pushrod side and on the valve side of the rocker....looking at the actual vs. the effective lift of the cam. It was quite educational, as it seems to be almost impossible to measure the cam lift at the pushrod side of the rocker, due to how the rocker moves through an arc as the cam lifts the rocker. I first tried to locate the tip of the dial indicator in the oil hole of the rocker, then realized that either the arc of the rocker would bind the dial indicator, or the indicator would pop out of the hole...either way the measurement was unreliable.
I moved down to the valve end of the rocker, but had a similar issue. I ended up locating the tip of the dial indicator onto the valve spring retainer. This gave me reliable, repeatable measurements of effective lift.
It's a big cam.

I'll update with pictures later.

Once again, thank you gentlemen for the heads up on the locktite!


Regards,
KoreaJon

 

The security of those bolts are so critical that:

I clean the cam bolt holes with brake parts cleaner using a Q tip, clean the bolts with cleaner and completely coat the threads of the bolts with RED "HIGH STRENGTH" Locktight.

Torque, wait 5 min, RE TORQUE!

DONE!

Bill

 

Funny story:

I had a ZERO oil pressure issue. I had to be sure I was making pressure without having to disassemble the entire FRONT of the engine again and again if I didnt. SO,,, I started and ran the engine with the front cover off.

I had pressure. You will be surprised where all the oil goes when that cover is off..

The issue ended up being NO 5 VDC reff voltage for the sensor.

 

Im pretty sure the manual does call for Loctite. But I read that step after the front cover was already on and thought nothing of it not knowing about LS motors like that. I was too lazy (Read: STUPID) to take the cover back off. But now I know!

After My new $200 clevite rod and main bearings come in today ill start putting the motor back together. Had to power wash the ish out of the block and pans to get all the metal flake out. It was an exspensive pain in the *** mistake. But i know now.

 

And Im confused. Your trying to use a 3 bolt pulley puller instead of the claw looking one?

 

Yes. On the OEM balancer, you use a three arm (claw-like) puller. The Powerbond UD pulley has a solid hub (the OEM has three spokes) and three 5/16-16 tapped holes into which you screw the three bolts for the balancer puller.

If you use the "claw" type puller on the circumference of the PB UD pulley, you'll pull the pulley off of the hub.


Thanks,
KoreaJon

 

I think you have it backwards though. The OEM one will come apart using the three jaw if your not carefull I may be mixing up SR balancers here as I havent had an OEM balancer in a while).

Not sure where you got the thread and pitch for the Powerbond from. But when I was looking I couldnt find that info ANYWHERE. Also tried every american and Japanese bolt I had that looked like it would fit and it didnt. Just wound up stripping the bolt holes out. They are worthless anyway cause mine were angled all weird.

I used a claw puller for both OEM and Powerbond. 3 bolt one just made me mad.

 

Well, as it turns out, I was able to pull it off using a three jaw puller. (The three holes in the center are 5/16-16, which I confirmed by running a 5/16-16 bolt into them...)

I decided to not wait and that if I damaged the pulley n the process, so be it; much to my surprise, though, the damnnedd thing came right off!

I removed the cover, lock-tited the cam gear mount bolts, and reinstalled the cover. I reinstalled the previous balancer (just a few thousand miles since new.) I managed to get one head installed and TQ'd down before the weekend....then it was off to the MIL's for the weekend.

Tonight I'm planning to get the other cyl head installed, get the headers installed, then start getting all of the other stuff in front of the engine installed. No rush, as I am still waiting on the pushrods to arrive.

I'll post more pics later!


Regards,
KoreaJon

 

Yeah I used a combo of a small claw and a big claw to get the OEM one off and promptly placed it in the garbage!

 

Hello Again,

Well, I've made a little bit of progress. I received the new pushrods from Tick Performance. I took the coil packs off of the old LS1 rocker covers and got them mounted on the new LS6 coil brackets (the mount holes were not tapped...grrrr) and test-mounted the assy's onto the LS6 valve covers.

I got the LS1 steam tubes re-bent to clear the LS6 valley pan, and installed the tubes.

I got the bung installed for the remote oil pressure sensor and set the intake in-place to dummy up the remote oil pressure switch / gauge so that I can make the steel braided hose to fit.

I decided that I would go ahead and install the rocker arms, but before I did I measured the diameter of the rods....and found that Tick sent me some 5/16" .080 wall rods. I ordered 3/8" .080 rods. Dannmit!!

Sooo....I contacted Tick....they kindly offered me two choices: 1. Send the rods back, and when they receive them they will send out the ones I ordered, or 2. Order another set and send back the first, then they would refund the first set.

Here's my question: given the lift on my cam, and the springs I've installed, are 3/8" .080 rods overkill? Will the 5/16" rods suffice?


Thanks in advance,
KoreaJon