Hi guys! So I am in the middle of pulling out my tired old LS6 in preparation of sending it off to have it rebuilt locally. They will be handling everything from the valve covers to oil pan internally. While its gone, I thought it would be a good time to go through the rest of the engine compartment and r&r anything that makes good sense while I have some downtime and accessibility; I'd like your input.

Spark plugs
Oil pressure sensor?
EGR valve?
Water pump is only 2,000 miles old, so I will put new gaskets and reuse.
AC compressor? Cheap and a pain in the *** to install once its all back together, does it make sense to replace along with the other components at this time? Car has 68k miles on it and the AC blows ice cold. I will say that when removing we have no idea how much oil spilled out so I think I am going to have to flush the entire system and all parts in order to start from scratch and reinstall / measure oil.
Power steering parts or?
o2 sensors?
Radiator?
Knock sensors?

I am also going to detail the engine bay, re-wrap the wire harness in fresh electrical tape and generally clean it up.

Despite what it probably sounds like, I am not really a big fan of just throwing parts at cars. That being said, I plan on keeping this forever and figure its had a hard life and has some decent miles on it so perhaps its better to be very proactive and start replacing parts before they cause headaches later on. The last thing I want is to get everything back together after a large project like this and have issues within a few months.

Anyway, feel free to tell me I am crazy, justified or somewhere in between.

Thanks as always, I would never have tackled such a project without the help and resources of this forum!

 

I have a BOOK of things to do to lay on you. It would be easier for you to call me and we can discuss what I have experienced.

I did a LOT to my ZO6 and have some good LESSONS LEARNED for you. Hope your wallet is ready!

Some of the things that I did are:

- Disassemble the TT and check everything. Your rubber couplers are probably on their last legs and require replacement. You can also check the TT bearings.

- Differential: I Up-Graded my differential with C6 ZO6 output shafts and limited slip clutches.

- NEW ENGINE MOUNTS A must if yours are high mileage. What ever you do the engine mounts, you have to match it on the differential mount.
- New better tunnel plate. You can at a minimum install a C6 OEM Tunnel plate (much better than C5 OEM. You can find them used on line or C5/C6 parts for sale.
- New After Market differential mount PFADT design or the new poly mounts.
-Clean and repaint the frame members under the hood area. Yours will most likely be ugly and have rust in some areas. A little wire brush work, Some rust converter and PPG Semigloss black and it will look like new.
- YES!!! NEW O2 SENSORS!! A MUST so that your new TUNE will have a good starting base line.

NO EGR VALVE on a C5. You can eliminate the A.I.R. Pump and all the pluming. Get some A.I.R. manifold block off plates. I made my own.

NEW Clutch Master Cylinder!! A must!!

What Clutch are you going to install. We need to talk before you do the clutch install!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bill PM SENT!

 

What are you having them do to the engine? I have some serious recommendations for you to make the engine more reliable and quieter valve train wise. I can provide you some recommended improvements.

Bill

 

Thanks for the info Bill!

I should have pointed out that within the last 2,000 miles I did a LS2 timing chain, new valve springs, TexasSpeed 228R cam, etc. Engine mounts are a good idea, as is the trans / diff mounts. Glad to hear about the O2's.. I will pick those up as well. I run LS7 manifolds and have deleted the AIR system. Clutch is good, and just did the clutch master / slave as well as a speed bleeder.

The engine will be gone through and rebuilt to include new rings, etc. That is the primary reason I am even doing this. Low compression on #4. Probably need a few new valves as well due to the oil buildup / sludge on 3 of the 8 intake side.

Ill try to give you a call later today.

Thanks again.

 

I am going through the exact same thing right now except the engine is going to be a 383 LS1. I cleaned the engine bay and put the the injector harnesses in wire loom. I have a long list of parts to replace.

All Coolant hoses
Power Steering hose from the reservoir to the pump
Water pump and Thermostat
A/C and Belt Tensioners
Idler Pulleys
Motor Mounts and Trans/Diff mount
Clutch Master/Slave

Stuff I want but not sure I need
Dewitts Radiator
Spal Fans
LS2 Power Steering Pump Pulley

I am not sure all this needs to be done, but it feels like it should be done since everything is out of the way. My car only has 54K miles so some of this may be unnecessary.

 

If I pulled the engine I would make sure that I did some lower end work. Check the con rod bearings and install some ARP rod bolts. That allows you to spin the engine a little higher with a little more reliability. You can easily replace the connecting rod bearings with new stock bearings.

Replace the front and rear cover seals, oil pump, timing chain, upper and lower pan gaskets, ect...
If I was going to do any cam work, I would seriously look at cam bearing replacement. MAKE SURE that you replace the pilot bearing in the rear of the crank if you have a Manual trans and have the TT /eng separated.
If you do ANY HPDE track stuff. they now make an EXCELLENT C5 Oil Pan Baffle mod to prevent the oil pick up from being oil starved.

Bill

 

Excited to see how this build turns out, bump for a great corvette owner

 

We are SOOOO close to getting this out. Question, is it possible to pull with the bell-housing still on? Not sure how the heck you are supposed to get to those bolts with the motor still in the car. Any input would be great. We are ready to drop the cradle and get the party started. Thinking about taking off the TT bolts and trying to pull the motor / bell-housing as one. Also, do you need to do anything towards the rear of the car to help with the TT angle to get the motor out?

Thanks all!!

 

Yes you can get it out with the bellhousing on by removing the 5 bolts that attach the bellhousing to the torque tube.

The subframe must be lowered with the factory oil pan. A C6 LS2 oil pan will go in and out without dropping the subframe. We used a transmission jack to lower the subframe. We use a jack stand to support the torque tube in the tunnel. I would remove the shifter. You can leave the front accessory bracket with power steering pump attached. The power steering lines between the rack and pump must be disconnected from the rack. You must use a crows foot or a line wrench (what we use) Go slow so you can look for any wires, lines hoses etc which could be damaged. It is really a 2 person job.

You can unbolt the bellhousing from them motor in the car. You can access the top ones with a wrench and the intake off the motor. I prefer the path of unbolting the bellhousing from the torque tube. Yes, I have done both.

In the future we do not disconnect the AC compressor but unbolt it from the block and ratchet strap it to the frame. We also leave the fuel rail connected to the fuel line laying it over on a fender protector on the windshield.

 

As for what to replace, what is your goal/purpose for the car? Daily, fast streetcar, 1/4 miles, 1/2 miles HPDEs?

Most things on a C5 will go over 150k miles even with some HPDE use. I am helping a friend replace a motor in his C5 which fits that description now.

Motor rebuild:
11/32 pushrods 3/8 if you are having them ported and thus machine work is being done at the same time.
ATI or Powerbond balancer 10% under drive.

Other stuff:
I think the Doug Rippie delrin steering rack bushing is worth it.
If this build is more a street car I'd stick with stock style mounts and with the mileage being 60k ish I would not replace them.
I would take a good look at hoses but likely would not replace them given your mileage but I would not argue if they are in the budget. My Chevy truck is an 01 188k no problems, the C5 mentioned above 150k mile '00 with HPDE time, no problems but we are replacing them. The hoses actually look really good. We are in Georgia, if this is a California car you're likely good too. If I were in the Northeast, rust belt etc. I would be much more likely to replace stuff.

I do agree with the O2 sensors, water pump, thermostat (if they were not 2k miles old), tensioners, and belts. The hose from the power steering pump to the reservoir is another good idea.

I would do a clutch, master, slave, pilot bearing, and remote bleeder. Further I would inspect the torque tube, pulling it apart and inspecting couplers and bearings. Reinstall goes a bit easier dropping the motor in 1st and then installing the torque tube, trans etc.

 

https://www.harborfreight.com/450-lb...ack-61232.html

The transmission jack we use

 

Thanks for the feedback and info 93Polo! I got the motor out yesterday without issue. Off to the builder today and will order a bunch of parts to get ready to put it all back together.