Two weeks (while on vacation) I installed the following parts onto my Corvette.
- LG G6EXEC cam
- Powerbond UD pulley
- IWIS timing chain
- Manley push rods
- Patriot Extreme valve springs

The install went great. :-) For the next few days I softly drove the car on the stock tune, while waiting for an e-mail tune to be completed. After receiving (and uploading) the new e-mail tune, I started logging (HP Tuners) and took the car for a spirited run. About 3 mins into my logging session the car started making a funny sound. I immediately turned around and headed for home. On the way home the car died (while driving). I coasted into a nearby driveway and let the car cool down. 10-15 mins later I tried starting the car. The car would turn over, but not start. :-( The next day I had the car towed and started pulling it apart to see what went wrong.

Before I had pulled the engine apart, I contacted LG for assistance. Without hesitation, Louis immediately had a box of assorted engine parts over-nighted to my vacation location. At this point, it was not yet known what parts were needed so Louis had an assortment of parts in the box and told me to simply return whatever I did not need and that we would work out the cost of the parts that I did use at a later time. What was important to Louis was that my car be "up and running as soon as possible". I called Louis and his crew many times and they were always extremely patient and kind with me. Louis was even answering my questions past midnight. Talk about amazing service from Louis and the gang at LG Motorsports!

My thanks also go to SpinMonster and Nightstalker Medic for their quick assistance!

Pulling the engine apart revealed the following broken components:

3 x Patriot Extreme valve springs
3 x camshaft bolts (sheared off in the cam)
1 x IWIS timing chain
1 x timing chain tension bracket
1 x cam position sensor
3 x lifters
? x bent valves (not sure exactly how many were bent)


The second time around the heads had to be pulled and the following parts were installed
1 x LG G5X1
1 x Comp 921 valve spring kit
1 x ARP head bolt set
1 x Cometic head gaskets (if anyone knows how thick the stock head gaskets are please let me know as I am curious if my compression ratio is any different with the Cometic gaskets? :-)
8 x intake valves
8 x exhaust valves
1 x camshaft gear
1 x Kartech timing chain
1 x cam position sensor
3 x lifters
1 x timing chain tension bracket

I tried to take a pictures during the process and I have uploaded the few pictures I did take.
http://picasaweb.google.com/jackson....rvetteCamSwap#

The car is now purring like a kitten (with a nice lope!) and I am just waiting for a new tune. :-)

These Corvettes are great to work on and although it was not for the best of reasons, I had a blast doing all of the work.

A teaser pic of some of the damage.

 

I will gladly pay more for a company that stands behind their products/services. The first time I get the "that's not our problem" answer I scratch that company off my list forever. Sounds like you picked well (which is almost pickled). Sorry, my mind works in mysterious ways.

San

 

Great pics man and Im glad its running fine now. What happened? Did you overtighten the timing chain sprocket bolts?

 

 

I'm curious as to if your going to be selling your custom Tie Rod Holder and Custom Head Stands? The look like a must for every engine builder!

I've been there!

I'd have to say that the pictures are pretty inspirational. Almost makes me want to go and pull off my heads for a good cleaning! I've got a concrete stained wheelbarrow out back that would fit the bill perfectly!

 

Glad to see that things work out for the best!!

 

If you got the Cometic .040 gaskets (they make different thicknesses) you raised your compression to about 11.4 (based on my buddy GTODoug's calculations on my car).

Great work doing it by yourself though! Hats off to you. Almost gives me the gumption to put some new heads and intake on my car.

Do you have any idea what caused the failure?

 

OK Everone wants to know and I am certain you have worked through this.

What caused the problem.

The picture review guess is: Cam bolts not torqued, backed out, something caused chain to break, chain caused cam bolts to shear.

Not clear on what caused the lifters and springs to break.

Others I have seen, the pushrod just bends and the valves break when they hit the piston.

Good pics, Thanks for the info.

Thanks, Lloyd

 

You are to be congratulated on many fronts....first let me say I really admire that you retained your sense of humor and took this all as a learning experience. You had great support, from Lou at LG to the dog standing guard. Even though you had less than perfect working conditions, you improvised where you could, made the most of everything, and got your car working again.

We should all take a lesson, when things go wrong, they can go wrong REALLY BIG...and there are two ways to handle it....this is a great example of how to handle it the right way. No yelling, name calling, bashing, just a request for some help, a whole lot of intestinal fortitude, sweat and careful rebuilding...and a very big "Atta Boy!" from us all.

GREAT JOB!! Thanks for all the pics!

 

nice post!

 

 

was it because the g6 cams are for the l92/l76 or ls3 setups? how many miles were on the cam b4 you started 'spirted driving'?

ill be going with something simular to that g5x1,, how's it feel?

-carl

 

Looking at the pics it appears you cam bolts walked out as the cause of this injury.

Cometic produces any size bore and thickness gasket for any engine. If you send them something obscure they will produce a one off gasket so ssaying you have a 'cometic gasket' doesnt tell anyone the info needed to calculate your new compression. Stock gaskets are .054" and if you went with .040" you are in the 11.3:1 to 11.4:1 range. The G5X1 is a 228 cam requiring at least that compression. Its a great cam and looks to be a good low end Tq monster.

On a side note, I think you are the greatest for manning up and publishing that things didnt go well and also for trying again. One thing though, why didnt you have me fly up to help? I did offer.

 

Question: With this setup, at idle when cold, is it noisey? Do you hear the "sewing machine" noise? Any ticking?

Thanks.

 

Sorry for all the headache that must of been, but way to improvise! Necessity is the mother of invention, and you prove that.

Sounds like LG was a big help. Pretty impressive considering they did not do the work. Glad to see you got it up and running again.

 

Hats off to you, Mrdrezzup. Glad it got worked out, and kudos for keeping a positive attitude and working through the issues.

Thanks for posting the photos, as well. I'm thinking of doing H/C over the winter when it's cold here in Denver, and I need to learn as much as possible.

Your sharing of the info is much appreciated.

 

Glad you figured everything out!! I had to go through the pain of a damaged motor... I spun 2 rod bearings in my 99 SS... needless to say, I took the easy way out and decided to sell the car as is instead of going through and forging the motor and fixing it... I'm glad you fixed everything and got it up and running!

LG is the best! Period!

They will be getting all of my future business! None better in my opinion! Louis fixed my tuning issues... I was on the dyno for 10 runs and 2 1/2-3 hours of total dyno time... and he did this all on his own time and dime! That is service!! I recommend everyone to LG that I come across! Top notch.

 

The camshaft sprocket bolts were torqued to 26lbs and Loctite was used on the bolts.

 

I should have taken picture of the "tierod holder" without the tierod in it. The hole was so perfect for a tierod it was funny! The first time I did the cam swap you can see that the tierod was actually in the dirt (my bad). The second time around I decided to "get professional" and stumbled across that unique piece of wood...err I mean Tierod Holder!

The car has 15,000 miles on it and it had the carbon build up you see in the pictures. I was left wondering what an engine would look like after 100,000 miles?

 

The Cometic gaskets were indeed 0.040. It is great to know the stock gaskets are a bit thinner and that my compression ratio was increased a smidge. Thank you for the data!