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.
My 89 (6 speed, convertible, 155000 miles) is blowing to much smoke it failed the California Snap test, so i knew it was coming and i don't mind throwing some rings and bearings and gaskets at it, it earned it. So my question is can it be done in Car, or does the engine have to come out?
That's a hack job at best. Do it right or you'll just waste a lot of time and money. With 155K it needs to be measured and machined before you throw parts at it. If you don't want to do that, find a good used engine.
Wow wow be nice... hack job... It runs very well at the moment. and this is a 28 year old toy. If I'm disassembling the engine and see reason to pull the motor then I will pull it as a short block. Until then, I would like the challenge of doing it in the Corvette. My main concern (question) is can I pull the Pan off while in the vehicle?
Thank you Tom400CFI for answering my question.
The pan will come off with it in the car, but you will have to raise the engine to get it out. There won't be much clearance to work, and don't know if you will get a torque wrench on the front rod bearings. Having had to pull the pan on mine in the car, I would pull the engine if I was going to do the work. Good luck with it.
Once you pull the heads, it's easy to pull the rest of the engine. You don't even need to remove the hood! I don't like working on my back, and there's no way you can get the engine as clean as it should be while it's in the car. If you want to replace the crankshaft bearings or the seals, you've got a real problem. The bolts for the bell housing are a little tricky, and a swivel 9/16" socket became my favorite tool! A good rebuild will require boiling the block to clean the water jackets to ward off overheating problems in the future. New Welch (freeze) plugs are good insurance, too.
Gstoddard, you're misunderstanding jv999's comment (post #2). He's recommending that you do the job right, rather than taking shortcuts with your engine. He's recognizing that your '89 is a very nice car, and is worth the trouble to install a first class engine.
At 155,000 miles, you'll find more wear than a simple ring job will be needed. A quality professionally built short block and your original heads, refurbished at a local shop, will get you back on the road much more quickly than doing it yourself! And may even save you some money, too!
Last edited by Hot Rod Roy; 02-21-2018 at 02:46 PM.
L-98 pans come out, swapped mine out no problem. I think it is the Lt1/4 that has the issue.
Doing the rebuild with the block in the car, possible yes but, why?
So remove the trans, which is connected to the C beam. To leave the block in.
Now remove and reinstall a crank shaft going against gravity?
Remove the harmonic balancer with all the **** in the way? Maybe you can leave the timing chain cover on and have it come out with the crank still going through it.
What part of the engine is it that you do not want to take apart to leave the block in the car?
Or is the engine hoist/engine stand that is the issue?
Last edited by bill mcdonald; 02-21-2018 at 02:32 AM.
Blowing smoke as in running rich or oil or what? I suggest a compression test and leakdown test. It could be something as simple as valve guide seals which you certainly can do in the car.
if the rings are shot and need replaced, I'd bet the bore is worn too and you won't get a good Ring gap. IMHO if you are set on a rebuild pull the whole engine and do it right.
I am all for taking the easy way out, and saving time and money, I did a poor boys rebuild with a 350 still in the car and would not do it again. I spent 2X the amount of time it would normally take, crawling back and forth under the car. Was super sore, scraped myself up very good, and never felt like I got everything as clean as it should have been. Did the honing with a drill, and did not get a good cross hatch pattern.
It actually is much easier to pull the engine believe it or not, than attempting to do it in car. FWIW
It can be done! That is for sure as there are many of us who have had to do this.
It is not however the "optimal" way of doing it.
I had to replace a piston that broke on a 350 engine in a C3 Corvette. I was able to remove everything and I slid the bad part out, honed the cylinder and slid the new piston right back in. We put her back on the road the following day.
Removing the whole engine might seem overwhelming to some shade tree mechanics. Once you have participated in doing the job it is not as bad as most think.
If I were in a situation like yours I would take the car to a reputable shop and have them remove the engine and then you can get it rebuilt by somebody who knows how to make a good solid rebuild and will give you a warranty of sorts. The shop who pulled the engine might even store your car while the rebuild is being done. Then have the shop re-install the rebuilt engine and go from there.
I love rebuilding engines but they are big, heavy and dirty. I have rebuilt several dozen air cooled VW's back before I became a Corvette nut. I used to rebuild a VW over the weekend, These Corvettes are a hole new ball of wax.
In rebuilding my 1968 427 Corvette I bought a working 350 engine and installed it while I spent 9 months "Building" my 427 "my way". This way I could drive my Corvette while the primary engine was being meticulously rebuilt by a professional. No rush, adding "rush" can cost lots of money.
My beautiful rebuilt high compression 427 engine sold a lot of engines for my mechanic. He used it for a demonstration of his capabilities and it really glowed.
Rebuilding is not a good thing to rush, it is THE place to go nice and slow and check, recheck and triple check if needed. For a "first" experience rebuilding an engine don't try and do it yourself unless you are one heck of a good mechanic.
Which ever route you take I wish you the very best in getting rid of the smoke!
a glaze breaker and a set of file to fit rings and you might get lucky but by the time you invest that much time, effort and cost, all of which could go towards a proper rebuild...especially the labor part.
Now with that said, if your short term goal is to get through smog, I'd put new valve seals on the valve stems, pull the plugs and soak the cylinders with penetrating oil to loosen the rings, put in some engine rebuild in a bottle, aka Motor Medic or STP along with fresh oil, cross my fingers and go back to the smog shop.
Last edited by mtwoolford; 02-21-2018 at 02:20 PM.
I would do a leak down test first, just to see what kind of shape the rings are in. Smoking can easily be valve seals or guides. 155k used to mean engine was worn out but not so much anymore. If the rings are still sealing I would leave them alone. You will know what you have when the heads are off. Honing for new rings with the block in the car will require some pre planning and #6 & #8 are the most difficult to do. The glaze breaker needs to be centered. If you get a one with a long shaft you can go from underneath you just need to rotate journal out of the way. You will want to wrap rod journals with construction paper and tape prior to trying to hone cylinder walls. You will want some 400 or higher wet dry sand paper to polish crank before reinstalling piston and rods. You also should check back of bearing shells to be sure they are standard. Although not common it's possible to have undersized bearings even in a "virgin" engine. Rolling crank where #1 is near BDC and counter weight is up may help removing pan.
02-20-2018, 09:21 PM
Engine rebuild in Car
IDK where the claim is coming from that the pan won't come off....or that you can't get to #1 rod bolts? Come on. 
