ls1247

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So I’ve been bouncing around here for a while and I purchased an 05 V1 back in December and it now has 184K on it. Well taken care of, looks like a car with 100k less miles on it but I need to beat this thing for at least another 100k at which point I’ll retire it and start modifying it….

This will be a boring build thread for most of you and for that I apologize but it’s all I can do for now…I get a week vacation starting this Friday and I’ll be working like a dog until then so figured I’d better get a head start here.

Because this is the first forum I’ve ever been involved with, I’m not much at posting pics and writing elaborate narratives so I’ll post links to those who have gone before me because they’ve done better than I ever could at getting there process across…If anyone has any pic request or if I think I’m covering something that hasn’t been done, I’ll document to the best of my abilities….

Thanks to all who’ve contributed to this!

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

Clutch/Transmission…For a stock DD, the GM LS7 kit seems to be the way to go…installing a Tick speed bleeder is also a must
https://ls1tech.com/forums/cadillac-...twin-disc.html

Because I’ll be installing UMI motor mounts, killing as much vibration as can be reasonably done makes sense…
https://ls1tech.com/forums/cadillac-...h-assembly.htm

To insure I don’t have issues with the clutch dragging, I purchased a Tick shim kit just in case…..
https://ls1tech.com/forums/cadillac-...ls7-slave.html

While the transmission is out, I need to address a slight oil leak so replacing the rear main seal cover makes sense especially as there was a TSB on it…
https://ls1tech.com/forums/cadillac-...lace-seal.html

Because the shifter base is full of rubber and mounted to the car, and because the shift linkage only works one side of the shift mechanism coming out of the transmission, I’ll be doing some updates on those as well
http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...ge-needed.html

Philstine did a very pretty job on his transmission tunnel and because I’m jealous, I’ll attempt to do the same thing….
https://ls1tech.com/forums/cadillac-...0mil-pics.html

While the drivehaft is out, I’ll be filing the voids in the bearing mount with window weld…

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

My stock motor mounts are toast. I decided to go with the UMI mounts in the hopes that I could press the urethane out and press some more compliant rubber in for DD duties but I ultimately said screw that…Not looking forward to the dreaded lower, studded bolt on the driver’s side but I’ll have a torch handy if I need the red wrench….

https://ls1tech.com/forums/cadillac-...t-install.html

https://ls1tech.com/forums/cadillac-...ount-bolt.html

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

Again, sense I’m going with the UMIs, sense the stock balancer is prone to failure and sense I got an ATI blem for $229 shipped, replacing the balancer and front crank seal only makes sense. Because the balancer isn’t keyed and there have been issues with it coming loose, I’ve decided to pin it….

https://ls1tech.com/forums/cadillac-...ls6-cts-v.html

https://ls1tech.com/forums/forced-in...ls1-crank.html

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

My power steering hose has a slight leak so now is the time and I’ll probably do it when the motor mounts and alternator are out of the way and the motor is hanging on a hoist. After much discussion, it appears the stock PS system tends to overheat so based on Fuzzy and Philstine’s research, I’ll be installing a heat sleeve over the hose to help keep it cool.

I’ve also considered replacing the cooler but I’m not tracking the car so maybe just giving the stock cooler a little “ram air” will help it work a little better. I’ll be using junkyard parts to build a hose assembly to direct air across the cooler because it needs it....The main goal here is to not overheat the rack and wipe out the seals because the cts-v rack is fairly unique and quickly finding one as a replacement looks challenging…..

https://ls1tech.com/forums/cadillac-...k-failure.html

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

The fuel pump is notorious for burning up connectors and leaking. To help with repairs when it fails (and it will eventually) and to inspect what I already have, I’ll be cutting a door under the back seat. FYI, I drilled a hole in the floor or a CTS at the boneyard today and hit plastic almost immediately. I will therefore attempt to drop the tank as much as possible without taking it out to keep from ventilating mine….

https://ls1tech.com/forums/cadillac-...g-smoking.html

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

I drive a lot and know that it’s just a matter of time before the alternator gives up. I have a local shop that will do some “blueprinting” work on it which basically means they’ll pull it apart and go through it for me. I’ll let you know if he has any tricks up his sleeve.

It also seems that our crappy motor mounts let the engine move around enough to pull on the alternator wires causing charging issues so now is the time to check them out…While I’m at it, I’ll clean all the grounds and maybe install an extra engine/chassis ground…..

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...r-upgrade.html

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...problem-3.html

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

The cts-v starter is the only one in the LS family that has a pigtail connection instead of the more standard ring terminals….time to do that conversion and do a little heat sleeving on the wires while I’m at it…

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...connector.html

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

Replace water pump, belt tensioner and idler pulley….this all pretty self-explanatory and I was pleased to discover that my Delco replacement pump came with a new thermostat and housing. There are 2 belt tensioners and one idler so I’ll be replacing those while I have it torn down….

I’ll also be replacing the radiator hoses and doing the following mod on the heater hoses if it applies to our cars….this is a V2 mod but I like it..….

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...-colder-c.html

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

I like my gray interior but because I work at a BMW assembly plant, having gray carpet makes no sense in any reality I live in. I bought a black carpet set out of a CTS today for $21 bucks, took it to the car wash and it looks brand new so I’ll be installing that…I’ll eventually need a black console but for now, the gray one will have to do….

The carpet has a foam base that’s almost an inch thick in some places so I’m not sure how much sense dynamatting the floor makes but I have a nice size box of it so I’ll figure something out. Looking to decrease road noise more than optimizing stereo sound quality.

BMW uses a closed cell foam inside the frame rails of their x series cars so it may make sense to do the same if I can find a suitable foam for the job. Right now, “great Stuff” fire block may fit the bill but am undecided about it just yet. Doing something to keep sound from traveling down the bazooka tube that is our frame rails could hopefully do some good….

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

Because I own motorcycles, I need a trailer hitch. I bought a Valley brand hitch off eBay for $109 shipped and I’ll be installing it while the exhaust is out of the car. Because it’s ugly, I will hopefully be sectioning it/modifying it to tuck it up under the car and then modifying a hitch that will work in it…keeping my fingers crossed on this one….I’ll post pics if I get this far….

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

Nikdsc5 has been kind enough to offer us the use of his fender roller so I’ll take advantage of that and do mine while its up in the air….I’ll post pics if anyone is interested….

Beyond all of this, I’ll be replacing the sway bar bushings with the CS units, cleaning and lubing the sunroof tracks and replacing the fuel filter….

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

I’ve done a couple of other things to the car if anyone is interested.
I yanked the factory NAV system and sold it for $600 on eBay and replaced it with a Kenwood 890…..

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...0-install.html

The ashtray is wasted space for me so I pulled it out and had a buddy CNC me a shelf to go in its place….

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...-tray-mod.html

Our stock horns suck so I yanked them and installed a set of old school junkyard Cadillac “train horns”…

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...orn-sucks.html

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

Hopefully I'll be posting up some pretty pictures for all to see but I won't start work until next weekend...In other words, don't hate....

Thanks again!!!

Fweasel

iTrader: (6)

This thread needs more posts in 8 minutes.

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

Sorry, I'm I have to let my fingers cool off.......

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

These are the part numbers I used on Amazon to save me a few bucks. Everything else is straight out of the catalog, over the counter or bought off the forums...

ACDelco 89018052 Water Pump with Thermostat and Housing

ACDelco 12569301 Serpentine Belt Tensioner

ACDelco 38462 AC Drive Belt Tensioner

ACDelco 12568996 Idler Pulley

12639250 GM rear crankcase cover and seal

12585673 GM Front crank seal

12557840 GM Harmonic Balancer Bolt

Gates Power Steering Pressure Line Hose Assembly 365684

80412, 87666, 88350, 87679 - Autozone premolded heater hoses

Motive Products Power Bleeder Fits most late model GM cars and trucks - (with Brake master adapter)

Motive 1109 45mm Power Bleeder Adapter - (clutch master adapter)

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Day 1 – Basically got the car up on jackstands, got the exhaust, driveshaft, wheels and tires off and then dug into the engine bay and got all the way to the damper when I realized the large 3 jaw puller from Autozone wasn’t going to fit so I had to go back and get the smaller one…I called it a day after going back to Autozone and getting organizied.

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Day 2 – I got the smaller puller from Autozone and the damper came straight off, no problems. With the damper off, drilling for the crank pin was next.

The ATI pin kit is easy enough to use but it left me wondering how deep I should be drilling the hole in the crank. You generate a lot of chips doing the drilling so be sure to be careful not to get any inside the motor...I used a shop vac. The instructions require leaving .093 inches of pin exposed for the keyway on the crank hub and after scratching my head for a while, I pulled out the calipers and started measuring all this because if you go too deep, not good, not deep enough, not good either.

http://www.atiracing.com/instructions/918993.pdf

After measuring the crank snout and running the numbers, to achieve the .093 inches they require, you drill all the way through the crank snout and the pin winds up sitting on the harmonic balancer bolt with absolutely no room to spare. I thought this might make installing the balancer hub kind of challenging but it actually went easy. The picture below is of the pin kit chucked up on the crank. The screw holds the drill bit guide into place than after the hole is drilled you remove the drill bit guide and install the reamer guide...I've never drilled a hole in a crankshaft before but i was able to get through it with the drill bit supplied on a cheap cordless drill that was half dead. All in all a very easy and worthwhile thing to do if you've gone this deep.

http://www.atiracing.com/instruction...LS7-Damper.pdf

Installing the damper would have to wait because I didn’t get the T40plus bit that’s required to assemble the thing! So I ordered the T40plus from ATI (couldn’t find one locally) and started searching for an installer tool cause Summit was back ordered and ATI’s was designed to work with their puller and is pricey.

So I go to install my front crank seal I got from Amazon and it was bent so off to the dealer….

At this point it became clear the brakes were also toast so I went ahead and ordered up a set of el-cheapos from the Zone along with the 2 front brake hoses because of the TSB that was out for them on the regular cts….

I also got the alternator and starter off the car so I could have them rebuilt…getting the starter off seemed about impossible so I loosened up the motor mount to finally get it out. The factory harness plug for the starter fell apart as soon as I touched it…just in time

Beer thirty…

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

Day 3

Took the alternator and starter for rebuilds and went to the dealer for the front crank seal. While I was there I inquired about replacing the 2 front heater hoses I mangled getting them off the water pump only to be told the only way I can get them is to buy the whole heater hose assembly (from water pump all the way to the reservoir) which would be coming from the dark side of the moon and cost 190 bucks…not!

Off to Zone and Advance to see if they listed either one and of course they don't.....great. They were accommodating and let me cruise through there available stock and I wound up finding a suitable replacement for the smaller one but the bigger one I pieced together from 2 different hoses. I was ok with that cause I had planned to install a shut off valve for the heater core as linked in my first post…that didn’t work out because of room constraints and a lack of time so I pieced it together and may revisit this in future as this mod seems to make sense.

After getting back to the shop, I got started on the motor mounts and PS hose. I replaced the power steering hose with the motor mounts out of the car and the motor suspended by a hoist so it went pretty well. Spent what seemed like an eternity putting the aluminum heat sleeves on the power steering hose which turned out to be a bit of a pita.

Wanted to do the motor mounts before the clutch so I could take advantage of the UMIs ability to let the motor sit a little low by leaving the through bolts out thus giving me more access to the transmission and bellhousing. But I didn’t want to put passenger motor mount back in until the starter was done so I got the driver’s side mount done and moved on to the trailer hitch.

Of course that was a pain because Valley’s plan of installation was vetoed by the car and it was time to do a little welding…by the time I finally got that done, I called it…you don't want to see pics of it cause it really ain't purdy....its a trailer hitch but i need it for my motorcycle.

ls1247

iTrader: (2)

Day 4

While waiting for the starter/alternator to get done, I decided to go ahead and do the Dynomatting, fuel pump access door and carpet install.

Cutting for the fuel pump door can be a little unnerving but if you follow the instructions linked in my first post, you’ll be fine. I used an air saw and it worked very well and I took the piece I cut out and used a piece of the aluminum heat shield outlined in philistines transmission tunnel post to reinstall it back into the car…very sanitary. Fuel pump harness looked fine btw…

Gray carpet will never work with me so I installed a black carpet set I got at LKQ for 20 some odd dollars including the mats. Installing it wasn’t bad. No need to take the seats out, take the seat tracks loose or even unplug the seats as the carpet set is in 2 pieces so just removing the bolts and moving the seats around made enough room to get the carpet installed no prob. Be careful not to cut any harnesses running on the floor because the seats are heavy and the tracks a little sharp. Had all this done by lunch.

Dynomatting – cut peel stick. No big deal, I didn’t get super detailed, just cut nice square pieces and went at it. I had enough left over to do the underside of the trunk lid and passed on the spare tire well cause I have a nice heavy spare tire in there that should do all the noise suppressing I need.

From there I drained the diff and transmission and made a weak attempt at installing my Fram fuel filter but it was 1/16th too big to easily go into the bracket. So was every other aftermarket filter I looked at so on the dealership list it went. I spent 8 bucks more for the factory filter but time is money and this filter went in without a fight…worth every penny.

Finally, I made a little air deflector to help route fresh air across the ps cooler. The stock ps cooler sits behind the bumper and looks like it isn’t getting a ton of direct air across it so I set out to cure this problem with the fresh air tube I tripped over at the junkyard. Me thinks it came off a early 90's f150. You can see the before and after pics below but after hacking at it for a few minutes, I used a couple of screws and mounted it up to the bumper. The vent is plenty rigid so it shouldn't flop around and after a couple of days driving the car, I can't tell its on there. Can't hurt I guess. I thought briefly about putting a larger cooler on it but I'm not tracking the car so this in conjunction with heat sleeving the power steering hose will have to do for now. I put the GM synthetic all season fluid in it and got it all bleed out and filled with just a quart.

The black carpet turned out nice i think and i shouldn't have to worry so much about getting it dirty. I put a cts console and a 1 inch taller stick on the shifter to match up with it and I like the way it feels. I've got a 54 shifter and the throws are still plenty short...if you bet me in a drag race because of the split second extra it took for me to shift that extra half inch, that race would be too close to call anyway!

Becker

iTrader: (4)

Sick. How'd the clutch install go how's the clutch feel?