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That's kind of the direction i was thinking.. maybe use gray scotch bright and oil?? being its on the outer edge i thought it wouldnt be as bad..ive seen worse in searching and people have gotten away with it.. i think i also read as long as it doesnt create a channel from front to back and as long as its smooth its fine..
i know there may be a lot of others who think it should be replaced probably, but i feel like if i do 1 i should do them all..thanks for the response wph351!
Here are a couple more pictures.. mostly the small groove and somewhat of a chunk on the edge.. its pretty smooth other than that..
Ita around the 7 oclock position, sorry for the weird angles.. trying to get it to show the best i can.. the up close pictures make it look horrible but doesnt look as bad in person.
Last edited by RollinSScamaro; 12-12-2016 at 06:12 PM.
hmmm I dont want to be that guy. But Im seeing wear on your bearing as well. I would replace.
I'm about to be in the same process are you, heads, cam, oil pump, timing chain, full valve-train upgrade. And I'm pulling the motor for this very reason. I have too much in front that its more work to move all that and pull the Cam in a weird position than to just yank the motor to be more careful as I dont want what you got going on. Also if the bearing takes a dump and wipes out the cam... $$. I'm not taking the chance with my $400 custom cam.
hmmm I dont want to be that guy. But Im seeing wear on your bearing as well. I would replace.
I'm about to be in the same process are you, heads, cam, oil pump, timing chain, full valve-train upgrade. And I'm pulling the motor for this very reason. I have too much in front that its more work to move all that and pull the Cam in a weird position than to just yank the motor to be more careful as I dont want what you got going on. Also if the bearing takes a dump and wipes out the cam... $$. I'm not taking the chance with my $400 custom cam.
Good luck man!
Are you referring to the copper you are seeing on the bearings.. From what i understand this is very normal on LS applications. I am not sure why but it sounds like they line hone them in the factory and it may cause that?
Outside of that, what are your thoughts on the damage? The pictures make it look real bad, but feels smooth. Just concerned about that one corner in the 7 to 8 o'clock position..
I appreciate you chiming in and being honest! I was hoping to get a lot more feedback.. If it comes down to it, i may have to pull the motor from the top, wouldn't take much more than separating from the trans and motor mounts at this point.. Just hate to tear into the motor just to replace cam bearings.. i'd rather build the motor at that point but don't have the funds, and hate to leave it sitting a year over this if it would actually be fine..
I would not put it back together like that. I see several nicks and scratches on that cam bearing. From the picture it also looks like the metal around the missing chunk (the deeper cut) has raised slightly from the impact that made the cut. Do you have the funds to replace the cam, and bearings, if letting this go destroys it? In the end it will be safer (and probably cheaper) to go ahead and have the cam bearing replaced while you're at the point you are at now.
You did everything up to this point that you could to do the job right. You bought all the right parts, you researched everything you could, you even asked questions when you still didn't know the answer. Don't half-a$$ it now. Do the proper thing and get it fixed.
Are you referring to the copper you are seeing on the bearings.. From what i understand this is very normal on LS applications. I am not sure why but it sounds like they line hone them in the factory and it may cause that?
Outside of that, what are your thoughts on the damage? The pictures make it look real bad, but feels smooth. Just concerned about that one corner in the 7 to 8 o'clock position..
I appreciate you chiming in and being honest! I was hoping to get a lot more feedback.. If it comes down to it, i may have to pull the motor from the top, wouldn't take much more than separating from the trans and motor mounts at this point.. Just hate to tear into the motor just to replace cam bearings.. i'd rather build the motor at that point but don't have the funds, and hate to leave it sitting a year over this if it would actually be fine..
You do not ever align hone after the bearings are installed. Align hone then install the bearings, copper showing isn't bad, its just showing wear. BUt given that you basically ruined the bearing I still say replace it.
Looking at the pics the image shows a recessed grove and then the chunk you took out. Both even if not raised are shallow points and thus can either bleed off oil or create more room for oil in that one area. Too loose of clearance is also a bad thing.
I'm just saying it it was me I would not run it. Your basically more than 1/2 from removing the motor anyways. But once I tried to pull the cam and found ablockage I would have stopped and removed the blockage. the edges of the parts that ride in bearings are very sharp and bearings are soft... very easy to mess them up. i'm going to be very careful when i do mine and thats 80% of the reason I'm pulling the motor. But if i screw up I'll just order a new 5.3 block from summit and skip all the machine work lol.
Ok i see what you guys are saying about that corner... if i decide to replace it how can i go about doing just the front bearing? Or should i just pull the whole motor at this point? Can you hook to the lip of the front bearing and pull it forward?
What a bummer, this is going to slow me down bad.. ill be lucky to get that motor pulled this winter with no room and no cherry picker in the garage..
Open to all opinions on options of the best way to fix it..
i wish, ran out of funds to get this far.. trying to figure out what the hell im going to do now.. whatever it is its going to have to be a hell of a deal and will need to work well with my heads and cam i currently have.. so dumb to see a whole project botched over such a cheap part..
Any recommendations on a rebuild that wont break the bank? The motor has 130k so if its getting pulled i should atleast get it freshened up i would think..
I see 347 rotating assemblies i could go with, i could go with a forged crank potentially but not sure if its worth it.. the most ill do on top of my heads and cam is a 100-125 shot.. no forced induction.. 383 shortblock sounds great to me but not sure if i can drop $4k at this point.. dont want to bump to a 402 or 408 due to the added cost of converting to ls2..
I want to get it back on the road for spring next year, just dont want it to turn into a garage queen trying to save for big motors..id rather have a reliable motor that's good for years and can take some abuse..
Any insight to this would be helpful.. i could go the cheapest route possible and just do the cam bearings, but seems like a waste while its pulled.
Thanks for all the honest feedback guys, that's why im here.
Forged crank is a waste unless you are changing the stroke. Going Iron will knock a grand off the build. TMS has some reasonable Iron 5.7 and 6.0 short blocks. That being said you could pull yours and have it freshened up at a local machine shop for around a grand I imagine. Depending how close you are to Fort Wayne, C&P does great work!! This is probably what I would since all your LS1 block really needs is new bearings.
If you're on a tight budget, just go ahead and get it freshened up. That way you have a dependable ride that still has plenty of power. If you want lots of power down the road, you can start fresh and build another motor as money permits, while you are still enjoying your car. That way you will be in no hurry to finish up the new build and it will allow you to save up and build it right, as time and money become available.
Stock crank is more than strong enough. If you want to be safe, upgrade the fastners. Not sure if the 02 has floating pistons but thats always a better option. Dont waste your money on forged crank. Pistons is prob a good idea with NOS.
This is what I would do on the cheap.
Yank the motor. They can prob do cam bearings with the rotating assembly still installed. If not they sell a tool to do yourself...but i would have it done by someone who does it for a living. throw it all back together but put the cam in with the engine out this time
Worst case, pull the motor, pull the rotating assembly and have new cam bearings installed. Have the machine shop do a very light hone on the cylinder walls. Check the main and rod bearings for wear (if needed replace) slap in new piston rings (gap for NOS) and throw it all back in. Shouldnt cost you more than just a couple hundred bucks for everything. I dont think you need to do a bore/stroke or align hone. If you were going with a aftermarket rotating kit then you need to do the whole block over... but the OE stuff is already mated up, keep everything organized in how it came out so it goes back together the same way. Your not pushing your motor enough to need anything special. as long as your NOS tune is safe. Even with your 100-125 shot I wouldnt even worry about your stock fastners unless you plan to spin it to the moon. But ARP head bolts make the head torqing much easier and reusable.
Also now that your screwed lol... you should prob pick up a cheap engine hoist lol. $150 is well spent when you can use it when you need it and do what you want to do. I got mine used for $50 and its a 2.5 ton off craigs list.
For strength of the OE stuff. Im pushing 500+hp at 12psi on a GM original 5.3 with 150K on it. didnt pull the heads (stock graphite gaskets), just swapped oil pan and valve springs and a supercharger. I'm going to up that 100hp and not even pull the crank. Just ported stock heads and a cam. I dont forsee any issues with strength or reliability. THe OE LS stuff is incredibly strong.
Thanks for the reponses everyone! I could definitely pay a grand to have it freshened up if its around that price.. Just to make sure i understand the parts I would need to provide to the machine shop to freshen it up... These items are just from a basic search on WS6 store, if you feel a different brand or part would be a better direction, please add..
Please add or remove from the list.. I would like it to be a strong bottom end to last a while.. The rear main seal and oil pan gasket were added to replace while its out. I already have all of the other gaskets for the rest of the build and ARP head bolts. The cylinder walls still have cross hatching on them, and the pistons are just a little dirty but look to be in good shape.
Now i just need to find a local reputable machine shop thats familiar with LS1's.. WPH351, i was thinking i'd almost be better off to build my motor and have a fresh bottom end. Can you find low mileage motors cheaper than doing a refresh?
Agreed...a 100k mile 6.0 complete will run 1600.00, 5.3 is about half that. Your engine is a good candidate for a refresh...most move to iron because they spin a bearing and trash the aluminum block. Not the case here...
If you're pulling the motor, just do the items on your list. I see no need to go all out and spend a grip of money on a stroker motor. Then the heads won't be right for the combo and you will spend even more money on those. Before you know it, you will be $6k deep in what started as a cam install. Just my .02. Unless you're ballin'...
12-12-2016, 08:54 AM
