powerstanderson

Just dropping by. First V8 car newer than a TBI 89 Silverado, always mostly dealt with imports specifically Nissans, joining some of the forums for insight and help, as I am totally lost with the LS1 I have now lol.
Honestly my car has been nothing but a nightmare since I bought it, but I love it too much to part with.
She's got 114K miles, in beautiful shape paint/interior/engine (appearance) wise but ....................Ive already replaced the fuel pump,
chased an oil leak for about $1300 worth (successfully tho)

needs new TQ conv. clutches, misc tranny parts as it likes to waste all my power doing nothing but sounding cool

refuses to pass inspection due to a dozen odd codes that i have chased and fixed except for my one finaly one. P0307 #7Cylinder miss/fail. mechanics told me the cylinder is dead, and that there is a low end knock either being made by that or "journals" which i can only assume is a fancy term for main bearings mebe?

*Sigh* Am I wasting my time? I love this car to death, its just so riddled with the little ANNOYING plagues of an older car that wasnt taken care of like I take care of cars.

I dont have sky high dreams for the car, my goal is 320-325 RWHP range. Just headers, mild-mid cam, tune, lil head work, and better exhaust.

SOMbitch

iTrader: (8)

WELCOME!!!!

The bad news. It is not uncommon for # 7 to break ringlands especially if it was ever sprayed. Are you sure it is a bottom end noise? One over rev and a bent pushrod can cause a dead cylinder too. That will of course be top engine noise and is a cheap easy fix.

The good news is these motors are plentiful and a low mile pullout can be had cheap and SDPC on here sells a brand new GM crate LS6 for $3100.

More good news is bolt ons a mild cam can easily see 375 rwhp and with a little more cam a lot see 400+

Good luck!!!

When you get her straightend out tou will be glad you stuck with it

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Start with a compression and leakdown test on #7 before tearing into the motor. Might be valvetrain related as mentioned.

Sounds like the trans issues are just due to age and hard driving. You can expect a 4L60E to fail in the 100-130k mile range when the car has been driven the way these cars were meant to be driven.

If the goal is only 325rwhp, there is no need to do all that work. Air lid, LT headers + ORY, catback, and a dyno tune - you should be right at your goal. Head work plus even a small cam will put you well beyond your goal power-wise.

PS. At that mileage, make sure you do all the normal maintenance stuff if you haven't already (filters, plugs, wires, and clean the MAF). Letting that stuff go can also cost you power.

powerstanderson

Wow, ok then. See what happens when you drive imports all your life? You think you have to move mountains to get another 40-50HP at the wheels haha. Well I dont have a problem going past my goal I was just trying to set a reasonable one. Other than that, I havnt had the money to really do much testing as to whats wrong with #7, I got quoted $217 for a complete workup guaranteed to locate source of its non-firing as well as exact cause for the knock so im just waiting on affording that instead of weeks of hunt and peck trying to find it.

And SOMbitch, you said $3100 for a new LS6. I was reading about those and i see that what, the Oil pan is the only thing that needs changed to make it fit? Whats the story on the LS6's are they a pretty easy swap? I see the blocks the same dimensions and just has manufacturing differences and is rated for i think 405HP, that $3100 a complete engine or just block, because I have no problem waiting it out for the cash and drop one in there

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Wait and see what's up with #7 before worrying about getting a new motor. You might just have a valvetrain related issue that could be repaired during the process of doing the heads/cam swap that you're already considering anyway. A leakdown test would be very helpful with diagnosing this issue.

As for power gains, yes, welcome to the world of domestic V8 horsepower. Depending on how aggressive you get with the heads/cam/intake setup, you could certainly pass the 400rwhp mark even with an auto.

powerstanderson

Awesome. It took $5,500 of engine work in my nissan to get over 300hp. Of course I only started with 165 instead of 308 haha.

2 Questions:

1. I absolutely hate automatics, is the T56 M6 swap worth the time? Or just mebe put a b&m push shifter with a mild race kit on the 4L60 ive got? I have to completely rebuild my tranny or get a new one anyway so I was considering the change over.

2. As far as head/cam, from the limited research ive done i was considering a 221i/221e .560 114lsa or something along those lines....too much? Little? I have no problem retuning the car to the mods, but I still will be using it as a "daily driver" and dont want to mess with drivability TOO much.....heads i dont have a clue yet other than someone told me to put LS2 heads and a LS6 intake manifold (i hear my 2002 prolly already has the same intake man as a LS6 though..) any recommendations would be great

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

This question is strictly a matter of opinion, and my opinion probably won't help you on this one because I hate manuals about as much as you hate automatics. Either trans setup can be built well and be a lot of fun depending on what you like. But since you like manuals, nothing else will really make you happy.

I had a heavily built 4L60E in my WS6 with a 3500 stall and that thing was an f'ing blast to drive! In my Nova I have the sort of shifter you are refering to (B&M ratchet) with a built trans + mild stall..... it's also a blast to drive. The shifter is nice, it gives you precise manual control over shifts without having to deal with a clutch (clutch operation is the part of a manual that I hate.... the shifting part is fun though). But I don't know anyone who has put that shifter on a 4L60E (mine is on an old TH350). I think no matter what you do with a 4L60E there will always be a shift delay when shifting manually due to the electronic control....I don't have that problem on my old car which is why this shifter works so well for me.

First, if you have an '02 then yes, you already have the LS6 intake so you're good there. There are even more aggressive intake and TB setups but for your goals and the size cam you want I wouldn't worry about that, the LS6 will do fine.

I used to have almost that same exact cam (221°/221°//.558"/.558"//114°lsa) and it was very streetable. It did need some tuning to idle properly but once tuned driveability was like stock. Had a nice little lope at an 800rpm idle. I made good power with that setup, 360rwhp with that cam and stock heads, and I was using an LS1 intake and mid-length headers. With an LS6 intake and LT headers, it probably would have hit 375-ish rwhp. And remember, I had an auto with a 3500 stall so if you swap to an M6 your dyno numbers would be higher with the same setup.

As for head selection, the options are almost endless, just depends on your budget. If you're going to use a mild-to-medium sized cam and an LS6 intake though, there is probably no reason to go with top dollar heads. Some worked 243s (LS6 heads) would be a nice choice.

powerstanderson

Really appreciate the imput. I will probably pick up a set of the heads you mentioned and have them ported/polished by my buddy ( new rods, springs etc needed?) n throw em on along with that cam and a set of hedman long tubes (planning on gutted cats and xpipe w/ true duals n magniflow, i have SLP catback right now i know there isnt much HP diff i just like the sound better.) Also gotta get my AIR and rear O2 deleted cause im taking out my air pump when i get home, and as I understand there is no EGR to delete.

I also heard a larger TB off like a vette is a good mod, it worth the time or do you have to get the MAF off the vette too?

redbird555

iTrader: (14)

The throttle body of the vette is the same size we have pretty much, your best bet is just to port and polish your stock one... Also can you post up a vid of said engine knock the ls1 are very noisy and many have piston slap which can sound like a dull knock, some mechanics know abt it and some dont so if you post up we may be able to help.

powerstanderson

Its honestly more like a off-center metallic whirring that follows the engine rpm, i rly dont know how to describe it. Its sort of like the sound (not tick) of when u start a motor and the oil hasnt gotten to everything yet. Its not a straigth up knock or tick, just an overnoise and the mechanic guys said it was kicking my knock sensor and retarding timing. I'll take a vid or 2 when i get home later this week and see if anyone can hear it