LT1-LT4 Modifications 1993-97 Gen II Small Block V8

Thrown Rod.

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Old 12-29-2010, 12:58 AM
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So lastnight I was getting up to speed granny shifting and all the sudden I hear a knock coming from my engine, so I immediately pull over and pop the hood, I hear this terrible noise as the RPM rose and fell, I knew exactly what it was. I'm wondering would it be better to rebuild it to a 355 forged everything blah blah, or to just scrap the LT1 all together and go buy a low mile LS1 and drop it in.
Old 12-29-2010, 01:34 AM
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Better how? What goals, what budget, better is all in perspective.

-Dustin-
Old 12-29-2010, 01:39 AM
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Of course you should get an LS1. LT1's are junk... if you get an LS1, you won't have to worry about thrown rods.
Old 12-29-2010, 01:55 AM
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I would love to keep it under 5 grand if at all possible. I know a guy thats selling a 98 Corvette LS1 with everything for 2500 with only 9k on it. My goals would be 400hp+ on motor with my LT1. The LS1 just seems like it'd be cheaper for more power and no more damn optispark.
Old 12-29-2010, 02:04 AM
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Yea... Optispark sucks. Seems like they go bad every other damn day !! Plus 400hp on motor is wayy too much work on an LT1. Corvette LS1's are faster anyway
Old 12-29-2010, 02:11 AM
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What all is involved in the swap? Just swapping PCMs and running the new wiring harness? Would I have to change my gauge cluster or will it still work?
Old 12-29-2010, 02:38 AM
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If you swap you will need to repin the cluster. And if you forge your LT forget that 5K budget. At your point its about preference
Old 12-29-2010, 02:51 AM
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So would it be cheaper to do the LS1 swap than rebuild the LT1 I have now? Seems that there is more gains to be made and more reliability to the LS1.
Old 12-29-2010, 03:19 AM
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Depends. I know I have more than 5K in my current build but thats accounting for building from the ground up including buying a new block and a lot of extra things including stall, shift kit etc. If all you have is a bent pushrod. You could just tear into the topend and rebuild it, should run you right around 2K for everything needed for a H/C build. You have the bolt ons already, id just say add 4.10s.And why is reliability such a huge issue? Are you having that much trouble with the opti?
Old 12-29-2010, 03:31 AM
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Ya with some further research the LS1 swap looks like more trouble than its worth, I'm gonna keep the LT1, I just don't like the opti, going through a puddle is enough to kill it, just seems like a bad system. I'm a senior in highschool so I need to do it relatively cheaply.
Old 12-29-2010, 03:52 AM
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Having actually had my LT1 when i was in high school ill say this. I bought the car bone stock, added a CAI/muffler. Did a full tune up (plugs, wires, NAPA cap and rotor). Had zero issues apart from my stock O2s going out on me. I have a new Delco opti on my current build with zero issues. Just loctite the rotor screws and RTV the cap so water cant get in it. Since you are on a budget replacing the pushrods and adding a cam/springs/rockers would be worthwhile.
Old 12-29-2010, 04:06 AM
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The one thing I'm afraid of is having to buy a new crank/get it machined, and get the block re machined because I'm sure it scratched the **** out of that cylinder wall. I have no idea how much that will cost. I put an MSD opti on it about 6 months ago. Had a wiring problem and then right before it went it was missing throughout the RPM range. Is it worth it to tear into the block and not replace everything with high performance parts?
Old 12-29-2010, 06:52 AM
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i just had my machine work done and rebuilt my lt1. its a bolt on h/c car and i only have 2800 in it... if you can put a motor together you can save alot of money.
Old 12-29-2010, 07:08 AM
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Did you just get your stock heads ported? Also, how hard is it to drop or pull the engine out of these things.
Old 12-29-2010, 08:48 AM
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Alright so update, when I started the engine about the day before it happened I saw some sparks on the passenger side of the firewall directly behind the head, thought maybe it could be the starter/flywheel throwing sparks up? Also, could this be the noise that I thought was a thrown rod? I have plenty of oil pressure, would a thrown rod mess that up at all?
Old 12-29-2010, 08:52 AM
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Theirs nothing wrong with an LT1. Rebuilding it with a decent cam with bolt ons and a tune will have you well over 400 crank hp.

Depending on the shape of the crank, you can have it cut down. new rods, pistons, rings, bearings, oil pump.. the whole 9 yards. it can easily be done for under 5k.

As stated just make sure you do all the preliminary precautions when installing and opti and you should be fine.
Old 12-29-2010, 09:29 AM
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If I've spun a bearing will my oil pressure jump around? Plus I'm still really curious how sparks are being thrown up from behind the passenger head. I recently had the transmission rebuilt and flywheel re surfaced, maybe they didn't get a bolt on tight and its causing that noise?
Old 12-29-2010, 11:28 AM
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Honestly it doesn't sound like you have an engine problem to me. If you see sparks, I would stop driving the car and have it looked at immediately.

P.s. there's more to an LS1 swap than just the motor and pcm. You have to change the k member, trans, exhaust, etc. When it comes down to money, it's cheaper to rebuild the LT1. Yes the LS1 is a better option, but it's more work and much more expensive.
Old 12-29-2010, 12:01 PM
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The rule of thumb is that it's cheaper to buy an LS1 Camaro/TA than to swap an LS1 into an LT1 car. I guess it depends on what kind of deals you find.
Old 12-29-2010, 12:07 PM
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what makes you think you threw a rod? that knock could be tons of things


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