DBL_TKE

Alright I guess I should get a build thread going so I can document everything and have a place to ask questions and get advice along the way.

I have an '07 aluminum block 5.3 (L33) with 243 heads. Picked up the engine locally. Story is that it was a dealership pull out due to engine noise, I believe they put a new cam and I believe lifters on it and didn't solve the problem so they gave the guy a new engine. I was planning on doing a simple rebuild on any engine I picked up regardless, so as long as there's no internal damage I should be good to go. I also just picked up a Borg Warner S400SX3 (S471) 71mm T4 1.10 A/R. This is my first turbo build so it'll be a bit of a learning experience as well. I know several people locally that have 5.3/S475 combos and I've seen what they run and how reliable they are so for the most part I'm planning on copying those builds.

The car this will be going into is my 1991 Camaro Z28. The goal is to make a minimum of 600whp. It's going to primarily be a weekend street car that will see a lot of roll racing and some track time on the road course with a few passes at the drag strip here and there.

Here's a quick run down of what I've come up with so far.

ENGINE:
Aluminum 5.3
New rod/main/cam bearings
ARP head studs
ARP rod bolts
Aftermarket rockers
Aftermarket valve springs
LS2/6 intake
New rings regapped
Corvette accessories
4th gen F-body oil pan
80lb injectors
Dual in tank Walbro 255's

TURBO:
Borg Warner S400SX3 71mm 1.10 A/R T4 177248
Custom ETS intercooler 22" x 12" x 3.5" with 2.5" inlet/outlet
Twin 38mm or single 50mm wastegate
Single 50mm blow off valve

Now all this is definitely not set in stone. The only parts I have so far and the complete engine, turbo and intercooler. So any advice is more than welcome.

Forcefed86

iTrader: (4)

How much power do you want to make?

Things you probably don't need, assuming they have been inspected and aren't damaged.

New rings regapped
New rod/main/cam bearings
ARP rod bolts
Aftermarket rockers

Easily get away with 1 38-42mm WG s well. 50mm is overkill.

Good luck! just put one together myself. You will probably have to eliminate the DOD system. And get the proper 3 bolt timing set to run a 3bolt cam. Other than that, things went smoothly.

DBL_TKE

I'd like to hit over 600hp at the rear wheels. Though I'll eventually see how high I can push it once I get a spare engine ready some time down the road.

I'd just like the peace of mind knowing that it has fresh bearings and rings. I didn't see it run so I have no idea if it burned oil or smoked at all. I thought the rod bolts were somewhat of a weak point in these engines besides the pistons?

The rockers are so I can get a little more lift and also for the fact that I'll probably be revving this to about 6500, so I want the valvetrain to be solid.

As for the wastegate I've been having a hard time trying to find how to properly figure out the optimum size for a turbo build. Is there any kind of formula, or is it just a copy what works for someone else kind of thing?

Forcefed86

iTrader: (4)

Not that it hurts to have new parts, but its usually not needed. There are alot of places you should spend money on with a turbo setup. The shortblock isn't one for engines around 600-700+crank hp IMO. OE parts are alot better than most give them credit for.

A quick stone hone job is all thats necessary if your worried about ring seat. After pulling apart many of these motors I can tell you i've never seen rings worn beyond the point most gap them for boost. (.005-.006 X bore) Also never seen a poor ring/cyl seal. All the motors I've pulled apart (even ones with 200k) still have crosshatch on the cyls and ring gap was well within the norm for a turbo engine.

Rod bolts are not a "weak point". Esp with the gen 4 motors. Many reving to 7k+ at well over the power levels your talking about making. I ran 6500+ on my gen3. OE hardware on the entire bottom end at 25psi. There is also a chance you will damage your motor by running them. Even ARP suggests you should have the big end of the rods sized when using their hardware. It tends to "Egg" out the hole. Cracked type Oe rods aren't' usually resized.

The Oe rockers are fine to 6500 rpm. If anything get the bearing upgrade that replaces the OE needle bearings. Much cheaper and it contains the bearing "needles" if one should fail. Personally I wouldn't mess with it.

Chris@CBR

I don't think you can resize cracked cap rods.
I would run a set of Scat Pro Comp I beam rod and a set of forged pistons.

The Pro Comp rod is a lot tougher than a stock rod and close to the same weight.
This will save you a ton of money balancing the crank. H beam rods are heavy and you will have to buy a lot mallory to get the crank to balance.

Forcefed86

iTrader: (4)

I’ve heard of people claiming you can bore the big end .002 and run an aftermarket bearing with no need to take material off the rod end mating surfaces... Never done it though.

GEN4 rods have made 1400whp at 7800rpm. Really don’t think it’s an issue here with a 71mm turbo on a stockish setup. OE pistons will be fine as well for the OP’s goals. When people go tearing into motors they usually do more damage than good. In the OP’s case I’d def. inspect all the bearings because of the previous issues. If the rods or mains aren't damaged I’d toss them right back in. I was exceeding the OP's goals by quite a bit with 160k gen3 motor on all original rotating assy heads etc... So have many others.

If your going to do a forged motor I'd go with 4"+ bore stuff. Get more bang for your buck...

Chris@CBR

It has been years since I've had any rods resized. When the LT1 crack cap rods
showed up in the 90's we where told that if the needed sizing to trow them away.

I can see how it can be done with larger bearing.

It's been my experience that by the time you buy bolts pay to have them installed pay to have the rod sized
and pay to have the pistons pressed on the rods for just a few $ more you can have a better new set of rods with floating pins.

The Scat Pro Comp's are only like $325.00

I have a lot of buddy's that use them in there budget dirt track motors.
I've seen motors with broke cranks and these rods are still hanging on!
Them dirt track guys are a lot rougher on a motor than we are.

jaydubb

Very similar to what I plan on doing. Watching...

shawnc16

Where's the pics!?!?!

DBL_TKE

Pics coming later today

DBL_TKE

L33





Borg Warner S400SX3











Custom ETS intercooler 22x12x3.5



And the car this is going in

jay_rich

iTrader: (8)

Following this! More Boosted LS 3rd gens the better! Are there any miles even on that L33?

Jay

jay7199

iTrader: (9)

Enjoyed your build thread on thirdgen, Excited to see this! I been itchinng to turbo mine.

DBL_TKE

I have no idea on the mileage. We'll see what condition it's in pretty soon

shawnc16

Hell yes! Car looks damn good! Curious how the T4 fits vs. my T6 S480. These turbo's are massive and definitely limit mounting options on our cars. My build thread is on TGO but it sucks and Im not on enough to update it.

jaydubb

Well damn... Car looks NICE. Now I know I MUST paint one of my sets of SS wheels black. Jesus!

:thumbsup:

DBL_TKE

I'm most likely going to place it where the battery goes at the passenger front corner and relocate the battery to the trunk. I'd really like to keep A/C if at all possible so I'm open to any other mounting options as well.

sharpi_gsxr

Subscribed.

topgun542

iTrader: (6)

awesome looking car!

lickinpink

that third gen is badass!! i'll be watching this build closely. good luck with everything!