Dublin

I've been lurking for some time and have found a wealth of information on your forums. Thanks for that!

I'm currently overseas and will remain so for another year or so. But while I'm here, I'm starting to get my head around a build for my Jeep. I purchased a 2007 LY6 with 42k miles and it's in my garage at home waiting for my return. I am planning on larger axles, linked suspension, engine, etc.... so there's plenty to do.

Where my question comes in is this. I keep reading these motors will run for upwards of 150k without problem. I'm tempted to upgrade the cam while the engine is on the stand vs. waiting until after I install it. But that's got me thinking that perhaps I should just completely rebuild the thing just so I know the thing is in good shape. So I'm thinking of doing at least some minor work on the engine such as new oil pump, timing chain, cam, etc..... and do a leak down on the cylinders. If the leakdown is good, do you recommend I run it as is or given it's out of the vehicle and has been sitting for 3-4 years, should I just plan on a rebuild? I don't necessarily mind doing the rebuild, actually it would be fun, but I have so much more to do with the rig that from a time perspective, it would help to plop it in as is and go. There are potential problems with this obviously. At a bare minimum, what do you recommend changing/upgrading beyond the few items I listed above? I'd love to get this thing up into the 450hp range with good low end torque so if there's a recommended cam out there, I'd appreciate the advice.

Thanks for any advice you can lend this noob!
Cheers.

ULTIMATEORANGESS

iTrader: (4)

at that mileage you should be fine.


as far as upgrades im sure theres plenty.


http://www.performancetrucks.net/forums/tags/ly6/

murphinator

iTrader: (2)

I cant see opening it up even if it had triple those miles if it is a good running unit.

In my current stable my crew cab/long bed/2500 hd that tows all my other toys around and hauls them home is at 182k and still on original spark plugs never mind the stuff under the valve covers , my bolt on 6 speed z is at 238k and to my knowledge has never been opened up ( previous owner had it since 89k) I have another bolt on car with 173k and gm vehicles in general I have had enough of them with 200-400k that I just don't fix what aint broke and its always worked well for me.

If your looking for 450 hp then you will need to open it up though (if staying NA)

Dublin

Thanks Folks. And thanks for the link to performancetrucks. They seem to have a lot more info on the LY6 which makes sense. So the engine supposedly ran fine before the truck it was in was totaled. I think what I'll do is pull the valve covers and look for anything obvious. If nothing found, I'll do a leak down check on all the cylinders. Still if nothing found, I'll rotate the engine on it's stand just to lubricate the lower end, then shoot some oil into each cylinder up top and do a few turns on the crank just to make sure everything seems smooth. Does that sound like a decent plan? I'll still replace the oil pump and timing chain but if there are other items that I should change out before it goes into the vehicle, I'd appreciate hearing about them. Oh, and yes, I do plan to upgrade the CAM a bit. Would love to get a few more ft/lbs and horses out of this thing. I'll be spinning large tires on a heavy rig so could use all the help I can get! Thanks again for the help.

murphinator

iTrader: (2)

vehicle it came out of was totaled... check for any cracks around engine mounts , starter , bellhousing etc...sometimes blocks get broken tabs , cracks etc... from an accident.

My other concern would be did it end up on its roof ??? do the math with where the oil would be or more importantly not be if it ended up on its roof or side and running....

Dublin

Didn't end up on the roof. I don't have a picture handy but as I recall, the photo showed the damage was slight to the front end extending down the side. I'm no body man, but it didn't look all that bad but without getting my own eyes on it, hard to say. Either way I'll put it through a few checks before going to the trouble of putting in the vehicle only to discover it's got issues. I actually got to thinking that it would be easy enough to pull the intake and valley cover to get a better look inside so I may do that as well. Thanks for the help and any further advice is most appreciated.