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So basically my mechanic is quite sure my Camaro spun a rod bearing (as were others) and it will have to be rebuilt. However, while he said the damage shouldn't be catastrophic, we won't know the extent of the damage until we tear down the engine. The problem he says with LS1 rebuilds is that they can either be super cheap and only cost a grand or a lot of crap could be wrong and cost 3 grand, since a machine shop might say only one or two things need to be replaced or either almost everything.

I'm 19 and while I have money obviously price is a priority with something this big. He also said that another option is to rebuild everything into a 5.3L iron block. He's done it at his GM tuning shop before, and he says it can cost a lot less since the block is like $200-300 and everything else like the heads, oil pan, etc. can transfer right on over to the new engine. Since obviously a 5.3 doesn't have as much displacement, he said now is the time to buy a cam for it (which he can get me a discount on through his shop), and throw some LT's and a tune on it. By doing this, I can apparently get 360 HP and a lot of torque from it, which will give me a more powerful engine than I had from the stock LS1 for less.

I just want to know what your opinions on this are. Some of my friends said there's no possible way an LS1 rebuild would cost more than 5.3 swap and others have said that it's never worth it to get a 5.3 over an LS1 because of the extra weight and such, no matter how much I could save. My parents are also helping me to pay for this since I'm going to go ahead and throw a new LS7 clutch and such and they have tax return money.

What do you think is the best option? I really only care about that my baby gets back on the road running soon, and I'm not a huge power junkie since this is my daily driver and at long as I've got good torque I'm happy.

Mavn

iTrader: (3)

No reason to put an iron block in your car. rebuild your ls1......

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A lot have been saying that. I just hope the block isn't damaged.

Mavn

iTrader: (3)

Youll know if its Damaged haha. very easy to tell

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One of my friends says that it might cost me more later on if I throw an iron block in because no one will want an Fbody in two years with a 5.3. I think he has a point. If I'm selling the catfish after I graduate I want as much money out of it as possible.

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Okay so here is what my mechanic told me:

A stock LM7 swap will be the cost of the engine and a couple gaskets. He said that I should just buy the block for $300 or so dollars, and port over my LS1 cams, heads, accessories, etc. This is by far the easiest and cheapest solution. It's not prefered, but in a year or two I can always put in a new engine once I raise the funds. I'd rather have a Camaro I can drive than one that sits in my driveway.

A stock LS1 rebuild will be $1500 give or take, depending on what needs to be replaced. I would prefer this solution, but again parents are paying so it really depends on how much they're willing to spend.

An LM7 build with a cam and supporting accessories will be an extra $1100-$1500 over the first option. I will NOT do this since this is a complete and utter waste of money.

For those of you wondering why my parents are paying and I'm not, I already I had to pay a decent amount of money on car parts for my back up car (Toyota Corolla) to get it running again so that it could sale once my Camaro is fixed. Since it's actually their car and they get the money from it, they're okay with paying for my car. I'm already spending the extra $1k I have left to get an LS7 clutch (since the clutch on there now is glazed over from some previous owner and chatters like it's noone's business) and LT headers with an off-road y-pipe. So even if I get the stock 5.3, at least I can tune it for some extra horses with the LT's.

I think unfortunately my parents will choose the first option. Oh well.

murphinator

iTrader: (2)

if the block is damaged and you cant find a reasonable replacement there is nothing wrong with a 5.3 , stock it will make maybe 15 less hp with your intake and throttle body on it , add a cam and it will make more power than an ls1.

Usually when someone on here is taking their car to a mechanic they are not well versed in the platform but your guy sounds spot on , I would trust his opinion as it sounds like he has a good understanding of the platform.

I would not suggest an LS7 clutch , go in the manual section and search LS7 clutch theres plenty of negatives , self adjusting pressure plate , heavier which makes it harder for synchros to do their job , and notorious for blocking full throttle upshifts , my M6 car came with one and when it fails or sooner if funds permit I will go with a clutch lighter than stock without self adj. PP

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Well luckily my mechanic also works for an LS tuning shop so he does know about these engines lol.

I'll probably have to get the 5.3 anyways because again, cost. My Camaro is a daily driver 95% of the time, even though there's a good bit of go fast bits on it. So, it's not like I need a stroker kit. I do know the 5.3 stock had about 285 HP & 325 lb*ft of torque, and all I really care about is torque. With my ported LS1 cam and heads, and the Long Tubes, and my SLP intake lid, and a tune...it should make enough torque and power to be at least satisfactory.

Of course the main penalty is weight. I have a "grip" build on my Camaro now and unfortunately 100 extra lb will upset my handling, but I can always swap in an LS1 in a year or two when I have the money.

What clutch would you suggest? I have a Monster Stage 2 clutch and while it's okay it's also too expensive and kevlar clutches are a ***** for daily driving. Are the SPEC clutches any good?

R6cowboy

iTrader: (3)

If you have the mechanic swap in a 5.3 shortblock, what are you going to do with your current LS1 shortblock?

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Depends on if it's damaged or not. Most likely it isn't, and if that's the case I'll sell it.

R6cowboy

iTrader: (3)

If it has a spun bearing the shortblock is obviously damaged. The block itself is likely undamaged if that's all that's wrong with it. Question; the engine still runs fine, it just has a knocking noise coming from the bottom end? If that's the case, the shortblock just needs a refresh with new rings, bearings and of course gaskets. Is that what your mechanic said would cost approximately $1500? That's fairly inexpensive. Because of that, I'd definitely go that route instead of swapping in an extra 100 pound heavier used iron 5.3L which you really won't know how good or not so good that used engine really is. At least with the freshened up LS1, you know it should last a very long time and you won't have to add a decent amount of power to make up for that extra 100 pounds of added weight, which would end up actually costing more money.

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Yeah but you see I have only about $1000 to spend since I'm in school right now and have already spent a good amount of money fixing up my "other" car to sale in the future. I'm already spending $600 on a new clutch and then $400 on headers and supporting gaskets, so unless I want only $200 in my bank account it's not happening that I pay for a rebuild too. My parents are far from poor so they're okay with paying for the engine rebuild but justifying the $1500 for a fresh LS1 probably won't happen. The thing that sucks about this is timing. Only had the car for 2 months and it dies, I had to get the 1 in a million LS1 engine that spins a rod at only 135k miles. If this had happened halfway in the summer, where $1500 would be made every pay period, I wouldn't have minded so much and would have been able to afford everything myself, maybe even a cam. So if I have to go with the 5.3 I will and a year or two down the road swap in an LS1, or maybe a 6.0L.

R6cowboy

iTrader: (3)

You have a shot engine, limited funds and you're set on spending $400 of it on unnecessary headers...? I assume the new clutch is needed due to the current clutch is completely shot?

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Clutch is completely glazed from a previous owner, since it was made of Kevlar. It chatters way too much.
Okay I do see your point. Yeah headers aren't important. It was something he recommended I do since if the engine is already out you might as well put them in so that they don't have to pull the engine out again later.

R6cowboy

iTrader: (3)

Just so you know, the engine does not need to be pulled to install headers. Header swap can be done on jack stands, and is a very easy job with a lift.

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Oh well that changes it a bit.