Ok guys, so heres my story.

In april i purchased a 2000 Trans am M6 from a dealer. it was a nice clean car with 78k on the clock, i paid 10.8 with a 3 year 36k full coverage warranty. about 3 weeks after i got the car, i went to wawa came out drove out of the lot and heard the worse sound in my life...a rod knock. i was so mad esp since i did a full tune up 3 days before this, plugs,wires,fuel filter, cleaned the K&N air filter, and a mobile 1 full syn. oil change.

So after YEARS of saving for my dream car, this happened. i call the dealer and the warranty company had it towed to the shop they wanted me to have do the work. between all the back and forth crap and them finding/installing a motor with new belts etc on it i finally got her back. they put new belts on because it was squeaking, well i got 2 miles from the shop and it started squeaking they said bring it back and we will figure it out...after waiting 5 weeks just for them to swap a motor i wasnt taking her back for a squeak haha. so i was going to fix the squeak on my own. then a week goes by and it started bucking low in gear and idleing kind of rough. the same week i came across a used set of SLP longtubes/ypipe and LM1 cat back. my friends dad is an old school gear head harcore GM muscle nut. he has a lift in his garage so i ask him to help do my exhaust with me and he says sure no prob.

So i get the car over there and we start cutting the old pipes off etc. so now were onto taking the plugs/wires out to remove the stock manifolds. after getting all the OLD wires off i begin to take the plugs out. this shop kept my new wires and plugs and gave me the wires and plugs that came with the used motor, i was pissed. then i start inspecting the plugs as i pull them, almost EVERY plug was cracked!!, so i have all but 1 plug out which is #7...the plug gave me some trouble breaking loose all the others were out smooth. finally i give it a little extra umph and it comes loose as im backing it out i can feel it grinding a little. after i get it out i se shavings on the plug and my heart drops. they must have had a hard time reaching that plug when installing them and cross threaded the plug into the hole and said screw it!. so im already reallllly pissed off bc if the plug dont go back in right then im screwed i need new heads.

So all the plugs wires and AIR lines are out of the way, im checking over the bolts holding the manifolds on and im seeing that there are some bolts missing, YAY for me! i was praying to god they just didnt put them in.....well i was wrong these clowns snapped the header bolts, and just left them snapped off in the heads! so i went on with the install and took the old manifolds off thats how i realized the bolts were snapped off in there, at this point all i can do is continue with the install of the SLP headers.

So now im in a shitty situation, i have litteraly been saving up since i was about 16 to buy a 4th gen Trans am it has ben my dream car for years, i wanted the ws6 but i figured its just a hood i can buy one later, bc my car is not a ws6. no biggy. So now i am in a situation where i have to buy new heads due to the steady misfire on #7, the car doesnt buck at all feels like it drives fine but shows up to 20 counts missing on the live data scan. and to add to it i have a minor exhaust leak around the headers.

So here is where im at.

I have a garage where i can do all the work myself. but i have never done anything like this before and im nervous and worried about it, not going to lie about it. i know my friends dad will give me a hand but i know these LS motors arnt exactly easy for older car guys to understand. i figure since im going to do the heads i mine as well do all of the work to the car i planned while everything is apart.

I was hoping to get a set of 243 heads but there just to much money, there is a member on here selling a set of shaved .25 241 heads for 220$ shipping, they need springs.

so here is the whole plan
Buy the shaved 241 heads
i already have pac racing springs for up to .650 lift (not dual springs)
i also already have the TSP 224/227 cam with a 114 LSA
I have a LS6 intake manifold from my buddys old 2001 SS
so i need to order the following
Head bolts
Push rods
Head gaskets
Exhaust manifold gaskets
Valve seals
LS2 timing chain
new exhaust manifold bolts
and hopefully figure which pully is squeaking and either re grease it or buy a new one.

the car is a 2000 TA 83k on the clock now, and it is my Daily driver.
What do you guys think of them mods going hand in hand together? and do you see any odds and ends im missing and ned to buy?

and here is the BIG question, is there any guys on here who love Fbodys so much they wouldnt mind giving me a hand with this install??? i will buy beer and food or w.e but i would really love to have a knowledgeable LS motor guy there to help me out. the garage where im doing it is right off 95 in bensalem PA. there is a lift and all the tools that should be needed there. i would greatly appreciate any feedback on this guys, if you read this whole thing THANK YOU i greatly appreciate your time!

here is a pic of my baby!

 

Dang bro, if you were in the DC/MD/VA area I could introduce to a guy who builds lsx engines. Did you ever bring it to that dealerships attention about the shady work that was done?

 

Wow. Thats horrible... Im really sorry to hear all the mishaps that have happened. If you were closer I'd help. Hope you get everything sorted out.

 

Where was the place you bought it from?

 

Keep everyone posted. The squeaking pulley is probably the idler pulley. Out of the 17 LSX cars I owned this was the one that was always the culprit. You aren't that far away and would help out but not to experience with Head/cam installs.Don't give up hope on finding 243 heads. Don't forget those heads were available on a variety of different LSX vehicles. CHeck Corvetteforum.com , LS2GTO.com also

 

im going to assume you got a used motor from the dealer..no biggie, but id also consider a new oil pump for safe measure while you are doing the timing chain/cam swap. the squealing is most likely the damn idler pulley. also save for a tune once the cam is in there. good luck keep us posted

 

First, I'd want to push back on the dealership. Doing all of what you're about to do will certainly void any warranty you may have with them. Second, the squealing is known for the idler pulley. (Both primary drive and accessory drive have them) Third, when you thought you head a rod knock are you sure it wasn't just some piston slap that the LSx's are known for? http://bit.ly/VQObdw

Finally, if cost is a concern, I'd be looking to purchase (semi-local - http://bit.ly/VQOAwt ) stock per-assembled heads that I could just slap on, bolt up the headers, and go. Doing a cam swap and all certainly isn't necessary. (Not arguing coolness, but you get my point.)

Either way, best of luck and don't get discouraged to do things yourself. This forum has plenty of information. And with a digital camera and computer, you can put any question you have out there and someone will have an answer.

 

You should concentrate on getting the car to run right stock. You're going to need a tune for the mods you're doing.

 

If you want a set of 243 heads check out the f/s section on corvetteforum. I see then selling complete for $5-600 all the time, that's pretty cheap IMO.