Cracked block
03-25-2010, 02:15 PM
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Cracked block Well I just got a call that the leak I found was not a freeze plug and it was in fact a cracked block.
The car: 2000 formula firebird
LS1 70k miles
I was in the process of gutting the interior and scheduling a paint job when I found the leak.
My problem now is, I want to keep the car, but I want to do something special to the motor now that I have to build a new one. What should I try to do? Is it very hard or much more expensive to upgrade to a newer more powerful engine, or should I get a LS1 short block and put some upgraded meat and bones into it? I was stock before running 13.0's and would like to shave it down to 11 or even 10's.
The car is just a daily driver I use to get to work and back and only race when someone wants to play in between there. And I take it to the track maybe twice a year, just to mess around in , nothing real competitive. Any ideas or "what I would do's" are welcome. Like I said, I just got the news, so I am open to any ideas.
BTW this will be a work in progress and may end up taking a year or two, depending on funds, obviously.
Thanks in advance,
Justin
The car: 2000 formula firebird
LS1 70k miles
I was in the process of gutting the interior and scheduling a paint job when I found the leak.
My problem now is, I want to keep the car, but I want to do something special to the motor now that I have to build a new one. What should I try to do? Is it very hard or much more expensive to upgrade to a newer more powerful engine, or should I get a LS1 short block and put some upgraded meat and bones into it? I was stock before running 13.0's and would like to shave it down to 11 or even 10's.
The car is just a daily driver I use to get to work and back and only race when someone wants to play in between there. And I take it to the track maybe twice a year, just to mess around in , nothing real competitive. Any ideas or "what I would do's" are welcome. Like I said, I just got the news, so I am open to any ideas.
BTW this will be a work in progress and may end up taking a year or two, depending on funds, obviously.
Thanks in advance,
Justin
03-25-2010, 02:23 PM
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WTF, a cracked LS block? Really?
Never seen one, well under normal conditions. . . . U have a pic of this?
From what it sounds like. . . I would suggest building it up a bit. . . Start with a LS1 and add some usual stuff, mild cam, 243's, LS6 oil pump, LS6 intake. . . . Just some mild BS. . . . . IMO
Never seen one, well under normal conditions. . . . U have a pic of this?
From what it sounds like. . . I would suggest building it up a bit. . . Start with a LS1 and add some usual stuff, mild cam, 243's, LS6 oil pump, LS6 intake. . . . Just some mild BS. . . . . IMO
03-25-2010, 04:30 PM
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Think I should stay with the LS1 block or an LS2....some people are telling me it's a way better platform to build off of. I haven't heard much about it before all this, but I dunno.
03-25-2010, 04:43 PM
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Wish I could tell you the differences right off hand, but I don't know what they are.
I know I have seen threads on this around here. . . . Just search see what you find.
Someone else could chime in
I know I have seen threads on this around here. . . . Just search see what you find.
Someone else could chime in
03-25-2010, 07:24 PM
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i believe ls2's have a different tooth count on the crank. i would just go with an ls1 upgrade the internals through heads and cam on it with supporting mods and a nice dose of juice
03-25-2010, 07:46 PM
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In all honesty, I will prolly end up with a LS1 block and upgrade it when I build it with heads/cam and all that, but I will prolly stay off the juice till I get serious.
I'm gunna read up on ls2's though and see how different they would be.
I'm gunna read up on ls2's though and see how different they would be.
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03-26-2010, 10:55 AM
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No, it had a 50/50 mix in it, but it was always low, because of a dif leak that we were trying to find. I would post pics, but I had to get the car on a lift cause it has an ebauch sportline suspension and i cant get under the car otherwise. I was working when the mech looked at it, so I didnt get to take pics, I am gunna see if he can raise it again to tack pics, cause I wanna see it myself. He said it has 2 cracks. One about an inch long that spews, and another smaller one that only slightly leaks under high pressure. Either way, 2 cracks== bad stuff. As soon as I get any kind of pics, ill put em up.
03-27-2010, 08:44 AM
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ok...yes, dif was ment as different and why would I lie...I was only trying to get some ideas on replacing this but obviously I need to go somewhere else.
03-29-2010, 11:50 PM
#16
I learned this the hard way, on my ford motor you need to put sealer on the bottom head bolts since the head bolts go in the coolant jacket so the coolant does seep up the head bolts so I redid the heads on my friends ls1 and i put some nice sealer on the bolts thinking it was the same setup but these motors have the threads in the bottom of the block and in a dry closed up section so basically I didnt no NOT to do it since then ur basically hydraulically forcing somethign apart with the sealer, it had nowhere to go soo it cracked the block in 2 different places because it happened to two of the head bolts, I probably didnt put as much sealer on the other ones or I just got lucky or something. BUT luckily the block is fine and does not leak. She runs like a raped ape. What I did do tho was hammer the cracks "shut" and bought some metal punches from harbor frieght, not an actual punch but has a flat edge and I "staked" it across the crack to help it not spread and to somewhat hold it together kind of like stitches. oh and then put a layer or two of JB weld over them. Idk if it really helped but it was worth the couple bucks just in case and I can say it does not leak.
So if your head gaskets were replaced recently this is probably why....
I have pics somewhere of my cracks but hard to see since they were so small.
So if your head gaskets were replaced recently this is probably why....
I have pics somewhere of my cracks but hard to see since they were so small.
03-30-2010, 04:17 PM
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Thx for the info. Nice to see someone actually posting something remotely helpful instead of criticizing me.
No motor work was done that I know, but had been at families for a while when I was deployed. I'm sure I will try to just seal it up with JB since I only drive it to school and work and back, and it just gets to operating temp by the time I shut it down. If it blows, it blows. I'll just build something later.
I have pretty much decided that once it blows, I'm just gunna strip it down to a rolling frame/body and do a full resto on it. I have a truck to drive as well, so its not hurting to garage it so I can restore it.
No motor work was done that I know, but had been at families for a while when I was deployed. I'm sure I will try to just seal it up with JB since I only drive it to school and work and back, and it just gets to operating temp by the time I shut it down. If it blows, it blows. I'll just build something later.
I have pretty much decided that once it blows, I'm just gunna strip it down to a rolling frame/body and do a full resto on it. I have a truck to drive as well, so its not hurting to garage it so I can restore it.
03-30-2010, 04:45 PM
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Thx for the info. Nice to see someone actually posting something remotely helpful instead of criticizing me.
No motor work was done that I know, but had been at families for a while when I was deployed. I'm sure I will try to just seal it up with JB since I only drive it to school and work and back, and it just gets to operating temp by the time I shut it down. If it blows, it blows. I'll just build something later.
I have pretty much decided that once it blows, I'm just gunna strip it down to a rolling frame/body and do a full resto on it. I have a truck to drive as well, so its not hurting to garage it so I can restore it.
No motor work was done that I know, but had been at families for a while when I was deployed. I'm sure I will try to just seal it up with JB since I only drive it to school and work and back, and it just gets to operating temp by the time I shut it down. If it blows, it blows. I'll just build something later.
I have pretty much decided that once it blows, I'm just gunna strip it down to a rolling frame/body and do a full resto on it. I have a truck to drive as well, so its not hurting to garage it so I can restore it.
03-30-2010, 05:39 PM
#19
I learned this the hard way, on my ford motor you need to put sealer on the bottom head bolts since the head bolts go in the coolant jacket so the coolant does seep up the head bolts so I redid the heads on my friends ls1 and i put some nice sealer on the bolts thinking it was the same setup but these motors have the threads in the bottom of the block and in a dry closed up section so basically I didnt no NOT to do it since then ur basically hydraulically forcing somethign apart with the sealer, it had nowhere to go soo it cracked the block in 2 different places because it happened to two of the head bolts, I probably didnt put as much sealer on the other ones or I just got lucky or something. BUT luckily the block is fine and does not leak. She runs like a raped ape. What I did do tho was hammer the cracks "shut" and bought some metal punches from harbor frieght, not an actual punch but has a flat edge and I "staked" it across the crack to help it not spread and to somewhat hold it together kind of like stitches. oh and then put a layer or two of JB weld over them. Idk if it really helped but it was worth the couple bucks just in case and I can say it does not leak.
So if your head gaskets were replaced recently this is probably why....
I have pics somewhere of my cracks but hard to see since they were so small.
So if your head gaskets were replaced recently this is probably why....
I have pics somewhere of my cracks but hard to see since they were so small.
I bet you almost sh** your pants after you found out huh? I hate working on my friends cars because it always seems like something goes wrong. Last time I worked on a friend of a friends car and I was doing front brakes on it because they were pulsating bad. Well, I got 2 new rotors and front pads (which were worn) and everything went good until I drove it after and it had the same pulsating feel to it.
Well after returning one rotor to autozone thinking it was bad, and then taking the brakes apart like 4 times, I finally realized that he must have hit something and that the hub bearing was actually bent causing the entire rotor and wheel to shift side to side. This was on a vibe and you have to press the hub out of the knuckle so I told him he would need to take it to a shop. Well his bill was about $600 because they found the axle had cracked too and he called me and yelled at me saying that I put brakes on when it was never the brakes and that I should have checked it better and blah blah!
AND he never admitted to hitting something with that wheel even though he had BRAND new tires on it like one had blown out! on AWD vehicles, most places make you replace all the tires if one blows out. I think I'm pretty much done with working on friends of friends cars lol. Plus, this guy was the guy that expected me to pick the car up to work on it and then do it for dirt cheap. He literally rounded the $137 in parts up to $150 and didn't even ask if that was a good price for parts and labor....I guess he just assumed or is a cheap ***.
03-31-2010, 01:51 AM
#20
[QUOTE=lt1pwr1;13112269]I bet you almost sh** your pants after you found out huh? blah!
QUOTE]
Haha yeah I was like o shittt especially since it was after I honed the block and already half the shortblock back together already. It really woulda sucked if it leaked....
to the OP...you're welcome....not sure JB weld will hold but worth a shot
QUOTE]
Haha yeah I was like o shittt especially since it was after I honed the block and already half the shortblock back together already. It really woulda sucked if it leaked....
to the OP...you're welcome....not sure JB weld will hold but worth a shot