jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

99 Camaro with a 6.0 iron block. ARP Head Studs. I did not assemble the engine that I am now taking the heads off of.

When removing the heads, is it required to remove the head bolts/studs in the opposite order of the torque sequence to not warp your head (or create some other problem?)

Also, my head is already off. I decided to pull the studs out of the block and reinstall them as some were looser than others. When I had only a couple of threads left on certain studs, I would hear a depressurizing sound like when you open a new bottle of coke but not as loud as that. Has this happened to anyone before?

(crosses fingers) blocks not cracked and heads are still true! (/crosses fingers)

thanks 'tech.

vettenuts

iTrader: (4)

If they used a lot of the ARP Assembly Lube during installation of the studs you may just be pulling a small vacuum that you hear upon removal.

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

this is what i pulled out of bolt hole 10,3,1,and 5. the rest were good. the engine has about 20K on it. when i took the head off, i immediately got the coolant out of the cylinders, but left the deck untouched and studs in the block for days (covered up) because i didnt have the time to get to it and the car is at a friends place. do you think that coolant could have seeped in there when i removed the head?

i have not seen the ARP lube before, but i would imagine that it would be thicker than the stuff on the rags, right? the liquid on the rags was wet like water wet.







I am going to be honest here. I think I may have made a mistake when removing the passenger head. I removed all of the stud nuts except stud nuts 3,6,7,and 10 in random order (non-reverse sequential of GM install torque sequence) at one time on a friday. i came back the next day and got the nuts off for studs 3,6,7, and 10. removed the head, got the coolant out of the cylinders, removed the headgasket and covered that bank up.

did i make a mistake in the order that i removed the stud nuts to remove the head? are they supposed to be removed in reverse order of the install sequence?

do you think that leaving the 3,6,7 and 10 stud nuts torqued down for a little more than 12 hours provided a setting for the coolant to leak into those holes?

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

does anyone think that these are block cracks? kinda doubt it but id rather provide too much info than too little.





the first pic is with the passenger side head off, left most wall of the recessed lifter area, closest to the firewall, where the second pic is the exact opposite (right most wall, and furthest from the firewall).





when i took my lifters out, all of them looked really good except this guy, so i took a look at the corresponding lobe and it looked the same as the roller of the lifter. i will be replacing the lifter.

i bought the cam used but the lifters are brand new 850-16s.

does anyone think the cam/lifter failure could be caused by under-preloading the lifter?

the cam should be replaced too, right? it is a 224/.563/112

I am tempted to take the driver side head off to check those lifters as well.

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

also, does anyone care to share what they think of how my combustion chambers and pistons look? (too lean, too rich, etc.) i really dont know what to look for besides carbon = rich.

number 8


number 6


number 4


number 2


cylinder 2 is on the left and cylinder 8 is on the right. i have cleaned the combustion chambers up with some brake clean and a rag.


thanks guys

p.s. all of the junk in the cylinders will be cleaned out before the heads go on.

02 BLK WS6

iTrader: (11)

1st pic in post 4 would have me concerned, but could just be the block casting. By looking at the oil in the combustion chambers, the valve seals leaked pretty bad. The carbon build up on the pistons isn't terrible, but leaky valve seals makes buildup worse. The cam is garbage.

vettenuts

iTrader: (4)

Block picture appears to be casting flash, not an issue. Remove the other head and pull the lifters and the cam. Inspect them all. Remove the valve springs and check their loads, make sure to keep them in order. I am thinking that lifter is the result of a weak valve spring and loss of valve control but you need to measure them to make sure. Also, check the flatness of the heads, especially the first one you removed. Take a file and drag it under its own weight across the bad cam lobe and a good one. If the file scratches the cam then the cam may have been the issue.

ARP Assembly Lube is a block moly-lithium grease, hard to tell from your photos what you have on the rag although there does appear to be some coolant. However, that might have been from the disassembly process as well.

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

there is one only seal per valve, correct? the ones you change when changing valvesprings when installing an aftermarket cam?

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

from past experience, how do cam bearings usually look after a situation like this? they would have about 20k miles on them MAX. i imagine the cam would have to be removed to really answer the question (so the journals can be checked)?

vettenuts

iTrader: (4)

Be careful on cam removal, cam bearings should be OK but you will be able to see them one the cam is out and the lifters. With the damage done to the cam lobe, that cam has to come out anyhow.

99LSS1

iTrader: (12)

Make sure you inspect your Cam bearings carefully. If you had one Walk on you, There could be deeper problems. How was your oil pressure??? And what was the reasoning for pulling the heads in the first place??? You need to figure out what caused this problem in the 1st place.

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

to me, oil pressure was great. it would drop some on hot summer days in texas doing some city driving (but i think that is par for the course, i was using m1 10w30, but i will be switching to GC 0w30 once the problem is solved), but it was never below 40 at idle. cold starts are between 60 and 70 psi.

i pulled the passenger side head to repair a stripped header bolt hole.

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

how do you inspect the cam bearings with the block in the car? with a little mirror like a dentists mirror?

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

ill take some pics once i get the cam out.

Pocket

iTrader: (22)

Going down the list...

You can pull the head bolts in any order

Coolant down the bolt holes is fine, I dont care how careful you were or how dry the engine was, some always gets down in there. Clean it out and go on

Cam and lifter are wasted

Block ridges are casting flash from the casting process, nothing to worry about

Pistons look fine, oil was getting in there but not enough to pose a problem. No pitting from detonation is present

You cant judge the chambers after they've been touched. For future reference the exhaust valves are generally your indicator. You'd be looking for ones that didnt look like the rest

Hard to inspect the cam bearings when they're still in the engine. In the car/on the stand its still tough. When you pull the cam check the mains. Any sort of scoring that you can catch a fingernail on is suspect on the bearings. If the mains look fine I wouldnt worry about them

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

thank you pocket!!!

you have relieved a lot of worry/issues that i have been thinking about regarding my car.

do you have any guess on how oil was getting into the cylinders? i am trying to think if it could be anything besides valve seals but i cant really think of anything but i dont know heads very well at all.

i will definitely be checking the cam mains and posting that info once the cam is removed.

99LSS1

iTrader: (12)

Cam bearings can be checked with a Boroscope. Try to find someone with one. It may be a longshot but if you spun a bearing and don't fis it you will regret it in the long run!!
Good luck, I hope it is just the seals.

Pocket

iTrader: (22)

3 ways oil gets into the cyls

1) Bad rings. Your crosshatching looks too good for this scenario
2) Bad valve seals. If you're mileage is up there, this is likely the culprit
3) PCV system stuck open. LSx engines are known oil burners and several fix-its exist for this. Some owners have 0 consumption, others more than a qt per oil change

A spun cam bearing will be VERY evident on the cam lobe, but generally they weld themselves to the cam and come out with it

jdoyle

iTrader: (27)

just so i am perfectly crystal clear on this, when you say valve seal, you are talking about the piece that you put on after your install your spring seat, correct?

and there is only valve seal per valve, right?

im 99.99% sure that what i just typed is correct, but id like to make sure.

are there any valve seals out there that are known to work really well or ones to stay away from? i just use what comes with the spring/cam kit.

thanks in advance.

Arc00TA

iTrader: (17)

Yes, there is one valve seal. You can see it inside the spring. If you replace them viton is the best material to get, it seals well with the least wear and doesn't soak up oil like the rubber ones.