LS1 rebuild advice?
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
From: Tallahassee, FL
LS1 rebuild advice? so one of my connecting rods decided to liberate itself from its piston and punch a nice little hole in the side of my block. I'm planning on doing the rebuild myself and am on a budget.
i've been doing some research and it seems that boring a 5.3 truck block is the cheapest route to go to to replace the block. whats the general opinion on this? is the weight savings worth the extra $$$ for the LS1/LS6 block. i found a bare LS1 block for 750 from an engine builder and it seems like the best deal i've found. are there cheaper routes i could go with?
from everything i've heard, the stock crank and rods are good to around 550hp when going with a quality set of ARP rod bolts. since i'm likely going to have to buy a new crank, would stroking it out to 383ci be a good option? any reasons not to? (reliability, etc...)
i'm going to be doing the work myself in the detroit area and time is less of an issue than budget. i want to take my time and do it right, so i hopefully wont have to do it again anytime soon. just looking for general advice and tips like the best bearings and gaskets to use, things i should do while the engine is apart and i have the time to do it (porting the stock heads, buying a ported vs. stock oil pump, double vs. single timing chain etc...). any recommended builders, tuners, vendors in the detroit area that i should talk to for parts/machining/assistance?
sorry for all the questions and the long post but any help you guys could offer is greatly appreciated. i'm new to the LS engine family and just trying to learn as much as i can to do this right.
i've been doing some research and it seems that boring a 5.3 truck block is the cheapest route to go to to replace the block. whats the general opinion on this? is the weight savings worth the extra $$$ for the LS1/LS6 block. i found a bare LS1 block for 750 from an engine builder and it seems like the best deal i've found. are there cheaper routes i could go with?
from everything i've heard, the stock crank and rods are good to around 550hp when going with a quality set of ARP rod bolts. since i'm likely going to have to buy a new crank, would stroking it out to 383ci be a good option? any reasons not to? (reliability, etc...)
i'm going to be doing the work myself in the detroit area and time is less of an issue than budget. i want to take my time and do it right, so i hopefully wont have to do it again anytime soon. just looking for general advice and tips like the best bearings and gaskets to use, things i should do while the engine is apart and i have the time to do it (porting the stock heads, buying a ported vs. stock oil pump, double vs. single timing chain etc...). any recommended builders, tuners, vendors in the detroit area that i should talk to for parts/machining/assistance?
sorry for all the questions and the long post but any help you guys could offer is greatly appreciated. i'm new to the LS engine family and just trying to learn as much as i can to do this right.
You shouldnt have any problems with the rebuild long as you buy the parts that will hold up to some HP....Double check your numbers and your torque wrench when tightening your bolds and studs...Keep all your parts clean and separated before installation and make sure you manually rotate your bottom end after you piece it together and ensure everything looks right and not stiff or hard to rotate..
Its all about budget bro im building an ls6 block but I picked it up for real cheap. If i would have had the extra 300 i wouldev picked up a 6.0 just because the cubes. But witch ever you can find search the parts classified for one. Have it looked at by machine shop have it honed. Are you gunna run stock pistons and rods or forged? I wouldnt bother with a 5.3 block.
As far as bearings Clevet 77 all the way! Get a high volume oil pump for security. Double roler for strength and ease of degreeing ur cam. Im goin ARP all the way around as far as bolts. And just get a complete gasket kit from a sponsor. What ever block u get make shure to get the ls6 valley cover for on top! But if youve got the money for a 383 or 408 kit def. go with that most sponsors will throw in most evrything you need to install the rotating assembly!
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
From: Tallahassee, FL
@hanzy - i found a source for a new LS6 block for 750 plus freight. after looking around for a while it seems that this is a pretty killer price.
my goals for the car is a stout daily driver with the cajones to make a few trips to the track per year and a NA hp goal of around 450hp.
with this in mind i'm fairly certain i can get away with stock crank and rods so long as i get quality rod bolts. i'm still on the fence about forged pistons. it would be nice to have the extra insurance but since my power goals are modest (and so is my budget, HA!) i could probably run a good set of hypereutectic slugs.
if anybody agrees, great, but i'm mostly interested in opinions about why i shouldnt run this setup.
I'm likely going with the clevite H-series bearings. they've been reviewed well in most posts regarding bearings. Definitely going ARP all around for bolts that cant be reused and probably for some that probably just shouldnt be. and i will look into sourcing parts from sponsors. LS1 tech sponsors i'm assuming? pardon the ignorance. i'm new to the site. and LS motors actually
my goals for the car is a stout daily driver with the cajones to make a few trips to the track per year and a NA hp goal of around 450hp.
with this in mind i'm fairly certain i can get away with stock crank and rods so long as i get quality rod bolts. i'm still on the fence about forged pistons. it would be nice to have the extra insurance but since my power goals are modest (and so is my budget, HA!) i could probably run a good set of hypereutectic slugs.
if anybody agrees, great, but i'm mostly interested in opinions about why i shouldnt run this setup.
I'm likely going with the clevite H-series bearings. they've been reviewed well in most posts regarding bearings. Definitely going ARP all around for bolts that cant be reused and probably for some that probably just shouldnt be. and i will look into sourcing parts from sponsors. LS1 tech sponsors i'm assuming? pardon the ignorance. i'm new to the site. and LS motors actually
Staging Lane
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 88
Likes: 0
From: SOMEWHERE !
This is regarding bearings , piston rings and ARP rod bolt
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CLE-CB663P/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CLE-MS2199P/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CLE-SH1814S/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SLP-E-938K/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ARP-234-6301/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CLE-CB663P/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CLE-MS2199P/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/CLE-SH1814S/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SLP-E-938K/
http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ARP-234-6301/
Its all good bro we all have to get started somewere but the best advise I can give you is befor you decide or buy anything there are 3 books you absolutly have to have they are the most important things you will buy!! Now the first is How to rebuild the ls1, second is How to rebuild high performance ls1 ls6 and the new one cant remember the name but its got a vett on it there all by the same people get these books they will explaine almost evrything!! Il get back with you when i get home let you know the name of the last book.
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Im shootin for 450ish my self. Im goin with the stock crank with forged rods and pistons. Im pretty shure it would be tuff to find a forged piston that mates to the stock connectingrods. And im not shure ive never priced stock pistons so dont know what they run. And even if you go with the rods you have its a good idea to have them sized (big end checked). But with a stock bottom end and good H/C/I packige u should get 450. Might need pistons with valve relifes. Get those books
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Brett Foote Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Nov 2010
Posts: 7
Likes: 0
From: Tallahassee, FL
yeah i already have How to Build High Performance LS1/LS6 Engines book. i looked the other two up on amazon and gonna order them today. thanks for the heads up.
why wont forged pistons fit on stock CR?
why wont forged pistons fit on stock CR?
Someone correct me if I get this wrong but i believe stokers are press fit pins forged are floating and ive never seen or heard of any forged pistons that conn. to stock CR thers a few other reasons to but cant remember off hand.
750 for just the block? Pretty exp. You should be able to find an iron 6.0 with internals for less than that keep lookin that way you can get heads and cam then later down the road go bigger CI.
I have seen the complete 6.0 iron blocks go for anywhere from 600 to 1500,I know scoogin dickey sells the lq9 block for 754.85,www.SDPARTS.com ,but call junkyards and look on craigs list sometimes people don't really know what they have,take care and God bless
