Corday

Update - I got the camshaft out today and did some inspecting..

Im not an enginebuilder, so i dont know how a correctly installed bearing would look like, however I have compared them to my photos from the engine disassemble when it was stock so here's my observations... Please also see the photos and the comments i wrote on them

Front Bearing
The oil hole is lined up with the hole in the bore. The bottom part of the bearing shows signs of excessive wear. There are "scoring" all around but most obvious in the top region. It looks like the stock bearing sat 1-2mm deeper into the block than this one.


Three bearings inside the block
I did not remove the crankshaft, so i've only been able to do partial visual inspection of these.. I can see some radial scratches and also some scoring on these. I put a ruler from back to back, in line with the oil holes of the block, and can see that all three bearings have their holes lower (about 10-15degrees) than the front bearing.


Rear Bearing
This is where it gets real bad.. This bearing is actually sticking out 1,2mm from the block! I cant tell if it walked or spun there. The bearing oil hole is nowhere near the right spot. The block oil-gallery hole is exposed and visible from the side of the bearing. So, FINALLY i found out where all the oil pressure has gone! But, i am just a novice at this, so pleease help me by examining the photos!


Questions

1. How could this have happened?
2. How can this be prevented when i replace the bearings?
3. Did the engine block bearing-bore take critical damage?
4. How would you proceed from this point?

OUTLAWZ RACING

iTrader: (9)

The cam bore may be out of spec. Looks like the bering was never installed correct. Or onther note cam may have been forced in there.

02blackbeauty19

iTrader: (22)

That really sucks, dude!

I re-installed everything on the front of the block today and even have the steering rack back in mine. However, after seeing your updated post, I am going to pull the front cover and stuff back off, remove the camshaft, intake and valley cover to inspect the rear cam bearing to see if it has walked back. I may not have time to do so until friday, though.

msydow

that sucks. see if your engine builder line honed the cam bearing bores. they need to be measured and have the bearings clearanced. have also heard of some issues with camshafts coming with journals too large and causing issues. good luck with it.

5.3LJimmy

iTrader: (10)

It is hard to tell exactly what happened from the photos but it kinda looks like the rear bearing may have spun.(it looks to have scratches around the outside). That line on the lifter was likely caused by a piece of trash on the cam lobe, but also hard to tell from the photo. I can tell you with certainty that the rear bearing is where all your oil pressure was going. Glad you found the problem but sorry that you had too. Good luck with it!

brett walker

iTrader: (6)

Wow man! That really sucks! Im going to pull my cam out tonite and see what I can see

02blackbeauty19

iTrader: (22)

Did you find anything obvious, Brett?

brett walker

iTrader: (6)

I didnt get a chance to get to the shop last night. Im going over there tonite if all goes right!

Corday

Been doing more inspection trying to assess the amount of collateral damage that has taken place..

It breaks my heart that my all-new YellaTerra roller rockers roll-tips that touches the valve-stems feels crunchy when i spin them..

Also - the lifters all have scratches ranging from bad to worse..

Cylinder bores have linear scratches from the parts of them i've been able to see (didnt remove heads). Have not been able to touch them to feel how deep they are tho..

I have still not removed the crankshaft but i can only guess how the main and rod bearings will look like.. Most likely they will be the same shape as the cam-bearings with scoring, excessive wear and scratches.

Complete fail in other words

I called the engine-shop today that assembled it and he sounded pretty devastated.. I can only hope he will show some spine and help me out with the repair, both regarding work and parts....

Whatever happens - it will cost alot of money and endless hours of work As i live in sweden, getting parts is neither easy nor cheap. Shipping-cost is usually about 50% of the retail and when it arrives in sweden i have to add 28,5% in taxes and VAT...

What hurts most is that all parts that are ruined now were brand new less than 30 miles ago

Hope you guys have more luck than me! :/

02blackbeauty19

iTrader: (22)

Corday,
That seriously sucks man! I can't believe that motor only has 30mi on it. You and Brett are *almost* in the same boat as both having fresh motors. Mine is about 4yrs old so I guess I'm lucky it lasted this long.

Anyway, I got home on break today and pulled the intake and fuel rails, pulled the crank pulley back off, timing cover, etc... I was pulling the cam plate and the VERY LAST F'N torx bolt stripped on me. I hate those new torx bolts. I am going to use the previous standard bolt to fasten the cam retainer plate next time. I'll have to drill it out. It's actually not a huge deal to do and doesn't take long. I just wanted to inspect the rear cam bearing before I went and played football. Oh well, Look for a report back tonight.

Also, That's crazy expensive for you to get parts over there!!! I wouldn't be able to afford my hobby if that was the case for me.
Do you mind sharing who built the motor?

brett walker

iTrader: (6)

Thats very bad news buddy! I just realized you were in Sweden, That makes it that much worse! I dont have very many miles on my motor either, Hopefully the engine shop will make mine good if this is in fact the case with my engine too.

5.3LJimmy

iTrader: (10)

You can't use the regular 10mm head bolt with the new style retainer plate. The countersunk hole in the plate will cause it to crack if you tighten down on it with a plain bolt. Just a heads up!

02blackbeauty19

iTrader: (22)

They were used on my previous counter sunk cam plate for 4 years and never a single problem.

performinnorman

iTrader: (7)

I gotta tell you guys, this has been one very interesting thread to read. I just installed an LS6/T56 into my 97 S10 and after 200 miles of totally quiet valvetrain and nearly perfect performance, I started hearing valve train noise. It has gotten so loud that I tore into the motor. Found I had no oil at idle getting to the valve train. Even though there was evidence that it was at one time. Took off a head and then the front end. Couldn't find anything unusual. Going to get a new oil pump today.

Thanks for this thread. It's really opened my eyes.

02blackbeauty19

iTrader: (22)

I'm taking a cutoff wheel to that last cam retainer plate bolt today so I should be able to inspect the cam bearings by this afternoon sometime.

joecar

Corday,

that is bad news, I hope your engine builder does right for you and fixes the damage;

is the rear cam bearing tight in its bore, or is it loose...?

looks like all the cam bearings are installed wrong, the rear one looks like it walked/spun from the position of its oil hole.

do you have a pic of the cam lobe matching that damaged lifter roller...?

Paul Bell

iTrader: (9)

Sorry to hear of your troubles and what it's gonna cost you due to where you are.

I hope this doesn't push you away from these cars/engines, done right they can be stellar performers.

I'd advise you ship the whole mess off to a shop that has experience with these engines or if they don't, RTFM if it's their first time in an LS motor.

I feel for ya, my 195,000 mile motor that's never even had it's valve covers off and had been seriously overheated two months ago has tons of oil pressure even when hot and running 0W-30 GC.

02blackbeauty19

iTrader: (22)

I got the cam retainer plate off and the cam halfway out yesterday afternoon.

I didn't see any signs of the rear cam bearing walking or out of place. I am hoping my buddy makes it over sometime today with his boroscope so we can get a good look at the ones that aren't visible from the engine valley.

If I don't see anything there, I will *probably* pull the engine and inspect it. I'd like to get a view behind the rear cover and the oil pan.

Stay tuned....

racer7088

Cam was probably tight or hung up going through that last cam bearing which may have had a burr but who knows?

You can probably clean block and put new rear cam bearing in as it does not appear to be spun which would be bad.

Probably rockers need to be replaced due to little oil getting to them but I doubt the rest will be ruined or anything since you already caught it and have taken it apart.

I've seen about 20 engines like this from guys putting in aftermarket cam bearings and then an aftermarket cam in and the bearings get knocked back out especially at the rear.

Also cam bearing clearance needs to be checked and some aftermarket cams are bigger by up to .002 on the journals. We have to have cams ground back down a few though or straghtened at the crank shop probably every week or so.

We were able to fix most all of those with not much problem so don't get too bummed yet as your cam bearings really don't look bad anyway. They are very soft and always have weird wear patterns on them in general.

02blackbeauty19

iTrader: (22)

Erik,

Do you often see issues with the 2, 3, or 4 cam bearing?
My motor is having the exact same issue as the OP but has been in for ~4 years. General inspection shows that the front and rear haven't moved but will need a scope to see the middle ones.

Also, have you ever seen any oil pickup tube clearance issue causing this problem? Lastly, would anything beneath the rear engine cover cause this oil pressure issue?

Thanks for your time...
-Chris