jaredbaugh89

so , im taking on my first LS1 rebuild , the problem with the motor is piston rings.
MY general question is , is there anything special i need to know when doing this ? i know how to drop the motor out , i have dont quite a few head and cam swaps so taking apart the motor is not a big deal to me at all, I have never dropped a ls1 crank befor ,but i have dont a rebuild on a older 350 a few years back.
Also , so far im planning on replacing the piston rings for sure , i want to reuse the stock pistons and crank if they are fine as the car is just stock with no mods. what else should i replace ? alot of people have told me to not worry about the bearings as long as they show no wear.
any help on this issue would be much appriciated.

parks450

iTrader: (17)

A hone youll need, id check the bearings. If they check good leave them, although it never hurts to replace those. If you dont replace them make sure you keep all the with the same rods, and same position on the crank

jaredbaugh89

do i still need a hone if i am using the stock pistons ? i was under the impression that it was not needed if the cylinder walls look fine , but correct me if i am wrong.
also just putting it out there the engine has 50xxx miles on it so im not expecting to see everything messed up , but who knows .
i plan on , new water pump gasket, new front engine seal , valve seals will also be replaced just in case, new head gasket, everything else i planned on reusing unless its a problem ?

Adam123

iTrader: (1)

When my dad rebuilds car engines he always hones the block. I honed my block as well. I don't know if its absolutely necessary but its a good idea to do it. I'd probably put in a new timing chain while you are at it too. Go with the LS2 they're supposed to be a better chain.

parks450

iTrader: (17)

Yes a hone is neccesary. With new rings they need a fresh hone to seat properly. like stated above get a ls2 timing chain and oil pump. Although it has low miles on it, it never hurts to replace it now, id go ported. Do you plan on caming it at all?

RARON455

iTrader: (35)

another VERY important tip is this,, when you remove the crank,, BE CAREFUL, there is a reluctor wheel on the back of it, If you hit it, drop it, or ding it, any little distortion and the car will not run for crap, itll throw crank sensor codes, and to fix it the engine has to come back out and apart. I KNOW this because when my callies crank arrived, I took it to a machine shop to have it measured, and I am certain they were the ones who dinged it. I assembled my engine and didnt take the extra 5 minutes to set up my indicator and check runout, Just took for granted it was OK,,and I had the nightmare happen that I am tellin you about, two days troubleshooting the circuit and having to remove the engine and find out the reluctor was out of spec. Then had to have another one put on.
SUXX

jaredbaugh89

OK, so then I will be doing a hone, also thanks for the heads up on the crank, I remember hearing something about that, but now I know.
As far as the timing chain and oil pump i 100% agree, but I'm doing the rebuild for a friend and I did highly recommend those parts (I have done both to my personal ls1)
How hard is it to hone a cylinder? I have seen it done, just never done it myself.

jaredbaugh89

also to answer the above question , the car will still run the stock cam for now ... the guy was talking about buying a 225/225 , somthing in that ball park , but he dosent want to do it yet , so stock it will be

bluenightmare

IMO, have the block honed by a machine shop. The book that I have says that is is required to use a torque plate when honing the ls1 aluminum block. I know the speed shop near me offers the torque plate hone for $350.