L33 Engine Rebuild Considerations
L33 Engine Rebuild Considerations Hey whats up guys? Im building an 81 camaro with an L33 and 4 speed super t10. I got the L33 for nothing (actually got paid 200 to get it lol long story..) and it had 200k miles on it, the owner said it had low oil pressure at stock 600rpm idle it was like 8 psi, then he tuned the pcm to raise the idle to 750rpm and he said that he had normal 30-40 psi of pressure. Long story short im going to replace the cam/ oil pump/ timing chain so i might as well rebuild the engine with some new rings and bearings.
I would have just did the cam oil pump swap but i noticed when i took the intake manifold off that the ports were wide open with like 3" of dirt piled up on the valley cover, now you dont have to be a rocket scientist to know that tons of dirt has go down into the motor and will guarenteed burn up whatever bearing is left...
My real question is for those of you that have rebuilt either a ls1/ls2/l33 because i know you have to put in special considerations to the enigne build due to the aluminum block. What issues or special tools (other than mic/dial inidicator/ bore guage) would i need when rebuilding this motor? Me and my crew have built a few engines and are doing with my buddies dad who has built hundreds of small/big block chevys, mopars and fords. Im reading all these horror stories of people saying to stay away from rebuilding your motor, and to buy a built shortblock from a vendor. I dont got that kind of cash, and the closest machine shop to me couldnt even remove a broken bolt from my torque converter right so I DEFINATLEY aint trusting them! I have learned as soon as you let someone else do anything to YOUR car it wont be to the degree that makes me happy. Being a mech engineer I am very comfortable with all the small measurements and tools need to ensure proper tolerances, plus i have the attitude of "check your work 3 times so you only have to do it once". So anyway enough blabbering...what should i look out for? thanks in advance
PS- I have a 3 volume factory repair manual for an ls1 camaro the dealerships use as a reference.
I would have just did the cam oil pump swap but i noticed when i took the intake manifold off that the ports were wide open with like 3" of dirt piled up on the valley cover, now you dont have to be a rocket scientist to know that tons of dirt has go down into the motor and will guarenteed burn up whatever bearing is left...
My real question is for those of you that have rebuilt either a ls1/ls2/l33 because i know you have to put in special considerations to the enigne build due to the aluminum block. What issues or special tools (other than mic/dial inidicator/ bore guage) would i need when rebuilding this motor? Me and my crew have built a few engines and are doing with my buddies dad who has built hundreds of small/big block chevys, mopars and fords. Im reading all these horror stories of people saying to stay away from rebuilding your motor, and to buy a built shortblock from a vendor. I dont got that kind of cash, and the closest machine shop to me couldnt even remove a broken bolt from my torque converter right so I DEFINATLEY aint trusting them! I have learned as soon as you let someone else do anything to YOUR car it wont be to the degree that makes me happy. Being a mech engineer I am very comfortable with all the small measurements and tools need to ensure proper tolerances, plus i have the attitude of "check your work 3 times so you only have to do it once". So anyway enough blabbering...what should i look out for? thanks in advance
PS- I have a 3 volume factory repair manual for an ls1 camaro the dealerships use as a reference.
Buy a $15 LS1 book of your choice. Rebuild / performance, whatever. It's full of the usual stuff you probably already know, but has some decent info and insights to the specifics of this block.
