Hi guys, I'm thinking about rebuilding my '00 Camaro's engine. This will be my first LSX rebuild, I'm an old school Chevy guy. I have done top end builds on a couple of LSX engines, but never bottom end. Any tips/suggestions you guys might have? Thank you in advance.

 

I just did a budget rebuild 5.3 that's in my car now. Only thing I didn't replace was the rings because I was kind of sketchy at the time on setting ring gap. My biggest advice is new main/rod bearings but have the crank looked at by a machine shop it may need to betoo polisheda set of arp or katech rod bolts and a replacement oil pump. My h/c 98 came apart because of stock rod bolt failure. Definitely a sickening feeling when you realize a bolt stretching just cost you thousands.

 

Sorry about the typo up there I'm posting from a phone and auto correct is a bitch.

 

I would strongly suggest having the connecting rods big ends honed out .002" and fitting them with the appropriate bearings no matter what bolts You use ,,,,in a used engine the rod big ends are almost always a little out of round and spec on that is I believe .0015" max . Don't forget about the oil diversion barrell in the oil galley at the back of the block behind the rear seal housing .

 

I was just reading about the rods and Having them resized. I was thinking about going with ARP rod bolt because the Katech's are too expensive. So I would need a .002" rod bearing right? What bearings did you guys use? I too am in a budget and think about going with King bearings. I just want a stock rebuild for now. Z28drifter348, how many miles were on your engine when you rebuilt it? How's it running? What rings would you guys recommend?

 

I too find the auto correct to be a PITA, some times.

 

you dont resize the rods until the bolts are torqued. honestly i would disassemble everything and get the rotating assembly and block to a machine shop. the rods will have to be resized, the block line bore should be checked, they can install your pistons on your rods, and then you can put it all back together. BTW you may want to have them check the cam bore after the new bearings are in and check the crank.

 

What would be the problem with unscrewing the bolts from the rods once resized if I'll be using ARP bolts?

 

You can do that without problems as long as when You reinstall the bolts You don't go more torque than when They were torqued to be checked and honed . The correct way to torque ARP rod bolts is with a stretch gauge and using their torqueing lube so You get consistent torques and higher #'s so if You have a machine shop do it see if they can tell You what the final torque # was they ended up at so You can install them and match the value . I too like King bearings because of the silicon which helps in many different ways but King does'nt make the LS gen3/4 rod bearings .002" larger outer diameter . Clevitte makes an LS gen3/4 rod bearing that is .002" larger OD but as far as I know only in standard inner diameter and only in an aluminum bearing ,,,,,,,that's all I could find at the time ,,,,,,,since I've seen that Federal Mogule has LS gen3/4 rod bearings that are larger outer diameter(.002") in not only standard but in every normal undersize and in 2 or 3 different classes of bearing ,,,stock , race ,,,,,,,,,,,,etc

 

Do you have a link to any rod bearing you think would be good to use?

 

So I found two bearings that are .002" Undersized and wanted to ask which would be best to use. One is aluminum and the other is Copper lead alloy. Here are the links:
http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...d=rod+bearings

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...d=rod+bearings

Are these the correct ones?

 

Ok, I'm gonna throw this out there. Don't just assume you need to resize, have the rods checked. IMO if you plan to use the stock rods have them checked with the stock bolts torqued to spec and if they are in tolerance that way I would pickup a set of Katech bolts and then reinspect after they are installed. Katechs usually don't change the cap shape/distortion, which is why I say Katechs. Reason I'm saying all this is depending on your locality, machine shop prices to resize a rod might be quite high if your rods are out of round. Personally I would consider aftermarket rods first before resizing stockers that I found to be out of round during my initial inspection. In my area it's about $30-$50 a rod to resize. So it would run approximately $240-$500 to resize a set of rods here. There goes the budget. That goes along ways towards a set of Scat rods that have hardware and are superior to the stockers. Granted you would need different pistons, but if you end up dumping that kinda money into the rods what does $500 more for pistons mean at that point? My advice, know what you are up against before you start ordering parts or machining parts. Your machinist should be not only checking the line bore but also inspect the deck height of the block and such so you know EXACTLY what you are dealing with. I agree spend money when it's needed, but don't throw it around when you don't have to. That's why we call it a budget build.

 

That's a great point, and that's why I was trying to stay away from a machine shop because the budget is blown once it gets there. I was over on the Texas speed site and was Looking at rotating assemblies, which go for about $1700 w/o bearings, so this is becoming expensive already. I have a brand new 383 rotating assembly for a small block Chevy Gen I, and am going to see if I can get rid of that so I can get a 383 assembly for the LS1.

 

So here is what I would go into it thinking. If your stock crank has no visable problems, have the machine shop check it out for straightness, out of round on the journals, and the diameters of the journals. If they are all within spec and the surface has no issues run as is. If it needs polished to clean up some staining or such so be it, but that is one of those "smart money deals". If it needs turned I'd have to weigh my options, I would probiably look for a decent used crank at that point being turning a crank will cost you particularly if it has to be sent out vs being done in house (not all machine shops have the gear to turn cranks) With that said don't be surprised if you have to buy 2 sets of bearings for this motor if you end up polishing the crank particularly if it's on the low side of the tolerance chart. Iron motors you can get away with looser tolerances, but if it's an aluminum motor you don't want to get the mains too loose because the motor will loose oil pressure once the block heats up. That and many bearing manufactures seem to err on the side of caution as far as clearances go.

Have the block inspected. Inspect and check the line bore. If the line bore is jacked I would seriously consider aborting mission with this block. Yeah you can fix it but that involves money and possibly changes so many other variables in the motor such as compression height on the pistons etc. So IMO you would be smart to probiably find another block at that point. The good news is that if you didn't have any main bearing problems prior to teardown means your line bore is probiably within tolerance, you just want to make sure it's ok. Have your block's deck checked for straightness and check to make sure the height is within spec. If it's not it's not a huge deal, but you need to know about it. I'm assuming that you haven't had this motor from it's initial build date. It would really really suck to find out the block has been decked .010 at some point without your knowledge and you picked up a set of pistons for this motor and didn't know and now the pistons are .018 out of the hole. Check your bore. Ensure it's within spec for out of round etc. If you chose to use this block and find out you need to hone it to 3.903 or 3.905 it would really suck to find this out AFTER you got pistons or purchased other bore specific parts such as rings etc.

Pistons and rod choices you kinda base on what you learn from the block inspection. If you plan to reuse the factory rods and pistons have both checked for out of round etc and ensure they are in tolerance. Then get some Katech bolts and recheck the rods. If the rods are not in spec you have some options. The classified section always has listings for factory 5.7, 6.0, or 5.3 rods. You can pickup a set cheap that hopefully would be AOK with your factory pistons. You can also pickup a set of 6.100" Scat rods from various vendors on here that would work with your factory pistons. Here are the Scat part numbers 26100944P or 26100944PA. Summit's listing isn't 100% right on their website. Here is the Scat catalog http://scatenterprises.com/docs/crankshafts-pdf.html pages 16-17 is the section you would want to look at. Now if your pistons are outta whack that might drive what connecting rod you chose too. One of the sponsors on here might give you a killer deal on a set of pistons and rods if you decide you need a set, but obviously you would cross that road if you had to.

So you gotta know all the variables before you really try to make a call on what to do/not do. End point get the key parts to a good machine shop and have it "checked out" and go from there.

You go on a budget by chosing smart price point parts or by reusing suitable factory option parts. You should never skimp on the machine shop part. It's kinda like building a house. Yeah it might not have Granite countertops, or stainless appliances, but the true measure of a good house is. How plumb are the walls? Is the foundation cracked? Is the roof leaking? These problems in a house with stainless appliances doesn't mean crap. Just like a set of $1200 Oliver rods and $700 forged pistons doesn't mean anything if the bore of the block was never checked and come to find out the bore is out of round.

You've mentioned you've built SBCs before. In all honesty, if you can handle one of those, then LS motors are a piece of cake. Some of the old wives tales, gimmics, or tricks used on the old SBCs aren't applicable on the new LS motors, but if you follow the specification recommendations via the manufactures of the components you shouldn't go wrong.

 

Those are not the bearings You need . Those say .002" undersize . Undersize is what it says undersize inner diameter for worn crank applications . the Clevitte # is CB-1776A These are .002" larger "outer" diameter and standard inner diameter and They are aluminum . If You go to the Federal Mogule site and search You can find Their bearings ,,,,,,,or just call an Advance Auto Parts .

 

I really appreciate the time you guys are taking in helping me out. You guys are providing me with superb information that will be helpful during my build. When I get to tearing the engine apart, I will inspect all and go from there. I took a look at those connecting rods, and they look like great pieces.

 

Wow , in Phoenix it's $80 to hone out the set of rods big ends and $150 to bore the block .

 

That is cheap! I'm pretty sure they are going to want more then that here in Cali. I'll make some phone calls tommorow, just to see what it will cost.

 

Those aren't bad prices Chris. Many shops charge about $90-$100 an hour here in the DC area. There is actually a shop that's run by a 80 something year old man down here that is alot cheaper, but he also does it as a hobby now vs for work. He turned a set of trailer brake drums for me for about $70 when everybody else wanted about $150 to do them. Honest guy and he definately knows the older stuff. I wouldn't trust him with the newer stuff that has alot tighter tolerances, many of his machines are about 30-40 years old. Does good work for old diesel tractor engines and such, but I wouldn't take a LS to him, particularly something with high performance in mind.

 

My 5.3 had 140k on it when I did the rebuild. Hp/tq is in my sig. I have put 11k on it so far and it runs like a clock (knock on wood) shift points are 7k. Dyno numbers are up to 6100. (dyno guy refused to push it to 7k because of the stock bottom end) yeah I know it's bullshit. I did some further tuning. To adjust timing/fuel to 7k. It went 13.002@104 with me 215 pounds and a 140 pound passenger. Shifting at 6,000. I'm gonna run it this Thursday with the new tune and 7k shift points and see how she does. I would recommend doing a std size bearing from clevite ( there very reasonably priced) and arps and check the clearance if they are more than .0015 then yes they need resized. Mine were fine tho. The arps did not distort them hardly at all. Remember temp change can change your clearance a tiny tiny bit as well.