question on diamond 11500
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Teching In
Joined: Feb 2013
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question on diamond 11500 im currently building a lm7/5.7 ."block has scuff on cyl wall,needs boring"
the 5.3 pistons are press on .and i believe the diamond 11500 are floaters?
is this correct can i still use the 11500 pistons on 5.3 rods?
also is boring a 5.3 to 5.7 a bad idea? "not running boost or spray" any running hot issues with thinner walls?
thanks.
the 5.3 pistons are press on .and i believe the diamond 11500 are floaters?
is this correct can i still use the 11500 pistons on 5.3 rods?
also is boring a 5.3 to 5.7 a bad idea? "not running boost or spray" any running hot issues with thinner walls?
thanks.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Jul 2011
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If memory serves me correct you can run a floater pin on a press fit rod but the rod may need to be honed in order to get the correct clearance for the pin to fit. Do NOT quote me on that I am not 100% sure. Many have bored the 5.3 to a 5.7 but sometimes the machining cost out weight the cost of buying a 5.7 block.
My 11502's are floating pins. I'd have to check the catalog to confirm what yours are, but I want to say they are.
edit: looks like they use a .945" pin diameter - these are pins that are sized to float in the rods used in gen iv ls1 engines (i.e. gtos and the like).
When I was doing research on this, seemed as though you needed to fully convert the press-fit rod ends to full floating. Which entailed boring them out, pressing in a brass/bronze bushing, and then boring/honing that to the proper size to achieve proper clearance for your pins. This is not ideal however, because most floating pin rods have oiling holes that feed the bushing to keep the pin from binding. Being a powdered rod, the last thing you'd want to do is drill a hole to add this feature, you'd only be weakening them. Weighing all those options, machining time and cost and the fact that what I'd end up with still wasn't ideal, I decided to put that money towards new rods.
I'm not sure what the availability is or what your budget is, but you may be able to find a set of scat forged rods that will suit your needs for the same price of all the required machine work. Lots of people here running scat and compstar with good results. I chose the compstars. If you do elect to do rods though, I'd recommend using PN # 11502 instead, it uses a 0.927" pin diameter which is a lot more common with aftermarket rods.
I don't have much experience with 5.3's, so I can't really help you there. I want to say that lots of guys have done it though. Hopefully someone else can come in and help you out with that.
edit: looks like they use a .945" pin diameter - these are pins that are sized to float in the rods used in gen iv ls1 engines (i.e. gtos and the like).
When I was doing research on this, seemed as though you needed to fully convert the press-fit rod ends to full floating. Which entailed boring them out, pressing in a brass/bronze bushing, and then boring/honing that to the proper size to achieve proper clearance for your pins. This is not ideal however, because most floating pin rods have oiling holes that feed the bushing to keep the pin from binding. Being a powdered rod, the last thing you'd want to do is drill a hole to add this feature, you'd only be weakening them. Weighing all those options, machining time and cost and the fact that what I'd end up with still wasn't ideal, I decided to put that money towards new rods.
I'm not sure what the availability is or what your budget is, but you may be able to find a set of scat forged rods that will suit your needs for the same price of all the required machine work. Lots of people here running scat and compstar with good results. I chose the compstars. If you do elect to do rods though, I'd recommend using PN # 11502 instead, it uses a 0.927" pin diameter which is a lot more common with aftermarket rods.
I don't have much experience with 5.3's, so I can't really help you there. I want to say that lots of guys have done it though. Hopefully someone else can come in and help you out with that.
Last edited by ckpitt55; Mar 2, 2013 at 02:01 PM.
and cant seem to find .030 pistons for 5.3 .
