I am preparing my 05 Cadillac escalade lq9 for a 63 nova, beside the cam and valve springs that is beaten more than a dog that pisses in the house,what reliability upgrades should be done? Example: oil pump brand, timing chain single or double roller, a good timing tensioner etc.....

 

Guys are going to pipe in about timing chain and oilpump when your 05 crappy old truck motor got the upgrades factory. Don't get carried away looking for problems that don't exist or you might just cause some.

 

63nova, welcome to LS1tech!

We have some good info here for you. Lets start off with a few questions first: How many miles on this engine? How did it run? Any smoking or strange noises?

 

Go with a melling oil pump and a gm single row timing chain.double roll chains are over kill unless you plan on putting down some major power

 

92,000 on the motor, no smoke, ran really smooth, I only heard it run for about five minutes, got it with all the sensors, gas pedal, ecm for $1800, just don't want to drop a motor in that that I need to pull apart or out for lack of P.M. on my part.

 

I am normally the type who would toss in a oilpump & timing chain if it was a SBC or BBC, but with LS motors, that isn't needed. I'd do the cam/pushrods/ BTR spring package of your choice.

 

92,000 miles. Ran decent, good.

As these are not expensive parts, I would go for a new oil pump & timing chain.

Have the heads gone through by a shop. No port & polish needed but cleaned, fresh springs & seals. New head gaskets & head bolts.

What oil pan are you using?

I HIGHLY recommend you do the LS6 PCV conversion: http://www.ls1howto.com/index.php?article=18

 

I have an ls1 oil pan, it what will work in my Nova.
I have ARP head and rod bolts, only doing the rods bolts to check all the bearings for wear.

 

Just cracking the caps loose can knock the big ends out of round even if using stock hardware, either leave it alone or be prepared to recondition.

If the budget is there it is reasonable to replace an oilpump and timing chain when doing a cam, so long as you aren't doing it because you think stock is bad. People are saying Melling oilpump, bet the stocker is Melling manufactured seeing as they have LONG LONG been GM's oilpump manufacturer, probably Furd and Mopar too, Melling makes oilpumps for OEMs, Cloyes makes timing sets, Mahle makes pistons and bearings, and OEM might have a little different set of design goals BUT among those is also a service life of 200-300K miles depending on the vehicle.

The f-body pan is likely a good option for this swap if you have the room the truck intake is better than the LS1 and very nearly a match for the LS6, or the best factory cathederal intake is from a newer truck, beats out the LS6 solidly.

 

Yes I am sticking with the truck intake for now,if I change it then I will need to spend more on moving accessories and such, I need to be budget minded, for body work and paint.
I appreciate everyone's input, I have an 07 suburban and 11 silverado, so I'm pretty familiar with the LS.

 

Since you have the motor out you might as well change the oil pump o-ring since it easy with the motor out.

 

Also forgot to mention I have a new rear main seal, seen a few ls motors ( mostly Suburban and Yukons) that had leaks at the 200,000 mark.

 

You can undo the rods to change bearings but keep the original rod bolts. They say rod bolts can be swapped but it often causes more problems. Retain the original rod bolts.

Oil pumps come with a new pickup tube O-ring.

Yes, these items are made to go 200+ thousand miles but what you have is already halfway there. A new oil pump & chain resets their clocks.

 

If I had a 100,000 mile motor hanging in the air and I wanted to drop it into some car, I'd pull the rotating assembly and run one of those ball hone things through the cylinders. Won't change the sizing and then get some fresh rings.

 

I'd replace the bearings, gaskets and seals. I'd suggest using the LS2 Timing Chain http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/more...nid=676&jpid=2. I'd also suggest using the Chevy Performance Oil Pump. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/na...make/chevrolet

Everything else being reused just make sure you clean it up real good.

You might want to consider LS7 lifters from summit as well.

 

Go with a melling oil pump and a gm single row timing chain.