Junkyard 5.3 inspection
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 34
Likes: 0
From: Midland, TX
Junkyard 5.3 inspection So I bought a 5.3 last fall and am finally going to get to start tearing into it. The engine is going into a 73 Monte Carlo, stock heads for the time but that may change during the build. I've acquired an LS6 intake and throttle body, doing the accessory modifications to make that work. I will be doing a cam (228R or similar) and timing set swap, plan to use upgraded hardware putting it all back together.
The question I have is what kind of inspection should I be doing on the engine before dropping it into the car. I planned to check the cylinders with heads off with a micrometer for round and making sure there are no glaring issues there. What kind of inspection can I do on the bottom end, visually or otherwise? I know these engines have a well documented history of taking tons of miles extremely well. I have no history on the engine, I would assume it is very high mileage. Basically I am just trying to save myself the trouble of having to pull the engine immediately for a problem that would have been more easily dealt with before dropping it into the car. Any insight would be much appreciated.
The question I have is what kind of inspection should I be doing on the engine before dropping it into the car. I planned to check the cylinders with heads off with a micrometer for round and making sure there are no glaring issues there. What kind of inspection can I do on the bottom end, visually or otherwise? I know these engines have a well documented history of taking tons of miles extremely well. I have no history on the engine, I would assume it is very high mileage. Basically I am just trying to save myself the trouble of having to pull the engine immediately for a problem that would have been more easily dealt with before dropping it into the car. Any insight would be much appreciated.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 34
Likes: 0
From: Midland, TX
I never heard it run personally, truck it came out of was badly wrecked. I'd have a lot more peace of mind if I had heard it run but the price was right on it so I bought it anyhow.
If the heads are still on it put a starter on and give it 12v so you can do a compression check / leakdown test. If that comes out fine then I wouldn't really worry much more.
