I'm tearing down a 5.3L and can't get the 3rd main cap removed. The other ones came out okay but I spent almost 1.5 hours today trying to remove the middle one. Previous owner installed new main bearings and put a ridiculous amount of lube on them and I just can't pry it loose. It will rock back and forth but won't move upward and outward for the life of me.

Any suggestions aside from spending $200 on a specialty tool? I've tried banging it with a rubber mallet fairly gently and that helps me rock it back and forth but that's about it. Would heating the lube help loosen up the seal?

 

Are you sure the side bolts are removed?

 

Yeah I was s a able to remove all the other ones just not the 3rd cap.

 

make a spreader out of some all thread and a sleeve nut

 

Got a pic of an example of this? I've been trying all day and I can't get this thing to come off.

 

I had the same problem. I put 1 and 5 mains back in and then took out 3. It was still harder than the rest, but came out. Someone told me that block can flex when the mains come out causing the pan rails to narrow. They might have been blowing smoke up my ***, but it worked. He also told me if that didn't work u can tap the snout of the crank using a dead blow and price of wood. Would probably have machine shop check crank after that.

 

So I finally was able to get it out although I'm not proud of how i did it. I struggled with it off and on for two days, bought a slide hammer, wouldn't budge. I finally was so frustrated that I wedged a small metal bar under the cap and lifted and it popped off. Bearings looked great and the camshaft was unharmed. I know ppl are going to say that's a recipe for disaster but hey I don't even think with that 200 dollar tool that GM sells that this would have come off easily.

 

I have had to use a small prybar on some engines, don't feel to bad I had some caps that the gm tool wouldn't not break loose. A little up pressure with a bar plus the slide hammer did it on a engine I did a while back.