jimmyp

iTrader: (1)

I purchased my an ls1/4l60e combo from a guy down south last summer. Said it was removed from a 98 camaro(block number agrees) and had 70k on it. He apparently bought it off of a friend who wrecked his camaro. He said he drove this camaro into the garage and removed the motor.

The power steering pulley was broken and there was a small chip on the crank pulley. The accesories were all removed when I got it and the oil pan and intake were not tightened down. I also noticed the head bolts were marked from being removed and the heads were marked L/R and the block had the cylinder numbers written on them with a marker. The guy I bought it from said that he did not touch anything in the motor or the remove the heads but was just removing the parts he was going to change for his swap.

So I was about to reinstall the oil pan today when I noticed this:


If you look at the bottom left of the pic inside the engine there is a square hole cut in that pan between those two bolts. I can tell its not factory and it appears to have been cut out with a cut off wheel.

Anyone have any insight on this? Was this cut to provide more oil flow or to have access to a piston...?

Also while im at it....what kind of things can I check for to see if the stock heads/cam are still on the motor?

I appreciate any help you guys can give me....ive been working on this project for two years and pretty much have my llife savings invested into it. I just dont want any more problems down the road.

thanks and sorry for the long *** post

jimmyp

iTrader: (1)

help! someone has to have an idea here

John_D.

iTrader: (2)

That's a big section out of that tray... I have no idea what that's for...

Diolar Magnum

me neither bud, but TTT for your post. good luck!

jimmyp

iTrader: (1)

thanks guys...I got ahold of the previous owner and he said that he was going to install a 5.3 truck pan and oil pickup tube and the hole was for the oil pickup tube.
Does that sound right?
Will it hurt to run the motor as is or should I replace it with a new one?
thanks

jimmyp

iTrader: (1)

here is a truck windage tray/tube thanks to twobit

jimmyp

iTrader: (1)

ttt anyone got any ideas or a pic of an unmodified version of the f-body tray?

zamboxl

iTrader: (1)

go and pick up a new one and while your at it take a look and the internals and see how it looks.

jimmyp

iTrader: (1)

ok anything in particular i should be looking for inside the motor?

Also noticed today that the crank pulley appears to have been removed and must not have been re-installed correctly because there is oil residue surrounding it. Ive got a new bolt and pulley that will hopefully take care of it.

jimmyp

iTrader: (1)

for anyone who is following along here I pulled the oil pan and windage tray off. Turns out the 2nd pair of pistons and rods from the back have been replaced at some point. They have part numbers on them and are "cleaner" than the rest of the inside of the motor.

Other than that the cylinder walls look clean and there arent any large pieces of metal anywhere.

getlifted

iTrader: (2)

I wish you the best with the shortblock. I just got ripped bigtime on ebay. Purchased a 99 longblock supposedly in perfect running order. Got it home and it appears to have been in one of the florida hurricanes last year.

james99ws6

iTrader: (3)

those mother fu*kers, man if i were you id be in the car right now, shot gun in hand. there is nothing worse than getting ripped off, but getting ripped off on a motor. that is horrible. i have had some pretty good luck buying here from ls1tech, only have been ripped off once by 1998redcoupe, who sold me stripped out main studs. any advise would be to stick to this forum for used stuff. good luck man

Boostaholic

iTrader: (4)

Ok I don't see a big deal with a hole cut in the windage tray, its probably not the best idea but its not the end of the world, worst case get a new windage tray.

mikemodano9c

i know this sounds bad, but the replaced piston/rod...is it above the cut-out section? maybe a piece of something flew through the tray and rather than replace the tray they cut out that section?

hope everything works out for you

Viper

iTrader: (6)

With oil on the crank pulley, he/she probably didn't seal the front cover correctly. Plan on replacing the front and rear seal for peace of mind.

jimmyp

iTrader: (1)

anyone know if there is a way to get the vin number for the car from the engine block number?

Edit: nevermind

jimmyp

iTrader: (1)

just ordered a new one today along with a new front engine seal for when I replace the crank pulley.

Thats what I thought at first but the hole doesnt really line up with those 2 pistons.


thanks for the help guys....there is always a possibility that the previous owner of the motor did not know anything about the piston replacement.

I guess my main concern is where to go from here? Should I try replacing the windage tray and front crank pulley/seal and try running the motor? For all I know it may have been correctly rebuilt in the first place.

I am planning on doing more work to it over next winter when I have the time/funds for some mods...so if it could last until then I would be happy.

Or do I push the completion of this project back another year and rebuild the motor now? There arent really any shops near here that would be able to do it....so I would have to learn it myself or have it shipped off.