found a lq4 dirt cheap with 70k from a junkyard out of a '04 truck, local builder said i would have to replace pistons and crankshaft, is this true?? ive done alot of searches but cant see if anyone left bottom end alone. need to put into ls1 camaro. builder hasn't seen engine yet, just says it has to be done

 

It seems hard to get responses about 6.0 builds around here. I am doing one now too. Anyway, I dont know why you would have to replace the crank. You may want to replace the pistons to up the compression.

 

Most likely the pistons and crank are OK, but have them checked. It would be a good idea to place the rings and have the block honed to clean up the cylinder walls. If you decide to replace the pistons to increase the compression level, I would overbore the block 0.030". Also do new cam, rod, main bearings.

Keith

 

You need to ask him why they have to be replaced. If he says they are damaged beyond repair, tell him you want to take a few pictures of them and then post the pictures. With only 70K, if that much needs to be replaced, then the engine has probably had a very rough life.

 

i just took an lq4 and replaced the cam, oil pump, and valvetrain. other than that the heads and bottom end are pretty much stock. it had 9,000 miles on it so i didnt rebuild it. it sure is fun to drive, its got a lot of torque.