I have read enough posts about 853 castings, I have completely confused myself. I am super duper new to LS1's and have been reading searched topics for some time. I am in the process of putting an '02 from an SS M6 in my CJ7, and got a cam/head combo with the deal. The heads are 853's that have been CNC'd, ti retainers, and patriot dual springs. The cam is 228/234 588/598 114 no advance. My hang up is that the heads do not have the notch in them, but are clearly 853's. I cant see any evidence that they have been tig'd and milled. Do all the 853's have the notch? I called the dealer to order head gaskets, he tells me that 12589226 is the part number for 2002 specific. Also, it is obvious the head has at least been surfaced. It is like some of the material removed during surfacing has embedded itself into the head, not big huge pieces, just alot of them. Is that normal of an alum head, and can I tell if indeed they have been milled? I rebuild transmissions, not engines.....

 

I read your post, but I'm not sure if you understand that 2002 engines came with 241 casting heads, not 853. After being ported, they all flow the same so it's not a big deal. I forget which heads the 853's are, but I think they're '99-'00. Look around. It's on here. In a sticky too, I think.

If you're worried about it, 243 casting (LS6) are bare from Patriot Performance for just under $400. Might be able to get them to mill and port them for a little more and you use your hardware. Or, get them assembled and ported for like $1,000. That's a healthy street cam and would really like their stage 2's, I'll wager. Talk to Gunnar.

 

Thanks for helping a newb
I understand that the 853's were from a earlier year. I just got confused when I kept reading that they were supposed to have the notches and required the correct gasket. But these heads have no notch, so I am assuming I could just get some MLS for a 2002 block.

I was a bit (and still am to some degree) worried that may be a little bit too much cam for me. The rig it is going in is a stretched, linked CJ7 running an NV4500, Atlas 6.0, and D60's with 5.38's. It has a final low ratio of 204:1, pretty deep. I do a lot of idle and just off idle crawling and hope the gears will compensate for the higher end cam. Im thinking the 114 LSA will help with that. But at the same time, I would like to be able to torch a set of 42" swampers when I like.

As far as the heads go, I really dont want to get rid of them. They have been CNC'd like I said, the chambers are untouched, new valves, guides, patriot dual golds, Ti retainers and new locks/seals. I would say they are good to go. I bought the cam/head package for $800.

He also gave me a ported descreened MAF, but from the searches I read it looks like I will be picking up a stock one.

Since I do not have to smog, I will not be running CATS, rear O2's, EVAP, etc. I was planning on having the harness worked and a program burned from Jimsperformance in MD. Seems to be alot of praise for his work on Pirate4x4. I dont need to squeeze every drop of HP/TQ out of it, I just need it to idle, start cold, and run smooth. I am uneasy that a mail order tune will get me there. Living in the sticks kinda sucks, the nearest dyno tune would be at least 2 hours away.

 

I think they came both ways. I had a buddy with a 2000 WS6 which had 853's without notches. Yes you can run the 2002 GM MLS gasket.

 

In my opinion that is a lot of duration for off idle use. You would also benefit from installing it advanced 4 degrees. Again, just my .02

 

Thank you Guys. I did order the MLS gaskets.
I know that duration is pretty long for off idle stuff. I did buy a Hex Adjust Cloyes for it and was considering advancing it. I can only mail order tune this dude. What kind of problems would that create for the tuner to get it close? If I can get it close and get it running decent, I can always see if there is a shop in Reno that can dyno tune it. Anyone know of a shop near Reno, or Redding, CA. maybe?

 

If you plan to do mail order you might want to do the SCT Xcal 2 and get it from a member named wait4me. The sct holds 3 tunes, and he told me he would help me get it right, but I ended up buying EFI live in the end.