stroke it 
Engine Out...now what?
Engine Out...now what? Well I got my LS1 out of my car without too many hiccups. I broke my coolant temp sensor because I'm an idiot but whatever. Anyhow, I'm wondering what exactly I should replace or do to the engine while I have it out of the car. The crank is still original and so are the pistons and the rest of the block has 140k miles on it. I've replaced quite a few other things (see my sig) and I need to replace the oil pan gasket...that's why the engine is out in the first place. I posted earlier on getting the engine bored out, but from my understanding is that it can't be bored much at all only like .004 or so. I wanted to do new pistons, rod bolts and bearings but now I'm just thinking of leaving it alone. Any suggestions? I'm really not on a time limit with gas being $4.00 a gallon plus additives etc I'm enjoying my Toyota at the moment.
Well I got my LS1 out of my car without too many hiccups. I broke my coolant temp sensor because I'm an idiot but whatever. Anyhow, I'm wondering what exactly I should replace or do to the engine while I have it out of the car. The crank is still original and so are the pistons and the rest of the block has 140k miles on it. I've replaced quite a few other things (see my sig) and I need to replace the oil pan gasket...that's why the engine is out in the first place. I posted earlier on getting the engine bored out, but from my understanding is that it can't be bored much at all only like .004 or so. I wanted to do new pistons, rod bolts and bearings but now I'm just thinking of leaving it alone. Any suggestions? I'm really not on a time limit with gas being $4.00 a gallon plus additives etc I'm enjoying my Toyota at the moment.
yes i would at the very very least freshin evrthing up(all gaskets, bearing's,rings whole 9yrds).myself i would do full forged set up and depending on your funds?i would do new cam and heads set up.if not fully port the heads new springs and new cam.g5x4,ms4,tsp 233/239 
just a thought
just a thought Trending Topics
If you look at my signature I'm currently running 224/228 114 lsa cam and I already got a set of sodium filled LS6 (243 casting) heads. I suppose a bigger cam won't hurt anything but then I guess it would come down to how big of a cam should I get? Or rather how big CAN I get? Since this is already a project car I suppose my funds aren't really limited. If I stroke the engine I need to know how much to stroke it to or if I don't stroke it then what pistons I should look at. I've heard numerous horror stories of people putting new pistons in with an old engine and blowing them up. I didn't want to go much bigger than a 224/228 at the time because this is really my first big overhaul on a car. I didn't want to change the valvetrain too much so I was able to do some hardened 7.4" pushrods (stock length) and 918 springs. Oh and I may do a shot of nitrous in the future but probably not any more than 100-150. I would like my clutch to hold up as long as possible once I get the new one. Keep the suggestions coming because I'm all ears! Oh and no that's NOT the swat team watching me that the search and rescue bus...make your own assumptions...
Thanks!
Thanks!
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first i think you need to determine what YOU want out of the car, then ask what you should do within [given guidelines]. asking "what should i do?" is trouble on this board haha. stroke it, charge it, and spray it. you'll need 483546 new parts and $473872970 to complete this project...
realistically - i'd opt for a forged piston/rod combo, new bearings, gaskets, and seals if you're going to get into the motor at all. obviously that includes a hone at the least. get some pistons with a decent relief so you can mill the heads and bump compression - keep the cam. people are making good numbers with that cam, compression is the key. you don't need to go crazy, just build it right and it will last a long time no matter what you do.
realistically - i'd opt for a forged piston/rod combo, new bearings, gaskets, and seals if you're going to get into the motor at all. obviously that includes a hone at the least. get some pistons with a decent relief so you can mill the heads and bump compression - keep the cam. people are making good numbers with that cam, compression is the key. you don't need to go crazy, just build it right and it will last a long time no matter what you do.
realistically - i'd opt for a forged piston/rod combo, new bearings, gaskets, and seals if you're going to get into the motor at all. obviously that includes a hone at the least. get some pistons with a decent relief so you can mill the heads and bump compression - keep the cam. people are making good numbers with that cam, compression is the key. you don't need to go crazy, just build it right and it will last a long time no matter what you do.
I totally agree with you here. I don't want to drop $7,000 in the motor...if that were the case I'd just get a new 408 and some AFR heads and be done with it. Are there any good places to get some forged piston/rod kits with bearings and gaskets? I'll probably keep the cam then. You're right about the compression anyhow because I'm running this car at 5500 feet elevation so a bigger cam won't produce a whole lot more power anyhow. Should I get the engine bored at all or just hone it? I don't expect much increase in power with a bore. I just want to build it to last that way when I want to spray it or turbo it then all I have to do is hook it up and retune the engine.
Thanks again!
Not sure what you mean by "accessories" (heads and valve covers?)...but I broke the oil pressure sensor unit on the back of the block ($50.00 replacement). We got it out from up top without too much trouble. I had to drop the AC condensor down in order for the crank pulley to clear. The trick is to make sure you have a little more lift on the front of the block when you hoist it. This will help angle it up and out of the car.
Last edited by Halloran; May 5, 2008 at 08:22 PM.
Not sure what you mean by "accessories" (heads and valve covers?)...but I broke the oil pressure sensor unit on the back of the block ($50.00 replacement). We got it out from up top without too much trouble. I had to drop the AC condensor down in order for the crank pulley to clear. The trick is to make sure you have a little more lift on the front of the block when you hoist it. This will help angle it up and out of the car.
for your motor i would suggest a bore and hone just to be sure the cylinder walls are straight. it's a few more bucks and TONS of insurance. get your stock crank polished, find a set of forged flattop pistons with a small relief, some forged rods, good fasteners, .030 cometic gasket and call it a day. i think you could EASILY do everything for under $2,500 reusing most of your old parts, ie cam, oil pump, timing chain etc. a forged shortblock like that could handle tons of power and would last forever on something like a h/c n2o setup.
Whats your budget? That will determine what your going to do. A 347 is the typcal thing done. But it all cost money. You need to call around and get maching prices for the block and how much to polish the crank and balance the new stuff. Then you can look for parts. Eagle is a good way to go on a budget or for a little more money Callies Compstar rods are a very good solution.
Whats your budget? That will determine what your going to do. A 347 is the typcal thing done. But it all cost money. You need to call around and get maching prices for the block and how much to polish the crank and balance the new stuff. Then you can look for parts. Eagle is a good way to go on a budget or for a little more money Callies Compstar rods are a very good solution.
