iScream

Just bought a complete L76 truck motor from the salvage yard, to go in my 2001 S10. I've done a bunch of research on what it takes to get the motor into my truck along with the used T56 I just bought so think that is under control. Already ordered Stainless Works long tubes and poly mounts and I'll be ordering a custom harness in the next couple days.

What I want to do is run it stock for a few months then decide whether I want to get rid of the VVT and DOD stuff to run a bigger cam or just get rid of the DOD and put in one of the VVT cams. I've read enough here on LS1Tech to know that can be a controversial topic.

Is there anything I should absolutely check or replace before dropping it in my truck though? It has 121K miles on it and supposedly ran well before they pulled it.

I was told yesterday that the DoD can be disabled through the ECU so I'll have them do that when they flash mine for the new harness. But is it dumb not to take care of the hardware side of that before the motor goes in?

Also, the motor has been sitting in the back of my truck in the garage for several days now while I wait for my hoist to be delivered. I also bought a load leveler but where do I want to actually bolt the leveler to the motor? I've never lifted an all aluminum motor in or out before so I want to be sure I don't screw something up.

TIA for any advice or suggestions.

G Atsma

If indeed you want too get rid of DOD, it would be best to change the valley cover and lifters, beforehand, as the DOD lifters can cause problems in the long run. You will need to remove the heads to do so. Texas Speed & Performance and WS6 Store have full kits for doing it all. If you wish to keep VVT but use a stronger cam, you must get the parts to limit the advance/retard travel. If not using VVT, then a new cam, timing set and timing cover will be needed. Again, these and other parts all come in a kit so you don't miss anything. Call either (or both) of the above stores to get the full lowdown on what you can do.

tech@WS6store

iTrader: (2)

The afm/dod lifters WILL fall apart. The only question is when.
Alot of cheap builds say dont need to change out the valley cover...they are wrong. Ive tried it.
You will at least need the valley cover, lifters, trays, head gaskets, bolts, exhaust gaskets. There is anothe huge part most miss and run into issues. The afm/vvt combo sometimes uses a diff oil pump SO youll need to verify that and change if vane style. If georotor its fine. Then you will still meed to cap off the afm press relief valve in the pan as well.
As far as cams go that is up yo you. less issues with tuning and cost to run a std cam. thats it.

..

iScream

Thanks, guys. I think I'll go ahead and do a DoD delete kit with all new lifters and probably head bolts before installing.

What's your opinion on going with a VVT cam for my truck? I'm not looking for the absolute best 1/4 mile times I can get. I just want the truck to be fun to drive and reliable but I would like the most power I can get without spending a fortune. If I can hang close with a new GT Mustang I'll be pretty happy.

And my truck still needs to function as a light duty truck. The main purpose for it is hauling around a couple different motorcycles. So it needs to be happy with 500 pounds of bike in the bed or pulling a trailer that may be 1200 pounds total weight. It seems like the VVT would be perfect for this kind of thing, even if the phaser limiter keeps me from getting too radical with cam selection. I would like a nice lope to the idle but I've seen quite a few youtube videos of VVT cams that sound pretty good to me.

And what about the dumbest of my questions? Where do I want to bolt onto the motor to lift it? Is it OK to use the holes in the heads?

tech@WS6store

iTrader: (2)

Not just any tuner can properly tune a vvt cam.
Id do a reg truck torque cam. we have quite a few of them.

Youll have to do head bolts as they are 1 time use.

The cyl head bolt holes are fine just make sure to get the bolts tight.

We carry all the parts including the pan bypass plug kit.

G Atsma

The phaser limiter is actually there to keep valves from hitting pistons by limiting the amount of timing variation to a much smaller number, in order to let you use a wilder cam than was possible without the phaser limiter. Sorry if that sounded confusing...

iScream

Thanks again, really appreciate the help. It's tempting to go ahead and do a bigger cam before installing the motor but I think I'm going to resist and just do the DoD delete to start.

The truck already has an aftermarket limited slip diff and I can run up to about 315 width tires on the back but I don't want to run drag radials. So I'm going to be pretty traction limited and the 367 HP from the stock L76 plus what little extra long tubes and free exhaust add will probably be enough to smoke the rear tires pretty bad.

tech@WS6store

iTrader: (2)

You'll prob see 300 at the wheels. The stock vvt and dod cam isnt worth much power though.

iScream

I was thinking around 310 or so at the wheels with the manual transmission but I have no real world experience to work from. So your guess is most likely much more accurate than mine. I'll probably get a local shop to do a basic tune on their dyno to have a baseline.

What's realistic at the wheels with just a cam swap and tune?

I can tell you that you have my business now on at least the DoD delete kit, for taking the time to help with my questions here. Doesn't hurt that the pricing on your web site looks pretty decent, of course.

tech@WS6store

iTrader: (2)

Our rexent pricing is just a bit better. Tuning the vvt takes a pretty good amount of time. its not like set timing and afr and done.
Cam swao for a mild cam like our high lift hot cam will bring 40 to 50 hp at the wheels maybe more and torque up also. Eso over that cam.
Our cam kit is $500 for springs and cam (uses stock prs to sgay on budget) for the rest of this week only. then its 515...still a good price.

Doesn't buck or surge and drives well. Sounds good at idle also.