Hey guys. We tore into the wifes 07 Escalade ESV as the piston slap and lifter tick had taken a serious turn for the worse lately.

Tear down was straight forward. Found the following

Couple bad lifters (tight spots in the wheels, tons of side play on the rollers)
Evidence of Lifter toss, cam has some odd wear, will require replacement
4 pistons with some pretty decent scuffing
Three bores have over .002 taper with some decent score marks to accompany the scuffed pistons.
Piston to wall clearance anywhere from .005 to almost .007!(service limit is .0022" I think)

So with this in mind we will need to replace the cam/lifters. A golden opportunity to step it up. I called and talk to comp, and they recommended the "400" VVT cam since we do tow with it.

I haven't nailed down which version phaser we have. I was planning on replacing it anyway. Is there anything to gain by running one over the other? Will the stock ECM run either one? I also need that big bolt that goes in the cam as ours had some scoring on it. Any ideas where to get one? GMpartshouse didn't list one.

We were thinking since we have to bore and get aftermarket pistons, there doesn't seem to be any stock type replacements at 4.070 or 4.075. We don't race this thing, and I would prefer to keep it rather stock. If we go forged pistons and all that, then we will need a rebalance and all that. Might as well go stroker right?

So we were thinking a 4.070"x4.125" stroker from???? A stock type stroker kit on a budget would be ideal. Hypereutectic pistons and a cast crank would be plenty for what we are doing(no power adder). Any kits that use stock rods?

What was odd is when I was talking with the Comp rep, and I mentioned going to a 427cid stroker, and what that would do for the cam recommendation, he said "you don't want to tow with a 427" yep, that's a quote. I kinda chuckled, as it was such a broad statement, like your cant a race a chevy haha.

Is he onto something I'm missing? I think a half inch of extra stroke would make a great addition to a towing package.

The heads will be mildly cleaned up with a cartridge roll, nothing I would call porting, just removing the obvious flash. New seals and springs

Anyways, any and all input is welcome. We are going to keep the VVT, engine will have to idle smooth as a stock escalade, and keep the MPG reasonable. Is the stroker worth while, or just put some new pistons and be happy? The crank and rods and assoiated bearings are pristine.

No stall, no gears, its weighs like 5,500lbs I'm sure. We have a set of coated Gibson headers, stock exhaust. Stock intake, I'm not listening to that suck sound all the time haha. We have a race car...

 

I'd limit the stroke to 4.0. Try some research. A 417 would scoot that Caddy nicely.

 

BTW……. Patrick G can spec you a custom VVT cam for that.

 

Searched a bit, not a lot of info recently, besides people suggesting a search. Most of the threads I found were from 06, not really recent info.


Its not worth the extra 5 hp over a shelf grind in this application. Its not a racecar and it will never see the track.

 

The cam bolt is torque to yield u have to replace they are $30 call dealer with vin and they will give u part #of phaser then call comp with #

 

Chances are very high that you have the 1st model phaser. That is what I had in my 2007 Escalade motor. I think it was sometime in the 2008 model year that they made a change to the phaser.

 

Phaser 994.

Is there any reason to run the other one?

 

One can just move more than as far as the phasing of the cam goes, but each requires a specific cam core. You're not supposed to mix and match. The bolt should be easily found at your local dealership.

Strokers kits for LS engines are all forged assemblies. No one to my knowledge is offering cast rotating assemblies for stroker engines. Using a stock stroke and stock rods, even with a rebalance, will be a lot cheaper than buying a stroker kit.

 

Ordered the Stroker kit today and the comp 400 cam as well as hp tuners.

Now to start getting the heads cleaned up while I wait for parts.

Does anyone have the part number for the phaser bolt? Phaser is pn 994.