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It looks like pin webbing on my JE pistons are going to interfere with the stock piston squirters so I need to bend them a bit. My crank has a 3.825 stroke so I believe I should get by with the stock oilers since I don't believe the piston skirt will go beyond the bottom of the cylinder.
I'm looking for advice from those that have bent them on:
- What method did you use to bend them (i.e. hand, pliers, small tube that fit over them, etc)?
- How much can/did you bend them side to side?
- How much clearance is needed?
Your going to need to mock it up with crank and rod and just see if it hits and where, then decide what to do. I’ve seen a bunch of notched piston skirts for squirters.
Very important step in any build…you have to build the engine (mock up) a few times before you assemble it for the final time.
Agreed on mocking it up. I'm just trying to get ideas from those that have bent the squirters for clearance before. My son is coming the week of the 4th and we're going to build the engine together. Since we'll have a short window to get this together I'm trying to get ideas before hand rather than being mid stream. We'll mic everything to check clearances, match components to minimize tolerance stacking, use a torque plate for setting ring end gap, etc. I've built several small blocks and big blocks but this is my first LS.
Basically this is a LS based 396 build (same bore/stroke as the COPO 396 - 4.065 bore x 3.825 stroke)
- LS9 Block
- LS9 CNC Heads
- Callies Magnum 8 CTW crank
- Callies Ultra Rods
- JE Pistons
- BTR Stage III Torque cam
- Kong LSA 2650
-Etc.
Agreed on mocking it up. I'm just trying to get ideas from those that have bent the squirters for clearance before. My son is coming the week of the 4th and we're going to build the engine together. Since we'll have a short window to get this together I'm trying to get ideas before hand rather than being mid stream. We'll mic everything to check clearances, match components to minimize tolerance stacking, use a torque plate for setting ring end gap, etc. I've built several small blocks and big blocks but this is my first LS.
Basically this is a LS based 396 build (same bore/stroke as the COPO 396 - 4.065 bore x 3.825 stroke)
- LS9 Block
- LS9 CNC Heads
- Callies Magnum 8 CTW crank
- Callies Ultra Rods
- JE Pistons
- BTR Stage III Torque cam
- Kong LSA 2650
-Etc.
Gotcha. Last short block I did with squirters (DarthV8r) they got capped off, because it was naturally aspirated and unneeded really. Maybe someone who’s modded the squirters will jump in. Katech sells a set that are designed for 4” arm applications, in case you end up looking at options.
It looks like pin webbing on my JE pistons are going to interfere with the stock piston squirters so I need to bend them a bit. My crank has a 3.825 stroke so I believe I should get by with the stock oilers since I don't believe the piston skirt will go beyond the bottom of the cylinder.
I'm looking for advice from those that have bent them on:
- What method did you use to bend them (i.e. hand, pliers, small tube that fit over them, etc)?
- How much can/did you bend them side to side?
- How much clearance is needed?
I love the build and will give some advice. From what I have heard(internet chatter, no actual experience caveat), you can't really bend the stock squirtters reliably enough. It's a case of you have to put it together and try it. A little tweaking, maybe, a lot, dont bother. Better off selling yours and buying the Katech's. Also, a thought. If you have not built the shortblock yet, you may reconsider the LS9 block. It is DISCONTINUED from GM and I am already seeing used ones bringing premium $$$. There are not a lot of them, that's for sure. You may sell yours and do a sleeved 5.3 or just go all the way and get a Dart alum. Just a suggestion, it's an expensive build.
I love the build and will give some advice. From what I have heard(internet chatter, no actual experience caveat), you can't really bend the stock squirtters reliably enough. It's a case of you have to put it together and try it. A little tweaking, maybe, a lot, dont bother. Better off selling yours and buying the Katech's. Also, a thought. If you have not built the shortblock yet, you may reconsider the LS9 block. It is DISCONTINUED from GM and I am already seeing used ones bringing premium $$$. There are not a lot of them, that's for sure. You may sell yours and do a sleeved 5.3 or just go all the way and get a Dart alum. Just a suggestion, it's an expensive build.
I don't think I'll have to bend the squirters a lot since it looks like the nozzle would touch about the center support rib on one bank and it look like they're close to clearing it on the other bank since the support ribbing is slightly wider on the thrust side of the piston. I won't know how much for sure until the mock up. I've read mixed things on the Katech squirters (ex: can't pull the cam out to replace it because the squirters interfered) so I'd like to get by with the stock ones if I can.
On the block, I picked it up when they were discontinuing them. At that time it was cheaper than an LS3 block. It was around Christmas time and they were selling for just over $1300. I thought about buying a couple of them and now wished I would have. Also, I had an L99 with 100 miles on it, the CNC LS9 heads, and a new TVS2300 which I was going to build but then changed directions to I do my own build. Basically I was going to do several changes to the L99 and figured I'd have a better engine starting from scratch. I have sold all of the parts that I had for the original build and I have most of the parts for the build so I really don't want to change directions again. Also it took several months to get the rotating assembly since it was custom.
FWIW - this is going in a 67 Chevelle, mini tubs, DSE suspension, T56 Magnum. Also, given the car I like the idea of being able to say it has a 396 in it.
Well it looks like I'll give JE a call and see what they recommend for adjusting the squirters. I found this in an Engine Labs article on the JE FSR pistons "All JE asymmetrical pistons provide proper reluctor wheel clearance, but the oil jets on the LSA and LS9 blocks require slight modification for proper clearance."
They bend fine. I run a 3.75" stroke with full skirt pistons. I bent them using a larger tube over top. I also clearanced the piston.
Your pistons will come out of the hole a little too.
They bend fine. I run a 3.75" stroke with full skirt pistons. I bent them using a larger tube over top. I also clearanced the piston.
Your pistons will come out of the hole a little too.
Thanks for the feedback. One of the members over on CTSVowners had a pic of his on a 3.9 stroke and I can see that the piston is coming out of the hole a little on his engine. Also it looks like his builder bent the squirter a fair amount.
A piece of brake line works pretty well to bend squirters. You will need .080 clearance to the piston because the squirter wire vibrates. The piston can sometimes be notched, but it’s very touchy depending on the different forging structures. A notch can crack if it’s in a place that flexes. Squirters can sometimes be spaced out with alternate banjo bolts custom spacers but that is another thing that takes a lot of mock-up and measuring. A forged piston is pretty strong compared to cast and a lot of folks merely ceramic coat if they are in endurance application like land speed or marine.
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Bending Oil Squirters for Clearance 
