61 Impala

Greetings, I just finished up an engine swap in my 61 Impala. Went from a 2001 LS1 that had 240,000 miles to a brand new crate LS2 430 HP. Just checked the oil and it appears to be too much, like maybe a quart over. Don't know how that happened, but should I drain i, or leave it? Thanks!

G Atsma

Depends on how or why it got there. Make sure you don't have a stuck injector.
BTW, this forum is for Gen V engines. Your LS2 is Gen IV.

61 Impala

Sorry about that. It is an LS3 not LS2.

G Atsma

OK, your LS3 is a Gen IV also. Still in wrong forum.

Che70velle

iTrader: (6)

Did engine come with oil? How many quarts did you put in it? 6 quarts is standard in most LS pans, except corvette. Wont hurt to run 7 quarts as a lot of guys do that.

KW Baraka

iTrader: (7)

Run it for a couple hundred miles and then give it an oil change.

KW

grinder11

iTrader: (1)

I thought this was Gen IV internal engine????

G Atsma

It is now. Didn't it start in Gen V Internal? If not, my humble apologies!

Racer-X-

The owners manual for many GM vehicles that came with these engines advises adding an extra half quart or full quart if you're running it on a road course track or other competitive driving. So being "over full" by up to a quart is actually recommended in some situations.

grinder11

iTrader: (1)

Probably a good idea if running high g-force curves. But I've found that extra crankcase oil reduces bay to bay breathing somewhat at high rpm. Best time I ever got on my C5 LS1 came with it a quart low! Unbeknownst to me, the earlier LS1s, like in my 2000 C5, used a bit of oil. Only had the car for maybe 3 months, and hadn't checked oil since I first got it. Made that run, and the low oil light came on, puckering my rectal orifice BIG TIME!!! Bought a quart of oil from a fellow racer at the track, and lost a mph and a couple tenths. True story......

old motorhead

iTrader: (10)

I think it was more the moon's gravitational pull slowing down the earth's rotation. It's called tidal braking. I've heard that will play hell with bay to bay breathing. It also depends whether you're going in the direction of the earth's rotation or against it.

The wife is pressure washing the back porch. I told her I was too busy to help. Y'all have a good weekend!

grinder11

iTrader: (1)

Kawboom

The hazard from too much oil is having oil get whipped up by the crank, get foamy, and have air in the oil at the pickup. Paradoxically a symptom of too much oil in the crankcase is low oil pressure.

grinder11

iTrader: (1)

Reason I stated that lower than normal oil level-If not so low as to starve oil pump, and wipe out bearings-Is because Y block engines, which the LS engines are, have challenges with bay to bay breathing. If you're a quart or two low, you increase the available air space, and that promotes better bay to bay breathing. If you're a quart too high, you'll risk losing power, but gain confidence that you won't starve the pump and bearings. I found my situation purely by accident, and DO NOT RECOMMEND anyone deliberately lower their oil level a quart, or two. In the LS1/LS6 book I have on GM developing the LS platform, GM admitted that in early development, they actually blew an engine cover off the block due to insufficient bay to bay breathing, and venting of blowby gasses.

G Atsma

Doesn't the windage tray prevent most whipping that might occur?