problems with lsx 454 please help!!!
I bet you hurt a piston ring. If the tips burned off the plugs then it was running lean. What did the damaged valve look like? Was it melted at all. You could have gotten a piece of the burned spark plug behind it causing it to not seat all the way causing excessive clearance between the pushrod and lifter. This may have cause the lifter to collaspe at higher rpm. That is my theory. And I still think it hurt a ring.
Last edited by NXZ28; May 20, 2008 at 08:41 AM. Reason: Didn't even make sense to me after reading it.
the tap you heard came from the rocker beating on the retainer
some small investigation would have saved you and texas speed a lot of trouble
i have seen valves lose the tips before... you figure all that metal had to go somewhere.
now that is back together it should be easy to tell if one of the pushrods is not being loaded vs. a bottom knock.
i cant imagine how that lock is even reusable.. i also cant imaging you being ok enough with that to strap it back down to an lsx build... its not a lawn mower.
some small investigation would have saved you and texas speed a lot of trouble
i have seen valves lose the tips before... you figure all that metal had to go somewhere.
now that is back together it should be easy to tell if one of the pushrods is not being loaded vs. a bottom knock.
i cant imagine how that lock is even reusable.. i also cant imaging you being ok enough with that to strap it back down to an lsx build... its not a lawn mower.
the only thing visibly wrong with the valve was the tip, as soon as it started tapping i checked everything i knew to check twice there was no excessive gap between pushrod and rocker arm and the tap at first was not the rocker arm it was the lifter not pumping up. as far as using the same lock your right i shouldnt have used it was not a good idea but figured they had the head for almost three weeks and couldnt get a new lock i didnt want to even think how long it would take them to get one.now all lifters are pumping like they should. i agree i think it got a ring as well
Last edited by camsom; May 20, 2008 at 10:27 AM.
did compression test
cylinder 1 - 155
cylinder 2 - 200
cylinder 3 - 145
cylinder 4 - 185
cylinder 5 - 135
cylinder 6 - 155
cylinder 7 - 150
cylinder 8 - 160
oiled the cylinders
cylinder 1 - 170
cylinder 2 - 200
cylinder 3 - 155
cylinder 4 - 190
cylinder 5 - 135
cylinder 6 - 175
cylinder 7 - 155
cylinder 8 - 180
will have pics of the spark plugs i just pulled out later tonight
cylinder 1 - 155
cylinder 2 - 200
cylinder 3 - 145
cylinder 4 - 185
cylinder 5 - 135
cylinder 6 - 155
cylinder 7 - 150
cylinder 8 - 160
oiled the cylinders
cylinder 1 - 170
cylinder 2 - 200
cylinder 3 - 155
cylinder 4 - 190
cylinder 5 - 135
cylinder 6 - 175
cylinder 7 - 155
cylinder 8 - 180
will have pics of the spark plugs i just pulled out later tonight
That motor is probably trashed.. Why would you put a 454 LSX in your only means of transportation? and then drive it for a week with a bad lifter? 
It needs to be pulled out and torn down for sure at this point. There is no telling what kind of crap is in that engine.. Good Luck
It needs to be pulled out and torn down for sure at this point. There is no telling what kind of crap is in that engine.. Good Luck LS1 Tech Stories
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Teching In
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 32
Likes: 0
From: Cape Town
looks like the valve welded itself to the seat, i cant see how the pushrod is OK it must be made of strong stuff. you would think there would be trouble with an exhaust valve first, but a lean condition can cause everything to melt. I can remember seeing a photo of an engine on a dyno with single throttle bodies on it where you could see right into the intake valve. when it was running flat out, you could see the head of the intake valve glowing red hot. this engine looks very sick. lets all pull our plugs more often! it doesnt matter how much fancy electronics you've got, the plugs will always tell the real story....
a quick check of the plugs could have saved this engine.
a quick check of the plugs could have saved this engine.
i checked the plugs quite a few times they never showed anything bad till the last time right before i pulled the head but idk gonna have to find someone to go through it for me i guess again i appreciate the input guys thank you
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,608
Likes: 0
From: Webb City, MO...out in the garage
this is sounding more and more like tuning issue to me. what did the pistons look like when you pulled the head? black and carbon covered? or brand new shiny clean and spotless?...i'm betting they looked pretty clean...(lean)
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,608
Likes: 0
From: Webb City, MO...out in the garage
i'd say take your car to a different tuner when it's ready again, or at least have the current tune looked at by an unbiased 3rd party if you can.
the damage sucks, sorry about your trouble. i'm going to be doing a similar build soon hopefully. what heads/intake are you running? what cam too if you don't mind me asking...?
the damage sucks, sorry about your trouble. i'm going to be doing a similar build soon hopefully. what heads/intake are you running? what cam too if you don't mind me asking...?
If it were the tune, it would have reared its head a lot earlier. Texas Speed broke it in and power pulled on motor and in car. I would be looking at fuel delivery or vacuum leak or something else mechanical with the car. One bank rich and 1 not is not likely the tune after 1500 miles.
