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teardown has begun!

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Old Apr 27, 2015 | 03:36 PM
  #41  
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Welp, found the culprit. Much to my surprise, crank, and every other rod bearing were flawless. This was only on the #1 bearing, some pitting and chipped ends. Don't know what could have caused this, bearing guide lists it as fatigue from overloading, possible detonation. Went and picked up a new bearing for this rod at the parts store, gonna plastigage it and make sure its in spec, probably pull the main caps too and inspect for wear and then retorque everything. Don't want to give myself an excuse for an entire tear down and rebuild. Probably wont end up buying a new oil pump as the pump internals look absolutely perfect, so nothing has made its way through the pump at all to give me any indication of any potential other problems.

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Old Apr 27, 2015 | 06:57 PM
  #42  
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rather you like it or not, you're gonna rebuild that Gorgeous aluminum block into a monster.might as well lol
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Old Apr 27, 2015 | 07:32 PM
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Originally Posted by 91parkave
rather you like it or not, you're gonna rebuild that Gorgeous aluminum block into a monster.might as well lol
that's for the spare LS4 that will be sitting in the garage next month Checked everything out further, rest of the internals are solid, threw a new bearing on the #1 rod, calling it a night for that.
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Old Apr 27, 2015 | 09:13 PM
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Yea I was thinking alum block maybe some casting flakes but good to hear only one bearing and u got to see everything so let's rebuild this beast!!
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Old Apr 27, 2015 | 09:31 PM
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Look's like my cobalt is going to be gone tomorrow so that opens up the funds for this car. Let the games begin. Trans has to be done first, then ill see how much is left in the budget and hopefully enough room for advance induction heads.

http://www.advancedinduction.com/LSX...cGMLS2Head.php
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Old May 6, 2015 | 08:44 PM
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major week this week for the mail men lol now with the budget opened wide up for the GP now the games can really begin. Although the room for mods really tightened up alot after finding out how much the trans was going to cost. I've spent almost a cool 3 grand in the past week alone, over 1000 at TEP for their stage 1 master rebuild kit and 3.29 gear set with the morse hyvo 7/8" chain upgrade, little over a grand in rebuild parts for the engine and a new set of front tires. Still have quite a bit to go just yet as well.

this stack of parts here on my bench will triple tomorrow.



stock cam came out looking just fine along with the bearings.




important note to anyone doing a cam swap, YOU MUST REPLACE THE CAM RETAINER PLATE, the oem seal was completely flat on mine, this seal is vital to hold oil properly between the high pressure oil passages around the cam.



GM 3 bolt 4x reluctor cam gear



GMPP heavy duty timing chain



If you are considering buying a new radiator for your car, TYC on amazon is the way to go, they are OEM koyorad's, one of the best aftermarket rad brands out there.




and for anyone who hasnt done a cabin filter on their car.....




and tirerack with their crazy fast delivery, brand new dunlop signature hp tires, def a soft compound, they were picking up all the dirt on the concrete just rolling them across the ground.

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Old May 8, 2015 | 03:33 PM
  #47  
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definitely doing the cabin air filter this weekend....

anyways, this is a great thread, keep it up!
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Old May 8, 2015 | 04:32 PM
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I'm living through you my man lol
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Old May 9, 2015 | 11:29 PM
  #49  
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Decided to do some cosmetic work tonight, old headlights drive me insane, so picked up the 3m headlight restore kit (this is the only kit worth a damn), and went to town, bout 45 minutes a headlight, should you decide to venture into this, make sure you cover things up, im covered in soapy, plastic filled water.

Before



After



and this is the process on the second headlight,

500 grit pad, takes the oxidation and rough scatches out, work this according to how bad the light is.



800 grit takes away the 500 grit scratches to allow for the finishing pads



trazact pad here, which is a special 3000 grit type foam pad, this is where the magic happens, the more you work with this, the better it will come up during the polishing phase.



and the final product, after the polish, a #7 meg's glaze, and gold class wax as a protectant until i get some sealer.

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Old May 9, 2015 | 11:45 PM
  #50  
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Looks like the car found the right owner and is getting the tlc it deserves. Great job , im enjoying following the thread and cant wait to see her run again !!
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Old May 10, 2015 | 12:33 AM
  #51  
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Originally Posted by higsy
Looks like the car found the right owner and is getting the tlc it deserves. Great job , im enjoying following the thread and cant wait to see her run again !!
My cobalt i just sold was the same way, previous owner neglected the hell out of it, got the much needed love it needed once I got it, and now its with another happy owner.
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Old May 10, 2015 | 08:07 AM
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Originally Posted by higsy
Looks like the car found the right owner and is getting the tlc it deserves. Great job , im enjoying following the thread and cant wait to see her run again !!
I agree. This is a good read, following closely as well. Keep up the good work Spawne32
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Old May 11, 2015 | 08:36 PM
  #53  
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started on the harness tonight, stripping down the bad loom, retaping certain sections and inspecting the wiring, found this... appears to be an injector wire based on the color.



and a quick solder wire patch, also installed the new knock sensor connector harness section, got another few feet of harness to reloom.

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Old May 12, 2015 | 10:37 PM
  #54  
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so fresh and so clean clean


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Old May 15, 2015 | 04:14 PM
  #55  
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in case anyone was curious about the TEP stage 1 kit...

Master Kit with Borg Warner frictions for 2003+ model years
2 Oversized 2nd steel plates for improved clearance and shift feel
Side cover gasket
US made filter
New replacement chain set
Transgo SK4T65E shift kit, additional notes included
Sonnax TCC apply valve
Sonnax TCC relief valve
Sonnax Performance ratio boost valve kit
New Valve Body Spacer plate, modified per application
Bushing kit
Thrust Washer kit
Stator support bearing
Input drum to sun gear bearing
Lube dam
Forward apply band, High Energy
2-1 Coast band, High Energy
Reconditioned Input clutch apply piston
OE Pressure Control solenoid
Borg Warner TCC solenoid
OE shift solenoids x 2



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Old May 15, 2015 | 07:53 PM
  #56  
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Just subscribed to this thread. It has been very interesting. Thanks for sharing the whole process with us.

Don
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Old May 15, 2015 | 11:25 PM
  #57  
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glad people appreciate it at least, im a pic ***** and meticulous to death with the little details, im sure i probably drove dave over at TEP nuts over the past few weeks with my emails about PN numbers and stuff. I even went as far as to research the frictions included in the kit.

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Old May 16, 2015 | 06:24 PM
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Originally Posted by spawne32
glad people appreciate it at least, im a pic ***** and meticulous to death with the little details, im sure i probably drove dave over at TEP nuts over the past few weeks with my emails about PN numbers and stuff. I even went as far as to research the frictions included in the kit.

Be a pic ***** even more so when it comes to rebuilding that transmission. Maybe even start another thread covering the whole step by step process with details and pics if you have the time. That is a lot to ask I know but that would be a great thread to sticky and be a ton of help as it is the one area where these cars seem to need the most help. Keep up the good work
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Old May 16, 2015 | 06:39 PM
  #59  
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Originally Posted by rottonj
Be a pic ***** even more so when it comes to rebuilding that transmission. Maybe even start another thread covering the whole step by step process with details and pics if you have the time. That is a lot to ask I know but that would be a great thread to sticky and be a ton of help as it is the one area where these cars seem to need the most help. Keep up the good work
The trans is actually going to a local shop that did my last drag racing trans, and they built my buddies 4t65e. I just had specifics on what parts I wanted and they were happy to oblige when it came to me providing my own parts. I was looking at well over 2 grand if i had to ship it to TEP and the turn around time there is pretty sluggish, i cant afford to wait months for a trans with this car. Not to mention i have absolutely no room in my house to take one of these apart. lol Nor the specialty tools required.
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Old May 16, 2015 | 07:01 PM
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Originally Posted by spawne32
The trans is actually going to a local shop that did my last drag racing trans, and they built my buddies 4t65e. I just had specifics on what parts I wanted and they were happy to oblige when it came to me providing my own parts. I was looking at well over 2 grand if i had to ship it to TEP and the turn around time there is pretty sluggish, i cant afford to wait months for a trans with this car. Not to mention i have absolutely no room in my house to take one of these apart. lol Nor the specialty tools required.
Dammit! I was hoping you were going to make it look easy like you did with the rest of your car . I will be going the same route when that time comes. I think I found a local establishment who could do it. Not sure how they will feel about me dropping all the parts off lol.
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