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Just a small update. I managed to get the short block together in what little spare time I have now the school year is ramping up.
I didn't get any specific shots of it, but I've also got a freshly remanufactured transmission that's going into it. The new drivetrain is going to be a far cry from my extreme budget 5.3/4l60e combination that I originally intended to install.
Awesome build man! Its great to see not only your project progress, but your original build idea evolve. Keep up the good work, and I will definitely be watching the rest of this build.
Awesome build man! Its great to see not only your project progress, but your original build idea evolve. Keep up the good work, and I will definitely be watching the rest of this build.
Thank you. I'm hoping that I can get it moving under its own power before the Utah winter sets in. I may have to sell my Firebird WS6 project to open up a space in the garage for it.
You better hurry up then doesn't winter start about the beginning of September out there in Utah haha.
Haha, for sure. Some years you get solid summer until Thanksgiving, then you get the dead of winter until April. You never know what kind of year it's going to be.
Alright I need some advice. I found out today that the oil dipstick boss in the Trailblazer SS engines is plugged with a tiny freeze plug. I could not see the plug as it was covered with some grease. I thought it was solid aluminum, so I pulled out the drill and proceeded to drill though it. I had the engine upside down with the oil pan off. I was drilling upward in order to let the shavings fall on the ground outside the engine. Well, once I had drilled through enough of the freeze plug so that it lost its hold, the drill abruptly came up through the hole, pushing what was left of the plug up through the dipstick hole and into the crank case. I looked for hours, rotated the engine on the engine stand, rotated the crankshaft in the hopes that the little round piece of metal would just fall out on its own, but no luck. Am I doomed to tear the engine all the way back apart to find this little piece of metal? I pretty much had it all back together when I found out that the oil dipstick boss was plugged.
yeah you better find it! it's probably lodged up in the cam and lifter area.
Yeah. I think that I can get the cam and the crank out without pulling the heads if I leave the pistons and rods in. I don't want to have to buy new torque to yield bolts. I've heard that the bolts in the bottom end are also torque to yield. If I'm lucky I'll find it when I pull the cam, but if not, am I okay to use these bolts one more time when I go to reassemble the bottom end...again?
Next time post before drilling, but that's water under the bridge. I'd pull the cam first and then try to rotate the engine by hand to see if you find it. Pulling the crank without taking the heads off is dangerous because when you go back to put it together you won't be able to easily get the rod back on the crank. It takes almost no force to scratch a rod journal. Just a light hit with a rod bolt and it'll scratch...just my thoughts...
Thanks for the advice. I'm hardly going to be able to look at the project until the weekend, but I'll post my findings once I get the little bugger out of there. Thanks again.
Well, I got the engine all apart. I found nothing. Perfectly clean inside. I'm crossing my fingers that it fell out without me noticing during one of the many times that I rotated the engine on the stand Anyway, I pulled it apart on Friday, reassembled on Saturday and Today, and now it's sitting in its final resting place waiting for me to finish it up.
Here is the driveline that I had modified to be GM at the front and BMW at the back.
And here is the remanufactured 4l60E that is going into the car. This is definitely not the drivetrain that I originally intended to install.
Nice now it's gonna two lsx e60 around Utah I have seen this bmw on ksl
You're correct. I did list it for a few days after I couldn't get it to respond with the BMW drivetrain in it. I'm glad that I am getting a chance to do the project. I've been wanting to do it for a long time. Speaking of KSL, I decided to go ahead and part out the other car (silver) just in case anyone happens to be looking for parts.
please Post the the wiring job I'm almost there on mine and I'm gonna need some help thanks
Yeah. After this weekend I'll have the transmission in and the drivetrain and exhaust buttoned up. Just gotta tackle the ac lines, fuel lines (easily done), power steering, and transmission cooling lines after that. Then I can start on wiring. You should post up some pics of your build. I won't mind one bit if you put a few in this thread.
Keep the posts coming, especially once you get to the wiring part of all of this...I'm just getting started on a E46-LSx swap. Like you, the "budget" went away after I opened the engine (LQ4), and has now become a 408 project. Great job on yours so far.
What accessory brackets are you using? Which balancer?
This is a great project. Looking forward to seeing the progress!
I'm using the stock truck balancer, the bracket relocation kit is one that I found on ebay. Link: http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-3L-LS-Turbo-Alternator-Power-Steering-Pump-Mount-Bracket-LSX-uses-LS1-WP-/142078202766?vxp=mtr. The kit is very nice. I like how it keeps all the goodies up on top where you can get to them. The positives are that you can keep your truck balancer and alternator. The negatives are that you have to buy an ls1 water pump and power steering pump. A word to the wise: use an F-body as a donor car, pick up some tbss manifolds, and this project can be done pretty inexpensively.