Another 6.2 for 5.3 swap going on.

[iamdub]

I got a notice from the shipper that my new used engine will be delivered tomorrow afternoon. I'm kinda anxious to get this going so I did a bunch of searching. Texas Speed and Performance came up a lot in the searches with a full kit including cam so I called them. They gave me a discount for being a firefighter and that covered shipping. I talked to the guy and we believe my 2009 didn't have VVT so he recommended deleting that and AFM on my new engine.

He also saved me some money by going with an LS9 cam AND springs cheaper than (I think he said) the LS7 cam. They have all the parts in stock down there and are shipping them asap so I should have all those parts by the end of the week. I pray there won't be much else to buy but this came in at $783. I will be dropping the oil pan so there's another gasket there and I'll be looking into that oil pump O-ring.

This will retain the high volume oil pump which will exercise the pressure release regularly. Hopefully no ill effects.

So glad to hear this! @Geotrash said it- GM didn't devise AFM to make money. They did it because they were forced to make their giant land yachts get as much fuel mileage as possible to meet ever-tightening gubbament standards. Remember the Volt? GM lost money one every unit sold. I wanna say they lost money on the Hybrid Tahoes as well. Ever hear how you should always avoid first model year vehicles since there are almost always bugs yet to work out? This generation of AFM is that "first model year" design and it's faults are certainly real. If you fancy yourself a lucky fellow, then proceed with caution. But, will you be comfortable taking it on a 3, 5, 8, 10+ hour road trip? If (almost when) it fails, will you and your family be on the side of the road in the heat or cold, hours from home or any major city? That $800-$1,000 you saved by not deleting it won't mean a damned thing to you and your family then.

Sounds like you're on a good path. The delete kits come with the valley cover that seals off the AFM towers. It relies on the O-rings built into the gasket, and those have been known to leak a little, lowering oil pressure a small amount. Since it was a cheap solution, I spent $5 on eight 3/8-16 socket head set screws, tapped the towers and torqued in the set screws with red LocTite. The holes are already the perfect size for tapping them to 3/8", so you don't even need to drill. Just get a 3/8"-16 tap and go at it. The metal taps very easily. Also, since AFM isn't active, you can delete the pressure release valve in the oil pan- another potential oil weep point. Just get an M14-1.5 bolt or oil plug and LocTite that in place of that valve. I have this stuff detailed in my build thread if you're interested. The engine shenanigans begin on page 49.

 

[PatDTN]

Iamdub, I had a fairly lengthy discussion with the guy at Texas Speed. He said the oil pump for the DOD was higher volume than non DOD and it will purge more oil through that pressure relief valve with DOD disabled. I had seen that on another web site, maybe the Summit Racing site. Somewhere it was said it purges enough oil there that it splashes the bottom of the cylinder walls and can lead to oil burning. Texas Speed discounted that possibility though.

I might do the oil towers though.

 

[iamdub]

Iamdub, I had a fairly lengthy discussion with the guy at Texas Speed. He said the oil pump for the DOD was higher volume than non DOD and it will purge more oil through that pressure relief valve with DOD disabled. I had seen that on another web site, maybe the Summit Racing site. Somewhere it was said it purges enough oil there that it splashes the bottom of the cylinder walls and can lead to oil burning. Texas Speed discounted that possibility though.

I might do the oil towers though.

That valve purging and splashing oil up is exactly why GM came up with the deflector shield for the valve. Granted, this is with oil that's already pressurized then spraying through that valve from a sudden spike in the oil pressure. It's very much like when you quickly squeeze the sprayer handle on your garden hose and the water shoots out really hard for that first split second then the pressure equalizes. A more gradual "leak" in it wouldn't atomize and "splash/spray" onto the pistons, but it's still an unnecessary oil leak. I chose to plug it since it was a $3/2-minute solution. A valve is a moving part and there has been a few reports of them getting stuck open, casing a drop in oil pressure. Simply screwing in a bolt completely removes this possibility entirely.

 

[PatDTN]

I wonder about the excess flow and pressure. I'd be concerned that it would cause another problem including blowing out o-rings and seals.

 

[Geotrash]

Iamdub, I had a fairly lengthy discussion with the guy at Texas Speed. He said the oil pump for the DOD was higher volume than non DOD and it will purge more oil through that pressure relief valve with DOD disabled. I had seen that on another web site, maybe the Summit Racing site. Somewhere it was said it purges enough oil there that it splashes the bottom of the cylinder walls and can lead to oil burning. Texas Speed discounted that possibility though.

I might do the oil towers though.

This'll do ya: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CMTK3QI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[NardDog]

My 5.3 suddenly started blowing large clouds of blue smoke on startup. After a mere 220k miles I think it's done. I walked into the cloud to smell and I think it's got a tinge of coolant too.

Whether it's getting coolant into the cylinders or not fixing the cylinder heads is enough expense that I wouldn't want to do it and put more pressure on the bottom end with stock compression restored.

I did some searching and found an L92 from a 2011 Escalade with 152k miles. That's been ordered and is on the way. I know it's popular to delete AFM but I want to keep that and VVT. This engine has both.

Of course I plan on going over the engine when I get it. I'm putting together a list of gaskets and sensors to order for that. I have read about an o-ring on the oil pump. I figure a timing chain tensioner and some sensors that would be hell to replace with the engine installed. Of course I'll drop the oil pan if only to clean up. Looking at Fel-pro rubber gaskets whenever possible.

I wouldn't turn down some good advice but I'm broke so no upgrades.

I recently did a similar swap. If you decide to take the oil pan off be prepared to take the front cover off and do them together. Consider installing new knock sensors as well.

 

[PatDTN]

Front cover is definitely coming off. New cam and cam gear as part of deleting AFM plus apparently my year doesn't support vvt so that's going too. Oil pan will be coming off for inspection at least and maybe that little diverter thingy Geotrash just posted.

 

[mikeseay]

Front cover is definitely coming off. New cam and cam gear as part of deleting AFM plus apparently my year doesn't support vvt so that's going too. Oil pan will be coming off for inspection at least and maybe that little diverter thingy Geotrash just posted.

Didn’t see any comments about the screen under the oil pressure sending unit. I’d get rid of it as an unnecessary trouble maker.

 

[PatDTN]

Mikeseay, duly noted. At least I'll lavish some attention on that screen.

Meanwhile, pics or it didn't happen;

The new engine




There are a few oil leaks. This at the right rear bottom of the block. Somebody please tell me what this is and what I need to do to fix it.


Some old spray around the crank pulley


This is really messy down here.


I'll be running to the auto parts store for a valve spring compressor, puller to get that crank pulley off carefully, some assembly lube, etc. Go ahead and add to my list.

 

[PatDTN]

Made some progress yesterday. First some mundane things to deal with;



Broken exhaust bolt standing up for easy removal. Heat, penetrating oil, and a couple smacks with a hammer had this one ready to just pull out with vice grips.





This one was flush with the deck and had to be drilled, heated, penetrated, hammered, and finally extracted with a screw extractor.



Oddly I wasn't prepared for how light these cylinder heads are.



Block is nearly ready for final cleaning and then assembly. I managed to pull the harmonic balancer with an antique two jaw puller by using a combination of flat pry bars for the jaws to latch onto behind the pulley.



And finally the AFM oil towers plugged.



My oil pan is nasty and will take some cleaning. Oil on the outside, sludge piled up inside. I didn't get a perfect clean used engine. I wish I could afford to fix this thing up good as new so for now I'll have to follow the old programming adage: never test for an error condition you don't know how to handle.