Budget rebuild items?

[Charlie207]

AutoZone valve spring tool loaner was the wrong tool.




The lifters and pushrods were in decent shape.


Is the 6.0 oil pan the same as the 5.3? What's that little plate?


Oil pan goop


Ah, frig... that cam bearing looks bad.


I took a ton of photos, but these were the highlights from the 4 hours of untwisting nuts and bolts.

 

[j91z28d1]

that old girl was pretty full of sludge huh.

I will say when they joke about all ls cam bearing being bad of you look at them.. this might be the worst Pic I've see.



might be worth having that block cleaned and no bearing at that point. you can buy the tool and install them yourself if you want to thou.

 

[Charlie207]

Yeah, I was scouting out the tool on Scamazon last night. It doesn't look like AutoZone rents it, which is a shame, but it's only like $60 to buy.

As far as sludge, yeah... kind of gross, but the pickup screen was at least totally clean. The top of the heads are sludge-free, so.... yay.

I did call a local machine shop yesterday, to get a ballpark price on getting the heads cleaned in their hotwash tank, and surface skimmed. They said $150 for a basic service (both heads), and up to $400 if I need them to do the basic service plus a valve job and new spring installation. This was before I pulled the cam, so I'll probably see what it costs to clean the block as well.

Taking a break tonight to do some other stuff, but I guess I'll pull the main caps and crankshaft out. I was hoping the cam bearings would look gorgeous, but.... in for a penny/in for a pound.

I should probably build a little spreadsheet to track time, money, and hopes/dreams for this.

 

[Geotrash]

Yeah, I was scouting out the tool on Scamazon last night. It doesn't look like AutoZone rents it, which is a shame, but it's only like $60 to buy.

As far as sludge, yeah... kind of gross, but the pickup screen was at least totally clean. The top of the heads are sludge-free, so.... yay.

I did call a local machine shop yesterday, to get a ballpark price on getting the heads cleaned in their hotwash tank, and surface skimmed. They said $150 for a basic service (both heads), and up to $400 if I need them to do the basic service plus a valve job and new spring installation. This was before I pulled the cam, so I'll probably see what it costs to clean the block as well.

Taking a break tonight to do some other stuff, but I guess I'll pull the main caps and crankshaft out. I was hoping the cam bearings would look gorgeous, but.... in for a penny/in for a pound.

I should probably build a little spreadsheet to track time, money, and hopes/dreams for this.

I would absolutely have them clean and inspect the block as well. Much nicer to be working with a clean engine. At that point, you might as well have them do a light hone and anything else they recommend.

 

[Charlie207]

I would absolutely have them clean and inspect the block as well. Much nicer to be working with a clean engine. At that point, you might as well have them do a light hone and anything else they recommend.

Yep, agree on all fronts.

I'm probably going to have them do the valve job on the heads, but I should be able to install everything.

 

[Geotrash]

Yep, agree on all fronts.

I'm probably going to have them do the valve job on the heads, but I should be able to install everything.

Good call. But installing the springs and seals usually goes with the valve job since the valves are lapped in place.

 

[Charlie207]

Good call. But installing the springs and seals usually goes with the valve job since the valves are lapped in place.

Huh... the more you know.

 

[Charlie207]

What color should the block be?

 

[strutaeng]

I recently got some 317 head re machined and it was $350, so that sounds pretty fair I would say.

For cam bearings, I bought the Summit dedicated LS tool. I think it was like $85 and works pretty good. Cam bearings themselves are only like $25. Durabond CH-25 for the late Gen III and Gen IV engines IIRC. They are supposed to be wider than the stock ones, but I've never measured the actual differences.

 

[Charlie207]

I recently got some 317 head re machined and it was $350, so that sounds pretty fair I would say.

For cam bearings, I bought the Summit dedicated LS tool. I think it was like $85 and works pretty good. Cam bearings themselves are only like $25. Durabond CH-25 for the late Gen III and Gen IV engines IIRC. They are supposed to be wider than the stock ones, but I've never measured the actual differences.

Would you knock the old cam bearings out before sending it to the shop for cleaning?