DOD/AFM Delete Valve questions

[Darren2014]

Also I picked up Morel 7717 lifters cause I had heard good things about them, anyone every try these? Going back to pick my heads up tonight and drop them off with a buddy to have them cleaned up. When I get them back I’m planning on lapping the valves and installing the new springs.

 

[Geotrash]

Also I picked up Morel 7717 lifters cause I had heard good things about them, anyone every try these? Going back to pick my heads up tonight and drop them off with a buddy to have them cleaned up. When I get them back I’m planning on lapping the valves and installing the new springs.

They’re the replacement for the 6504, which is what I have in my truck and am happy. @ls1frc has the 7717’s.

 

[Darren2014]

Ok so these oil tower plugs from tsp have a lip towards the top of them. Is that ok to just sit on top? I thought these were supposed to sit flat.

 

[Geotrash]

Ok so these oil tower plugs from tsp have a lip towards the top of them. Is that ok to just sit on top? I thought these were supposed to sit flat.View attachment 346332

I was worried about the same thing, which is why I didn’t end up installing the ones I bought. Might be worth a call to their tech line to see what they say. I didn’t think of that until after I’d buttoned everything back up.

 

[wsteele]

Ok so these oil tower plugs from tsp have a lip towards the top of them. Is that ok to just sit on top? I thought these were supposed to sit flat.View attachment 346332

Are they a snug (pound in) fit?

 

[Darren2014]

Are they a snug (pound in) fit?

They will definitely take a little persuasion to go in, but I haven’t put any in yet since I’m worried about the top sticking up.

 

[wsteele]

They will definitely take a little persuasion to go in, but I haven’t put any in yet since I’m worried about the top sticking up.

I suspect they were made to sit proud to be up against the bottom of the valley metal to ensure they are held tight in position.

Definitely a call to TSP to verify the design objective is a good idea.

 

[Darren2014]

I suspect they were made to sit proud to be up against the bottom of the valley metal to ensure they are held tight in position.

Definitely a call to TSP to verify the design objective is a good idea.

Called TSP today. They said those plugs are only for the LT engines. Tho nowhere on the page does it specify which engines it’s for. It just says “DOD Hole Plugs SET of 8”.

 

[Geotrash]

Called TSP today. They said those plugs are only for the LT engines. Tho nowhere on the page does it specify which engines it’s for. It just says “DOD Hole Plugs SET of 8”.

That makes no sense. I bought mine through LSXceleration and they specifically state they're for gen IV/V engines. They have a similar profile as well, which as you can see also has a stop collar at the top and is the reason why I felt sketchy about pounding them in. I was afraid it would either get stuck not fully flush with the top of the tower, or potentially even crack the the tower. Given that the flat valley pan's sealing o-rings for the tower were designed to fit flush, I was concerned that any relief above the tower would cause a clearance issue with the raised o-ring lands on the valley pan. Or, that if I used a hammer to drive them in, I would potentially damage the tops of the towers.

Honestly, the safe answer is to either do what @iamdub did and find some threaded Allen set screws that fit, or just let the new valley pan's o-rings seal the towers as they're designed to do. I don't think you'll have any problems with sealing if you go that route. It's what GM designed that valley pan for in the engines that have the AFM towers but don't have AFM, like the L92.

LSXceleration Gen IV/V DOD Oil Block Off Plugs 54224-8

Find LSXceleration Gen IV/V DOD Oil Block Off Plugs 54224-8 at LSXceleration with Free shipping on qualifying orders!

www.lsxceleration.com

 

[wsteele]

Called TSP today. They said those plugs are only for the LT engines. Tho nowhere on the page does it specify which engines it’s for. It just says “DOD Hole Plugs SET of 8”.

I agree with Dave, no sense at all. In thinking about it since you first posted the picture, I couldn't figure a good way to do it. The tolerances to get them to be held firm by the valley cover and yet not bow it seemed unlikely. If they didn't sit up against it, the slightest loosening and you have a leak, perhaps with a valley cover that isn't sealing as designed because it was bowed by one of the others.

Then there is the pounding a steel plug into a cast iron hole. Seemed like a cracked tower would be pretty easy. Cracked tower, complete teardown for a new block...

Perhaps a polymer plug pounded in and held fast in place with the valley cover could be a descent solution, if anyone made a polymer plug like the steel ones in your picture.

The more I have thought about it, the more I think the approach Dave took will be the approach I will take if I ever have a lifter issue. I mean, GM has a lot of mechanical engineers and they came up with the valley cover design, so.