Just Fishing's 09 Tahoe Build thread

[08z71bgm]

Just Fishing's 09 Tahoe Build thread

Welp, i got my converter. Circle D sure does well with the packaging! UPS smashed the fk out of the box. I already took out the t-shirt and the pen before this picture... :) New converter bolts, locktite, and some shims included. nice! I ordered a new input shaft o-ring. Once that arrives...

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

Ring end gap, (scroll down to where i used the actual tool to center the rings)

Just Fishing's 09 Tahoe Build thread

and fedex finally decided to grace me with their presence. Mains w00t w00t Trying to get rid of an allergy migraine right now, otherwise i would be outside getting ready to plasti gauge this pig!

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

crank bearing installed, plastigauge results

Just Fishing's 09 Tahoe Build thread

Ontrac is forgiven. I have rod bearings w00t w00t!

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

Orignal endplay confirmed with the dial indicator after seating the thrust bearing.

Just Fishing's 09 Tahoe Build thread

Hardest part is the centering of the crank. That might be why many say you can't Or it's probably more likely that you need to slap that baby's butt during assembly (dead blow hammer to the back of the crank) in order to seat the thrust bearing forward. And digging around for some more setup...

www.tahoeyukonforum.com

Where i reinstalled a new (2nd one) thrust bearing and triple checked the converter spacing.
I also confirmed crank endplay from the pan side.
I thought originally that i had installed the thrust bearing backwards, but it turned out to not be the case.
the wear was just unexpected and even.

But yeah, i agree.
I got fkd right in the ass.

big pita, i think the issue might be with pressure in the transmission.
chasing my tail, again...
I did reverse flow the trans cooler, caught metal in the paper towel.

I think your bearings were too tight and surface being what it is was no help at all. I think you should’ve went with a larger bearing. By the time you heat up everything you’ll have no space for earl.

Mine at at .0025. I am also going to beat the snot out of it and it’s making twice as much as you are.

Setting thrust. Tell me exactly how you set thrust. This may be the reason it’s wiped out now.

 

[Just Fishing]

I followed the textbook on setting it.
10 or 15ft lbs torqued.

dead blow hammer to the front of the crank, then to the back to seat.
then proceeded to torque the mains.

End play the first go-around was in the "ok" range but tight.
so, I loosened again, and did the reset procedure with a little more grunt/anger.
Clearances came out happier with that last attempt.

I did have some difficulty getting force on the back of the crank via dead blow due to the engine stand.
used prybars to help do the "pre-seat" of the main and then a block to help me get more force on the flywheel side.
(Watched a bunch of youtube vids along with the fsm)

The mains i used also had some people noting they were on the tight side in reviews... so maybe i fkd it up.


Also, to be clear incase it was missed; this was a brand new 6.0 block.

Good chance that i had poor oiling due to clearances too tight.
second attempt i followed the bearing manufactures instructions to help open up some lube flow to the thrust side.


#2 thrust bearing
this one was the most sketchy
I had to do the bearing seat from pan side with the flywheel disconnected from the converter
there i did the front crank slap with the deadblow, then thrust side seat via prybar and deadblow to the crank weights.
Verified clearances via dial indicator.
Got a little more clearance that time around, likely due to the bearing grinding against the crank.

 

[08z71bgm]

I followed the textbook on setting it.
10 or 15ft lbs torqued.

dead blow hammer to the front of the crank, then to the back to seat.
then proceeded to torque the mains.

End play the first go-around was in the "ok" range but tight.
so, I loosened again, and did the reset procedure with a little more grunt/anger.
Clearances came out happier with that last attempt.

I did have some difficulty getting force on the back of the crank via dead blow due to the engine stand.
used prybars to help do the "pre-seat" of the main and then a block to help me get more force on the flywheel side.
(Watched a bunch of youtube vids along with the fsm)

The mains i used also had some people noting they were on the tight side in reviews... so maybe i fkd it up.


Also, to be clear incase it was missed; this was a brand new 6.0 block.

Good chance that i had poor oiling due to clearances too tight.
second attempt i followed the bearing manufactures instructions to help open up some lube flow to the thrust side.


#2 thrust bearing
this one was the most sketchy
I had to do the bearing seat from pan side with the flywheel disconnected from the converter
there i did the front crank slap with the deadblow, then thrust side seat via prybar and deadblow to the crank weights.
Verified clearances via dial indicator.
Got a little more clearance that time around, likely due to the bearing grinding against the crank.

Dude I didn’t hit mine with a deadblow at all.

Put it in. Torque all inside studs but the thrust. Leave thrust loose. Push the crank forward. Put dial indicator on it. Set it to zero. Push the crank back. Torque the thrust and push it forward again and make sure it returns to zero.

Finish torquing all the bolts of it returns to zero.

You can do this with a pry bar or screwdriver. No hammer at all.

Maybe you clamped it down and had it set back instead of forward. Idfk but no reason you should have thrust problems.

Did the torqe converter make its 3 clunks? Did you contact circle d about it? How was the gap between the converter and the flywheel during installation?

I strongly suggest not changing the thrust and keeping it moving because how many times will you do it before you decide to fix it the right way and find out what’s causing it?

 

[Just Fishing]

Dude I didn’t hit mine with a deadblow at all.

Put it in. Torque all inside studs but the thrust. Leave thrust loose. Push the crank forward. Put dial indicator on it. Set it to zero. Push the crank back. Torque the thrust and push it forward again and make sure it returns to zero.

Finish torquing all the bolts of it returns to zero.

You can do this with a pry bar or screwdriver. No hammer at all.

Maybe you clamped it down and had it set back instead of forward. Idfk but no reason you should have thrust problems.

Did the torqe converter make its 3 clunks? Did you contact circle d about it? How was the gap between the converter and the flywheel during installation?

I strongly suggest not changing the thrust and keeping it moving because how many times will you do it before you decide to fix it the right way and find out what’s causing it?

Right?!
that's what's driving me nuts.
I was so sure i had everything perfect.

And yeah, i totally made sure the converter was seated all the way in the pump.
I even confirmed converter setback depth before bolting it in.


Only thing i can think of is that the converter has an issue and is ballooning out.
Or it had some crud that got pushed into the cooler lines resulting in a plug/restriction.

My next step will be to contact circle D to see wth.
I still have the box it was shipped in (just incase).

I also have my trans cooler lines totally bypassed.
I'm going to install a transmission line pressure gauge for the next run, I have a TCI one left over from my C4 vette build.

But see why i'm reluctant to pull the engine?
I might have an issue with the transmission or the converter.

And in the back of my head, first run of the engine.
I did the ol Rev to 2k rpm for a min, but then i heard the trans pump running dry (doh!)
I let it go for about 5 sec and decided i better get more fluid in there.
Possible i trashed my trans pump and tossed that metal into the lines...

 

[08z71bgm]

You really should’ve just checked if the converter in the l96 was the same as the one with a 5.3. The converter used for the ls3 cam should’ve just been a stocker.

 

[08z71bgm]

Right?!
that's what's driving me nuts.
I was so sure i had everything perfect.

And yeah, i totally made sure the converter was seated all the way in the pump.
I even confirmed converter setback depth before bolting it in.


Only thing i can think of is that the converter has an issue and is ballooning out.
Or it had some crud that got pushed into the cooler lines resulting in a plug/restriction.

My next step will be to contact circle D to see wth.
I still have the box it was shipped in (just incase).

I also have my trans cooler lines totally bypassed.
I'm going to install a transmission line pressure gauge for the next run, I have a TCI one left over from my C4 vette build.

But see why i'm reluctant to pull the engine?
I might have an issue with the transmission or the converter.

And in the back of my head, first run of the engine.
I did the ol Rev to 2k rpm for a min, but then i heard the trans pump running dry (doh!)
I let it go for about 5 sec and decided i better get more fluid in there.
Possible i trashed my trans pump and tossed that metal into the lines...

Dude the 2k rpm is for flat tappet cams. Rollers don’t need it. I didn’t do any of that shit. Just got it to temp and started driving it with br30. 100-200 miles I swapped it out to mobil1. While it was getting to temp tho I topped off fluids and shit.

 

[pwtr02ss]

Dude the 2k rpm is for flat tappet cams. Rollers don’t need it. I didn’t do any of that shit. Just got it to temp and started driving it with br30. 100-200 miles I swapped it out to mobil1. While it was getting to temp tho I topped off fluids and shit.

I didn't do that either. Just started it and once everything got pumped up and it quit making noise, I topped fluids off and drove it. Came back and changed the oil.

On my camaro, that ***** was wfo as soon as as everything came up to temp. I mean, of course I let it run through the gears at a normal speed but once I saw that nothing fell off, it was on the floor. I turn it 7200 rpm. No fancy oil, just cheapest I could get at the parts store then switched to mobil 1 after the first trip up the road.

I hope you get it sorted out dude. This is frustrating and I'm not even the one doing it. It seems sometimes when we are the most careful, the most goes wrong

 

[Just Fishing]

With my vette build, i also paid attention to absolutely every detail
Even notices that the trans TV cable needed to be replaces, so i did.
turns out that replacement tv cable was garbage and resulted in me learning how to rebuild a transmission.

it's always something...

In the end, the vette turned out amazing.
I'm sure the hoe will be as well...

 

[pwtr02ss]

With my vette build, i also paid attention to absolutely every detail
Even notices that the trans TV cable needed to be replaces, so i did.
turns out that replacement tv cable was garbage and resulted in me learning how to rebuild a transmission.

it's always something...

In the end, the vette turned out amazing.
I'm sure the hoe will be as well...

I'm totally confident that you'll get it corrected and be enjoying for years to come

 

[08z71bgm]

With my vette build, i also paid attention to absolutely every detail
Even notices that the trans TV cable needed to be replaces, so i did.
turns out that replacement tv cable was garbage and resulted in me learning how to rebuild a transmission.

it's always something...

In the end, the vette turned out amazing.
I'm sure the hoe will be as well...

Did you get that b and m one that slides out the sleeve to extend it?

Those style tv cables are garbage and have slack inside and doesn’t give a good linear pressure. The throttle plates can move quite a bit before the cable actually increases pressure which is why it’s bad.

I have to replace my cable when I swap a sbc to ls with a 700r4 later in spring. I’m super excited about this. It’s an l92 with 799 heads and ls3 cam. Going to remain carbed.