Just Fishing's 09 Tahoe Build thread

[Just Fishing]

Also i found something interesting...

Think what you want, but i like K&N filters for the most part.
Sure i need to keep a can of MAF cleaner on hand, but overall i find they save me money.

On the tahoe, the one they list for it has very small pleats.
Not much capacity to hold crap...

then the other day summit racing listed a K&N sale.
Filtered by 09 tahoe, and they listed two.
One for the 6.2 and another for the 5.3 (the smaller one).

Looking on gm parts direct, I see they have the exact same airbox...
Yet the K&N filter measurements are slightly different.
Mostly the difference in the depth of the filter.

So me


I found that same sale on Amazon.com

So with prime, i figured wth!
No issues returning that sucker opened and mangled if need be.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000UUX2A?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details

PN: 33-2135
(sadly the sale is over)

It fit nicely.
Tightly, but nicely.

Lists for the 6.2 and 6.0
5.3 is a different filter in depth, yet uses the same air box??!

So weird.

 

[iamdub]

Did some research last night, and it looks like the preferred method for carbon removal is ATF + Acetone.
So, I picked up some last night, and mixed up some of that + as much ATF as I was willing to spare.

Probably near 50/50 mix

I left the pistons soaking last night, and one of them is nearly cleaned.
the other is slowly getting there.

So, I have the heat on in my ultrasonic @ 50c and running its vibrating magic.

I sure hope this works faster than 24hrs per.
I can do two pistons at once, no more than that.


I also noticed that the ATF and acetone didn't mix well, kept separating.
But ATF and mineral spirts mix fine...
I added a dash of Mineral spirits to see if it helps.
So far, I'm seeing less separation...

But I'll see how it looks after an hour or so.

I know 50/50 ATF and acetone make a really effective creeping lubricant. The problem is finding a suitable container if you wanna put it in a squirt bottle cuz most are plastic/contain plastic and acetone eats it. Also, as you've found, you have to remember to "shake well before use".

I've never known it to be a de-carbonizer. I'll have to remember that.

 

[Just Fishing]

I know 50/50 ATF and acetone make a really effective creeping lubricant. The problem is finding a suitable container if you wanna put it in a squirt bottle cuz most are plastic/contain plastic and acetone eats it. Also, as you've found, you have to remember to "shake well before use".

I've never known it to be a de-carbonizer. I'll have to remember that.

add a dash of mineral spirits and the mix looks much more consistent.
It's now like a thinned out ATF.
It didn't take much at all.

As it evaporates (high heat), the mix starts thickening.

Also kind of neat, when i have the mix at 50/50
the mix will go to a light boil with the temp set at 50c.

Once I'm done with this, I'm tossing that old colt revolver in the mix.
If this won't do it, then I'm done and letting a pro try his hand at removal of that screw.

And i have 3 out of 8 pistons cleaned up.
I found it helps to use these plastic razor blades i found on amazon.
Really they are for scraping gasket material or stickers off of soft surfaces.

First actually good use i have found for them so far.

 

[Just Fishing]

yesterday was a decent day, got up to about 50.
Perfect weather for washing a block!


I used that ball hone to get a nice crosshatching.
I found with my little 20v dewalt drill, I stuck it in low gear and it was just about the perfect speed.
High gear and i was fighting the speed.

My end result,




This looks much better than the OEM GM honing.
OEM was a bit finer, almost non existent down lower in the cylinder.
but I chose to just trust it.
Looked like it was deliberately done by GM.

And I have to say it worked just fine.
but this should seat a little better.

I also have new rings with this.
I didn't see any damage to the old rings, but since i know trash got into the cylinder I think it's best to just run with a new set.
they were only like $60 or $70.
Cheap for peace of mind....

Also, after honing, I noticed a little nick in my #7.

I can't catch a nail, and I couldn't tell it was there until I started cleaning up the cylinders.
I did my best to make it disappear, but I'm not going to worry about it.
It's down low, and not in the compression area.

I believe it will stay under the compression rings when at the bottom of the stroke, but it's something for me to verify as I assemble the engine.
I could probably hone it out fully, but I'm really trying to not remove too much material.

 

[Just Fishing]

Now to the main bearings.
Online I read that a good clearance is .0025

but the OEM spec is this.


This is what I ran into with the old crank.
Came out at about .0015

Confused me looking online because I swore my old setup came out at about the same spec as the new one.
Luckly I still have that paper with the clearances recorded (+ it should be in this thread somewhere).

I ended up doing some light sanding on the bearing caps, I didn't take much off.
but I got away from the .001-.0015 spec
now I'm .0015-.002, but still closer to the .0015 then .002

I am running a standard volume oil pump this time, and standard non race bearings.
And I did the mod to the thrust bearing to help oil flow to it.
So, it should be gtg.

I'll get some crank pictures before I complete the assembly.
I still have a long way to go.



Once I have the engine completely off of my bench, I'll start on the transmission pump.
Few things to explain there.

I found it confusing since I can't seem to just buy a complete pump assembly, unless that is i want to overpay by about $150.

I ended up buying an actual machinist straight edge since the clearances are pretty tight and I want to be exact.
I also plan on using plastigauge to confirm the clearances.

 

[Just Fishing]

Also, this is the hone I used.

Brush Research GB41824 Brush Research GB Flex-Hone Tools | Summit Racing

Free Shipping - Brush Research GB Flex-Hone Tools with qualifying orders of $109. Shop Cylinder Hone Tools at Summit Racing.

www.summitracing.com

I swore I ordered a 320 grit, but this worked quite well.

for hone oil, I used motor oil per the instructions.
They do sell hone oil, but I didn't need very much.

Calls for 10w30 as an alternative.
So, I started this with some VR1 that I had a 1/4 bottle of on hand.
Then I moved to a mix with 5w30.
the VR1 was almost too good of a hone oil...
I got better results when I mixed in the cheaper stuff.

I first hosed off the ball hone with break clean, then after it dried, I used a Ziploc bag to let it soak for a good 30min before use.
most of that time was prep and watching videos...

I took a 50-gallon garbage bag, cut it open to make a cheap tarp. then put the engine stand in the middle of that.

I found the Ziploc bag also worked great to lube up the hone between cylinders.
It served well as a rinse that way too.

 

[Just Fishing]

Cleaning everything up, and looking over my rods that the machine shop told me were fine...






yeah i'm not running these.
I also might have boogered up another when i was working under the tahoe and trying to figure this garbage out.

and then there is that thrust bearing failure, slamming the rods together...


I bit the bullet, and ordered a refurbished set off of ebay with new bushings installed.

 

[Just Fishing]

And a fine example of a crank surface that should be expected vs what i received from Gordan Johnson's machine shop.

New GM Crank

(Don't mind the fingerprints)

Machine shiops work,



In person, this is much more obvious.

ETA: I'll get a better picture of the machine shop work on my old crank.
This one was a zoom in of a prior picture I took last year.

 

[Just Fishing]

And here are the rods I ordered.

It looks like he lists a two week wait.

Reconditioned LS2 LS3 floating pin connecting rods 5.3 6.0 6.2 set of 8 rods | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Reconditioned LS2 LS3 floating pin connecting rods 5.3 6.0 6.2 set of 8 rods at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!

www.ebay.com

Image from the ad,




I was hoping to have the engine buttoned up and pushed out of the way to give me time for the transmission work.

But on the plus side, this should give me some time to get everything else cleaned up and ready for install.

 

[Just Fishing]

Welp since i'm going with a standard volume pump this time, i figured i better flow it a little.

There are some pictures via headflowinc on youtube, he goes really far with the metal removal!

I'm getting better at this each time... lol

I haven't decided if i want to take down that wall fully, but here is the before.



After,



In person it's much smoother looking, the light/camera brings out the scratches from the work.

I haven't decided if i'm going to run like this or do a little more blending/polishing.
Probably good enough, I'm always worried about slipping and hitting a friction or sealing surface
(note the little nick on the upper left)

For the inlet side, i went light, just did some minor smoothing of the radius.

Before,

After