Good Thread Tooky
Good Thread Tooky
Holy crap this thread brings up memories...... good ones, and bad ones.. Not much technical to contribute since it appears you have it well in hand now. Just a couple of things tho...(get ready for the trip down memory lane)..
First the good memories..
1. I remember talking to you Tooky when you were doing something with the turbo and couldnt get the studs off, I remember talking to you on IM or ICQ and telling you to use the double nut method to get the studs out, you ran out to the garage and tried it and then quickly removed all 4 studs. My how things have progressed since those days... Kudos to you...
2. I remember when I first started the conversion on my truck, you questioned why I was using terminology like LS1, LS6... Funny how you questioned me using RPO codes (even though at the time it was the common nomenclature for the parts in question).. Now I see you throwing the terminology around like I was back a few short years ago..
3. Working with Nolan (via internet) to try to get my Vortec Headed PT-52 turbo'd truck back to running TUNED condition.. Things were alot different in the tuning world then than they are now.. Finally going out and getting to make some WOT runs with the truck after all the hard work you are outlining here.. My motor wasnt 100% tuned when it expired but it felt like an entirely different truck with the heads and turbo install. Breaking all 4 tires loose on a roll out when the turbo came up was something I still remember vividly to this day..
Now the bad memories...
4. Eventual failure of the said mentioned motor, mainly because the previous life (before my ownership) I suspect the truck wasnt very well maintained. I purchased the truck at 104k and started this mod around 108k-109k.. Was driving to an OHIO meet when it decided it was time to puke the rod and main bearings on the lower end. Wasn't under WOT, just constant cruise speed, still had oil pressure and ZERO KNOCK the entire time Nolan was tuning it (used to have all the Datamaster runs to show every minute of the vortec conversions life). I realize your truck has been better cared for than I suspect mine was because you have owned it sometime, the problem is, I'd say its safe to assume, you have pushed the stock engine combo well past its expected lifespan with all the hard running you mention above.. If you DO have as many runs as you elude to, I'd guess you are on borrowed time, metal fatigues from usage, and I'd say you've gotten plenty of that..
I read every post by every member in this thread, I saw 2 mentionings about pulling the motor to inspect for bearing damage.. One by Dig and one by Tony. Both of these guys I highly respect and would trust their judgement. Alot of people here dont know the business end of a wrench, but these two guys everyone knows and respects, they have been around SyTy land a very long time. I guess I am going to add my name to that amazingly short list of people and urge you to pull the bottom end out and inspect things before its too late. I think you maybe surprised what you see.. You are quite honestly 85-90% there already... It would really REALLY suck to have to do all of this over again next spring when racing season is upon us wouldnt it ? If I remember correctly, you dont drive your truck in the winter months and it goes into storage, what better time to start planning/building a lower end than over the winter.. This would afford you a couple of options.. A) Piece of Mind knowing its good B) chance to install new motor mounts as well.
Here is my reasoning for this statement, I have been where you are, I know what it feels like, all the excitement and anticipation of trying out & tuning a new mod. I also know how it feels when the tired lower end craps out after only a couple thousand miles too...
Thing is, it really sucks if/when that lower end DOES go, as well as gets exponentially more expensive to rebuild after a failure than if you pull it now to do it while everything is still in its normally assembled fashion and connected to the parts GM originally intended.. Besides I think alot of people here would be game for a TookyCat play by play thread on engine building 101 ? (kidding, only kidding..) In addition to the monetary costs, there is a huge kick in the nuts in terms of motivation when you pour your heart into a mod like you have done here, only to have the joy of the rewards of it be short lived.. Make sense ??
A couple of things to consider, if your motor fails.. Most likely that new custom cam you have now.. will be a conversation piece and unusable.. If you do NOT have an inline oil filter to the turbo,
GET ONE.. I think Erue sells these for extremely reasonable, I
didnt have one at the time and my failure also cost me my brand spankin' new PT52 ($400+ rebuild from PTE). Because of the damage my engine saw, I basically needed a new crank (I tried 3x alleged 'good' 4.3L cranks and all 3 failed mag particle inspection when taken to the machine shop). My block was still usable, but some damage had been incurred to the main bearing caps, I was going 4 bolt conversion so it would have req'd a rebore anyhow, but it adds to the machine shop costs during rebuild.. Ultimately it was what started me down the road I am on now with my conversion.. Theres been alot of other 'life' events that have come up around the time my motor failed that contributed to the never ending delays that have stalemated my swap, but I gotta tell you, the motor failure was HUGE to my motivation level too after I did all the work you are outlining here..
Just 2 more things to ramble on as they were mentioned earlier..
1. Poly Mounts are great if you take care of them.. It was mentioned to rebuild/repair the heat shielding before reinstalling. I think this is critical.. My truck and Rolands truck were first the 2 SyTys to receive Jeffs frame pads, in a sense we were the guinea pigs.. Once production commenced my truck logged about 2000 miles on the poly mounts with not a single hint of distress.. I believe its because I took the time to repair the heat shields and get them ready to run again. I cant tell you how many trucks I saw over the years where people didnt put the heat shields back on because it was such a bitch.. If they DID they were usually damaged or really beat up.. Take care of them and they will take care of your poly mounts..
2. Consider using Cap Head screw/bolts for the intake manifold to head bolts. I think they are alot easier to deal with than the hex bolts that you showed (and come stock). Get the same thread pitch and length and you will be fine. If you get the socket drivers in 3/8" drive you will notice you will actually be able to torque the bolts down now too, its quite difficult with the stock hex style bolts. If you are concerned about hole showing (if you slotted yer intake) then get some washers..
Good luck man, and I certainly am NOT wishing anything on you, I hope if you chose to NOT pull the motor that you get many years of enjoyment out of it before it expires..
All the above of course was just my
Todd
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