My 2001 Tahoe LQ4 swap saga (lots of pics)

[yota]

First off, i want to give a HUGE thanks to Shawn and Colin for the help... without you guys, this swap would have never happened :bigthumb:

So, Saturday morning Shawn and I showed up at the shop to start on the engine swap. There was a crispness in the air, the weather was beautiful and we had a wide open shop with plenty of tools at our disposal, life was good and we started the tear down.

Excuse the pics as all i had was my ipod...

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0550.jpg

The top end came apart fairly easily. Decent amount of grime built up but it did have 198,500 miles on it and still ran awesome.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0559.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0559.jpg

Shawn trying to get the y-pipe off. Stupid rusty bolts!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0551.jpg

Well the bolts weren't budging on the collectors so we had to cut the y-pipe off. Who knew I had high flow cats this whole time?!?

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0556.jpg

A couple more bolts and some vertical persuasion from the forklift and it was out! Hellz yeah, hot damn!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0563.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0564.jpg

[yota]

The new engine sitting on the bench.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0539.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0540.jpg

At this point, the stock exhaust manifolds had been pulled off since I was installing long tubes with the new engine. Unfortunately, the rear manifold bolt broke on BOTH SIDES!!! Some very careful and tedious drilling, heating with a torch, and an easy out got them out though. Good job Shawn and Colin!!!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0537.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0546.jpg

Beefy flanges on the headers and so shiny!!!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0542.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0543.jpg

Matt stopped by to check things out. Notice who is actually working in this picture.....

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0565.jpg

Stock converter, 1800 stall? That has got TO GO!!!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0566.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0567.jpg

[yota]

Time to drop the new motor in. Smooth like butta!

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0569.jpg

Here we ran into a little issue. We got the engine mounts and bellhousing bolts in and snugged. Only thing left to do on the bottom side of the engine other than exhaust is to bolt up the converter and call it a night. SIMPLE, right? Ummm, no. We go to turn the flywheel and it won't budge. WTF? Lets pull the plugs and see what they look like. I think these pictures speak for themselves....

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0571.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0572.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0574.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0577.jpg

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0578.jpg

[BAD BOB]

looks like everything went smooth! a damn lift would of been very very very nice!

[yota]

At this point, we are both contemplating rolling the truck outside and setting it on fire. I call the guy I bought the motor from and explain what is going on and his response, verbatim, is "I don't know what to tell you bo, it was fine when I had it." WTF is that bullshit? Moody gets to thinking and we decide to drown the engine in PB Blaster and let it sit overnight. I didn't take any pictures yesterday but when we got back to work on it, the crank came free and rotated smoothly after a few stressfull minutes of turning it. So now the engine turns freely and we can bolt up the converter. Shawn crawls under the truck and does the honors whole me and my friend start assembling the top end. At this point, we are cruising right along, the headers go in and get bolted to the rest of the exhaust, the accessories go on and life is good once again! We decide to leave the plugs out and spin the engine over to pump out most of the PB Blaster. Great success and the engine sound nice and smooth turning over with the starter! YESSSS!

So, we get to work installing the plugs and wires, make one last check of everything and I climb in the truck to turn the key over. The solenoid on the starter clicks in and after about a second of cranking the engine ROARS to life! I quickly shut it off as a huge grin spreads across my face. My tahoe sounds like a BAD MUTHA right now! I'm on cloud 9 right now, MY 6.0 LIVES!!! So i spin it over again, watching the oil pressure gauge intently as the motor roars to life once again. Oh shit.... no oil pressure so I kill it again. We talk about it and decide that maybe it just hasn't had time to pump it through the engine so we try again. Still nothing.

So, that's where we are at now. "New" engine with no oil pressure. This was basically my last view as Shawn towed it to HHP this morning for them to diagnose the oiling issue. Hopefully it's a simple fix like throwing a new oil pump on there and she will be on the road again. Fingers crossed on that one...

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0580.jpg

[BAD BOB]

try a different sending unit?

[yota]

filter was bone dry and no oil visible in the valve train when looking through the oil fill hole, plus the sending unit came off of my running 5.3 and was a known good unit :( the pump simply isnt pumping...

[1998ta__1991rs]

with the motor being full of water like that, and no oil pressure, it sounds like you bought a core motor from someone. Did you buy it from a junkyard or individual?

[yota]

i bought it from an individual who got it from a wrecked truck at the junkyard... he pretty much told me to fuck off (in not so many words) and that the motor was "fine when he had it", implying that somehow the rust in the cylinders, etc was somehow my fault and happened in the 2 days i had the motor in my possession since driving to mooresville, nc and picking it up from him (at a cost of ~$150 and a whole day of driving on my part)... basically, it's mine now and on me to get it going as he has washed his hands of it when i drove off with it from his house... i just hope and pray that the guys at HHP have good news for me when they get into it and that it just needs an oil pump or something simple... i will be saving for a rebuild down the road if we can get it going... for now, lets just hope the oil starts flowing and nothing is majorly wrong to the point that i can't run it... i have to move to new york a week from this friday so, yeah....

[Sean]

Your problem is Matt touched the truck.

[chrisheltra]

Your problem is Matt touched the truck.

+1

[bwelch]

Pick up tube could be clogged or its the oil pump. The only problem with it not pumping oil is it could have a spun bearing. The 6.0 I had a bad oil pump and it spun a main because of the oil pump. I had to get a new block because it tore up the main so bad. If you need it rebuilt I would go with Honeycutt in Columbia. He has great prices and does good work.

[bwelch]

I had to pull the transmission out of my truck last week and I had to PB blast the bolts like ten times just to get them free. I almost cut the pipe so I would have an excuse to buy headers and a y-pipe.

[ShawnBoyMoody]

Thanks for the props Aaron. Sorry this shit happened to you bro. Guys, this man has the patience of a saint. After everything that happened he never once got mad or lost his temper. Im sure it will all work out for you in the end. Keep the Ranger as long as you need, and let me know if there is anything I can do.

[Blue Skunk]

i bought it from an individual who got it from a wrecked truck at the junkyard... he pretty much told me to fuck off (in not so many words) and that the motor was "fine when he had it", implying that somehow the rust in the cylinders, etc was somehow my fault and happened in the 2 days i had the motor in my possession since driving to mooresville, nc and picking it up from him (at a cost of ~$150 and a whole day of driving on my part)... basically, it's mine now and on me to get it going as he has washed his hands of it when i drove off with it from his house... i just hope and pray that the guys at HHP have good news for me when they get into it and that it just needs an oil pump or something simple... i will be saving for a rebuild down the road if we can get it going... for now, lets just hope the oil starts flowing and nothing is majorly wrong to the point that i can't run it... i have to move to new york a week from this friday so, yeah....

I would put that suckers address in my GPS and blaze a trail directly to him and open up a 6 pack of whoop ass on him over this.

760

Good luck with it.

[chrisheltra]

I would put that suckers address in my GPS and blaze a trail directly to him and open up a 6 pack of whoop ass on him over this.

760

Good luck with it.

Buyer beware.....

[Blue Skunk]

Buyer beware.....

Seller beware. Tell the truth or feel the wrath.

[ShawnBoyMoody]

Seller beware. Tell the truth or feel the wrath.

This. Tell the truth or get your skull cracked.

[Matts94Z28]

SMMS helping the community again!

Aaron, I hope you get it worked out and its nothing too crazy. Let me know if you need anything, I still have a few parts laying around.

[bwelch]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SLP-Heavy-Duty-Oil-Pump-LS1-LS2-LS6-GM-Cars-/110752699438?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19c960142e

Best deal on an oil pump I have found

[yota]

thanks guys, i appreciate all the kind words

skunk, at this point chris is basically right, as bad as i hate to say it and it really isnt worth my time or money to drive all the way back to mooresville to handle it face to face... i'm waiting on the word from jeff and the guys over at HHP as to what it's going to need... if we can't get oil pressure, the guy will definitely be getting another call from me and i wont be half as calm as i was saturday evening...

matt, i appreciate it man... like i said, i'm hoping they see that it just needs a new oil pump and that it's good to go... anything more than that is probably going to involve removing the engine and going into it to replace bearings and whatnot... y'all keep your fingers crossed for me! haha... of course, if i have to go into the motor, a stout iron block 408 sounds nice... then you can all get gapped by a 5000lbs suv :twisted:

and as soon as i can get the video of it cranking for the first time from my buddy brandon, i will post it here!

[yota]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SLP-Heavy-Duty-Oil-Pump-LS1-LS2-LS6-GM-Cars-/110752699438?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item19c960142e

Best deal on an oil pump I have found

thanks for the link... i need it faster than i can get one shipped though so whatever i can get local is going to have to do... this motor will get opened back up at some point in the future for a full rebuild so i just want to get it on the road and be reliable enough to get some miles out of it...

[bwelch]

I have an extra one for my truck setting here still in the box if you need it. You can just order me a another one off ebay. I dont think your going to find a aftermarket ls1 oil pump in town.

[yota]

cool deal... i'll let you know... thanks man

[yota]

here's the first turn of the key... you can really hear the valve train rattle lol... let's hope the next video i post sounds a little bit better

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gfPPDNSaYgQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[1998ta__1991rs]

that sounds a whole lot louder than just valvetrain (i know its open header)

[04ctd]

http://www.squidoo.com/prototypeschool

if you are going to Ballston Spa, take 77 up to 81 and skip the tolls.
my daughter lives up that way.
not sure if the guys at power school tell each other that route?

if you need to move, and don't have it done yet,
www.upack.com is ABF u-pack, and that the WAY to move. did it my last few moves.

[1998ta__1991rs]

http://www.squidoo.com/prototypeschool

if you are going to Ballston Spa, take 77 up to 81 and skip the tolls.
my daughter lives up that way.
not sure if the guys at power school tell each other that route?

if you need to move, and don't have it done yet,
www.upack.com is ABF u-pack, and that the WAY to move. did it my last few moves.

Huh?

[ShawnBoyMoody]

Huh?

Aaron his heading up to school in New York I'm guessing that's directions.

[04ctd]

Huh?

in case he was planning on carrying or towing stuff in the truck, he can still get his junk there, and be on time.

the Navy don't care that he broke his truck. he HAS to be there.

and that way is near mooresville :)

[yota]

Thanks but I have to go through Durham on the way to grab some furniture so I'll probably have to take the tolls... And you're right, navy doesn't give 2 shits about a bad motor, they need me there so I can sit around and do nothing for 3 more months... True story.....

[MonteC]

You HAVE to check that shit out before you lay down the cash, no matter how excited you get. I got dicked on a motor in north carolina also, only I wasnt able to check it out, sent my father in law (40 year mechanic). Said the guy was "cool", the motor turned out to be shit.

[k5hart]

Ya'll did some good work with the swap. Sucks to run into the problems you have. Probably made it not all seem worth it at the time. Hopefully it will be an easy fix and your on the road. Good luck.

[yota]

the waiting is the WORST!!!! hahaha... stopped by and talked to jamie and jeff a little bit ago... if you guys are reading this, get back to work! just kidding... they both took a few minutes out of their busy day to chat with me about how things work, my options, etc and it was greatly appreciated... hope to hear some good news by tomorrow morning as they are tearing it down to check things out today... fingers crossed!

[PapaBear]

Tearing what down? The motor, or are they just removing oil pump?'

Fingers crossed, GL

[yota]

oil pump and checking mains for damage... almost 100% positive it needs an oil pump unless something SUPER obvious is discovered when they drop the pan that we didnt see before... hoping for the best on the mains... if they look good, oil pump goes in, and if there's good oil pressure and things sound good, im gonna have them throw a tune on it and run the piss out of it

[minytrker]

I always pull the plugs on a motor before I buy one, they wont tell you everything but they do still tell alot.

[ShawnBoyMoody]

I always pull the plugs on a motor before I buy one, they wont tell you everything but they do still tell alot.

That would have told enough in this instance to dig a lil further and see the real deal. Lesson learned here.

[yota]

That would have told enough in this instance to dig a lil further and see the real deal. Lesson learned here.

this ^

[Rattletrap]

hoping my old motor is good.....fingers crossed as well....wont know for a few more weeks though....

[yota]

stopped by HHP around 3 and was told i will have an answer by the end of the day today... once again, the waiting is killing me... i'm this close >< to just going out and buying a new truck lol

[1998ta__1991rs]

stopped by HHP around 3 and was told i will have an answer by the end of the day today... once again, the waiting is killing me... i'm this close >< to just going out and buying a new truck lol

if you do, make sure its got a 6.0

[ShawnBoyMoody]

stopped by HHP around 3 and was told i will have an answer by the end of the day today... once again, the waiting is killing me... i'm this close >< to just going out and buying a new truck lol

Lol please don't trade in my ranger!

[yota]

Lol please don't trade in my ranger!

:hide:



















:hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:

[yota]

wrong o-ring on the oil pickup tube so it was sucking air.... looks like the oil we poured in it flushed out some more water from the engine and was mixed in the pan... aaaand it looks like someone threw a handful of top soil in the engine from all the oil deposits, etc that got knocked loose and down onto the windage tray, crank, and into the pan...

all that being said, and knowing it's nowhere close to ideal, HHP is going to clean it out as best they can, re-assemble it with the correct o-ring, check for oil pressure, and if that's good, perform a couple more oil changes to get as much crap out of the motor as possible... the way i look at it at this point is that it *could* be fine and run for a while or it could go tomorrow... might as well give the motor that is in there a chance and save my pennies for a 408 or similar down the road... the bright side is that i didnt really see any metal or babbit in the stuff that got knocked loose and none of it got sucked back up into the oiling system since there was no oil circulating... fingers crossed :)

huge thanks to Jamie and the guys for staying late tonight to get us to this point :bigthumb:

[ShawnBoyMoody]

I hope thats all it is. My thoughts are the o-ring we used came right out of a LS oil pump so why would it be too small? All the LS motors have the same size bore in the oil pump only the pickups are different hence the red o-rings for the pickups with the groove and the blue ones for the pickups without. It should have been the right o-ring? Anyway not doubting anybody but I just hope they don't button it all back up and still no oil pressure because the pump is bad. I guess we will see once it goes back together.

Edit: I have the utmost confidence in Jaime's abilitys and nunchuck skills.

[Carlrx7]

that o ring fucks so many people!

[ShawnBoyMoody]

that o ring fucks so many people!

X2. It really is a bad design. What is wrong with two bolts and a good old fashioned gasket?

[MonteC]

Next time your at HHP ask Mikey about his oil pump problems on his Duster. lol

[BAD BOB]

YOU COULD FORGET TO PUT THE GASKET IN! JUST GREASE IT UP AND SLIDE IT IN STRAIGHT!

[ShawnBoyMoody]

YOU COULD FORGET TO PUT THE GASKET IN! JUST GREASE IT UP AND SLIDE IT IN STRAIGHT!

Did that exactly. WHY YOU YELLIN THO? YOU MAD?

[ShawnBoyMoody]

Next time your at HHP ask Mikey about his oil pump problems on his Duster. lol

DOH!

[yota]

X2. It really is a bad design. What is wrong with two bolts and a good old fashioned gasket?

this.

Next time your at HHP ask Mikey about his oil pump problems on his Duster. lol

i heard the story... also heard the new motor run :rocker:

YOU COULD FORGET TO PUT THE GASKET IN! JUST GREASE IT UP AND SLIDE IT IN STRAIGHT!

maybe i took this the wrong way but i lol'ed :hysterical:

[BAD BOB]

not yelling just trying out the new typing setup!

oh and aaron i was ment to be serious and funny at the same time

[yota]

:bigthumb:

on a more serious note, y'all have definitely helped me keep my head up on this thing... i'll be glad when it's all over and i can get out and drive around town with it some this weekend... planning to bring it out to SSS saturday night if all goes as planned... might even be looking for a stock-ish tbss to help me test it out :poke:

[bwelch]

How about a stockish G8?

[PapaBear]

:bigthumb:

on a more serious note, y'all have definitely helped me keep my head up on this thing... i'll be glad when it's all over and i can get out and drive around town with it some this weekend... planning to bring it out to SSS saturday night if all goes as planned... might even be looking for a stock-ish tbss to help me test it out :poke:

I'm your huckleberry/.......

[yota]

just got the call... it lives!!! going to pick it up tomorrow!

[csikx]

just got the call... it lives!!! going to pick it up tomorrow!

:bigthumb::bigthumb::bigthumb:

[cmd]

just got the call... it lives!!! going to pick it up tomorrow!

Cool man... congrats!

[03SVTCOBRA]

stock red cobra out there also.

[yota]

stock red cobra out there also.

i saw an orange one when i was there last night... at least i think it was orange, i was a little pre-occupied lol... whoever's it was, it looked damn good and had some huge meats on the back!

[ShawnBoyMoody]

Awesome. Glad that fixed. Good job HHP!

[yota]

shawn, let me know how/when to get your truck back to you man... and thanks a TON for all the help and for letting me use it for the week! i owe ya man...

[03SVTCOBRA]

shawn, let me know how/when to get your truck back to you man... and thanks a TON for all the help and for letting me use it for the week! i owe ya man...


Get a room u 2....
http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j439/cobralover18/supriseballoon3hj.jpg






:joke: Glad you got it worked out

[ShawnBoyMoody]

shawn, let me know how/when to get your truck back to you man... and thanks a TON for all the help and for letting me use it for the week! i owe ya man...

Don't owe me a thing broham. Come by the shop on the way to get your Tahoe and ill give you a ride and bring the ranger back to the shop.

[yota]

roger that... lunch time tomorrow?

[SOADweskey]

Glad you got it working Aaron. I'm still a little stressed since my transmission has not arrived and the movers are coming for my stuff on the 17th.

[yota]

oh snap! that sucks! hope they get yours back to you in time...

thanks for all the kind words about the truck guys... hope to see some of yall out and about on saturday night

[ShawnBoyMoody]

roger that... lunch time tomorrow?

La Nortena on fridays lol. You can leave it at HHP and give the key to Jeff. I'll pick it up from there.

[MonteC]

Get that turd out of there so they can get back to my car.

[yota]

^ the monte carlo? i was eyeing it over there parked to the side... looks like it will be a fun ride!

[MonteC]

I hope so, It hasnt moved under its own power since 05.

[Matts94Z28]

I hope so, It hasnt moved under its own power since 05.

Can't pick up a turd from the clean end.

[MonteC]

Can't pick up a turd from the clean end.

Youve been trying for quite some time. How do your fingers smell?

[Matts94Z28]

Youve been trying for quite some time. How do your fingers smell?

Ouch.

[yota]

first drive...

http://youtu.be/uWluDe0hkcA

dont get too excited though... this doesn't sound good at all :(

http://youtu.be/VMuE0QPeYC8

[ShawnBoyMoody]

Ugh.

[Matts94Z28]

Nooooo

[yota]

:(

[ShawnBoyMoody]

:(

The other motor is yours if you need it.

[Carlrx7]

that oil pressure scares me. should be a solid 40psi at idle if healthy.

[BigdaddyDupree]

oil pressure was good in first vid. hmmmm

[1998ta__1991rs]

not near enough oil pressure, sounds like its knocking

[yota]

that oil pressure scares me. should be a solid 40psi at idle if healthy.

yeah... me too... looks like this motor will be coming out

oil pressure was good in first vid. hmmmm

yep... not so good on the second... ive literally put about 15 miles max on this motor... guessing more shit has come loose inside and is starting to clog the pickup... its hard to hear in the video but also sounds like some rod knock or similar going on in there, even at idle... definitely no good

[yota]

just sent this pm to the guy i bought the engine from... i honestly cant WAIT to get a response from him...


the motor is junk... it runs but after less than 15 miles is knocking... at one point, it was locked up- which you are already aware of due to me calling you when i found out about it, we sprayed 3 cans of pb blaster in it and let it sit overnight, got it turning, finished the install... had a slight setback due to an incorrect o-ring on the pickup, that was my fault, but we got that sorted out and got oil pressure... when we pulled the pan to look into the oiling issue, there was so much junk in there it looked like someone threw a handful of top soil in the engine, it was disgusting... we cleaned it all out, reassembled it, ran it for a couple minutes, changed the oil again, checked it and it looked pretty clean... drove it today for the first time and oil pressure seemed good at first... i drove no more than 15 miles on this engine and it is knocking and wont hold proper oil pressure already... here is a video of what i'm dealing with:

[youtube]VMuE0QPeYC8[youtube]

to say that i'm not happy with the engine would be an understatement... when you pull plugs that look like the pics below from a locked up motor, you know it isnt going to be good... in this case it just got worse as we progressed... i honestly feel like the motor is not what it was represented to be and i should get some money back... right now i'm out the $700 i paid you, the $150 i spent coming to get it, $100+ in fluids and filters, 3 days of my own personal labor/time, $375 in shop costs, and so far a whole week without my truck... i dont know, or really care honestly, if you knew the engine was bad when you had it, but the fact of the matter is, you sold me a junk motor... thoughts?

[img]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0571.jpg[img]

[img]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0572.jpg[img]

[img]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0574.jpg[img]

[img]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y230/jakedk5/IMG_0578.jpg[img]

[ShawnBoyMoody]

Perfectly reasonable PM I'd say.

[WTFWSAT]

How many miles did the engine have on it? I dont know much about ls stuff but that plug gap looks huge. That leads me to think the engine has well over 100k miles and was in need for a rebuild which is why it ended up in the junkyard.

Hope you dont take that the wrong way, not trying to be an a$$

[yota]

i was told less than 100k on the engine... lsx gap is around .050-.060 from what my research said and iirc we gapped my new plugs to .050... no offense taken, i already know i got screwed and pending his response, i will hopefully know how badly soon...

[Sean]

Well...you still remember where he lives?

[yota]

yep... sure do... have his address and everything...

[yota]

just got this reply from him... are you kidding me?

arron i hate you are going thru all this trouble and if i knew anything was wrong with the motor i would'nt have sold it to you...fact is i bought it from a person in which got it from a salvage yard(still has the salvage yard writing on the motor)so it had to be running when it was crashed like i told you when i met with you...i never took the plugs out or anything and it had all the accessories on it,so i could'nt look inside the motor itself...but i do understand how fustrated you are and i'm sorry you're having problems....but on a side note from listening to your video and paying close attention to some details in your pm i have established that your check engine light is on and your truck is ildeing to low which would count for low oil preasure(it looks like its idleing at 500 and surging if my eyes and ears are correct)which would cause the low oil preasure and cutting off especially when you turn into places at idle...and on another side note your exhaust is making alot of the noises i was listening to in the video(but i'm listening to the video and not standing beside your truck also)so you might want to have some one else listen to it because your truck will sound different to you since you never ran it with headers before...and i would be curious to know how long you ran it also without oil preasure since you installed the o-ring wrong also....but in my opinion you need to check what is making the truck idle low and then let someone listen to it that has a un-biased opinion on the nosies its making and go from there because you might or might not be jumping the gun alittle(like i said before things are going to act and sound different when its idleing low and has a brand new exhaust on it)...i'm not saying thats what the problem is but thats what i would do from watching and listening to the video...thanks billy

[ShawnBoyMoody]

shawnboys fault. shawnboy did it. kill shawnboy.

[03SVTCOBRA]

shawnboys fault. shawnboy did it. kill shawnboy.

Ive found this is the easiest/best solution to every situation.

[PapaBear]

Wow that sucks man. Sorry to hear it.

Well if you have to rebuild it, what you gonna do? Forged 408? Stock rebuild?

[MonteC]

Stick the 5.3 back in. Pay shawn boy some monies and keep the 6.0 for a rebuild later down the road. Or put the 5.3 back in and give the 6.0 to shawnboy plus a little scratch.

[03SVTCOBRA]

Stick the 5.3 back in. Pay shawn boy some monies and keep the 6.0 for a rebuild later down the road. Or put the 5.3 back in and give the 6.0 to shawnboy plus a little Rub and Tug.

Fixed

[ElecTech]

Stick the 5.3 back in. Pay shawn boy some monies and keep the 6.0 for a rebuild later down the road. Or put the 5.3 back in and give the 6.0 to shawnboy plus a little scratch.

Troof.

[yota]

i promised shawn a motor, i at least owe him that... even if it is a worthless 200k mile motor :hysterical:

jaime, i may be in touch with you guys again on monday for a speedy turn around motor swap... just a heads up... waiting on the bank to get back with me :) sending you a pm now...

[yota]

Wow that sucks man. Sorry to hear it.

Well if you have to rebuild it, what you gonna do? Forged 408? Stock rebuild?

i will eventually go to a 408 or similar... in all honesty, probably boosted too... that being said, uncle sam is going to have to sling a few more pay checks and bonuses my way first ;) give me a year and i will be gapping more than half of this board with a 4800+ pound pig :poke:

[chrisheltra]

I cand believe that Tahoe and tbss weight less than my truck. I'm baffled.

[yota]

lightnings are super slow pigs... you ain't know, homie? :poke:

[Sean]

I cand believe that Tahoe and tbss weight less than my truck. I'm baffled.

So that makes me the heavy weight?

[k5hart]

Your problems suck. I hate it when sellers try to blame everything on you and act like you don't know what your doing! I would write him back and say he's assuming an awful lot including the condition of the motor since he obviously didn't check anything before selling it as a good running motor. Good luck with it.

[ShawnBoyMoody]

As stated before, I will gift you the 5.3 because I think you are a good guy who got a shitty deal.

[PapaBear]

As stated before, I will gift you the 5.3 because I think you are a good guy who got a shitty deal.

:yourock:

Yota, good luck with all of this man. Just promise me a run before you go boosted.

[chrisheltra]

lightnings are super slow pigs... you ain't know, homie? :poke:

Oh I know..... I havent seen a fast one yet.

[yota]

dropped the truck off at crews today for a new 5.3... comes with a 3 year/100k mile warranty... not my first choice but ya gotta do what ya gotta do and this gets me into a brand new motor rather than one with 200k on it...

[bwelch]

Damn! How much did that cost?

[yota]

Damn! How much did that cost?

enough... :oops:

and for anyone else wondering, i am taking the 6.0 back to the guy i bought it from and getting my money back unless someone wants it for $700... honestly though, from the noises its making and what ive found in the oil, it would probably only be good for mock up purposes... sounds like metal on metal from somewhere deep inside the block, probably around the cam bearings and its anybody's guess as to whether or not it would be machinable... that, and the heads would need to be re-done...

[bwelch]

Damn I should have sold you my built for boost 370 so I could build a nitrous motor instead.

[yota]

we could have talked :) its done and over with now though... the new engine is paid for and will hopefully be on the road again by friday or worst case, monday... im just glad to know that it all got worked out in the end, i met some pretty damn cool people in the process, learned a lesson, and will now have a warranty, if only on the engine... i'll do something fun down the road, but for now i have to do this to fulfill my duties and get where i need to be...

on another note, at least i got my headers and stall in :)

[k5hart]

Man this went in a different direction! Glad your getting it worked out. Has the guy agreed to take the engine back or are going to persuade him a little in person?:fight:

[yota]

thanks... and yeah, the guy agreed to take the engine back

[yota]

so crews got the truck on tuesday and didnt even touch it to begin teardown until thursday afternoon when the new engine arrived... wtf were they thinking? i was more than clear that i needed my fucking truck TODAY... now they act like they are doing me a favor because the tech is coming in at 12:00 tomorrow on his off day to "try to finish wrapping it up"... bullshit... my last update was at 5:10 this afternoon and he had just gotten the new long block in the engine bay and hadnt even touched the accessories, intake, headers, or motor mounts yet before he decided he was done for the day and left... fucking ridiculous if you ask me... i know when i was a tech at the dealers, i never left my customers hanging like that...

and, on top of all this, they are trying to tack on a core charge after having already given me a quote for the whole job including parts and labor... something tells me there is going to be a slight issue whenever i go to pick this thing up...

[Carlrx7]

Is the core fee more than 700 bucks? If so just let them keep that shit brick.

I was at crews today warranty work on the tbss

New window regulator, new ac head unit and door hinge. In and out in an hour

They are alot better under the new owner

-Carl

[1998ta__1991rs]

so crews got the truck on tuesday and didnt even touch it to begin teardown until thursday afternoon when the new engine arrived... wtf were they thinking? i was more than clear that i needed my fucking truck TODAY... now they act like they are doing me a favor because the tech is coming in at 12:00 tomorrow on his off day to "try to finish wrapping it up"... bullshit... my last update was at 5:10 this afternoon and he had just gotten the new long block in the engine bay and hadnt even touched the accessories, intake, headers, or motor mounts yet before he decided he was done for the day and left... fucking ridiculous if you ask me... i know when i was a tech at the dealers, i never left my customers hanging like that...

and, on top of all this, they are trying to tack on a core charge after having already given me a quote for the whole job including parts and labor... something tells me there is going to be a slight issue whenever i go to pick this thing up...

i know we never start taking motors out untill the new one is in the bay, no one wants to tie up their rack when theres a possibility the new motor may be wrong. then you would be sitting around another day waiting on another motor and not making any money.

if its a new motor there shouldnt be a core, if its a reman there will be one

[LXtasy]

they didnt assemble the motor with accessories and intake and all on it before they dropped it in ? thats odd

[yota]

i know we never start taking motors out untill the new one is in the bay, no one wants to tie up their rack when theres a possibility the new motor may be wrong. then you would be sitting around another day waiting on another motor and not making any money.

if its a new motor there shouldnt be a core, if its a reman there will be one

thats understandable under most circumstances, and i know its the "status quo" if you will, but not when the customer needs it asap... at least not when ive done them before... if the motor isnt right, you roll that bish outside and pull in the next one

they didnt assemble the motor with accessories and intake and all on it before they dropped it in ? thats odd

nope... of course neither did we when we put the 6.0 in there... the top bellhousing bolt is almost impossible to get to on the suv's with the intake on though, and it's tight clearing the cowl with it on too... that being said, once the bellhousing bolts and torque converter were buttoned up, i dont remember it taking very long at all to slap the intake and accessories back on it either... it's really, really simple IMO and i had never touched an LS motor before the original swap

[PapaBear]

When they did my warranty engine, they took longer than I expected, but I was okay with it.

In your case, if a deadline was near, you would hope that the tech would stay and get it done, but really out of your control right? Best you can do is hope.

And I agree, their service is 1,237,954% better than Rick Hendrick, they will get my business again.

Have you guys heard if you buy a used car from them they will warranty engine/trans FOR LIFE!! Surely all service must be performed at their intervals, but not a bad deal.

[yota]

When they did my warranty engine, they took longer than I expected, but I was okay with it.

In your case, if a deadline was near, you would hope that the tech would stay and get it done, but really out of your control right? Best you can do is hope.

And I agree, their service is 1,237,954% better than Rick Hendrick, they will get my business again.

Have you guys heard if you buy a used car from them they will warranty engine/trans FOR LIFE!! Surely all service must be performed at their intervals, but not a bad deal.

probably the same guy doing my engine... david said he's the guy that does all their heavy jobs like that... but yeah, it is out of my control unfortunately or i would be writing this from somewhere other than my buddy's apartment in goose creek lol

[bwelch]

thats understandable under most circumstances, and i know its the "status quo" if you will, but not when the customer needs it asap... at least not when ive done them before... if the motor isnt right, you roll that bish outside and pull in the next one



nope... of course neither did we when we put the 6.0 in there... the top bellhousing bolt is almost impossible to get to on the suv's with the intake on though, and it's tight clearing the cowl with it on too... that being said, once the bellhousing bolts and torque converter were buttoned up, i dont remember it taking very long at all to slap the intake and accessories back on it either... it's really, really simple IMO and i had never touched an LS motor before the original swap

Dude you aint lying about the top bellhousing bolt. I had my knees on the radiator core and my head resting on the intake just to reach that motherf#cker. I broke both of my heater hoses off the heater core with my freakin elbow. I almost didn't put it back in.

[trickey]

they didnt assemble the motor with accessories and intake and all on it before they dropped it in ? thats odd

Working on the line, speed = $$$, in some cases I drop in the short block then build it. Dropping in a complete engine assembly can be a bitch with all the wireing, lines and lack of working space and most of the time you are doing the job without help. Always try to work smart, not hard.

[LXtasy]

I suppose. I guess to me its easier to drop it all in at once. But than again, I also like to have a transmission hooked up to the motor also when placed in

[schardbody]

i'm with you on this one i prefer to drop it all in at once, pre wired if possible aswell.

yota what converter did you go with, who'd you get it from and what was your opinion of it in the few miles you put on it.

[bwelch]

i'm with you on this one i prefer to drop it all in at once, pre wired if possible aswell.

yota what converter did you go with, who'd you get it from and what was your opinion of it in the few miles you put on it.

I just had Cameron build me one for my z71. He uses a 4.2 trailblazer core but he beefs it up some and puts a better lock up clutch in it. I have only had it in two days and I like it so far. It flares to 2500 behind a stock 300,000 mile 5.3. He only charged me $250 for it.

[yota]

i'm with you on this one i prefer to drop it all in at once, pre wired if possible aswell.

yota what converter did you go with, who'd you get it from and what was your opinion of it in the few miles you put on it.

it's a 2800 stall i picked up from a guy off of another board... came out of a camaro is about all i know about it really... i didnt see any markings on it and he said it was in the car when he bought it so isnt sure on brand... it's blue for what it's worth (i know most companies have their own color, just not sure who uses blue???)... what little bit ive driven on it wasnt really enough to form any kind of opinion since i was babying the 6.0... i did get on it once after i decided that the 6.0 was coming out and could definitely tell a difference, really seemed to wake up around 3000 rpms and the motor definitely spun up rather quickly... other than that, cruising rpms were a little bit higher than with the stock converter... i will get back to you with a better assessment once i get some miles on it and get to play a little bit though...

[schardbody]

I just had Cameron build me one for my z71. He uses a 4.2 trailblazer core but he beefs it up some and puts a better lock up clutch in it. I have only had it in two days and I like it so far. It flares to 2500 behind a stock 300,000 mile 5.3. He only charged me $250 for it.

what is this in? also who is cameron (camtech?)

i'm considering an lq4 swap in my 250k 00 silverado, the 4.8 purrs still but is no fun to drive. a little more stall speed would be a must if i decide to mess with it at all.

[LXtasy]

what is this in? also who is cameron (camtech?)

i'm considering an lq4 swap in my 250k 00 silverado, the 4.8 purrs still but is no fun to drive. a little more stall speed would be a must if i decide to mess with it at all.

No. Torque converter specialists in Columbia sc

[bwelch]

what is this in? also who is cameron (camtech?)

i'm considering an lq4 swap in my 250k 00 silverado, the 4.8 purrs still but is no fun to drive. a little more stall speed would be a must if i decide to mess with it at all.

A 00 gmc sierra extra cab z71 on 285's. The only thing done to the truck is a flowmaster with a turn down. This converter behind a 6.0 would flare to 2800. It took him about four days to build it for me. He is a very reputable converter builder in drag racing.

Torque Converter Services
5400 Fairfield Road, Columbia, SC 29203-3399
(803) 754-8139

[yota]

tech didn't show up to work on saturday like he was supposed to so no work got done... i just spent over 15 minutes on hold waiting to talk to my service advisor to get a progress report and he never answered his phone, called back and talked to mike, the service manager, and was told it should be done around lunch time... if this thing isnt done TODAY, i'm going to flip my shit lol...

[Matts94Z28]

Got a text from Aaron earlier this evening stating that he had a flashing check engine light after picking the truck up. After 150 or so miles into his trip, the new motor lost pressure and let go. Last I heard he was waiting on a tow truck.

[PapaBear]

Got a text from Aaron earlier this evening stating that he had a flashing check engine light after picking the truck up. After 150 or so miles into his trip, the new motor lost pressure and let go. Last I heard he was waiting on a tow truck.

You're kidding right?

[03SVTCOBRA]

worst luck ever. I feel for the guy after all hes been threw ide sell that truck just because of all the bad juju it has.

[MonteC]

Man, damn.

[PapaBear]

And I thought I had bad luck recently. This is just crazy.

[bwelch]

Got a text from Aaron earlier this evening stating that he had a flashing check engine light after picking the truck up. After 150 or so miles into his trip, the new motor lost pressure and let go. Last I heard he was waiting on a tow truck.

damn

[ForceFed4g63]

Wow poor guy... Time for a new ride for real. And that is precisely why I don't take my junk to dealerships.

[snakeplissken]

Got a text from Aaron earlier this evening stating that he had a flashing check engine light after picking the truck up. After 150 or so miles into his trip, the new motor lost pressure and let go. Last I heard he was waiting on a tow truck.

Feel free to give him my cell if he needs help.

Things happen, but they knew he was under the gun.

[MonteC]

Good thing it has the 3 year 100k nationwide warranty.

[04ctd]

yeah, i can borrow a trailer & go get him if he needs it.

got a little winch (same one Zach had) that should be able to get it on the trailer (got a pulley setup to cut weight in half)

[MonteC]

Not sure but I think the dealership will cover the tow.

[03SVTCOBRA]

Good thing it has the 3 year 100k nationwide warranty.

This is good, but i think i remember him saying he HAD to be there a certain time. Warranty wont help him out of that trouble unfortunatly.

[MonteC]

This is good, but i think i remember him saying he HAD to be there a certain time. Warranty wont help him out of that trouble unfortunatly.

No doubt. Gonna have to rent a car/find a beater.

Matt, tell him if he needs someone to pick up the truck and hold on to it for him, I can do it. Im also going to northern new jersey for xmas and could bring it up to him.

[csikx]

Tough break. Holla if you need anything, seriously.

[Matts94Z28]

I passed on the word from everyone. So far he's got it on a tow truck, I will update as soon as I hear more from him.

[ForceFed4g63]

If he needs a cheap beater quick I can get him the Jeep if he wants, I'm sure he'll look on here at some point.

[k5hart]

Wow. What bad luck! What's the odds of having two oiling problems on two different engines. That's my kind of luck.

[ElecTech]

What's the odds of having two oiling problems on two different engines.

That part is strange.

[clubracergt1]

Wow. What bad luck! What's the odds of having two oiling problems on two different engines. That's my kind of luck.

Wrong o-ring? :razz:

[LXtasy]

Does he need a vehicle to drive?

[gearmesh, inc.]

Was his truck originally equipped with a factory oil cooler via a heavy duty tow package? If so, there may have been some junk in it that got in the new engine.

[yota]

thanks for all the kind words guys... i made it to new york and just got internet back tonight... the truck is still sitting at jim hudson gmc in columbia and will be getting another new engine... i cant believe how this has all gone down :( right now im still not sure if i will even bring the truck to new york or just buy a beater to make it through up here... i really hate to put a rust free southern truck through all the damn salt etc but i still might... the drive up here in a uhaul was less than ideal but i made it with all of my stuff...

as for the new engine letting go, i was driving up 26 and the check engine light started flashing... a couple miles later, i was going up an incline and the trans shifted out of overdrive- understandable towing a 6x12 enclosed trailer up an incline- and when it shifted again the thing revved to ~5k and then shut off... coasted into the rest area 6 miles west of 77 and when i tried to restart the engine it was basically locked up... i let it sit for a few minutes and got it to crank but it was the same thing as the 6.0... 20lbs of oil pressure and knocking... by the time i got it off of the roll back, it wouldnt even turn over due to the amount of load required to turn it over, it just killed the lights and clicked... dealer confirmed the bearings went to shit and told me it would have to come out again... tried to stick me with labor claiming a parts-only warranty and i told them to go blow themselves and that they needed to fix it and no other answer would suffice... and the saga continues... one day, i'll drive it again! lol

[PapaBear]

Wow man that sucks! Parts only warranty what the fuck! Good luck with it all.

[yota]

Not sure but I think the dealership will cover the tow.

USAA roadside assistance :D

This is good, but i think i remember him saying he HAD to be there a certain time. Warranty wont help him out of that trouble unfortunatly.

this... although i did have them agreeing to cover a rental car to NY... but i couldnt leave my stuff behind and they wouldnt cover a uhaul so that got nixed...

Matt, tell him if he needs someone to pick up the truck and hold on to it for him, I can do it. Im also going to northern new jersey for xmas and could bring it up to him.

i may need someone to pick it up from columbia and hold onto it pending my availablility and the navy's willingness to let me make the trip again... plus spending another shit ton on gas and a long ass drive... i'll let you know though... thanks for the offer

Tough break. Holla if you need anything, seriously.

thanks man

Wow. What bad luck! What's the odds of having two oiling problems on two different engines. That's my kind of luck.

That part is strange.

very strange... chevy's explanation was "sometimes new things break too... sorry"... :bs:

Wrong o-ring? :razz:

doubt it since i had 60+ lbs before it went boom but that would be some shit lol

Was his truck originally equipped with a factory oil cooler via a heavy duty tow package? If so, there may have been some junk in it that got in the new engine.

no heavy duty tow package... just a dealer installed hitch...

[k5hart]

[QUOTE=yota;138887] very strange... chevy's explanation was "sometimes new things break too... sorry"... :bs: [QUOTE]

Seems to be the answer most of the world uses these days.

Hope it works out in the end for ya. Been an interesting read! :cheers

[BigdaddyDupree]

Wow man that's rough

[98nbmz]

My car at idle is like 25-30 psi. That sucks man!

[yota]

just got off the phone with my dealer in columbia... apparently crews chevrolet came up to columbia and picked up my truck from them yesterday to do the warranty work there in charleston... this is all well and fine, however, i'm just a little bit concerned with the fact that NOBODY called me and told me my truck was being moved halfway across the state, nor have i received an update from ANYBODY since the last time i talked to either dealership last wednesday... my phone is ALWAYS on, even if i cant answer it or dont have it on my person due to working on a nuclear site... to not even get a phone call to say "hey, we got a new engine that is going in and we are moving your stuff back to charleston to fix it" doesnt sit too well with me, but maybe i'm over-reacting a bit... anyway, that's the deal right now...

[PapaBear]

Damn man. Well at least it's closer to Charleston so if someone needs to pick it up and hold onto it for you......

Good luck man.

[1998ta__1991rs]

warrenty work is warrenty work, doesnt matter which dealership does it, sounds like they found somthing that could have been the tech's fault

[yota]

i dont mind them doing the work, just the lack of communication in what is actually going on with it... i would think that moving my truck from columbia to charleston would be worthy of at least a phone call letting me know...

[PapaBear]

warrenty work is warrenty work, doesnt matter which dealership does it, sounds like they found somthing that could have been the tech's fault

Didn't think of that. That would suck for sure.

Which service writer at Crews are you dealing with?

[yota]

original deal was through david... last people i talked to were the service director (forgot his name but was necessary to get folks working in the right direction) and mark, the service manager...

[yota]

i guess for now the saga is mostly over with... just got back home up here in new york from a long couple days of traveling and stuffing my face with turkey... thanks to all who have helped, or offered help, throughout this whole ordeal and especially to rob and his brother for hooking me up and making it super easy to get on the road back home- y'all rock, period... now, to get my hearing back after cruising ~1000 miles at 2500+ rpms with my new exhaust additions lol

[MonteC]

awesome. Glad we could help.

[yota]

if it's not one thing it's another... now i am getting another misfire- to the point that the CEL is blinking while driving and it's running like shit again... at least there's no strange noises and oil pressure is good! hoping it's something simple like wires or a single coil... oh well, i guess it'll be going back into the shop tomorrow to get fixed, again... this just sucks because of christmas and all the money i've already spent on this thing lately and this repair bill will have to come out of money i was saving for a tune :(

[Matts94Z28]

I'm expecting a fs thread soon.

Hope you get it fixed!

[ShawnBoyMoody]

Should it not be under warranty?

[yota]

Should it not be under warranty?

depends on what the issue is... not sure if i can get parts that had nothing to do with the long block warrantied... i will see after they figure out what's wrong with it though

[yota]

just dropped it off at a local guy up here about 10 minutes from my house in NY... he is diagnosing the misfire for me and as long as it's not mechanical in nature and tied to the engine itself, he will be fixing it as well as doing a full dyno tune for the converter, headers, etc... at this point, i really think that i just have a coil that has gone bad (at 200k miles- not surprising...) hopefully i can kill all the gremlins with one stone this time and be done with it... i should have the diagnosis this week and tuning will take place next week... after that, we'll see what happens... he has a beautiful black silvy ss with a mildly built lq9 and a centrifugal blower with only about 55k on it sitting in his garage for sale... iirc he said it made about 450 at the wheels at 5psi (detuned from 12psi for "economy" and to be a driver) it's the truck i want and the price is awesome, i'm just not sure if i'm ready to make the leap or if i want to continue punishing myself with this tahoe...

[1998ta__1991rs]

buy the truck

[Matts94Z28]

Buy it!

[yota]

buy the truck

Buy it!

give me $10k for the tahoe and i will buy it tomorrow :lol: he's only asking $17k for it as it sits and kbb puts that truck at close to $25k private party value... it doesnt sound like the truck is really being marketed/advertised at the moment, it's just sitting in his garage... maybe if it's still around by late spring

[Sean]

Your Tahoe sounds like a certain red Camaro that I know of.

[Matts94Z28]

Your Tahoe sounds like a certain red Camaro that I know of.

Exactly why I sold it!

[Sean]

Exactly why I sold it!

Damn debil!

[yota]

2 of the plug wires were melted through... dumbass at crews chevy routed the wires wrong around the headers, exposing the wire to the primaries and rendering my kevlar sleeves useless... i never even thought to check it... it is fixed and tuned now finally and i should be picking it up either wednesday or thursday... tuner says it runs/drives 100% better than it did when i dropped it off to him- we'll see... i'm excited though

i also found out that the converter i have is a non-lockup converter... i'm not entirely sure what that means but i was told that you cant get accurate dyno numbers without being able to lock the converter... i'll run it for now, but i see a new converter going in at some point... still, i got the converter for $150 so i can't complain too much...

[MonteC]

2 of the plug wires were melted through... dumbass at crews chevy routed the wires wrong around the headers, exposing the wire to the primaries and rendering my kevlar sleeves useless... i never even thought to check it... it is fixed and tuned now finally and i should be picking it up either wednesday or thursday... tuner says it runs/drives 100% better than it did when i dropped it off to him- we'll see... i'm excited though

i also found out that the converter i have is a non-lockup converter... i'm not entirely sure what that means but i was told that you cant get accurate dyno numbers without being able to lock the converter... i'll run it for now, but i see a new converter going in at some point... still, i got the converter for $150 so i can't complain too much...

Ugh that sucks. Terrible gas mileage and the transmission is going to run hotter. You can have that converter reworked with a clutch.

[yota]

i got 15 mpg on the way up from charleston, untuned so i'm not too worried about that, and i'm betting that it will be a little bit better after the tune... i will probably add a trans cooler soon though for peace of mind until i decide if i want to swap the converter or have it re-worked with a lock up clutch... another option would be the 4.2 trailblazer converter... i dont want to go all out on a custom converter just yet until i start planning the big stuff next year ;) we'll see, but for now, i just want to drive my truck for more than a week and enjoy it :)

[Matts94Z28]

Have a cooler put on it tomorrow. Seriously.

[yota]

it will be after new years before i can (financially) as the repairs and tune just took all my truck money for the month and then some... luckily, i carpool to work and can keep it mostly parked until then...

[Harry]

it will be after new years before i can (financially) as the repairs and tune just took all my truck money for the month and then some... luckily, i carpool to work and can keep it mostly parked until then...

Man, You have had some kinda luck with that vehicle. Persistence pays off though. :bigthumb:

[yota]

well, i'm losing 1st and 4th gear now when the trans gets up to operating temperature and my CEL is back on... i'm taking it back in to the shop this week to see what's up with it but based on the codes stored last time it was there, and how the trans is acting, i think i have some shift solenoids going bad... gonna try to get it patched back together for now and save up for a new trans and converter... i'm thinking about either an RPM or performabuilt... thoughts on either? i wish i was still down there because i know who would be building it- unless i could get one done there and shipped to me... anyway, here's the links to the 2 im looking at... gearmesh?

http://www.performabuilt.com/level-2.html

http://rpmtransmissions.com/levelvauto.html

[Carlrx7]

well, i'm losing 1st and 4th gear now when the trans gets up to operating temperature and my CEL is back on... i'm taking it back in to the shop this week to see what's up with it but based on the codes stored last time it was there, and how the trans is acting, i think i have some shift solenoids going bad... gonna try to get it patched back together for now and save up for a new trans and converter... i'm thinking about either an RPM or performabuilt... thoughts on either? i wish i was still down there because i know who would be building it- unless i could get one done there and shipped to me... anyway, here's the links to the 2 im looking at... gearmesh?

http://www.performabuilt.com/level-2.html

http://rpmtransmissions.com/levelvauto.html

if you already have the trans, just have gearmesh or montec build it for you.

[gearmesh, inc.]

well, i'm losing 1st and 4th gear now when the trans gets up to operating temperature and my CEL is back on... i'm taking it back in to the shop this week to see what's up with it but based on the codes stored last time it was there, and how the trans is acting, i think i have some shift solenoids going bad... gonna try to get it patched back together for now and save up for a new trans and converter... i'm thinking about either an RPM or performabuilt... thoughts on either? i wish i was still down there because i know who would be building it- unless i could get one done there and shipped to me... anyway, here's the links to the 2 im looking at... gearmesh?

http://www.performabuilt.com/level-2.html

http://rpmtransmissions.com/levelvauto.html


According to the solenoid truth tables for the 4L60 series transmissions, a failure of shift solenoid A can cause no 1st and 4th. Being as these shift solenoids are failure prone with high mileage, just go ahead and replace both of them while the pan is down. They usually run for about $25 each or a little less.

As far as the two trans companies you mentioned, either one will survive behind a mildly modded truck. One thing that does suck on these trucks is the factory trans tune for line pressure. The factory tune will give you max line pressure at WOT all the way through 1st, but after it lays into 2nd, the factory tune will cut line pressure back 30-40% even with you still holding WOT all the way into the shift for 3rd. This does not bode well for long term durability for the 3-4 clutches in any 4L60E no matter how well it is built.

I don't care for the prices of trannies from those companies that much, but when you are miles away from the usual people you have faith in, you don't have much choice.

[minytrker]

I wouldnt run a performabuilt 4l60 if you paid me. I have seen first hand atleast 10+ of there 4l60's NOT work and only 2 that did work.

[gearmesh, inc.]

I wouldnt run a performabuilt 4l60 if you paid me. I have seen first hand atleast 10+ of there 4l60's NOT work and only 2 that did work.

I couldn't remember all the mail order brands you tried so far with less than stellar success. I just went to those two websites Yota mentioned and looked their advertised build sheets over for component content. Whether that's what they actually have in them or not, or whether it is just inattention to detail that cause early failures, is anyone's guess.

I think a lot of internet transmission companies start off with the original company founders doing the building that actually have the knowledge to build a trans right. When they hit the big time, they get get bogged down with the administrative side of the business and resort to hiring flunkies that get paid by the hour instead of by the job and that's when quality control hits the crapper. Of course, the higher prices that you see have the cost of rework already factored in to where the company isn't really losing money when a trans comes back with a problem.

For the customer, long distance mail order warranties and the shipping costs required suck, versus being able to beat on the local builder's door in person if your recently built trans has an issue.

[minytrker]

RPM probably builds the best trans out there out of the company's who do alot of internet sales. They have some very fast cars out there with RPM trans in them. We had a RPM 4l60 that worked pretty good but Gerald went threw it and made it better without a doubt. I would still trust buying a trans from RPM if getting one from Gerald is not an option, he would be my first choice.

[Silver-Dollar]

I ran a performabuilt for 3 years behind a 3200 stall, daily driven 7 days a week. never had a problem. I may have went with Gerald to build mine if it was not a daily driver. I needed quick turn around and not wait for it to be on the table so to say.

[minytrker]

I ran a performabuilt for 3 years behind a 3200 stall, daily driven 7 days a week. never had a problem. I may have went with Gerald to build mine if it was not a daily driver. I needed quick turn around and not wait for it to be on the table so to say.

Yours is 1 of the 2 I listed as working, both were just daily drivers. I have not seen one work that was in something that was raced or had a power adder.

[Illusions]

my griffin transmission 4L60e is holding up just fine in the turtle blaze

[MonteC]

my griffin transmission 4L60e is holding up just fine in the turtle blaze

Well when you only put down 250hp you dont need much transmission.

[Matts94Z28]

Well when you only put down 250hp you dont need much transmission.

:poke:

[MonteC]

:poke:



Same goes for you Mr. 200rwhp.

[Silver-Dollar]

I never raced mine per se. I did hammer it a good bit though. A lot of guys on performancetrucks.net ran them with adders of each kind. Go with what you feel comfortable with.

Rob and Gerald always get honest reviews. I rather keep the money local. But, I needed the truck to down a minimal time (less than 4 hours from drop off).

[yota]

if you already have the trans, just have gearmesh or montec build it for you.

i have the trans that is in the truck, but i am 1000 miles away from charleston :(

According to the solenoid truth tables for the 4L60 series transmissions, a failure of shift solenoid A can cause no 1st and 4th. Being as these shift solenoids are failure prone with high mileage, just go ahead and replace both of them while the pan is down. They usually run for about $25 each or a little less.

As far as the two trans companies you mentioned, either one will survive behind a mildly modded truck. One thing that does suck on these trucks is the factory trans tune for line pressure. The factory tune will give you max line pressure at WOT all the way through 1st, but after it lays into 2nd, the factory tune will cut line pressure back 30-40% even with you still holding WOT all the way into the shift for 3rd. This does not bode well for long term durability for the 3-4 clutches in any 4L60E no matter how well it is built.

I don't care for the prices of trannies from those companies that much, but when you are miles away from the usual people you have faith in, you don't have much choice.

i dont care for their prices either but... also, my truck has been tuned, and will be tuned again for the new trans so that should take care of those issues... i'm thinking shift solenoid failure as well, but we'll see when the codes are pulled

I wouldnt run a performabuilt 4l60 if you paid me. I have seen first hand atleast 10+ of there 4l60's NOT work and only 2 that did work.

interesting... they are the #1 recommended trans from the folks i have been talking to up here, based on their first hand experience... not saying you are wrong, you just bring the other side to the table... thanks for the info

I couldn't remember all the mail order brands you tried so far with less than stellar success. I just went to those two websites Yota mentioned and looked their advertised build sheets over for component content. Whether that's what they actually have in them or not, or whether it is just inattention to detail that cause early failures, is anyone's guess.

I think a lot of internet transmission companies start off with the original company founders doing the building that actually have the knowledge to build a trans right. When they hit the big time, they get get bogged down with the administrative side of the business and resort to hiring flunkies that get paid by the hour instead of by the job and that's when quality control hits the crapper. Of course, the higher prices that you see have the cost of rework already factored in to where the company isn't really losing money when a trans comes back with a problem.

For the customer, long distance mail order warranties and the shipping costs required suck, versus being able to beat on the local builder's door in person if your recently built trans has an issue.

this makes sense...

RPM probably builds the best trans out there out of the company's who do alot of internet sales. They have some very fast cars out there with RPM trans in them. We had a RPM 4l60 that worked pretty good but Gerald went threw it and made it better without a doubt. I would still trust buying a trans from RPM if getting one from Gerald is not an option, he would be my first choice.

i have read this many times over, all over the net (about RPM trannies)...

I never raced mine per se. I did hammer it a good bit though. A lot of guys on performancetrucks.net ran them with adders of each kind. Go with what you feel comfortable with.

Rob and Gerald always get honest reviews. I rather keep the money local. But, I needed the truck to down a minimal time (less than 4 hours from drop off).

i dont care about downtime at this point, i just want to do it and do it right... ive been without my truck since this thread was started and i want it back on the road... weighing my options at this point, but thanks for the input

[LXtasy]

Wasn't robs "built 4l80e" a permabuilt that grenaded?

[yota]

should be getting the truck back in the next week or so... i ended up just ordering a circle d 2600 stall converter for the truck and am waiting on it to get here and get installed along with a new pump seal, new set of shift solenoids, a new filter, and will be flushing and filling it with bg synthetic... after talking it over with my guy up here and everything, i think this will take care of the issues... once that is in and sorted out, i'm probably going to swap the cam out and be done with it for a while

speaking of cams... there is a guy up here selling a TSP 224R 224/224 .581"/.581" 112LSA Cam along with a set of comp 918 beehive springs and TSP 7.400" hardened pushrods all for $250 that i'm thinking about grabbing... thoughts?

[Silver-Dollar]

Good price for cam package. IMO, it may be a bit much for a Tahoe and 2600 stall, unless you are running 4.10 or 4.56 gears. I had that setup in my truck (4300lbs) with a 3200 stall and 4.10 gears.

[yota]

i think mine has 3.73's in it but i'm not 100% sure... what about it would be "too much" for the 'hoe? seems like a fairly "mild" (by today's standards) cam for the LSX engines

[Silver-Dollar]

You may find it sluggish down low, below 4k rpms. But, from 4k to 6k it will rip pretty good. You will not be going over 6300 rpm. The cam drops off about 6k. I probably wouldnt go much larger than the 224r, unless you just wanted the chop.

The weight of you ride will change the stall some.

Have you changed injectors yet? With that cam and stock injectors I was hittin 105% duty cycle 5500 rpms.

[yota]

definitely food for thought... what cam would you suggest? i like the choppy idle, and definitely want the extra power from a cam swap- regardless of what it sounds like

the stall is being built for my truck, rather than an off the shelf unit, hence it is taking ~2 weeks from time of order to delivery... a little higher than 2600 is fine though, as long as it it better than the converter that is in there now which stalls to ~3800+/- and has no lockup function... i just need the overall driveability and reliability back...

i dont mind buying injectors if i have to for it to be "right"... at the price point for the cam/springs/pushrods the guy is selling, i can afford to upgrade injectors too if i need to, but if i dont HAVE to, i won't...

all of this being said, the truck is still a daily driver in theory and not a race truck so it wont really be beat on, but more-so something that sounds/looks good and puts down decent power and is fun to drive...

[1998ta__1991rs]

the 224r would work well in your truck

[yota]

the 224r would work well in your truck

that's what i was thinking... thanks

[cmd]

should be getting the truck back in the next week or so... i ended up just ordering a circle d 2600 stall converter for the truck and am waiting on it to get here and get installed along with a new pump seal, new set of shift solenoids, a new filter, and will be flushing and filling it with bg synthetic... after talking it over with my guy up here and everything, i think this will take care of the issues... once that is in and sorted out, i'm probably going to swap the cam out and be done with it for a while

speaking of cams... there is a guy up here selling a TSP 224R 224/224 .581"/.581" 112LSA Cam along with a set of comp 918 beehive springs and TSP 7.400" hardened pushrods all for $250 that i'm thinking about grabbing... thoughts?

My tbss has a 2800 stall with the 224r cam... still drives good and sounds pretty agressive

[yota]

i remember hearing it at the shop that day when you came by to check out the tahoe.... definitely a good sounding cam and seems to make good power... hopefully, the guy gets back to me soon

[yota]

finally got the truck fixed and home!!! new, custom 2600 stall circle d stage 2 converter with upgraded clutches, new pump seal, new shift solenoids, and a fresh AC Delco filter and bg synthetic fluid installed along with some computer adjustments on the shift points/line pressures... damn it feels good to drive it again!!!

[yota]

Driving to NC from NY and made it to Jersey. Seems like the fuel pump died on me. This bitch is about to become someone else's problem... Currently waiting outside of a chevy dealer in NJ for them to open.

[PapaBear]

Damn man, that sucks. Good luck

[csikx]

Driving to NC from NY and made it to Jersey. Seems like the fuel pump died on me. This bitch is about to become someone else's problem... Currently waiting outside of a chevy dealer in NJ for them to open.

Good luck man... I hope it is something simple.

[Bradleyrj]

That sucks. If its like the fuel pump in my brothers suburban that fuel pump isnt cheap.

[yota]

Thanks guys.

So, the dealer they towed me to is bankrupt and can't fix my truck since they can't get parts. Waiting on another truck to take me to another dealer. With my enlistment bonus hitting my account last night and all the problems I've had with this thing I might just trade it in. I'll be damned if I'm spending much more on this a truck that treats me this bad...

[oldskoolstang]

FYI, they only sell the fuel pump as the whole assembly and they are around $300-400 depending where you get it from. I've changed several and I just take the assembly apart and install a new $50 pump for a Mustang and problem solved for cheap......however I am sure that is not an option for you on the road. Sorry to hear your having another problem with the Tahoe, that truck has been a PITA to you......

[ForceFed4g63]

Trade that bish in for a Vette at the dealership :D

[BigdaddyDupree]

Try more like 500. man i could get you a deal if you were in sc. best of luck. how far is jersey from charleston

[ShawnBoyMoody]

FYL. Get a tow to yankeeland ford and pick out a 2013 mustang gt.

[ForceFed4g63]

Try more like 500. man i could get you a deal if you were in sc. best of luck. how far is jersey from charleston

I tried to google a funny gif to answer this. This is one of the ones that popped up for some reason or another. I think it's better than what I would have posted anyways:



http://chzgifs.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/funny-gifs-rub-the-lotion-on.gif

[BigdaddyDupree]

id hit it, whos bringing me a frosty saturday night?

[1998ta__1991rs]

id hit it, whos bringing me a frosty saturday night?

I will if ou actually show up 2 weeks in a row

[ForceFed4g63]

I'll bring you some chicken nuggets if you actually show up.

[BigdaddyDupree]

dang guys you act like you actually like me

[LXtasy]

A full bear is a happy bear

[ShawnBoyMoody]

dang guys you act like you actually like me

Bring the truck and I'll bring ya a frosty. Again.

[yota]

$509 for the pump, $90 for a new filter, 4 hours labor for the install... while it's there, i'm having them install the new timken front wheel bearings, brakemotive rotors, and delco pads that were riding in the back for me to do at the shop at home, so that's another 4 hours labor... fml, this trip got expensive... the dealership is being pretty awesome about it all though and gave me every discount they could cram into the computer... still almost a $1500 job out the door (cant remember if that's before or after discounts... ive been awak for over 24 hours and dealing with this since 0200 this morning...)

also, while i was trying to decide what to do, i went shopping in their showroom... had the deal made on an 09 G8 GT with 46k on it until they came back with what they would give me for the 'hoe on trade... i promptly told them to eat a dick and that i would set the bitch on fire in their parking lot and let it burn before i accepted their offer... their "top dollar" was $1500- ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!? i told them what i would take for it on trade, and made it clear i was also planning to put 50% cash down on the price of the car if they would pay me what i wanted for it and they basically told me to go fuck myself...

[Matts94Z28]

Wow!!

[ForceFed4g63]

$1500...? With a brand new motor and a bunch of freshening up? They are smoking crack!!!

[ShawnBoyMoody]

Go see the ford dealer.

[LXtasy]

OMG I can not believe that the dealership is charging $1500 for all that. Should call other shops and shop around. Jiffy lube can probably do it for $150 labor.




*disclaimer* was a joke was not serious

[yota]

i have half a mind to call the GM and see what he thinks about losing a definite vehicle sale for a ~$1500 service ticket

[ForceFed4g63]

i have half a mind to call the GM and see what he thinks about losing a definite vehicle sale for a ~$1500 service ticket

You should absolutely do that. No joke.

[ShawnBoyMoody]

What did you want out of the Tahoe? The fact that it has a new engine tires brakes aint gonna affect the trade in value whatsoever. It sucks but its true.

[ShawnBoyMoody]

Not saying it isnt worth alot more than that Im just saying. My inlaws have alteady said they are just gonna gift us their Tahoe when they buy a new one cause my father inlaw threatened to throw a chair through hendricks front window because of the lowball trade in they offered.

[yota]

i told them if they would give me $4k on trade-in i would buy the car... kbb in POOR condition is higher than that

[ForceFed4g63]

Unfortunately they don't go off of KBB.

[LXtasy]

lately dealerships are basing trade ins off of what they can sell it at wholesale auction for. Especially on a vehicle over 10 years old

[yota]

Unfortunately they don't go off of KBB.

i know... however, im pretty sure there is more than enough markup in the G8 to cover it and still make a profit... whatever... after today, i might as well keep it another year or so and get my money's worth out of it... i'm still going to buy another car, but this would've allowed me to kill 2 birds with one stone and get something nicer than what i was looking at... all black G8 GT's with chrome wheels, black interior, and tint are fucking sexy

[BigdaddyDupree]

recently we traded in two of my buddys trucks, reg cab z71's 200k miles, they gave 7k for the one i know about. new truck was 28k, they gave him 7k and he financed 21k at his bank

[ShawnBoyMoody]

I think your 4k request is spot on. Tell em to pound sand.

[ForceFed4g63]

I think your 4k request is spot on. Tell em to pound sand.

x2, I'm pretty shocked they turned you down, especially with that much cash on your end.

[yota]

recently we traded in two of my buddys trucks, reg cab z71's 200k miles, they gave 7k for the one i know about. new truck was 28k, they gave him 7k and he financed 21k at his bank

where? im going to be in NC for 2 weeks, i'll make a road trip to SC for the right deal... and i have cash... the G8 was going to run me $23.8

[BigdaddyDupree]

well what exactly are you looking for? im sure we can get something right for you. is a black g8 what you want?

[yota]

well what exactly are you looking for? im sure we can get something right for you. is a black g8 what you want?

black or white G8 GT with black interior, wheels and transmission type dont matter

05/06 GTO

4th gen f-body (SS or WS6)

terminator cobra

those are pretty much what i have narrowed it down to... if i can find the right deal on any of the above, i will bite... just sucks having to shell out for the current repairs... c'est la vie

[yota]

apparently the tahoe is leaving my ownership tomorrow... not sure how to feel about that... i'm sure it's going to be bittersweet watching it drive away to say the least... lots of good, and not so good, times with this truck- not to mention the fact that it has been in my family for the last 206k+ miles

[ShawnBoyMoody]

I still have the mota. Live vicariously through me lol.

[ForceFed4g63]

I hope you're getting a decent deal for it!

[yota]

more than i paid for it originally, but nowhere near what i have in it... one thing's for sure, i'll never have to spend another dime on it once it leaves

[yota]

I still have the mota. Live vicariously through me lol.

fuck that, i want a joy ride if i ever make it back to chuck-town :poke::hysterical:

[ShawnBoyMoody]

Hell Ill let you drive!

[BigdaddyDupree]

Ive drove it. lasted longer in bed ever since