What should I do with this CL find 6.0L LQ9 ?

[jjzepplin]

Here are some pics.

[AussieinNC]

Just a quick hint....

Make absolutely sure you dont mix up those rod caps...both rod to rod and cap direction...they are fractured cap rod sets....

They must be kept to their respective rod and direction...never swap a cap around on a rod...

Those push rods look like normal dry run instances...replace both push rod and rocker arm....

[jjzepplin]

Oh great! NOW you tell me. I only took one rod cap off and one crank cap. The crank caps are numbered but the rods do not seem to be. I am pretty sure I know how they came off... Do I have to replace all the bolts now anyways?

[jjzepplin]

Originally Posted by AussieinNC

Re 5.7...

I always find it much easier to replace rocker cover gaskets, oil pressure switches and freeze plugs (especially the two rear plugs behind the flywheel)....

New engine mounts...

If front balancer seal is leaking now is time to replace it...check the balancer rubber is ok...

NOTE>>>>Apart from diamaeter, if you replace the balancer make absolutely sure the indexing of the keyway to the timing slot on the outer ring is the same on new balancer to the old one...there are different balancers !!!!!

If there is any sign of oil leaking from rear of manifold, now is time to r&r manifold and reseal it...

Your back will thank you in the future...

Re LS...

The lifter ticking noise is well known and there are lots of posts about it...new lifters, push rods and carriers will usually fix the issue...the damaged push rods and rockers is a big issue....post pics of the damage please.

This is looking more and more like an oil system failure...pump O ring to pickup tube is biggest failure point....pull the pump apart, clean up the inners and post a pic of the inners...

The 5.7 info confused me a bit. I guess I forgot to say the 5.7 I am dealing with is a 1999 LS1. It was nice and quiet and had good power before the extraction for the swap. So my thoughts are to just get that one running and cruise it around for a bit. I might someday slip this 6.0 in it's place. It should be able to swap all the parts over right?

[AussieinNC]

Re 5.7.....

I was assuming this was a 350...(which are 5.73547 liters!)...apologies....

Most of what I said still applies...oil leaks at rear of crank....rocker cover gaskets, intake manifold seals.....fuel injector seals....oil bypass fitting (near oil filter on bottom rail of block)....

If you are sure the engine had good oil pressure, just change oil and filter....

[AussieinNC]

Originally Posted by jjzepplin

Oh great! NOW you tell me. I only took one rod cap off and one crank cap. The crank caps are numbered but the rods do not seem to be. I am pretty sure I know how they came off... Do I have to replace all the bolts now anyways?

Rod bolts are TTY...single use only....I have heard of several methods to reuse the stock bolts, but to me, thats a bit like doing brain surgery on yourself....

I always replace the following with new bolts anytime I do a build....rods, mains, cylinder heads....ARP is my supplier of choice but there are others around....

I use the following method to swap out rod bolts....maintain cap to rod orientation...bolts are replaced one at a time...(the other bolts should be tight!)
Pull the new bolt up to torque only...then replace the other bolt to torque only...if you are using GM bolts, follow their instructions for final torque...If using aftermarket...follow the bolt manufacturers instructions.

If you put one of these rod/cap combinations together and the rod locks to the crank, the cap is on backwards...note the bearing tabs in the pic below are against each other rod/cap...

If you find a rod bearing bore is out of round...the old practice was to machine the matching faces of the rod and cap then hone the bore back to specs....you cannot do that with the LS family of rods...

[jjzepplin]

The 5.7LS was in a 99 TA that I drove around for a while before pulling the engine. The only leak was a power steering hose. It had good oil pressure and even the AC worked. I am wondering about the rockers though, as in would that small amount of damage even make a noise? I am not sure about the 6.0, but the 5.7 had religious Mobil one oil changes.

[jjzepplin]

I sure appreciate all the help! Where is the best place to buy ARP bolts? I noticed the Caps for the crank are numbered 1-5. The rods are not but there are numbers on one side of the rod and caps on all of them as well as the bearing tabs being on the same side. When turning the engine over without heads, it seemed to be normal with just the rings holding it back from free spinning. I still want to pull the pistons and check the rings for breakage and the pins for wear. It seems pretty solid though. It just throws me off that someone pulled a perfectly good engine. The rear seal area has absolutely no oil at all. It is coming off though so I can replace that barbell. Do you recommend the oil bypass plug?

[AussieinNC]

I always replace the barbell...usually with a tapered billet one...

ARP bolts are readily available from vendors like Summit....

Here is a link to an interesting read about the LS family of engines....(not a plug for JE pistons...)

https://www.jepistons.com/blog/every...-engine-family

Make sure you check cam bearing clearances to the cam...these clearances are critical as factory oil flow feeds lifters and cam bearings first then mains and rods....

Heading out now but will be back online tonight EST...

[71cadc10]

I agree pull all rod caps and all mains...if bearings look good, you got a good solid LQ9
I'd do a full blow apart and pull the cam, make sure all the oiling holes are clear. Cam bearings are in place....

New set of lifters and trays, cam, timing set, new oil pump. ARP rod bolts.
re-use your main cap bolts.
it will run forever LOL

[clinebarger]

Pushrod Ball wear is quite common on LSx engines. Someone went a little too far on a oil change......Or 10 oil changes.

My L92 had perfect main & rod bearings, The Cam Bearings were trashed though.

[jjzepplin]

Thanks guys! I pulled the cam and it looks fine. I put it back in just to keep things together as I am short on room. So I can reuse cap bolts? If I change out the rod bolts with ARP I am most likely ok as these rods are Fractured and cannot be resized anyway?

[71cadc10]

correct, I have changed the rod bolts to ARP on these dozen times or so...I have not encountered a problem with out of round on the rods. I have checked bearing oil clearance before and after the rod bolt change.
The resizing procedure for these rods is to use an overside OD bearing, and you hone the rod bore bigger. Honestly it's not worth it in my opinion, I'd buy a set of H beams before I'd sink money into stock rods, other than the $100 ARP bolts


The main cap bolts, I typically re-use them. They are torque + angle to get them tight, they are not a torque-to-yield item so you can re-use them.

15# + 80* (inside bolts - do first)
15# + 53* (outside bolts - 2nd)
side bolts 18# (last)


for the oil bypass plug question, if you mean the one in the oil pan, yes I'd plug it. It's metric thread

for your pushrod issue, I'd suggest going with new hardened push rods anyway 5/16 or 3/8. New stock rocker set is ~$200 from Summit. I stay away from the 'trunnion kits' and just put new rockers in.
Don't know if this was covered...but the 317's are a good head...same port geometry as the 243. Just a larger chamber....A good valve job, check guides, mill gasket surface (you could whack up to .030 off if you want to reduce chamber). Cam choice will determine how much valve spring you will need

[jjzepplin]

Awesome. So I will look for some ARP rod And head bolts. I don't know of any local shops that have a good reputation to look my heads over. I guess I will find a spot on the shelf until that day comes. This engine seemed to have good compression in each cylinder but I still want to pull the pistons one at a time to make sure I don't have broken rings.

[jjzepplin]

I was messing around today and took a look at the rest of the rods and caps. They all look very good. I am tempted to do a backyard overhaul and run this mudda. It is amazing that the rods are fractured. You can really tell when you take some time to look at them. Kinda like breaking a brick and then fitting it back together. It only goes back one way.

[jjzepplin]

So I found a decent set of 0821 heads with rockers and valve covers for cheap. Any gains to be had here or stick with the 317s? I don't have an intake yet so that is not a factor. I want to possibly swap this engine later with my 99 LS1. Will the computer and everything else be compatible?

[jjzepplin]

OK so I pulled the trigger on a set of LS AFR 210 Enforcer 64 CC chamber heads. I need to choose a cam next and was thinking about the Sloppy Stage 3. I like a big cam with a manual trans. Sorry for the slow build.

[jjzepplin]

Well here's a vid I could not help but watch. Thinking of sporting this cam in my combo. If I can even get close to her numbers, I will be happy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcXU0nEqbDk

[biketopia]

To take advantage of that big a cam you'll need an aftermarket intake. Are the heads square or cathedral port? Are you wanting to go for a max effort NA build or something with decent street manners that has some lope?

[jjzepplin]

This will most likely go into the Blazer with the T56 and 3.73 posi. Probably the last motor I will build so I want a real lopey cam. I think I have ruled against a new crank and rods and will just hone and new rings. Still not sure why someone would remove what seems to be a good engine. I will do some weekend driving to the beach and once the top comes off there will be some heavy donuts...Oh sorry, Cathedral AFR's and Intake optional due to the acreage under the hood.

[biketopia]

The TSP BFD chop master has very aggressive lope, but it's hard to find the specs on their cams online. Cam motion has a big thread going on LS1tech with a lot of dyno runs on their cams and very good tech discussion. I'd honestly call summit and talk to them about their pro LS line of cams, very nice, affordable, and they are very helpful. Be honest with yourself on how you want use the blazer. You can get some serious chop but not need a ridiculous cam that will need to spin to the moon to make power. The cathedral truck intakes are one of the best for torque which is what you'll want to get the blazer moving. They don't look the best but if you smooth it out, it looks awesome. If not you'll want use an LS6 intake at a minimum but you'll probably need to look for a FAST 92 intake and appropriate throttle body to make the combo of those heads, compression, and cam work. Or just throw a turbo on it and hang on!!

[jjzepplin]

I am doing some searching and it seems the longer stock type runners make good torque and high rpms. It seems that every time I find a decent used intake there is some damage that I don't want. Sheet metal looks the best to me but have a torque loss due to the shorter runners. Although, this will be behind a manual so there is that...

[jjzepplin]

So will a F-Body oil pan fit this thing and are all LS the same as far as oil pans? I am getting ready to work on this but I want to be able to seal it up and dont have valve covers or oil pan or timing cover.

[biketopia]

yes an f body pan will bolt right up, you need the pick tube for the oil pan being used. Sheet metal intakes are chap and look good, but I hear they can have a some weird harmonics under the hood.

[jjzepplin]

I am not a big fan of the plastic type intakes so I may look for a stock type runner but aluminum. Thanks for all your help!