Castech heads ?
- Thread starter Woodblocker55
- Start date
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iamdub
Full Access Member
Of course. I was sending him progress pics throughout the entire process and I still have them on my phone. I posted a few in the "What are you up to" thread a couple months ago when I was doing it. I'll dump some here since it's pertinent and the horrific sight might prompt someone with a "small coolant leak" to investigate.
iamdub
Full Access Member
Didn't know that. I thought it was a strength thing like how plies of metal or wood is stronger than single solid pieces. Now that I think about it, the plies are stronger in a MOVING/BENDING environment, so this totally makes sense. It's like they smooth the transition between one metal's rate of movement and the other's. Cool info.
iamdub
Full Access Member
Pics as promised. '05 Sierra 5.3, 181K miles, slow coolant leak for more than 10K miles:
iamdub
Full Access Member
More before cleaning. Every surface of the entire inside of the engine was coated in a thick layer of sludge. The crankshaft counterweights were coated, the oil galleys were constricted, etc...:
Chunk of solidified sludge hanging from the pickup tube. This is likely the reason for the drop in oil pressure. He said the average pressure had steadily been decreasing over the course of a couple weeks. I think he had chunks like this breaking loose from somewhere and getting sucked into the screen of the pickup tube until they closed it off:
Chunk of solidified sludge hanging from the pickup tube. This is likely the reason for the drop in oil pressure. He said the average pressure had steadily been decreasing over the course of a couple weeks. I think he had chunks like this breaking loose from somewhere and getting sucked into the screen of the pickup tube until they closed it off:
iamdub
Full Access Member
Lifter chamber/bores before cleaning:
...And after cleaning:
Timing set cleaned with "new" 31K-mile chain left over from LQ9 project:
New Melling high-volume oil pump:
Cleaned pickup tube screen:
...And after cleaning:
Timing set cleaned with "new" 31K-mile chain left over from LQ9 project:
New Melling high-volume oil pump:
Cleaned pickup tube screen:
iamdub
Full Access Member
Low-mile 243s from a 2010 Silverado he found on Facebook marketplace for $300:
31K-mile rockers from aforementioned LQ9 project, fitted with Comp trunnion bearing upgrade and never ran since
31K-mile rockers from aforementioned LQ9 project, fitted with Comp trunnion bearing upgrade and never ran since
Tonyrodz
Resident Resident
That's alot of nasty sludge. I wonder how long it ran like that, with all that sludge.
iamdub
Full Access Member
Had to have been for much longer than the 10K my bro put on it. The previous owner may have traded it in due to the coolant consumption and maybe even after learning of the ramifications. We let the condition of the cam and cam bearings determine if we fixed or replaced it. I'd say the sudden clogging of the pickup tube and the resulting loss of oil pressure saved this engine since it prompted us to dig into it.
