swathdiver
Full Access Member
And he doesn't want any paint to get on the transmission oil cooler lines either!
Growing up doesn't have to suck
- Thread starter iamdub
- Start date
Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.
And he doesn't want any paint to get on the transmission oil cooler lines either!
George B
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Thats the worst!
George B
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I love Tim Hawkins. Saw him perform last winter in Dubuque, IA.
Tonyrodz
Resident Resident
Never heard of him. Funny dude. Def NOT the worst
pwtr02ss
Full Access Member
Thank you for documenting this so well.
OP
OP
iamdub
Full Access Member
You know how I roll. Since you mentioned it, I really wanted to stay true to Dub style and do a detailed write-up with pics, descriptions and hints. It could be a step-by-step how-to of an AFM delete or broken up into intake manifold R&R, cam R&R, engine R&R, heads R&R, etc. But, I'm working on it a couple hours a night every day after work so time isn't on my side. Then, if I were to make any sort of how-to, there's the hurdle of being limited to five pics per post.
OP
OP
iamdub
Full Access Member
My first response was gonna be "To get at that #8 spark plug", but Wade beat me to it. I had a good laugh at everyone's replies to your question.
All BS aside, it's primarily for an AFM delete. I've had a lifter cussing me out at startup for over a year now, even with me priming the oil system before startup. It sits for 1-2 weeks at a time, so this surely isn't helping the lifter. I also have a small oil pan gasket leak. GM rates parts such as the oil pump and timing chain for 200,000 miles, so replacing all of those since the cam was coming out was a necessity. Then, if I'm tearing it down this much, I may as well replace all the seals. I'd rather pull the motor to remove the oil pan and rear cover, and it's just easier all around to work on the motor on a stand.
Plus it lets me paint that oil pan without getting overspray on the trans cooler lines.
OP
OP
iamdub
Full Access Member
Goal met:
Made a piñata:
Resting peacefully on the stand:
Lemme see if I can recall the process in order:
Unbolted A/C compressor and bracket and tied it up to the side
Removed motor mount bolts (the three frame side ones on each)
Removed the five bellhousing bolts easily accessible from underneath
Supported the transmission by hammering a split piece of 2x4 between it and the sway bar
Removed the rocker covers
Removed the rockers and rails
Removed the push rods
Removed the head bolts
Removed the heads
Removed the top three remaining bellhousing bolts/studs/nuts
Lifted motor until it's weight was almost completely off the frame and gave it a few tugs and wiggles forward to separate it from the trans
Lifted motor a little, rolled Tahoe back a little, lifted motor a little more, rotated it sideways and pulled it out
Lowered motor and bolted it to the stand
I wasted too much time trying to access the top three bellhousing bolts with all the extensions and wobble socket circus acts, so I defaulted to pulling the heads and removing those nuts and bolts with ratchet wrenches.
The head gaskets stayed in place, so I wiped them down, cleaned out the bolt holes and reinstalled the heads using the original bolts and just torquing them down with my 3/8" impact. Zipped the starter in position, screwed in the compression tester and hit the starter terminals with the jumper cables. I gave each cylinder 6 pumps each. All cylinders were 210-215, and this was on a cold engine sitting on the stand. They all held pressure, too. I thought for sure it'd have a much larger variance and expected #7 to be lower than the others. Nope. All good.
It's hard to believe this is the original engine. I know for sure the VLOM has been replaced (dated 2014) but I don't know about the lifters. I know the oil pan was off, probably to get the AFM relief valve shield. I'm trying to find a date or date code on the block and heads.
OP
OP
iamdub
Full Access Member
The screen under the oil pressure sensor was spotless, just wet with oil:
All the piston tops looked to be equally cruddy. I was expecting the rear two or four, and especially #7 to be noticeably worse:
Cylinder walls looked good. This is #7:
All the piston tops looked to be equally cruddy. I was expecting the rear two or four, and especially #7 to be noticeably worse:
Cylinder walls looked good. This is #7:
Really appreciate you documenting all this and sharing the progress. Even though you’ve only got a little time to work on it after work, seems like you’re making good, consistent progress to me. Keep up the good work!
Onebad1983
Resident Country Dumbass
- Joined
- Mar 5, 2018
- Posts
- 1,262
- Reaction score
- 1,128
Why do I feel like AFM delete translates to hawg ass cam and FBO
pwtr02ss
Full Access Member
You work ******* quick. That engine is very clean for the mileage. Mine will not be that clean. I bought mine from my dad and he had always ran conventional. I continued with 3k mile intervals until around 140k. I switched over to mobil 1 and thats when I got the lifter tick
I went back to the high mileage castrol but my screen has clogged. I need to do this to mine but I don't have the motivation. Maybe one day....
PSA-If this doesn't convince you that synthetic oil works, nothing will. My buddies SSS has 150k and its equally as clean under the valve cover.
I went back to the high mileage castrol but my screen has clogged. I need to do this to mine but I don't have the motivation. Maybe one day....
PSA-If this doesn't convince you that synthetic oil works, nothing will. My buddies SSS has 150k and its equally as clean under the valve cover.
Dantheman1540
Full Access Member
Motor doesn't look to bad for 200k! What are you replacing it with? 6.2?
Bigkevschopshop
Full Access Member
Man DUb, that thing looks stellar... Cam swap and gaskets with oil pump, DOD delete and slap back in... I would not hesitate to run a motor looking that good in cylinders for another 200k...
OP
OP
iamdub
Full Access Member
Word! Replacing those keeps playing in the back of my mind.
OP
OP
iamdub
Full Access Member
I hope it proves valuable to others in the future. It'll at least be good memoirs to remind me of all the stuff I've been through with this thing!
I took a break from it Wednesday but had an hour to throw at it this evening. It's now torn down to the block and rotating assembly, so as far as I'm tearing it down. It's all cleanup and reassembly from here. I took some pics to document some details but I'll upload them later.
OP
OP
iamdub
Full Access Member
You work ******* quick. That engine is very clean for the mileage. Mine will not be that clean. I bought mine from my dad and he had always ran conventional. I continued with 3k mile intervals until around 140k. I switched over to mobil 1 and thats when I got the lifter tick
I went back to the high mileage castrol but my screen has clogged. I need to do this to mine but I don't have the motivation. Maybe one day....
PSA-If this doesn't convince you that synthetic oil works, nothing will. My buddies SSS has 150k and its equally as clean under the valve cover.
It moved along pretty good until now. I've been having to work later than expected every day. I'm very happy with what I've found inside. The last one I tore down, almost a year ago, was my brother's that had been getting coolant in the oil (Castech head failure). Mine is laboratory sanitary compared to that one! I haven't found a single speck of crud, only amber residue that can be wiped off.
Damned right on synthetic oil! I've had it since 146K and I don't know what was ran before it, but I've adhered to 5,000 mile changes with full synthetic.
OP
OP
iamdub
Full Access Member
Not replacing it yet! I wanted to, but decided to do the bare minimum to the 5.3 to keep it reliable until I'm ready for a 6.0 or 6.2 swap.
Of course, the "bare minimum" rarely ever happens with endeavors such as this.
