Just Fishing's 09 Tahoe Build thread

[Just Fishing]

Ontrac is forgiven.
I have rod bearings w00t w00t!

 

[Just Fishing]

w00t w00t

 

[Just Fishing]

Got some rods in holes!



Ran out of plasti gauge near the end, hard stuff to keep track of once it falls out of the package.
but everything was coming out super consistent anyways.
I was able to check the two different batches of bearings, all very constant.

Crankshaft endplay came out to be .0025ish
I need to check camshaft endplay once i have the bolt torqued down, but the quick check i did looks good so far.


I also did some flow porting of the oil pump and minor polishing of the flow surfaces headed to the block and coming from the pan.


My camera didn't want to focus, and i was too lazy to go dig out the real camera.
But I used some tiny little 3m crossbuffs to blend and polish.
It looked pretty good, and i figured if i screwed up, then there is my excuse to replace the pump.

I also noticed that the pump housing to the crank timing gear fitment is VERY tight.
Like clearance the pump by the PITA method using lots of feeler gauges is unnecessary.
Just gut the pump and clearance the housing to the crank gear and it's centered perfectly!

This came about as I noticed that i had it slightly too tight on one side, scaring my gear and the pump housing a little...

And when disassembling the old 5.3, i got a little sloppy with the pump housing cover plate torx bits.
Stripping one, where i had to drill out the center in order to use an extractor.

I contacted Melling to inquire about a replacement screw, they let me know they don't have any parts for sale but the did provide me the specs to the cover plate screws they use.



Well i went to the local hardware store, and i was able to find replacements no problem.
So I have a single screw that's an Allen socket, and the rest are torx.

 

[Just Fishing]

Oh and when doing the final pass on the bolts.
I marked everything with a magic marker to keep track, and it makes it easier to go over everything to ensure nothing was missed.

I also used my dial indicator to find TDC in order to figure out what thickness of head gasket i need.
It looks like it's .01 below the deck
so i need a .030 head gasket.

I ordered the only one in stock anywhere, so it looks like back order for the second...

The dial indicator also caught that i had the timing chain off by one tooth.
whoopsie!

 

[Just Fishing]

Welp, i'm calculating static compression ratio and dynamic compression ratio.

this build, I'm biasing a trailblazer SS with the 6.0 and 799 heads (since they were on my 5.3).

Some specs, Chevy LS2 Truck Engine Specs (VIN H) (summitracing.com)

so playing with this old calculator from my vette build, i'm at 10.88 static, and 8.97 DCR.
Premium range fo sho.

i need to still cc the heads.

 

[iamdub]

so playing with this old calculator from my vette build, i'm at 10.88 static, and 8.97 DCR.
Premium range fo sho.

i need to still cc the heads.

Great numbers! You're on the safe side with the quench height, but not excessively loose at all. Depending on the cam, she'll have some healthy snap coming off idle.

 

[Just Fishing]

Great numbers! You're on the safe side with the quench height, but not excessively loose at all. Depending on the cam, she'll have some healthy snap coming off idle.

Figured i would go as close to .040 as possible, I also need as much volume as possible to get that CR down a tad.

some of the camshaft specs are a little open, so i mostly used a general until i can get there.
but being that i'm copying a factory GM config, but with a slightly bigger cam.
I'm feeling good about it.

 

[Just Fishing]

And i ended up getting an aftermarket starter, hopefully i don't regret that decision... lol

so the relay connection is slightly different than the oem starter.
The OEM has a nice weather pack connector, the new starter is an old style bolt/nut connection.

Me not wanting to cut the wire to make it work, i made an adapter.

I found that the style that GM used was the Metripack 280 series.
So i ordered a few of these: Metripack 280 Series 1 Conductor Connector Set 18 ga. Metri-pack | eBay
I also got a couple different styles, mostly because they are really nice connectors, and that seller has some good prices.
And even better if you bundle them in a single order.

 

[Just Fishing]

and after driving my self nuts about it.

I finally made a decision and opted to replace the pump and timing chain set.

With the timing chain set i have now, there is some weird roughness on the camshaft sprocket.
like sandblasted... it's probably normal but it's bugging me.

for the pump, it's rough on the tips of the pump gear, the case is slightly gouged.
And the pump gear has some gouging.

I loose nearly $100 in gaskets to change it out later should it bug me, so i figure peace of mind is worth more than the $250 i just spent.

I'm going to do the same with the rockers, but that's at the end of the to-do list.

something that was not available to me before, a Melling timing chain set for the gen 4!
Melling 3-3SRH60SB Melling Timing Chain Sets | Summit Racing

And of course, even though i no way need the high volume nor high pressure pump.
What's an extra $60...
Melling 10296 Melling Performance Oil Pumps | Summit Racing


One of those things,
After seeing low oil pressure. I never want to see it low ever again.


I'm still thinking about a full roller rocker set.
I might get back a little of that hp i lost with the oil pump...

 

[pwtr02ss]

Imo, I wouldn't do the high pressure pump. That's just extra strain on the gaskets/seals. High volume, definitely