Drop in crate to replace 350TBI

[tsr2185]

Runs good? Don't smoke? Got oil pressure?
If you can check off all three then just maintain it and run it. There is no reason for a well maintained engine to not make 500,000 miles.

not sure about the maintenance, but ive change all the fluids when i got it and oil every 3 months. Although i fixed 3 fluid leaks, it doesnt consume or burn any fluids. Only issue ive noticed is the rough idle when hot which i could never figure out.

 

[tsr2185]

Thanks guys. Consensus would be to rebuild or replace with a stock. I was just thinking about my path if/when i would need to address any engine issues. It was a replacement 12568758 GM crate like shurkey said. Would this current block be worth investing the money in to rebuild with aftermarket cam and vortec heads? If i ever blow a head gasket would me my time to do the swap.

 

[Scooterwrench]

Rough idling when hot could be several things.
The two main culprits is secondary ignition(plug,wires,cap,rotor) and the engine coolant sensor. Part of the maintenance program is secondary ignition components. You'll run all the goody out of a set of plugs around 60,000 miles and if those are the cap,rotor and wires that were put on there 115,000 miles ago they're done too. Add a air filter and fuel filter to your list of tune up parts,those are good for a year depending on environmental conditions. If you live on a limerock road the air filter is good for a month.

 

[Schurkey]

Thanks guys. Consensus would be to rebuild or replace with a stock. I was just thinking about my path if/when i would need to address any engine issues. It was a replacement 12568758 GM crate like shurkey said. Would this current block be worth investing the money in to rebuild with aftermarket cam and vortec heads? If i ever blow a head gasket would me my time to do the swap.

The block is probably set-up for OEM roller lifters. Not guaranteed, but likely.

If so, that block would be an excellent candidate for a rebuild.


If this was me, and I was actually concerned about having a "drop-in" engine, I'd buy a similar "core" engine now, and get started on the rebuilt--pull it apart for cleaning and inspection, have a machine shop deal with all the re-machining (bore cylinders as needed, deck the block, align-hone the main journals, etc.) and gather parts a little at a time.

 

[Road Trip]

I use my 91 k1500 SCSB every 3 weeks for a 4 hour drive to and from work. When Im home, i use it for beer runs/grocery runs/etc. I love tinkering with it and I know inevitably the engine will give out (275 k on body, 115k on GM goodwrench in 2005) Maybe 1 month from now, or ten years who knows. I plan to keep it until my son is ready to drive in another 10= years or so. I would probably be comfortable with spending 3-4k$ on a ready to go drop in crate motor. I dont want to do any programming, but I am willing to swap out the TBI to another FI if i dont have to tune it.

Ive never done a engine swap, but my father in law is a career mechanic who will help me.

After reading your post and the subsequent replies, I'd like to throw out a proposal
based from your son's perspective. Now I understand that most folks are raising
their kids in the 21st century in such a way that the following is a little out there...but then again,
this is a time-honored father/son (or grandfather/father/son) method of bootstrapping
the young man to live his life just a little more independent, more confident in his
problem-solving, and more in charge of his destiny than his peers...who will think that working
with their hands consists of tapping on a smart phone screen. :-(

****

The proposal? Between now & when it's time to get his license, find, retrieve, &
rebuild a replacement small block for your truck with your son. And double the
goodness by including his grandfather the mechanic. (!)

This idea has triggered so many interrelated thoughts that it would be hard to weave it all
together into something coherent. Therefore, here is a list of highlights, in no particular order:

1) This would be an ideal way of sharing a powerful positive motivator: 'The Sense of Accomplishment.'

Today we give a kid a participation ribbon, but because the bar is set so low it doesn't mean that much
to them. All the ribbon does from that point forward is collect dust, instead of continuing to help them
get to where they are going. What do I mean by this?

By contrast, if your truck doesn't start when you need to go to work, the young one can/will
sense just how much this disrupts the household. (And they see way more than we realize.) So
you & your helper go get another starter. (parts store or treasure yard, depending upon how much
of an adventure you want to make this. :0)

And then he helps you remove the bad starter & install the good one. (even if it's only holding the light and
getting the wrenches) And when the truck now starts? "We did that as a team!" And then, for as long
as you want to down the road, when you two get into the truck, he gets buckled in, and then you look him in
the eyes and ask him, "Well, is it going to start again?"

And he will consider it, and then answer...and when it *does* start again, look into his eyes and see that
Sense of Accomplishment spark him up all over again. (!) And if it starts to crank a bit slower than before?
Another opportunity to observe/troubleshoot/learn all about batteries. Or maybe loose grounds.

****

Boy or girl**, it is perfectly OK to teach your children how to observe, how to ask questions that will
lead them to a solution, how/where to research answers to those questions, (books/manuals/internet
videos/GMT400 forum :0) lefty-loosey, righty-tighty, work within a budget, weighing the risk vs reward
for making a modification, etc., etc.)

****

At this point I was going to enumerate all the positive features that this project could bring to a parent/child
relationship. But anyone frequenting a forum like this already has this sussed. (For example, check
out what @SNCTMPL is doing with his son over here.)

Instead, what I can tell you after both military & civilian careers fixing stuff in anger, whenever I rubbed shoulders
with an exceptionally talented coworker, I would always ask them about how they grew up & who influenced
them. Invariably, the very best ones always had either a father, grandfather, uncle, or friend of the family mentor
them and gave them a head start when they were young, full of questions, and had the desire to learn how to
change the world around them...to their benefit. (!)

So yeah, I'm thinking that involving your son & his grandfather in getting the 'someday this will be yours' truck
ready would be a many-layered investment in your/his future.

Cheers --

**I was a girl-dad, lucked into having twin daughters that are my pride & joy. I raised them that if they put
in the necessary time & effort, they could do anything. In the 1st photo, they are helping install the pistons
in an engine that we worked on. And although they did *not* grow up to be mechanics, they are doing
much better than their dad ever did. And they both still drive/prefer to drive cars with standard transmissions...
which makes me way prouder than it should. :0)

The next couple of photos is ~10 years later, when that same engine came out for some long-awaited
upgrades & enhancements. By now my daughters are in college, but my buddy Paul's son was at the
perfect age to help us with Round 2.

And the last photo is where I have perfected the whole Tom Sawyer 'painting the fence' scheme with a
couple of very good friends. Not only are they doing all the work...but the young man is footing the
bill for this adventure. But the theme throughout is sharing that Sense of Accomplishment with others.

And every person in these photos have gone on to do very well for themselves. Fun stuff!

 

[tsr2185]

The block is probably set-up for OEM roller lifters. Not guaranteed, but likely.

If so, that block would be an excellent candidate for a rebuild.


If this was me, and I was actually concerned about having a "drop-in" engine, I'd buy a similar "core" engine now, and get started on the rebuilt--pull it apart for cleaning and inspection, have a machine shop deal with all the re-machining (bore cylinders as needed, deck the block, align-hone the main journals, etc.) and gather parts a little at a time.

That sounds like a good idea and something i would enjoy.

 

[Scooterwrench]

After reading your post and the subsequent replies, I'd like to throw out a proposal
based from your son's perspective. Now I understand that most folks are raising
their kids in the 21st century in such a way that the following is a little out there...but then again,
this is a time-honored father/son (or grandfather/father/son) method of bootstrapping
the young man to live his life just a little more independent, more confident in his
problem-solving, and in charge of his destiny than his peers who will think that working
with their hands...is tapping on a smart phone screen. :-(

****

The proposal? Between now & when it's time to get his license, find, retrieve, &
rebuild a replacement small block for your truck with your son. And double the
goodness by including his grandfather the mechanic. (!)

This idea has triggered so many interrelated thoughts that it would be hard to weave it all
together into something coherent. Therefore, here is a list of highlights, in no particular order:

1) This would be an ideal way of sharing a powerful positive motivator: 'The Sense of Accomplishment.'
Today we give a kid a participation ribbon, but because the bar is set so low it doesn't mean that much
to them. All the ribbon does from that point forward is collect dust, instead of continuing to help them
get to where they are going. What do I mean by this?

By contrast, if your truck doesn't start when you need to go to work, the young one can/will
sense just how much this disrupts the household. (And they see way more than we realize.) So
you & your helper go get another starter. (parts store or treasure yard, depending upon how much
of an adventure you want to make this. :0)

And then he helps you remove the bad starter & install the good one. (even if it's only holding the light and
getting the wrenches) And when the truck now starts? "We did that as a team!" And then, for as long
as you want to down the road, when you two get into the truck, he gets buckled in, and then you look him in
the eyes and ask him, "Well, is it going to start again?"

And he will consider it, and then answer...and when it *does* start again, look into his eyes and see that
Sense of Accomplishment spark him up all over again. (!) And if it starts to crank a bit slower than before?
Another opportunity to observe/troubleshoot/learn all about batteries. Or maybe loose grounds.

****

Boy or girl**, it is perfectly OK to teach your children how to observe, how to ask questions that will
lead them to a solution, how/where to research answers to their questions, (books/manuals/internet
videos/GMT400 forum :0) lefty-loosey, righty-tighty, work within a budget, weighing the risk vs reward
for making a modification, etc., etc.)

****

At this point I was going to enumerate all the positive features that this project could bring to a parent/child
relationship. But anyone frequenting a forum like this already has this sussed. (For example, check
out what @SNCTMPL is doing with his son over here.)

Instead, what I can tell you after both military & civilian careers fixing stuff in anger, whenever I rubbed shoulders
with an exceptionally talented coworker, I would always ask them about how they grew up & who influenced
them. Invariably, the very best ones always had either a father, grandfather, uncle, or friend of the family mentor
them and gave them a head start when they were young, full of questions, and had the desire to learn how to
change the world around them...to their benefit. (!)

So yeah, I'm thinking that involving your son & his grandfather in getting the 'someday this will be yours' truck
ready would be a many-layered investment in yours/his future.

Cheers --

**I was a girl-dad, lucked into having twin daughters that are my pride & joy. I raised them that if they put
in the necessary time & effort, they could do anything. In the 1st photo, they are helping install the pistons
in an engine that we worked on. And although they did *not* grow up to be mechanics, they are doing
much better than their dad ever did. And they both still drive/prefer to drive cars with standard transmissions...
which makes me prouder than it should. :0)

The next couple of photos is ~10 years later, when that same engine came out for some long-awaited
upgrades & enhancements. By now my daughters are in college, but my buddy Paul's son was at the
perfect age to help us with Round 2.

And the last photo is where I have perfected the whole Tom Sawyer 'painting the fence' scheme with a
couple of very good friends. Not only are they doing all the work...but the young man is footing the
bill for this adventure. But the theme throughout is sharing that Sense of Accomplishment with others.

And every person in these photos have gone on to do very well for themselves. Fun stuff!

I wish they had a two thumbs up thing for this one!!!

 

[tsr2185]

After reading your post and the subsequent replies, I'd like to throw out a proposal
based from your son's perspective. Now I understand that most folks are raising
their kids in the 21st century in such a way that the following is a little out there...but then again,
this is a time-honored father/son (or grandfather/father/son) method of bootstrapping
the young man to live his life just a little more independent, more confident in his
problem-solving, and in charge of his destiny than his peers who will think that working
with their hands...is tapping on a smart phone screen. :-(

****

The proposal? Between now & when it's time to get his license, find, retrieve, &
rebuild a replacement small block for your truck with your son. And double the
goodness by including his grandfather the mechanic. (!)

This idea has triggered so many interrelated thoughts that it would be hard to weave it all
together into something coherent. Therefore, here is a list of highlights, in no particular order:

1) This would be an ideal way of sharing a powerful positive motivator: 'The Sense of Accomplishment.'
Today we give a kid a participation ribbon, but because the bar is set so low it doesn't mean that much
to them. All the ribbon does from that point forward is collect dust, instead of continuing to help them
get to where they are going. What do I mean by this?

By contrast, if your truck doesn't start when you need to go to work, the young one can/will
sense just how much this disrupts the household. (And they see way more than we realize.) So
you & your helper go get another starter. (parts store or treasure yard, depending upon how much
of an adventure you want to make this. :0)

And then he helps you remove the bad starter & install the good one. (even if it's only holding the light and
getting the wrenches) And when the truck now starts? "We did that as a team!" And then, for as long
as you want to down the road, when you two get into the truck, he gets buckled in, and then you look him in
the eyes and ask him, "Well, is it going to start again?"

And he will consider it, and then answer...and when it *does* start again, look into his eyes and see that
Sense of Accomplishment spark him up all over again. (!) And if it starts to crank a bit slower than before?
Another opportunity to observe/troubleshoot/learn all about batteries. Or maybe loose grounds.

****

Boy or girl**, it is perfectly OK to teach your children how to observe, how to ask questions that will
lead them to a solution, how/where to research answers to their questions, (books/manuals/internet
videos/GMT400 forum :0) lefty-loosey, righty-tighty, work within a budget, weighing the risk vs reward
for making a modification, etc., etc.)

****

At this point I was going to enumerate all the positive features that this project could bring to a parent/child
relationship. But anyone frequenting a forum like this already has this sussed. (For example, check
out what @SNCTMPL is doing with his son over here.)

Instead, what I can tell you after both military & civilian careers fixing stuff in anger, whenever I rubbed shoulders
with an exceptionally talented coworker, I would always ask them about how they grew up & who influenced
them. Invariably, the best ones always had either a father, grandfather, uncle, or friend of the family mentor
them when they were young & full of questions.

So yeah, I'm thinking that involving your son & his grandfather in getting the 'someday this will be yours' truck
ready would be a many-layered investment in yours/his future.

Cheers --

**I was a girl-dad, lucked into having twin daughters that are my pride & joy. I raised them that if they put
in the necessary time & effort, they could do anything. In the 1st photo, they are helping install the pistons
in an engine that we worked on. And although they did *not* grow up to be mechanics, they are doing
much better than their dad ever did. And they both still drive/prefer to drive cars with standard transmissions...
which makes me prouder than it should. :0)

The next couple of photos is ~10 years later, when that same engine came out for some long-awaited
upgrades & enhancements. By now my daughters are in college, but my buddy Paul's son was at the
perfect age to help us with Round 2.

And the last photo is where I have perfected the whole Tom Sawyer 'painting the fence' scheme with a
couple of very good friends. Not only are they doing all the work...but the young man is footing the
bill for this adventure. But the theme throughout is sharing that Sense of Accomplishment with others.

And every person in these photos have gone on to do very well for themselves. Fun stuff!

Very inspirational, thank you very much. This sounds like the route that I should take, and I do believe I will.

 

[pgutier1]

Runs good? Don't smoke? Got oil pressure?
If you can check off all three then just maintain it and run it. There is no reason for a well maintained engine to not make 500,000 miles.

That is for damn sure! I have rebuilt the rear diff and the tranny, the motor must have over 500k with just absolute maintenance. It just keeps going...

If I do drive her everyday, she does burn a quart of oil every 1k miles.

 

[Scooterwrench]

That is for damn sure! I have rebuilt the rear diff and the tranny, the motor must have over 500k with just absolute maintenance. It just keeps going...

If I do drive her everyday, she does burn a quart of oil every 1k miles.

Sounds like Harley oil mileage.