Dropping oil pressure

[Ironhead]

The report sounds quite thorough and useful. The results don't sound too good, but 2% water in the oil (presumably about 5 quarts) does not sound like a lot. Wonder if the Seafoam had something to do with the stuff in the oil? Isn't Seafoam a strong solvent?

Does the coolant level fall enough to indicate an intake gasket issue? And finally, I am very curious as to what the oil pressure would be with new, clean oil.

 

[Echomirage]

that is with new, clean oil. as i stated before, the first thing i did when i bought the truck was a tune up and oil change

 

[SAATR]

You have coolant, water, and an abundance of wear metals in the oil, plus low oil pressure. Time to pull the engine and reseal/rebearing at minimum.

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[Echomirage]

a while ago i did a part compression check. i did #8 and #1, 8 being the one that had a caked plug, and wasnt running for god knows how long. 8 had low, then building pressure. i did the oil trick and pressure jumped.

1 had normal, full pressure, around 180.

so, at least one cylinder has worn rings. it seems the entire motor is shot. im on the verge of pulling the entire motor and redoing everything, or dumping the truck and cutting losses.

my thoughts on rebuilding the motor is to bore it out 20 or 30 over....since i dont care about mileage, and the extra power will help in towing. itll probably need a hone at least anyway. i dont want/need a full out build, bored to the max.

question is, will i need new/bigger injectors and/or a tune with, at the most, 30 over? im thinking a new cam, a truck/towing cam. will stock rebuilt heads work with that?

the truck wont be used much, wont be wheeled much. itll be a tow rig, light wheeling/camping, etc. right now, the trailer load will be at most 5K lbs, which is nothing for this truck even stock.

thoughts, suggestions? either rebuild and/or build up, or dump and cut losses? thoughts on build options?

 

[Scottydc]

I doubt an overbore will need tuning the PCM does have a bit of flexibility in the stock tune. A cam however will need some tuning depending on how radical you go. Most cams will tell you in their spec info if it's required or not, it may run, idle, even pull well but honestly to get the full benefit from a cam, tuning is a must.

 

[SAATR]

Those have a non adjustable valvetrain, if I remember correctly. Limits your cam choices quite a bit.

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[Echomirage]

im not planing on anything wild. just a truck cam, if something like that is made. i dont need/want a lopey idle, just power and torque for pulling.

how do i find out what cams i can use? or should i just do a bore and keep a stock cam, if thats possible? this will be my first engine build, if i go through with it at all.

 

[SAATR]

Your best bet would be to pull the engine, strip it to a long block, and haul it to a machine shop. They can tear it down, inspect it, and tell you what it NEEDS. You may be fine with just a hone and re-ring, if the bores aren't overly worn or distorted. You'll want the block hot tanked and all the oil galleys cleaned out. You will need new cam bearings. They can check the heads and block deck for warpage or cracks. They can also reassemble the engine for you, if you so desire. As far as cams go, these are the only three that COMP lists as not requiring an adjustable valvetrain.

01-525-8
01-530-8
01-535-8

The first is likely your best bet. It should pull like a freight train and get great fuel economy, which is a plus. You will need a tune to make the most of it, but I imagine you will be very, very happy with the results.

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[Echomirage]

sounds good. now, where do i get a tune for it? im used to LS1s, not these older motors

 

[SAATR]

Swap to an 0411 ECM and have it flash tuned like the LS1's you're familiar with, or send your present ECM to somebody like Blackbear and tell them what you are doing to the engine and they should be able to fix you up.

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