Rebuilding an engine - what precision instruments to do measurements

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0xDEADBEEF

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Yup. The question now is:

1.) Find myself a take-out $100 crank and a set of Pro-LS, or whatever brand is available pistons (in the appropriate diameter).

2.) Spend $1700+ on a 408 rotating assembly, assuming it's available. I did ask the guy there and he said he thought it was more like $2500 "now".:oops: Thank you Mr. useless President!

Question to myself now is: do I really "need" a 408? I'm thinking it's kind of overkill for anything I'd drop it in (Cherokee JK, GM truck or SUV 1500/2500/3500?)... I'm not really into r-a-c-y stuff.

And I'm still upset about my property appraisal protest being denied, so there's that....$#@*!?

I'm going to start cussing here in Spanish (with English mixed in there too!) now....

They are brutal with these appraisals. Can't get the voters to approve tax increases so they just jack up the appraisals. I don't know how anyone could afford these prices now. Mine is over twice what I paid for it.
 

stutaeng

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Thank you guys for the advice. I REALLY appreciate your input! This is like having an in-house machinist expert consulting service! (I've only done one engine/transmission swap, so I'm honestly a newbie!) Gotta say, I absolutely love the feedback!


Let me decide on what to do next and hopefully we can get this thing back to living a healthy life again!
 
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stutaeng

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I visited the local Summit store and got a set of 20 over pistons. The guy behind the counter "schooled" me that machine shop bores to a x amount over THEN you go buy the pistons. I explained that I was just seeing what was available and that machine shop would do either.

He also gave me the part number for a ring set. I'll buy those later.
 

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stutaeng

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I picked up my crankshaft from the polishing guy. My original was not usable when grinding/polishing guy checked it out. He said I could look for a place to weld something, but that was at least $200... So $100 for a used crank from FBMP. And $50 polishing.

I'll do some measuring, but polishing guy said standard bearings are fine.
 

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xXxPARAGONxXx

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They are brutal with these appraisals. Can't get the voters to approve tax increases so they just jack up the appraisals. I don't know how anyone could afford these prices now. Mine is over twice what I paid for it.
Great if you are selling. Not so great if you are buying or continuing to live in the home.
 

stutaeng

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Well, not doing much at the moment. Still waiting to hear back from the machine shop...so I'll switch gears for a bit since I've cleaned out my garage a bit. :rolleyes:

I've decided to tear down this 4.3 Vortec I've been having laying around. I posted it practically for free and offered it to my buddy and my nephew for free, none were interested it in (they have trucks with the same engine). I'll take it in parts on trips to the dump. So I'm curious why it lost oil pressure. My 10 year old son joined me in getting hands dirty and made one usable bike out of two partially good/bad bikes.

I'll get it in my garage tomorrow to dissect. "It ran when I pulled it!"

A little background: https://www.gmt400.com/threads/low-oil-pressure-on-4-3-vortec.45784/


What do I need to focus on? Crankshaft main bearings I suppose? Rod bearings? Cam bearings?
 

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stutaeng

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No surprises yet, just a bit of water in one cylinder.
 

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