A Different Sort of Build Thread

[littlemissGTO]

Recently my 2006 GTO developed a low oil pressure issue. After lots of hard work installing a new oil pump the diagnosis was that there was internal engine damage. So last week a friend and I pulled the engine out of my GTO to find the exact problem and begin the process of fixing it.



Once the engine was out of the car we loaded it into my truck and the fun began.

My intake ports were full of oil.

Tops of the old pistons.


These are small issue that could be fixed pretty easily.
So at this point it's time to remove the lifters and inspect them for any unusual wear. Sure enough I find one that's in bad shape. Interestingly enough, this particular lifter has always been loud which leads me to believe that it was bad or dirty when it was installed.

[littlemissGTO]

Okay, so I've got a bad lifter, still not a big deal. Then the cam was removed, and all sorts of wear was found.


The cam bearings were bad as expected, but I didn't expect to find gouges in them. That's evidence of some not so good engine building work.


Now that the cam is out and we've found that those bearings are bad, it's time to turn the engine over and remove the rods and pistons to inspect them and the crank. What I found was not good at all.


Now it was time to remove the main caps and the crank.

[littlemissGTO]

Now the holes you see in the crank are there for balancing purposes. Whenever you change anything about the rotating assembly, you have to balance it. That was never done in this case. That is very bad.

So the low oil pressure issue is due to the fact that every bearing in my engine has been destroyed slowly over time. I also know why the engine never really made the power it was expected to make.
So what am I going to do? Well I'm going to make it bigger and better. Yes, I'm adding some cubic inches to the engine by stroking it. It's going from a 6.0L (364) to a 6.2 (402) and I'm doing the work myself.
As of this post the block only has a few things left to be removed before it goes into the washer to be prepped for machine work.
Here are some new parts that will go into the engine as it's being built.




One of the first things I got to do was upgrade my rocker arms. That required the use of a press and some snap ring pliers.

[littlemissGTO]

All finished and looking pretty.


Tonight I should be able to get pictures of the cleaned up cylinder heads, pistons and rods, and the block. One week from tomorrow I get to order the rest of the parts I need to finish this build. Yes, I'm excited and it's hard to be patient at this point...LOL
There will be video of the CNC machine decking the block and of course first start up video.

[cajunner]

great storyline, little miss.

the parts are rough but I've seen worse, good to get at it while it's still early.

[SublimeZ]

How many miles on that build? wondering if they didn't get all the abrasives cleaned out or ran too tight on tolerances?

[chad]

Awesome stuff.. I dig these builds

[littlemissGTO]

How many miles on that build? wondering if they didn't get all the abrasives cleaned out or ran too tight on tolerances?

it had roughly 70k on the build. It most certainly was put together filthy. The crank and camshaft will become furniture. The rods and pistons will be separated and sold.

[PaulD]

Kind of a shame that someone did such a crappy job last time .. I haven't done engine work in years, more like decades

[littlemissGTO]

I made some more progress tonight. Got the cam bearings out of the block. Started separating the rods from the pistons so they can be sold. I got the cam and crank cleaned and bagged. Like I said before, they will become furniture. Tomorrow I'm starting with honing the cylinders so that the new pistons will fit. After the honing is done I will disassemble the cylinder heads and get them prepped for porting and polishing.
Here are a few photos from today.
Cam bearings:


There's a chunk missing out of this one. I found the chunk during the tear down.

Cam journal all gouged from the previous build. Thankfully this isn't really an issue because of the location. I'll clean it up as best as I can before I install new bearings.

The cam and crank are ready to be turned into furniture.