What are the visual checks you do, prior to opening the engine, to assess if it’s worth purchasing? What are the main issues that cannot be seen from a basic visual inspection? How concerned should one be about cracks in the block with iron block LS engines?
Usually i look for the obvious, like holes in the block or oil pan. Ill also look in the valve cover to see how dirty the inside of the engine is, that will give you an idea on how frequently the oil was changed. I also like to turn the engine over to see if it is smooth and even, and i also like to turn the crank back and found to listen for any issues. Turning the crank back and forth like an 1/8 a turn can sometimes expose spun bearings. If you have tools, pulling a valve cover and inspecting is worth it, look for metal flakes or any other debris. Once you have the engine on a stand i will pull the oil pan and inspect, if you see any metal chunks or a film that looks like anti seize there is likely bearing damage. Also look at the crank journals and rod caps for any discoloration, heat from spun bearings will turn things different colors depending on the severity of the damage. As far as cracks go, they dont seem to frequent. Although i have seen others with cracked blocks. The 6.0’s seem to crack between the water jackets on the bottom part of the deck between the cylinders. I haven’t seen anything personally but have seen a handful of pictures online. This is usually what i do for core engines. Know good ones i am not as thorough
@@derekfelber743 thank you! All of that stuff makes sense. Looking into purchasing an LQ4/9 and I’m not sure if I am too worried about cracks. Planning to pull apart and replace nearly everything, so that’s my main concern. Really appreciate the advice!
@@DELTRANIO99 yea I didn’t do anything to the rotating assembly! I just cleaned it up, put some milled 799 heads on it to up the compression. Did new head gaskets, new oil pump, new timing chain, arp head studs and a small cam. Runs really well and has great oil pressure!
@@derekfelber743 I have a LQ9 with 177K on it and runs good and dont want to re-ring it or put new bearings in it just want to drop it in my Iroc which I did a 5.3 swap to it 3 years ago so want to upgrade to the LQ9
What are the visual checks you do, prior to opening the engine, to assess if it’s worth purchasing? What are the main issues that cannot be seen from a basic visual inspection? How concerned should one be about cracks in the block with iron block LS engines?
Usually i look for the obvious, like holes in the block or oil pan. Ill also look in the valve cover to see how dirty the inside of the engine is, that will give you an idea on how frequently the oil was changed. I also like to turn the engine over to see if it is smooth and even, and i also like to turn the crank back and found to listen for any issues. Turning the crank back and forth like an 1/8 a turn can sometimes expose spun bearings. If you have tools, pulling a valve cover and inspecting is worth it, look for metal flakes or any other debris. Once you have the engine on a stand i will pull the oil pan and inspect, if you see any metal chunks or a film that looks like anti seize there is likely bearing damage. Also look at the crank journals and rod caps for any discoloration, heat from spun bearings will turn things different colors depending on the severity of the damage. As far as cracks go, they dont seem to frequent. Although i have seen others with cracked blocks. The 6.0’s seem to crack between the water jackets on the bottom part of the deck between the cylinders. I haven’t seen anything personally but have seen a handful of pictures online. This is usually what i do for core engines. Know good ones i am not as thorough
@@derekfelber743 thank you! All of that stuff makes sense. Looking into purchasing an LQ4/9 and I’m not sure if I am too worried about cracks. Planning to pull apart and replace nearly everything, so that’s my main concern. Really appreciate the advice!
No problem!
Great vid are you going to put new rings or just run it as it is
Thanks! Im gunna run it as is. It’s actually already in my trans am and it runs really well!
@@derekfelber743 Oh wow thats awesome with same rings and bearings does it run strong ?
@@DELTRANIO99 yea I didn’t do anything to the rotating assembly! I just cleaned it up, put some milled 799 heads on it to up the compression. Did new head gaskets, new oil pump, new timing chain, arp head studs and a small cam. Runs really well and has great oil pressure!
@@derekfelber743 I have a LQ9 with 177K on it and runs good and dont want to re-ring it or put new bearings in it just want to drop it in my Iroc which I did a 5.3 swap to it 3 years ago so want to upgrade to the LQ9
@@DELTRANIO99 if it runs good and has good oil pressure I wouldn’t touch it. Unless it uses a ton of oil run it!
Awesome job good to know some of these things
Its fun to do!