9s for $9k

putting parts back in...crank and cam are in, and I set a head on to check piston to valve clearance with the new cam. Looks like there's plenty of room.

 

I need to know, did you put new bearings in it?
I'm not much of an engine builder so I would put bearings in just so it's one less thing I can get wrong.

 

no, I put the same old bearings back in. They're about 1/2 used up.

Drilled a hole and installed a -10 fitting in the pan, for the turbo drain.

 

Thanks for the bottom end shot. Now I can see why those LS´ can handle almost any amount of boost that´s thrown at them. With all those bolts in the main caps the crank just can´t go anywhere...

 

yeah, it's pretty sturdy. Also the way it's sealed, is quite a departure from the old ways.

and I get to tighten some of the bolts with an angle gauge. Learning new (to me) skills.

 

Do the caps use torque to yield bolts and studs ?
Dan

 

https://www.onallcylinders.com/2017/03/17/quick-tech-tty-fasteners-ls-engines-need-know/#:~:text=On a GM LS engine, the

To answer the question and possibly help Jim.
Which LS Fasteners are TTY?
On a GM LS engine, the cylinder head bolts are TTY and cannot be re-used.
The connecting rod bolts are also TTY, but can be tightened up to three times for bearing checking.
The balancer bolt is also a torque-to-yield fastener.
The intake manifold, rocker arm, and rear cover bolts can be reused.
The vertical main bolts can also be re-used, but the side bolts are often replaced because they have sealant on them. These can be re-used if sealant is re-applied.

 

and lots of guys reuse head bolts....and put boost to them...and they still work...

 

I’ve seen guys reuse tty bolts that are supposed to be replaced with good results I’ve always been chicken to do so.
Dan

 

Reuse the head gaskets with a copper spray too

 

I bought new gaskets. They were looking pretty tired.

 

Our builds sound similar, I reused the head bolts on my turbo 4.8, installed them with factory torque and then just angle. You can feel them twist, very different than an old school reusable head bolt. It's a little nerve wracking lol. My ring gap was good at .028 too, no grinding needed. Reused the 200k plus mile bearings, dingle honed the same type of rust stains, elgin 1839 cam with pac 1218 springs. I refused to reuse the head gaskets, they looked terrible and BTR makes small bore LS7 style head gaskets so I used them. I even went with flowed low buck decapped truck injectors, almost no money in the engine and it runs great. Started at 3 pounds, bumped to 8 and now have to get it down to do more tuning. Already deep in another build so have to force myself to make the time, but it is amazing what these little engines will do.

 

Thanks for the reassurance!

 

We have tried reusing LS head bolts, had an external coolant leak until we replaced them.

 

how did you tighten them? torque or torque plus angle?

 

Torque plus angle, as per GMs information. Although I do know others get away with reusing them.

 

I helped a buddy sort out a steel 5.3 from a 195k mile GMC suv. It went far between oil changes. At the rebuilder, it was cleaned 3x, it was funky.

It was bored .040" over for Wiseco forged pistons, the shop cut him a deal on some Corvette heads they took in on a swap.

The crank needed a polish, amazing considering the abuse the engine took. I was quite impressed with the lower end architecture. The crank is deep into the block.

 

Just like a Ford FE.....

 

I think they twist them more, looking for 70+ ft lbs when they're done.

I'll do some more research

 

well.... a few FE fords were cross bolted, but not most of them! 426 Hemis were, but again Mopar only made a handful of them. Chevy put 6 bolt mains in all these truck LS based engines, millions of them.

 

Nothing to add, except that I always enjoy your builds. 9s for 9k is a worthy goal and a great challenge.

 

It’s a fine line stretching them more before they break

 

^^^^^

 

The head bolts do not go into the water jacket, so any chance they were not torqued all the way? I cut slots into an old head bolt and use it as a thread chaser before installing the head bolts, it's amazing how much junk comes out of those blind head bolt holes.

 

Maybe the used bolts are stretched enough to bottom out in the hole, and not giving enough clamp load to compress the gaskets enough to seal properly.

 

I think it has more to do with the bolt losing strength from being used...which is how it was designed.

I did a bit more research, and ended up buying new bolts. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

 

With this engine, it's new stuff. Comments read here say that guys are budget building to the point of reusing those bolts AND boosting.
Are the aftermarket supplying HD stuff (ARP)? Just curious. I understand the reasoning of TTY, it just sticks in my craw, having to buy new and being juuuust enough to hold.

 

Rod, think of it more as having a higher clamp load on the gasket without cracking the head or deck.

 

Yeah, I get it. different block and head materials, expansion, lighter casting around threaded holes, tree branch strong in wind, not too stiff, not too soft. I do understand. It's like hose clamps that have spring tension in place VS a worm drive that is just tight.
When they come up with ones that are repeatable, maybe I'll be happier. Between rent VS own in software and products, fast fashion clothes that only last a season and one time use bolts I'm the old man shaking his fist at the clouds.