NCFarmLife

iTrader: (1)

Howdy Ya'll!

Decided to start my build thread to track the progress on my '91 Z28 restoration project. A bit of a back story first... I have been in love with the 91/92 body style ever since I was in high school. I don't know what it is about this car, but I just can't get enough of it - every line on it seems perfect to me. My family situation however was such that it was out of the question for me to have one when they first came out - fast forward 20+ years later. I've owned two other Camaro's (a '99 V6 and a '02 Z28) and a '99 Corvette FRC (still miss that one) - always black, always with T-tops... But I had never made my third-gen a reality.

Enter the barn find... a few months back I was talking with my girlfriend and the topic of how in love I was with this car comes up. She makes an offhand comment about how I should look for one (she's also a muscle car girl at heart) and so I started perusing the local ads half-heartedly just to see what was available.

And then I find it... a black 1991 Z28 with T-tops.

There's only one problem though - it's been sitting for almost 15 years. Here's a pic of the Facebook ad as I found it.


She's sitting pretty low. I couldn't see what shape the underside was in, but I rolled the dice and took it anyway.


Cobwebs everywhere!

That dent is going to need to come out.

Definitely going to need some cleaning inside here



I started talking to the seller and he seems pretty legit and OK to work with. The drivers window was knocked out by a rock kicked up from a mower a few years back and, though it was under a cover, the humid North Carolina weather has created some havoc on the interior. He said it was started and run occasionally, but a few years back it wouldn't turn over and its been quiet ever since. Health problems prevented him from enjoying/working on it. I can't see the underbody to tell what rust has set in, but otherwise it looks like it's in pretty good shape. Dirty as hell, but I was still on the fence.

I kinda let it go, but I happened to mention the whole situation to my buddy who is also a huge car guy. About a week later he asks me what the story is and I tell him that I took the 2hr trip to look at it, but I didn't really have a way to haul it back to my place (no auto trailer) and so I was just going to let it go. He says to me "you are seriously going to let your dream car go just because you don't have a trailer?" (side note: he is a professional freight driver with a F350 and an enclosed trailer)

RKeats

So did you end up taking it?? It'll definitely be an interesting build thread. You can take a look in the rear wheel wells and get a pretty good idea of what the rest of the underside will look like. I'd be willing to bet it's pretty much toast though considering the "storage" situation

NCFarmLife

iTrader: (1)

Loadout Day!

Two days later, I'm in the car with my girlfriend and buddy to drive the 2hrs *back* again with cash-in-hand this time...

I still didn't know what the underside of the thing looked like, the tires were shot and it was resting on the ground practically - but for the price he was asking I figured at *worst* case I could part it out and make my money back. Got the title signed over and we proceeded to figure out how to get the thing out.


Sitting really low. Floor pans could be shot.

My buddy says to me "the tires will always hold some air", so I proceeded to get them pumped up. It was about 95 degrees with 90% humidity and the ticks and mosquitos were out in full force. After about an hour of strapping and pushing, we started to get some movement. The tires were leaking like crazy and blowing dust as we pushed, but they did in fact hold air for the 15min it took us to get it up into the trailer. If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have believed it.


Progress!

The absolute best part was once we got it loaded. My buddy is underneath making sure it is all strapped in and he says to me "come down here" - and I'm immediately thinking to myself "oh crap, the whole floorpan is going to be rusted and gone" Apparently, the ground underneath was mostly sand, so *any* moisture that was underneath had drained away from the body. There was almost no rust on the thing anywhere. I still can't believe it. Other than some surface rust - everything is in great condition.


Loaded and ready!

NCFarmLife

iTrader: (1)

I'll be using this threat to mostly track my build progress and so you guys can hopefully keep me motivated, but I'm so pumped to have this thing now. It's going to be a huge thread, but I always love following along with other peoples builds - so hopefully you guys get some enjoyment out of mine. I do feel like I'm about 20 years late to the party. The forums seem alot more "dead" than I remember, but for me, its still very exciting and the first thing that's really made me smile in a long time.

Here she is sitting at her new home now, waiting on some roller tires and up off the ground so I can further inspect underneath.

RKeats

Sweeeeeeeeeet that it's so rust free! Assuming the motor isn't seized, you're going to spend some time and money dropping and cleaning the tank, replacing all the intake gaskets and vacuum lines, and you'll likely have a number of sensors that have called it quits, but otherwise she should hopefully blaze up. Look out for the TGO vultures too, they're going to want that front plate

RKeats

How many miles are on the car?

Abubaca

iTrader: (3)

Heck yeah, man awesome!!!!!!!!!! Where in NC are you??? Look forward to following along with your progress!

NCFarmLife

iTrader: (1)

Thanks guys! Fun to see others are excited as well. Definitely keeps me motivated.

@RKeats - I'm a little ahead in my build than these posts, but I don't want to spoil it, I'll just say you are very wise. It has 172K, with the original 305 engine and transmission.

@Abubaca - I live out on a farm in the middle of nowhere. LOL. The closest town you might have heard of is Pittsboro. Hoping I can get her running for the Beach Bash in a few months, but it might be cutting it close with my work schedule.

RKeats

Well then there's no excuse as to why there aren't 10x as many pics posted. Lesgolesgolesgo! Also I have to ask, on behalf of the community, what did you pay for it??

NCFarmLife

iTrader: (1)

Found some cheap roller tires from a guy here locally for $140. They are good enough to get this thing in and out of the garage so I can give it the bath it so desperately needs.

First order of business is this interior, because quite frankly I'm a little afraid to sit in it for too long...




CD player looks to be in good shape still..

The girlfriend helped out and we got it washed down, blew out the engine with some compressed air (not a fan of pressure washing engine bays, but it may have to be done on this one) and gave the interior a good, long vacuuming - including all the door glass that had found its way under the driver seat.

At the end of it all, we ended up with...
- 10 cigarette lighters (smokers car, ugh!)
- about 2lbs of glass in, under and around the drivers seat
- a Lou Bega CD for Mambo Number 5 *shudder*
- Dale Jarett Jr jacket
- some "feminine hygiene" products still in the wrapper (thank god) but well, well past the point of being usable safely.


I'm sure it'll buff out...

The steering wheel had to come out. Leather was gone and I was afraid it was evolving into a new life form if it was not cleaned ASAP. It actually cleaned up fairly well with some soap and water, but there were still areas that looked discolored. I thought about trying to recover it, but between Ebay and here, I found a good deal on a replacement air bag and original wheel with the leather wrap still in great condition.

I was starting to get concerned that this might be a flood vehicle as I am near the coast and we get a lot of damage from storm surges. (Just as I write this, in fact, we are under a Hurricane advisory) But the extent of the moisture issues appears to be mostly on surface areas near the door and the headliner. The title was clean, which I know is no guarantee, but I don't think anyone pulled anything over on me.

We also decided it needed a name. So seeing as though this was a female-driven, 90's car that is still sexy, but in a dirty kinda way - we settled on "Crystal"

NCFarmLife

iTrader: (1)

@RKeats - I ended up paying $1700 for it. I feel like I got a pretty good deal given how solid it is mechanically. Some might argue that I should have gotten it for less, but its really more about finding what I loved for a price I could afford than getting the best deal possible. Either way, I'm happy.

RKeats

Sure it could have been a little less, but a super solid black ttop 91 Z28 is worth it in my books. I'm excited to see how she cleans up!

Abubaca

iTrader: (3)

Sweet. Will be following along. I may try to make it out to the beach bash this year as well but no promises, lol. I was going through a list of things that I had to help you out with your build and was like, sold that, sold that, sold that....and on and on....occured to me that I don't have much left! Oops. I'm here in spirit though, and if you really need a hand with something....feel free to reach out! Always like to meet new folks and turn wrenches if I can find the time!

NCFarmLife

iTrader: (1)

One more post for today to catch you guys up with where I am at now...

I was hoping to pop the dent out of the drivers door using some PDR techniques. (spent *way* too much time on Youtube watching these guys) After about 4 hrs I got 90% of it popped out and was really happy with my work, but the way the dent happened the drivers mirror wouldn't sit straight and I couldn't get behind it to get the last 10% fixed. Bummer. BUT, I started scouring the local yards/classifieds and ended up finding a complete door, with glass, side mirror and power accessories for less than $100. It's the wrong color, but I can tell from the paint job that it was originally black (it was meant to be) and in great shape. As I explained to my buddy, "its a mid-90's Camaro, it's almost mandatory that you have at least one body panel that doesn't match" In all seriousness though, the whole thing will be repainted at some point. The clearcoat is in really rough shape in some spots and not salvagable and I'm getting some surface rust on the hood areas especially.

Some good news though! I put in a new battery and my electrical works! Which led to this....

I drained out all the old oil and replaced with a new filter and, to my surprise, the engine turned with relative ease by hand. (thought for sure we were going to find it seized) So I had originally planned to pop the distributor out, prime it by hand and then try to fire it up - assuming it was all in really bad shape lubrication-wise. The more I thought about it though (and my impatience got the better of me) the more it seemed like everything was still in really good shape. So I eventually decided W.W.J.D.D - "What Would Joe Dirt Do?" and told the girlfriend we were just going to send it and if the engine blew, then so be it - it had led a good life...

First attempt, nothing - no starter click, nada... I remembered an old trick my pops taught me, which was to get underneath and give the starter a tap with a rubber mallet, and to my surprise....

Second attempt... it started cranking!

Praise Jeebus, this thing might just live! We let it go for a bit, not wanting to burn the starter out, but it just wouldn't turn over. That's when I got the idea "brake clean is *pretty* close to starter fluid, right?" (for those following along, we've abandoned safety and caution at this point and are mostly "winging it" on adrenaline)

Third attempt....


All that fluff used to be in my tailpipe

With the girlfriend cranking and the fire extinguisher close at hand, I gave it a couple quick shots in the intake and... BAM, nice backfire out the intake, but it turned over! (then promptly dies) Not wanting to push things any further for the night and thinking we'd probably seen my luck go as far as reasonably possible I decided to call it a night.

The next day I checked the fuel pump using the test outlet and heard nothing, then I hooked up a fuel pressure gauge to the rail and tried to crank - zero pressure. So, as @RKeats called it, the fuel system is dead. Which means the whole backend had to come apart. Not terrible, but not fun - as its hot as hell here in NC lately and my garage doesn't get great airflow.


Rear end is out, just need to drop the old tank now.


So here is where she sets currently. I have the rear dropped out and a complete plastic LS1 tank/pump/sending unit from a '99 ready to go in. Unfortunately, there is a hurricane coming and I needed to order some connectors, so it'll have to wait for a bit. I am pretty confident that once we get good fuel to her, she's going to fire up... So excited!

NCFarmLife

iTrader: (1)

@Abubaca - Will do! And thanks! I'm up around Greensboro a lot, so I'd definitely be down to check out your '89. I took a peek at your Facebook. It's soooo clean man!

chazman

iTrader: (4)

Very cool! Following!

skinny z

It inspires me to see someone so enthusiastic about a third gen. One of the threads here regarding "Gray beards" reflects what some folks think about these cars. But being a full fledged gray beard myself, I can say that the very first time I saw an 82 Camaro roll by (in the fall of 81) I said, "THAT will be a cool car someday". Glad there are like minded people out there.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Question: All original build direction or "resto-mod"?

Whitebird75

While you are under there, make sure to change the fuel filter. You wouldn't want to push any debris from a deteriorated fuel filter into your injectors. Speaking of injectors, it may be a worthwhile investment to replace them while you have the fuel system open. SouthBay Fuel Inectors is the go-to place and gives forum members a 10% discount. Awesome car BTW.

Edsiroc

iTrader: (2)

Nice find! Will follow a long with the progress!
Agreed with the post above, change the fuel filter, and if you are looking at changing injectors I believe southbay has a 15% labor day discount until September 7th.

ironwill

Good on you for working hard to bring this Z28 back from the dead, OP.

As already mentioned, the complete fuel system will need to be addressed, as will the brakes. It's also likely that the radiator will need to be replaced as well.

vinny R

Following also. Glad to see you bringing her back to life. Really glad to see another 91' being saved,my fav, right Chris! My buddy has the exact same but a 92 with the G92 and once you get her back you are going to have one bad a$$ third gen! You are doing all the right things and that fuel system needs completely gone through. If the engine turns over freely she should run once you have fuel and spark. I did not notice you mention the miles on her, I may have missed it.

NCFarmLife

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for all the great suggestions guys!

@skinny z - That makes me really happy to hear man. I was involved with the forums over at another board WAY back in the early 2000's when I had my V6 and coming back now I can definitely see how people would gripe that these cars time has past. It made me a little sad at first, but just seeing everyone get excited and hearing all the encouragement - its still just as much fun for me.


172K with the original motor/tranny.


So I had to think really hard on this one and I'll tell you guys what my thoughts are on it. (and maybe you can change my mind) I looked up all the RPO codes and, although this is at a great starting point for an all-original numbers matching restoration, there's nothing super special about it. Standard 305 Z28, of which they made hundreds of thousands I think I read. Add in the high mileage and the fact that it needs a repaint - which would mean no original factory finish and I'm leaning more towards resto-mod.

It's going to be an extremely tasteful restomod though... just a little update to the modern century and some go-fast goodies here and there. The only exception is probably the engine. Once the 305 does let go, I might get creative on its replacement.

I love the lines on this thing - I don't want to stray too far from it's heritage.

Already swapped in a K&N PF-1000. (just forgot to take a picture, will try to get better at that in future - usually just so excited about what I'm doing I forget to stop and snap pics. LOL)

SirReveller

iTrader: (4)

Fantastic save! Can’t wait to see you restore her to her former glory!

shadow315

iTrader: (3)

Hey, I just happened to click on this thread and I live out in the middle of nowhere near Pittsboro too! I have a firebird sitting in my barn. I just fired it up yesterday for the first time in a while and started working on it again.

QwkTrip

iTrader: (22)

I'd go a lot further than that. After my car sat for 12 years I stripped down the interior to metal and wires, and scrubbed everything with soapy water. I blew apart every piece of interior and washed it by hand with water and Simple Green. It was downright disgusting what I found inside the HVAC tubes. The firewall insulation was really gross too, and all of it was thrown in the trash. Everything looked and smelled like new when I was done.

If you're going to keep the carpet then I would remove it and power wash it. Then spot clean any remaining stains. You can even use a carpet shampooer on it once the carpet is laid out on the concrete driveway.

NCFarmLife

iTrader: (1)

Thats awesome! Sent you a PM.



Definitely. This was just an initial cleaning. The whole interior is getting pulled and a couple parts will have to be redone. The headliner is beyond repair.

@QwkTrip your build thread is actually my inspiration. Without your fuel/wiring diagrams, I would be completely lost on this sending unit replacement. Huge thank you for all the time you put into making really detailed threads and diagrams for us.

Billgluckman

I wouldn’t worry about keeping it original. Mod away.

I love bringing old dirty cars like this home. Call me weird but I get a lot of satisfaction from cleaning them. Lol

QwkTrip

iTrader: (22)

And you just made my day!

NCFarmLife

iTrader: (1)

****Update: 1/16

Well, it's been awhile since I've updated. Been working on this thing off-and-on trying to juggle the holidays, weather and work trips. My plan was to stick with the original 305 and get it running for awhile and enjoy the car in its "showroom" form. (more to come on that)

The fuel system was pretty much shot from sitting for 10+ years, so first steps were to replace pretty much everything that had touched raw gasoline.


Old injectors are toast.



New 4th gen plastic tank next to the old.


Double-checking my fuel level sender.

Assembled Aeromotive pump, filter, etc... ready to go in.


Checking fuel pressure with my make-shift stand... Looking pretty good. Holley adjustable FPR allowed me to tweak it a bit.

So things went OK on that path. I did get it running, but the idle was rough and it kept stalling out and dying. I have full OBD-1 diagnostics using Tunercat and the Moates cables. (IAC, TPS, MAP, compression, spark and fuel all checked out OK) My guess is a poor intake plenum seal which was causing a massive vacuum leak. The entire fuel system is redone, new 19lb injectors, new plug wires/distributor cap and plugs.

In a bit of frustration I decided to take a break from the motor for awhile and concentrate on a couple other areas of this thing...


New 4th gen rear with Aluminum driveshaft.


Chrome Z06 wheels. Yes, I know she's a little dirty.

I also installed a Spohn adjustable panhard bar while the rear was out. (forgot to take a pic)

Over the christmas break we got a week+ of great weather, so I went back through everything I had done with a fine-tooth comb looking for anything I might have missed and came up empty handed. After whats amounted to a couple hundred hours of tinkering with the 305 and OBD-1 diagnosis, I eventually asked myself "why am I bothering with this anymore" - I've owned a half-dozen LS1 engines and I know them in and out. So.... you guys know what that means.

*** LS SWAP TIME ***

I worked like a madman while we still had some great weather....


Out with the old...

Day One: pulled the old 700R4 transmission. Quite the adventure doing this by myself with jackstands.


Goodbye thorn-in-my-side.

Day two: got the 305 pulled out. Had some help with this from my buddy - just to make sure I didn't crush myself.


Donor vehicle

Day three: Acquired my donor vehicle. 2003 Chevrolet Suburban with the 5.3L Vortec and a 4L60E. Grabbed it for a *great* deal. Engine only has 160K on it and it started up and ran fine. No codes on my OBD-II scanner except for a pending fault with the flex fuel sensor. (will have to dive into that later)

So this is how we currently sit... weather is getting cold again and girlfriend was feeling neglected, so I took a couple days to let my busted knuckles heal up and spend some time with family before I tackle pulling out the 5.3 and tranny in the donor.

Billgluckman

Nice. I’m definitely watching. I’m sure a lot of people are even if they don’t post.

skinny z

I'm watching...
Is your donor 2WD or 4WD? I've an 06 Tahoe with the same engine /trans combo but it's a 4 X 4. Makes the transmission conversion an issue. Or so I understand anyway.

RKeats

You see all the "F*** it, LS swap it" memes everywhere, and this is the text book definition of such. Looking forward to seeing some more progress, especially when Spring finally hits! With the amount of LS swap threads too, this place is basically a hands on college course for how to get one in your car

NCFarmLife

iTrader: (1)

Mine is a 4WD as well. I think the tailhousing and output shafts are different. I'm not sure how difficult changing them over is, but I'm pretty sure it involves opening it up - which if you are going to do that, you might as well rebuild the whole thing. I'm OK with that being the case though. I've wanted to rebuild a transmission for awhile because I've never done it and I'd like this to be bulletproof for future plans.

I really went back and forth on it for quite some time, but it started to get to the point that I didn't want to work on the car anymore - which was bad because its supposed to be my "fun" thing when work and everything else gets to be too much. But yeah, I'll admit I jumped on the bandwagon. I'm ok with it! Technically, my goal was to get the old motor running and it did run - just for 15 to 20 seconds at a time. LOL

skinny z

From what I've read, yes, it has to be completely disassembled to swap out the output shaft. And I'm with you, while I enjoy working on the Camaro as a hobby, I'm not a big fan of having to do things twice. Once and done would be my preference so a rebuild would be in the books for me too. And although I've been into automatics before, it's one of those things that has many nuances. Get something wrong and the one and done is out the window.
Even the once is starting to wear thin!

RKeats

I really went back and forth on it for quite some time, but it started to get to the point that I didn't want to work on the car anymore - which was bad because its supposed to be my "fun" thing when work and everything else gets to be too much. But yeah, I'll admit I jumped on the bandwagon. I'm ok with it! Technically, my goal was to get the old motor running and it did run - just for 15 to 20 seconds at a time. LOL[/QUOTE]


No harm in that. Beats spending all that time and energy just to realize that your tired out 350 doesn't excite you much when it can only do burnouts on a gravel road! The first day that you start that LS, I bet you'll feel 100x more accomplished

cdoyle

That's a cool find, subscribing to see the progress.

That old Alpine deck is pretty cool too, very 90's. They themselves are becoming collectable, people like those old school Alpines.

jstadmud

Yes, I will definitely follow your progress as well! I live here in North Carolina too, Hickory area, and my fiancee works in Greensboro.

I guess I probly need to start my build thread on here too, getting started on putting my 83 CrossFire Z28 back to full life status.

I think we should all get together on a weekend somewhere in NC close enough for everyone in the area to attend. We could meet up in our Third Gens and just hang out somewhere for a bit (maybe even terrorize a few tuners and mustangs,lol).

Pictures, my man, we need lots of Pictures!

Chopski

iTrader: (1)

Looks like a great project. I'm in for the duration. When you get frustrated take a step back but not for too long, that is how it becomes an ornament.

Robert404

I am actually taking on my first ls swap into a 91 camaro rs. I bought the car a couple of weeks ago. I have acquired a 6.0 lk engine. I am currently on the hunt for a tremec 56 tranny to bolt to it.

Growing up we had an 82 z28 and a 88 iroc. I have always loved the lines of the car. When I was learning to drive I scared my mother with the 88 so she got rid of it. Ever since then I’ve wanted to replace that car. Btw-t-tops rule. Lol!!!!

I will be following your progress and maybe maybe even start a thread of my own. I have a 12 year old daughter and a 9 year old son. They are super excited to work on this car every time they walk in the garage.

Thanks for sharing!!!

NCFarmLife

iTrader: (1)

Donor engine/transmission has been pulled!!!

This thing fought me almost every step of the way... the donor vehicle had registration in New York and New Jersey, but it looked like it had *only* been driven on salted roads it's entire life - the underneath was nothing but rust everywhere. I'm actually amazed the thing was still drivable. A couple of the hangar brackets I needed out of the way I just broke off with my hand. Stuff was so bad that I kept getting it in my eyes even with safety goggles on and that caused my left to swell up for a week and generally made life miserable with everyone asking "oh my god, what happened to your eye" every 5 minutes. All ok now and went right back at it yesterday since we have had some decent weather the past couple days.

The transmission WOULD NOT let go of the engine, so we had to pull out both together over the top of the front radiator support. That was quite the adventure. LUCKILY, my el-cheapo harbor freight lift went high enough and we *just barely* squeaked it over. In retrospect, I had not put the bellhousing bolts back in, so it was just the frozen up guide plugs keeping it together - not smart, do not replicate. But it worked out all good and we have her back on solid ground and using a little heat I was able to separate the two with minimal effort.



Engine has quite a bit of surface rust, but I think with a wire wheel and some elbow grease it will all come out fine. I didn't see anything that looked like a structural issue. I'll know more when I tear into it a bit further.

I'm so happy to have this thing out..... I can't even tell you guys how much. It was a nightmare being under that thing for days on end getting garbage in my face every two seconds. Time for the fun to begin!

Billgluckman

I hate working on trucks that have been up and down dirt roads because of rust and dirt constantly falling in your eyes. I had to get a piece of metal out of my eye last year due to this. Not fun.

skinny z

I work on my 06 Tahoe and it generally sucks as well. FWIW the worst eye injuries I've ever suffered, and I've been in maintenance and construction as a tradesman for over 30 years, came from working on my vehicles. Generally underneath the and working on the exhaust. Right in the freakin' eyeball! WITH safety glasses!

GICATA

This is quite the adventure, for you and your audience! I guarantee when you do get to pull out of the driveway and head down the road it will all be worth it!

NCFarmLife

iTrader: (1)

Sorry for the lack of updates... No real excuse other than being busy with work/life/farm stuff and spending more time under the car and outside than at the keyboard. (which I think is acceptable)

With that being said - I've made quite a bit of progress on the Z lately. My goal was to get the heads and oil pan off to take a look and see what kind of shape everything was in. If it looked OK, I would probably stop there. I'm not trying to turn this into a 1500hp-tire-burning-record-setting-track-monster. (though that would be fun) So my hope was to keep it fairly simple from an engine rebuild perspective. (Note: I said *was*) I'll let the pictures do the talking...


Getting things torn down, very dirty up top here...


Valvetrain, Not looking too terrible...


Oilpan is looking a little sludgy and milky


Crap... #6 is not looking so hot...

Well, at this point I decided it was time for the engine to be completely torn down and readied for the machine shop. #6 is going to need a good honing to get smooth again and possibly be overbore'd. I could be wrong, but that is my take on it right now. I definitely want to get it in front of a machinist for their opinion. It's just not worth the effort of putting it all back together and it possibly running like garbage. I'd rather do it right and be done with it for awhile. (I have a TON of other projects that need to get done this year)

So, complete teardown time...



Making progress


My "bucket-o' engine parts"


Where she sits now...

So that is it for now. I have a *little* bit more I've done, but I'll save that for the next post as I need to get some better pictures. I've called around to a couple machine shops and I think I found one I like to work with and he came pretty highly recommended. As soon as I get a break from other craziness, I'll hopefully be able to drive out and drop everything off for them to take a look at.

More to come in the near future!

DynoDave43

iTrader: (11)

Hmmm...sorry if I missed it earlier, but do you know what happened to #6? Is that just rain from the engine sitting outside open, or???

NCFarmLife

iTrader: (1)

Not sure. I had everything covered up as best I could during the pull. Unless some coolant/moisture managed to find its way in, it appears that maybe the head gasket was leaking? The engine sounded fine before I started yanking it out though and I didn't see any obvious damage on the gaskets. The corrosion also seemed to be too much for only a day or two if it happened during me removing it... A bit of a mystery.

zman1969

iTrader: (9)

cool build I seem to like the late third gens and that oil pan looks like the one off my 5.3 in my "new" 2005 pickup - from good frien that bought it new and Mobil 1 100% at 152K one day after long drive night befor it made hideous noise in the morning and was down 2 qts in about 1K miles - pulled pan and look!


it still runs good but WTH? no more noise now, just needs a catch can. I had to R&R intake to replace bad knock sensor and oil was running out of it! hope I'm good to 300k now
keep us updated

Billgluckman

I’ve got 252k on my 01 with a 5.3. Mine is leaking oil from the rear main but other than that it’s showed now sign of giving up. They’re good engines.

drknow90rs_ss@y

iTrader: (3)

No, they're GREAT engines. Other than lifter failure being a common thing, (the dreaded "lifter tap") but easy to replace. Following this thread.
Keep up the great work!
I think you are heading in the right direction, using the 5.3. Very versatile motor.
DR.K.

gscroll

iTrader: (1)

Loving this thread, can't wait to see the finished car!