Justin,

You can't seem to catch a break man. I hope everything is alright, and there isnt any damage!

 

Its official. Motor's toast. Guessing I bent a rod.

Emptied the oil, pumped water out of the cylinders. Noticed a slight rythmic sound when cranking. Thought maybe it was just due to oil and water mixing or something weird. Got it back together, fired it up and BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG....

Soooooo..... once again, the car is down. For how long? Who knows. Thinking about tracking down a short block and just transfering it all over. Not sure what damage is done though. Have to tear it down first.

Cant believe this happened. Cant believe that it busted something that quick. It shut off almost immediately, and I didnt try to crank it. Figured it just stopped her and that was it.

I wasnt moving hardly at all. I came up to the puddle, and thought I could skirt around it, but traffic behind me and traffic coming the other way prevented it. So I slowed way down to a crawl. Entered the water, and was ok at first. Then I heard my exhaust go under water. So I kept the gas steady...just above idle, and it sort of stumbled, then shut off. Clutch in, pulled to the side. I have pics but cant upload them right now.

Just really angry at myself. Not sure why I drove the car today. The only reason I went the way I went was because I wanted to get gas. I didnt even really need gas. Could have made it home easy. And if I didnt try to get gas...I would have made it home no problem on the other roads.

Oh yeah...this happened about 50 feet from the DRY gas station entrance. On a positive note, AAA has proven to be fantastic. Guy was there less than 10 minutes after my phone call. He didnt complain once about having to slosh around in 8" of water. I did have to lay in it to hook the chain to my chassis though. He couldnt see anything since the water was above the GFX. I knew where the tow holes were...since I spend a lot of time under it. So I just got under and did what I had to do. Probably have pnemonia now.

Ill keep you guys posted.

J.

 

Well Justin, I am sorry you had to become a member of the club. Back in '88 I was kicking myself in rear for not being more sensible. If I remember right I was going to Sharpstown Mall to purchase something on a July 4th sale. I drove into the water on Fondren just after exiting the SW Freeway. Can't remember what it was I was going to buy but it ended up costing me ~$1k even though I never bought it. Even small puddles get a signicant level of respect from me now.

OT: BTW congrats on the wedding. I wish you a lifetime of happy moments.

 

Thats terrible news. Hope you find a good short ASAP

It can always be worse, a friend in the local Fbody club got severely reareneded on the way down and hydrolocked his TT 408 on the way back from G14

 

Thanks mw... Hindsight is a you know what. At least a dozen things I could have done differently that would have ended my day a lot better. But cant do anything about it now.

Pocket. Yeah...could have been worse. I was in an ok spot (turning lane). So at least people could get around me safely.

Still not sure what Im going to do. Not sure exactly whats busted. If my pistons got damaged, which Im sure they probably did on the skirts at least, this will be very expensive as Im not running stock pistons. Hell even rods are pricey. So Im trying to locate shortys and see what I can come up with.

Hey...silver lining... Now I can replace the rings so I wont have blowby/smoking issues anymore hahahaha.

Justin

 

Way to look at the bright side Justin. I spoke to a salvage yard up here about 5.3's they've got one for $400, longblock. I haven't called around about anything but 5.3 and 6.0 truck motors, but I intend to make some more calls when money allows.

 

aw hell dude, that sucks. Every time you get it running something happens it seems. Hope you get it figured out. Hope the job thing goes well too man.

 

Yeah...PITA thats what it is haha. This wasnt a mechanical snafu...this was all on me. The car was running great too. F me. haha.

Here are some pics. This is after the rain stopped, and the water level went down a couple inches. It was up to the bottom of my front bumper ground fx when I got out.







J.

 

Wow man, its much worse than I thought it might be for just taking in a bit of water. boy I hope things aren't too badly damaged. I guess on the bright side, you could always pick up a 5.3 long block for $400, and rebuild your LSX as a monster =).

 

Thats a serious down pour

Do you think the boosted engine insurance (cheapo head gaskets) would have saved it from mechanical failure?

 

That was quite a bit of water, sorry to see that happen to you...

On my '91 vert i have the air filter coming from the paxton SC down in the same location as you have yours... as that one i drive only rarely and only on nice days (still less than 6,000 miles on it since new in 1990) i figured it wasn't going to be an issue

On my '85 Iroc with the LS3 swap i have the same issue as you have found in high inlet temps when stopped and idling with no moving air flow... I almost did what you had done but i stopped at just cutting a 4" hole in the battery tray and am going to just build a cold air box around it. i don't drive this one intentionally in the rain but don't want to take a chance... i am thinking about using pieces from the '10 camaro air box as a place to start to get an easy to service air box

 

Falcon...She was already a beast Never really saw the full potential of that motor, because the last time I tried to have it tuned, two of the injectors were clogged. But Im eying up a couple LS1 long blocks...as well as some for sale threads with just rods. I think all I need is rods. We'll see.

Pocket...I dont know what would have helped it really. Maybe strengthened rods? Thats the only thing that isnt aftermarket in the motor. Then again, H-beams might have caused the pistons to break/crack. So maybe I should be glad that a rod bent. Honestly, I was really hopeful, because it was only idling when it stopped. Not like I was at WOT and it sucked water in and slammed to a stop. It just sort of softly stopped. The intake had a lot of water in it, but only one cylinder spat water out. It was either 5 or 7... it was getting dark when I started messing with it, so it was hard to tell.

I felt good compression at each cylinder using the finger method. I know...not a good test. But I was convinced that none of the pistons were busted, at least on top.

Alan... I almost regret building that filter. I rarely ever take the car out when it rains. The last couple times that I got caught in the rain though, I always checked, and the filter remained dry. Even after hitting some moderate puddles. This puddle was severe. It was like a stream. Way over my sneakers even after I was standing up on the curb.

HOWEVER...when she's fixed..if she gets fixed...I might be re-building that. Water doesnt sling up fron the tire really...but this water came in through the fog light opening, and filled up the bumper cover. It had no chance.

I hate the idea of moving it back into the engine bay. That hot air was killing power. But I like your idea about using the hole in the battery tray for fresh air. Maybe Ill look into moving the fuse boxes again while the motor is out, and build a box for the filter to sit in. Seal it off. Maybe build a low profile scoop right under the front bumper on that side to pump the air up.

Ive got a lot of work and thinking ahead of me. Ive been saying that the next time the motor is out, I was changing some things. So I need to decide if I want to do them now.

J.

 

Tear it down. If a rod is all you need, then consider yourself lucky. Give it a nice freshen up and be a little more careful with it

It also gives you a chance to redo the little things that bug you

 

Like new rings, lifters, gaskets,...cam...?? hehe. Oh boy. Here we go.

Im pretty calmed down now. At first, the night it happened, I was about to put it up for sale at a price that was bound to get it out of my hair fast. But now, Im pretty set with rebuilding/improving. Just might take me some time. i was hoping to do this after I bought a house and had a garage to work in. But..we'll see. Got a line on a 30k mile shortblock for pretty cheap. If my pistons are ok, which Im hoping they are, Ill just make one good short block out of the two and slap the old parts back on with some new goodies.

J.

 

Man that's a lot of rain!


Hopefully you can find a shortblock fairly quick and not costly. Don't beat yourself up over it, of course if you knew this would happen you wouldn't have driven it that particular day. But what's done is done, no sense in shooting yourself in the foot now.

 

Thanks Nick. As long as my pistons arent broken Ill end up ok haha. Might even splurge and get the block hot tanked, and actually clean all the parts before putting them back together haha. I always hated how lazy I was and never cleaned it good enough. Thank goodness for vette coil covers haha.

Talking with Mikey over at Rapid See what he can come up with.

Going to see if my Jeep's snorkel will fit next. That way I can drive in water up over the hood next year.

J.

 

Oh, well there is always room for more beast under these third-gen hoods =) I really hope you find a really cheap, good condition short-block to use, and quickly, I have really enjoyed your threads, and I really like your car, its a shame for it not to be out there tearing up the asphalt!

 

WOW! This sucks man. You have certainly been put through the pace3s with this car and the previous car for that matter

Maybe look for a cheap 6.0L truck engine? Usually burnt ones are ridiculously cheap and the long block is undamaged and swap everything over. You could be up and running within a week and only out of pocket a few hundred bucks. Heck even ones with high mileage in terms of long block are fine

 

Cam... Ive been wondering how my parts would work on a different block. I.E. a 6.0L.

My heads are 5.3L MTI heads. Not sure what that would do... Havent really looked into 6.0L build combos to be honest.

Ide really like a different cam as the reverse split that Im running now isnt ideal for me.

Hmm.....

J.

 

damn thats a lot of rain!

ps. You ever gonna decide whether or not to keep the fade stripe above the gfx?

 

this give you an excuse to go bigger more power lol

hey one quick question on your heater control valve.
my ac set runs good an all . i have amechanical valve that opens and closes a seperate vaccum since i wasnt able to add that to the 4th gen hvac controlers.
when i apply vacuum to the heater control valve does your coolant complete stop circulating to the rear hoses that go to your heater core?

i thought that was the purpose. idk if mine got defective over time but im still getting hot coolant passed the heater control valve. i thought it would have circulate from the heater control valve within just the front hoses.

once i turn my car on and the a/c .. well my a/c temperatures are cooler than when i start driving the car.

 

Orin... Haha... Yeah. Ive decided that the GFX stripe is going to go. Its INCREDIBLY tedious to get off though. I actually spent a couple hours getting the strip off the rear bumper using a heat gun. Just takes forever.

So Ive been going at it alittle at a time. I was hoping to get the car in semi-gloss black before the summer was over, and I was just going to sand the sticker off with an orbital.

But no who knows. The sticker is all but gone though! I HATE the appearance of the car right now. Between the sticker and the peeling paint. But...it makes for a nice sleeper haha.

TPI TERR...when I turn on my a/c, the valve lets the coolant flow from the water pump, into the valve and right back to the water pump. It also would let coolant from the heater core circulate...if there was something to pump it. But basically, it lets the coolant circulate at the pump, but not through the heater core. Some still seeps through, so the hoses wont get cool or cold after things heat up...but it def helps.

J.

 

For what it's worth, I really liked the faded stripe.

 

Cruiser-
If you are thinking of just rods, you want to check your crank. A good way is to put the block upside down, and place the crank on the bearing halves. Put a dial indicator on each main journal, then spin the crank. If you bent the crank, there will be a bunch of run out. Start next to where you had the bad rods. Also, give a good look to the piston pin area.
No big secrets, just thought I'd mention it.

 

Nick the blue stripe sticker is wayyy too 80's for me haha. It has to come off for paint anyway since the paint is waving bye bye. The guy I got the car from offered me a fresh roll from GM for like $15 haha. I declined.

Flip...Yeah thats def something Im going to check. Ide like to replace the bearings, but holy crap! $250 shipped for mains and rods!!! Most expensive bearings Ive ever looked into! I have a lot of diagnosing to do to see whats savagable. But guys are putting the 6.0 bug in my ear...and another guy has a <20k mile LS6 shorty that he might be selling...so my options are all over the place right now.

Ide like to start on this this year, but its not looking good. Just no time, space, or money to do the work right now. Ill likely start a new thread as this one has run its course I think haha. I dont have anymore fun pictures to post other than the ones where my car is playing goldfish.

J.

 

Justin, There are a few LS6's that are being sold here in Phoenix, some are pretty darn low miles. One of which says that its an LS6 longblock with 241 heads & ARP studs with 61K miles for $1500.

I'm shopping for my LSX build right but watching for the right deal.

 

Cool man. Im not gonna be real picky. I really need to decide if I want to step up to a 6.0 or not. If not, Ill probably just start looking for a replacement shorty for my motor.

If my pistons are ok, Ide like to reuse them because they are expensive Ross pistons. If I find out my block is ok, then all Im doing is installing new rods.

Ide like to keep the entire job under 1000-1200 bucks. That includes gaskets, seals, fluids, and all the little odds and ends that go with it.

Of course, if I go 6.0...that number probably wont hold only for the fact that Im not sure my clutch will stand for it.

Lots of thinking..

J.

 

I wouldn't worry about the clutch unless you're talking about Geri g down and dirty with the 6.0...like stroking it and getting some serious power in it.

By the way, my vote is 6.0, and I think my avatar would look nice next to your name haha

 

Im thinking a 6.0, with my heads, and a good cam will probably make a good deal more than what Im capable of now. But Im still doing 6.0 research. The LS7 clutch should hold a good amount, but what its rated at is still hazy. I know Ide have to keep my eye on it.

Im a little sick of how I dont make power until the gates of hell are opened at 4600 rpms. I want some low end grunt. Which the bigger motor and better cam choice would probably give me. But even changing the cam on my current set up would be a good change.

 

I havent been here in a while. Im sorry to see what happened to your car man. What a bummer, if only water could be compressed eh?

Mine is down too, the oil pump had a catastrophic failure @ 6K rpm. Mostly fried all the bearings. Im in the same boat as your are, the engine is out of the car and is waiting inspection at the machine shop.
I have about the same options that you have...
#1 if the block is good, forge the hell out of it.
#2 if the block is bad, 6.0 forged.
#3 new ls6 long block.

Those 3 are about the same price, #1 probably being the cheapest of them... man... just when I thought I was done with the car. lol

 

well sorry to hear bout this man,.... that is tough. My frnd hydrolocked his car and he threw a rod and put two holes in his block. so,....... kinda a idea. Well at least if iu rebuild it itll be like new? right..... sorry justin

 

Justin, Have any pictures of the carnage yet? Any Ideas as to the extent of the damage?

 

Nah...nothing yet. I havent even touched the car since that night...she's sitting covered up.

It'll be awhile. Im focusing on getting the cheapo Jetta that I bought on the road. Then Ill be fixing up my old Jeep for sale, and finally selling my newer DD Jeep that the Jetta is replacing.

Then its time for the TA to get attention again. Problem is, that might be close to when Im buying a house. Or trying to buy a house. SO I might just hold off until I know whether Ill have a garage at the house or not. If not..Ill start tearing it apart now at my folks. If Ill have a garage at my house...look out. Ill be tearing it apart before Im unpacked all the way. haha.

Ill keep ya all posted though.

J.

 

Aren't "LS6 longblock" and "241 heads" mutually exclusive?

 

for sure. an ls6 longblock better have 243's on it!

 

Tough break mate, oh well it is an opportunity to make it faster. 6.0 ftw

 

so whats going on with this car?

 

She's sittin right now. Ive pulled the cover off several times and just sorta stared at things haha.

Here's my situation. My wife and I are trying to buy a house. It pains me to even think about selling the car off...but the money is very tempting right now. However its not running, which means Ill take a huge hit on it at this point.

So Ive been toying with fixing it...and possibly selling her This is a pretty slim possibilty at this stage. We have the money to get into a house. Just not sure after we're in...

My wife keeps scoffing at me when I say that and telling me that Im not allowed to sell the car. Ide really like to rebuild it and move forward with it (paint, more mods, etc). So...time will tell. We're looking at a house right now with a HUGE garage out back. I keep thinking how fun it would be to tear it all apart and rebuild everything at MY house....right outside MY door haha. Vs. driving all over PA to work on it for a few hours at a time. Hell...gas savings alone would afford me some goodies for her. Oh..and the garage is big enough that I think I can partition some of it off for a paint booth. Which means the Blitz Black will probably be a distant idea, and the full color shoot will happen.

In any case, I found some rods for like $100. Didnt buy em yet. Ide still like to find a cheap short block ready to go. And Im still kicking around the 6.0 idea. Just not sure of the combo of parts, or if Im willing to stick iron in there in place of the alum LS. It also needs new tires before its back on the road...which wont be cheap.

So many choices haha.

Thats the only update fellas. Its not a fun one. When I make a decision, fear not. Ill probably start another thread on the rebuild. Because Ill be making mods to the actual swap along with fixing whats broken. I want to make new fuel and brake lines, re-do a LOT of the wiring to try to reduce the appearance, finally install cruise control, might change the exhaust up some... Lots of ideas.

J.

 

not a fan of the birds but thats a beautiful car... hate to see anything bad happen to a nice ride like that

 

Don't sell the car. Get going on the house, and let the car come along in its own time.

Just remember that you don't "own" the house - it and the bank own you...

 

Congratulations on buying a new home. Trust me when I say that selling your project would be a mistake. One you would regret for a long time, just about the same amount of time it would take you to buy a new project car and build it up again.

I've been in your position, my '88 IROC fell off of a jack while I was changing the plugs. The jack slipped off of the k member, and hit the front of the oil pan, and the crank pulley, then slipped further and hit my steering linkage. Yea, my fault for not using jack stands, but live and learn. I ended up selling the car for $650 because the crank was cracked from the weight of the car. I sold it because i needed the money at the time, I regret that decision so much because I had a 383 to put in it, and didn't because it would cost a bit more to do the swap over.


Buy your house, put the car away for a bit till you are stable, and break it out and build it up at YOUR house man. You wont regret it.

 

Yeah dont sell the car Justin, the garage will be pointless without it :P

 

Haha... Thanks fellas. If she goes...something else will fill the garage up with junk dont worry. Its more about needing money now.

...But Im doing everything I can to avoid that. Im in the process of selling my 01 Cherokee to get out of the loan I took out on it. Been driving my cheapo Jetta every day. Selling off everything I can that I dont need anymore. I have a TON of stuff.

I have my 87 that I guess Im either going to part out or see if someone will give me a few bucks for the shell. I also have a mint red GTA hood, a good repo bumper cover, head light assemblies with 86 and older motors, and probably some other crap. I also have my lifted 94 Cherokee to sell. So I might be ok if I can get this crap moving.

J.

 

Justin, welcome to the other side of the marriage ceremony. It's a fun place but you now start to learn the additional definitions of responsibility. There are many...

My recommendations is to not sell the car or any of the f-body related stuff. It might be tempting due to the need for the cash but its a knee jerk thing that you might be kicking yourself for later. Been there - done that in similar situations in the past. You have had the car for a long time and you know its every secret. You just may need to leave it under covers for longer than you would like while getting established in a new residence. Good things are worth waiting for if you don't mind me using an old cliche.

Mike

 

Dont sell it you'll regret it. Just park it if your tight and in a year or two you'll be damn happy you still have it. Time starts to fly when you own property and chase dollars to pay for everything. If you sell it you'll never see or appreciate where that money ended up five years on it wont make jack difference but if you keep the car five years on you'll be sooooooo glad you did

 

Read about the problems with your car. That really sucks. There is always so much to read in these threads. I hope you have better luck with your next motor.

 

where did you get the crossmember that allows the exhaust to go through it like that with the torque arm mounted to it? if that makes anysense, i am wondering cause i want to do the same thing

 

I made it...

https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/ltx-...2-my-87-a.html

Thanks for the responses folks! As of now...Im planning to keep the car. I just have WAYYYYY too much work into it and its way too close to being a really nice car.

One thing I did think about. I was trying to determine why I havent at least pulled the valve covers to check simple parts. I highly doubt its something simple...but I could easily pull the vc's and maybe even the heads to do a quick visual. Oh man...if I found a collapsed lifter or a bent push rod was making all that noise, Ide throw a party for the occasion haha.

J.

 

If we combined our cars, we would have one operational vehicle...haha

 

Glad to hear you are going to save her, it is too nice a car to be parted out.