Vortec woes...WTF!?

[chicago]

OKAY, I do realize that this is a toyota forum, but this is going into my crusier.
Per. Iaintscared's recommendation I pulled the heads off of my 01, 5.3L vortec. DS looked decent, but then I pulled the PS and this is what I found!

 

[chicago]

These are from the head!
Oh GAWD...the HORROR!
Now, I dont know much about engines, ive been into ONE my whole life, but this looks like a pretty BAD situation, right. I did have the motor top end down, and that COULD account for the oil in the cylinders, but still...that means that its leaking past the rings....?

What do I do!?

Chicago

 

[mwalls54]

thats not too awful bad. its carbon build up. I have seen ls motors with a whole lot more. as long as the cycl walls are not scratched you can just clean that off and it will be fine.

 

[D'Animal]

It's carbon build up. Don't you live at some elevation like Tahoe, Truckee or Reno or something like that?

Make sure your Vortec equivelent of the High Alititude compensator is working or don't let your wife drive it so much.

 

[chicago]

OKAY...deep breath!
So it doesnt look like I need to tear it all down and do a rebuild?
Yes, I live in Reno, and its the motor that Im going to put into my crusier.
Im mildly freaked about this, cuz the other side didint look this bad! I was really hoping to NOT do a rebuild on this thing as I was told that it only had around 50K on it.

Thanks,

Chicago

 

[Mace]

commonly they let the motor sit on one side or the other. That allows the oil to seep into the cylinders..

No big deal..

 

[Dynosoar]

I was going to say rollover. The car sat on its lid for a while and the oil got past the rings.


Dynosoar

 

[Wile E Coyote]

commonly they let the motor sit on one side or the other. That allows the oil to seep into the cylinders..

No big deal..

Yup. Take a deep breath, bro. No worries that I can see.

Swab out the dirty crap, give each cyl a healthy squirt of clean motor oil and turn the crank over with the harmonic balancer bolt. You aren't looking for anything in such a low mileage motor, it's just for the newb cool factor.

I've got a jy pulled 500 cid Caddy motor on a stand in my garage. Now if ya wanna see a really dirty motor, I could snap a few pics for ya for comparison.

 

[iaintscared1969]

NO Problems Clean it and run it. Waiting for rmore pics

 

[chicago]

WHEEEEEW!
I was really friggin nervous about this!
THANK YOU ALL!
Its just what I WANTED to hear.
My engine knowledge is limited, so this is (much like everything else I do) is a crash course.
Anyway to minimize that kind of build up when I do get her up and running? Fuel Additives?

I cant even tell you guyz how relieved I am to hear that I was over reacting!

Chicago

 

[chicago]

Yup. Take a deep breath, bro. No worries that I can see.

Swab out the dirty crap, give each cyl a healthy squirt of clean motor oil and turn the crank over with the harmonic balancer bolt. You aren't looking for anything in such a low mileage motor, it's just for the newb cool factor.

I've got a jy pulled 500 cid Caddy motor on a stand in my garage. Now if ya wanna see a really dirty motor, I could snap a few pics for ya for comparison.

Sure...post em up!

 

[mwalls54]

Laquir thinner works the best on that junk. when you go to put it back together use gm headgaskets and new bolts for the heads from the chevy or gmc dealer. the aftermarket like felpro dont make as good of a gakset and could cause you problems down the road.

I wouldn't use any additives in the fuel.

 

[D'Animal]

That is just not said enough around here.

I was really friggin nervous about this!

THANK YOU ALL!

Its just what I WANTED to hear.

Generally it is a failed smog pump, it is a blown headgasket or a cracket head, etc.

 

[Gumby]

Check carefully at the cooling passages between the center cylinders on the head. They crack between the cooling passages and the bolt holes. I went through 6 heads on my Vortec rebuild before I found a good set.

If you have it torn down, take it to a machine shop and have them clean and test the head. It's cheap insurance.

Your pics do not indicate that you're getting coolant in the cylinder.

 

[rover67]

x2
yeah, you may want to drop the heads off at a shop and have them gone through. really cheap if nothing's wrong. The day I got my 5.3 running and spooled it up for the first time it bent several valves i'm guessing because it had weak springs.

get them done while they're off, you might as well. either way you're going to have to buy head gaskets and head bolts over again (get new head bolts.... you have to replace them each time you use them) so right now you wouldn't be out that much more coin.

FWIW mine looked a lot worse than that when i pulled the heads, and i've been running it for a while now. my cylinders were aaaallll rusty.

 

[chicago]

Thanks gents!
Too late on the OE head gasktes and bolts...
Got em (felpro from NAPA) before the tear down, and one side is installed already.
Im gonna have to let it fly with what I have.
My wife is gonna murder me in my sleep:whoops:

Chicago

 

[chicago]

CLEAN

Got to clean the heads, block and pistons.
We'll give it whirl!

Chicago

 

[iaintscared1969]

DAMN FINE JOB!!!! Never had any problems from the Fel Pro gaskets. Keep the pictures coming.!

 

[chicago]

DAMN FINE JOB!!!! Never had any problems from the Fel Pro gaskets. Keep the pictures coming.!

Thanks Randy!
Also, thanks for taking the time on the phone when I call with odd ball questions! I try to keep the conversation to a minimum as I know youre very busy, but I do really appreciate it!

The gasket I talked to you about today...was in the RIGHT direction in the first place, so I pulled the head back off for NOTHING. Turns out there is only ONE WAY for it to go!
Oh well...at least I know! So now I have to wait for the gasket, and I already got a SECOND bolt set.
Also, I figured out the torque sequence for the rocker arms too!

Thanks again,

Chicago

 

[PhilC64]

You got a bit OCD on cleaning that thing! Nice job!