2008 Trailblazer SS

[Basement Paul]

No problem. If that's the case, I bet that's a STRONG pan.

Good luck,

-BP

[wxo]

It's plenty strong. I had to use my floor jack to hold it in place so that I could start the bolts.

This is verbatim from the Mitchel's shop manual.
IMPORTANT: The alignment of the structural oil pan is important. The rear bolt hole locations of the oil pan provide mounting points for the transmission bellhousing. To ensure the rigidity of the powertrain and correct transmission alignment, it is important that the rear of the block and the rear of the oil pan must NEVER protrude beyond the engine block and transmission bellhousing plane.

[Maverick]

It's plenty strong. I had to use my floor jack to hold it in place so that I could start the bolts.

This is verbatim from the Mitchel's shop manual.
IMPORTANT: The alignment of the structural oil pan is important. The rear bolt hole locations of the oil pan provide mounting points for the transmission bellhousing. To ensure the rigidity of the powertrain and correct transmission alignment, it is important that the rear of the block and the rear of the oil pan must NEVER protrude beyond the engine block and transmission bellhousing plane.

I wonder if those two wimpy bolts are just for alignment purposes. That might explain the small threads and small torque spec.

[wxo]

I wonder if those two wimpy bolts are just for alignment purposes. That might explain the small threads and small torque spec.

I don't think so. The manual says to first install all the pan bolts finger tight. Then torque the two bellhousing bolts to 37 ft lb and the two skinny bolts to 106 in lb. Finally torque all the other bolts. Torquing the bellhousing bolts would pull the pan into alignment with the bellhousing from front to back. I can't imagine what the skinny bolts would do.

[Basement Paul]

Where does that leave someone like me, who's putting a pan on the motor while it's on the stand? I guess I'll just try to get the rear of the pan as even with the block as is possible, and hope for the best.

-BP

[GMJohnny]

WXO,

With such little "hold down" force required by this bolt, why not try some
type of epoxy to fix the threads. We've done this type of thing at work and
had pretty good luck with epoxy. I don't know the name of the stuff, but
we fixed a bushing in a backhoe with some type of titanium epoxy and the
repair held for several years before we traded in the machine. My thinking
would be to "goo the crap out of it and send it back in to service", but that's
my rental mentality kicking in. I'm not sure you want to do this, but I'm
not sure you pondered it, so I figured I'd give you my two cents worth.

GM

[wxo]

GM, I did just that. I had removed and installed that pan 3 times over 4 days and when it went in for the final torquing, I was in no mood to deliberate on the right fix for the stripped threads. I put a light coat of JB Weld on the threads and put it back in. So far it is working just fine. I've driven it daily for several days now. I've tried some full throttle runs and 80 mph freeway runs and no leaks have shown up. I'm still mystified about the purpose of these two skinny bolts, but now I'm inclined to just wait and see what happens. It runs just great as it is.

[wxo]

These are some cam specs I want to archive for possible future use:

Stock: 204/211 .525/.525 116-2
PCMofNC Stealth: 216/228 .56x/.57x 116
PCMofNC Rob Style: 220/228 .58x/.58x 114

[wxo]

The installation of the oil pump pickup relocation kit appears to be a success. The bottom of the engine remains dry despite the JB Weld circumvention for the stripped mystery bolt. My confidence is strong enough to drive it to Carlisle on Thursday.

[Basement Paul]

I would be interested in your stock cam if you decide to go that route. My cam is:

202/210 472/479 117lsa

Your LS2 cam would be a good improvement over my stock cam, and would still work with my stock springs. I looked up the LS1 hot cam kit and it's basically the same specs. I'm guessing it would be good for 20-25hp over my stock cam.

-BP

[Basement Paul]

A little quick research says the LS2 cam won't work in an LS1, so that's out. Oh well, worth a shot.

I think a stock LS6 cam is the same though, and it will work. We'll see what Carlisle brings...

-BP

[wxo]

I finally decided to install the HeatShield for my intake manifold. I've had it for a couple of months now. The removal is quite straight forward. Disconnect the wiring harness, disconnect fuel line, a couple of other miscellaneous things and you're ready to remove the 10 8mm bolts and off it comes! Unfortunately I was in for a rude surprise. The heat shield I bought that was supposed to fit all LS2's doesn't fit the intake for a TBSS.




So now it's Sunday and the intake is off and the truck is out of commission until I figure out what to do. After a lot of searching on the web, I decided that the best plan B is to get a 12" x 24" sheet of HeatShield Sticky from Amazon. And lo and behold I see that I can get same-day delivery for free! What a deal! I've never used the same-day feature, but I'm looking forward to the drone coming to my house today.

While the intake is off, I thought I'd show you the TBSS intake ports:



The rear two bolts for the intake are not real easy to get to and I dropped my little wrench the first time I tried. Not wanting to go searching for it again, here's my solution:

[Basement Paul]

Now might be a good time to upgrade the intake and throttle body. You know, since it's already apart, you might be able to bolt on another 20hp or so. Just saying.

-BP

[wxo]

TBSS intake is supposed to be one of the best intakes for LS motors. I'm not sure how much more an aftermarket intake would get me. Reviews don't normally compare TBSS intakes to the aftermarket ones. Seems like it could end up being a waste of cash.

[Basement Paul]

I read this one a little while ago. Pretty good article:

http://www.hotrod.com/features/1507-20- ... ds-tested/

-BP