2008 Trailblazer SS

[wxo]

PCMofNC has a grind specifically for my situation:

http://www.pcmofnc.com/index.php?option ... id=67&Item
versus:
http://www.compcams.com/Company/CC/cam- ... =1400&sb=0

I noticed that the PCMofNC is a Comp grind, so I just wanted to Check with their tech support to get their take on it. It might be just what I need/want . The guy on the other side of the email turned me off, though.

[ttamrettus]

Sometimes we all need a small vent.................

[wxo]

Sometimes we all need a small vent.................

Time to vent. This stuff is driving me crazy.
Which cam? Which stall? Should I change the stall? Price escalating... Project creep!
Time to back up and regroup. TIMEOUT!

[ttamrettus]

Speed has always been a question of money. I think you are past the cheap HP level.

[Basement Paul]

There's a really good speed shop in Chardon that does LOTS of LS stuff. You could probably have that done in a couple days, tuned, raced, and back to Raleigh. For a small fee, of course.

-BP

[wxo]

Nothing against your speed shop, BP, but I have a favorite not too far from here. Same idea, though. I can just drive down there tell them what I want and it will be done in a few days. Takes nothing but cubic money.

[Basement Paul]

Makes sense to me. LS motors are everywhere now, I'm sure lots of people are pretty good at it by now.

Good luck! Have it done by Carlisle?

-BP

[wxo]

Have it done by Carlisle?

It's doable, but quite "iffy". The big thing is for me to decide exactly what I'm going to do and I'm nowhere near that decision. Life and work around the house is making it difficult to focus on this idea. We will just have to wait and see how this all plays out.

[Basement Paul]

A supercharger and a tune will make it faster than a cam swap, will be less work, and should make it so you don't need to bother with that pesky torque converter upgrade. Any thoughts?

-BP

[wxo]

Too many options. Most likely I'll do nothing and keep what I got and continue to enjoy it.

[wxo]

I decided to to something after all. No cam etc, but this:
http://pcmofnc.com/index.php/performanc ... p-tube-kit

My age and physical condition reared it's ugly head in a few ways There was a rude awakening to the rigors of working underneath a truck on jack stands for four days. I made a couple of recoverable mistakes and one that I'm still unsure of.



Since BP happens to have an LS1 sitting around in the open, I'll start by describing my situation and maybe he can help.
While torquing the oil pan bolts I stripped one. Not a normal pan mounting bolt, but one of two skinny mystery bolts about 4 in long that run up through the rear of the pan into something called a crankshaft rear oil seal cover. The torque specs on these bolts is only 106 in-lb! Repairing this would require maybe pulling the pan again or probably the trans.

This is a view of the bellhousing and oil pan looking from the rear to the front of the truck.


I'm trying to understand the implications of my handiwork. I'm concerned about driving it to Carlisle not understanding more about how the stripped bolt can cause me trouble. I was hoping that BP's LS1 would have the same setup and he might provide me with a little more insight about what these bolts actually are used for.

[Basement Paul]

I'm of the opinion that since it's a cast oil pan, if it doesn't leak right away, it probably won't. Being cast, there's no flex anyway, so if only one of the threads is stripped, it probably wont affect the sealability.

Here's what you're looking at:



The long bolts screw into a plate on the back of the motor that goes around the rear main seal. It appears to be removable, so if it does leak, you pull the trans back, replace the cover, and retighten. Not a terribly easy task, but do-able. Let me know if the picture is good enough, or if you need a different angle.

-BP

[wxo]

Thanks, BP. The picture is very helpful. From it, though, I still can't understand the purpose of the bolts. The plate is mounted solidly to the block and provides a foundation for the seal. Why in the world do they need the two bolts?
Also from the picture, it looks like I could pull the oil pan again and fix the threads with a Heli-coil from the bottom. No?

[Basement Paul]

I would say that's correct. With the pan off it should be pretty easy to drill out the holes, assuming there's enough material to drill into. I just looked at it pretty well, and there are corner bolts on the back of the pan too. I'm not sure these bolts do much of anything though. If it were mine, I'd run it to see if it leaked before I did all that, unless of course, you have other parts that are in the way that are currently removed.

Good luck.

-BP

[wxo]

Thanks a bunch, BP. BTW, those corner bolts are to fasten the bellhousing to the pan because I read that the oil pan is a stressed member of the drive train.