same but I'd add gapping the piston rings for boost and get a higher volume/pressure oil pump. That last bearing looked a little oil starved and I am betting it's happening at higher rpms.
@@actschp1 I think it was the bearing closest to the 4l80. Of course one would get new rings on the new pistons and hand gap appropriately. I don't even know what pump you can get for that engine but I'm not a big fan of higher pressure or volume. Or the 3 layer bearings, or big huge clearances. Get everything blueprinted correctly and make sure the can't bend (it's probably pretty beefy,) and the rods stay round (aftermarket) and let it rip
@@eighty6gt you're right about the bearing location, I think it's the last one to get oiled... And that's the reason why I think he needs a higher flow rate oil pump. After the oil gets through all the rest of that heat soaked engine, it's bound to be slightly thinner and have less pressure. I'd want the extra protection, especially since it's getting wrung out on the track.
I think you should stay true to the spirit of a simple junkyard 8.1 with boost. Replace what needs to be replaced, like a guy working out of his garage on his work truck...on a budget. Dont throw it back together if the bearings or crank are likely to cause an issue very soon but dont give it special treatment because of the boost. Let's see what this engine will do. This is a cool series.
As a earlier subscriber commented: "I think you should stay true to the spirit of a simple junkyard 8.1 with boost. Replace what needs to be replaced, like a guy working out of his garage on his work truck...on a budget." Replace the main and connecting rod bearings and send the crank out to be polished. Install the new cam and double-roller as you mentioned and take to Thunder Mountain before it closes in Oct. If you do get it finished in time PLEASE LET US KNOW WHEN YOU PLAN TO RACE AT BANDIMERE!! THANKS BROTHER
Replace the bearings, check the rings open them up or replace if necessary I like the idea of new roller rockers an studs, new head bolts, clean everything else really good and then slap it together.
Said it before and I’ll say it again. Love the approach. Good honest and simple automotive content. Gives a guy a chance to learn and be entertained without all the gimmicks and click bait garbage. Thanks as always. My $0.05 is keep the engine OEM + with the parts and stay away from the exotic stuff.
new bearings - polish crank (after its mic'ed to be good) - use 20-50w race oil for rips - add a massive oil cooler - possibly do a larger sump to hold more oil. that was a used engine so its hard to say what type of abuse it seen, but hot oil will destroy bearings. High volume pump is a good idea as well. GL! oh and i guess a new cam could be fun as well :)
I'm really happy you're getting sponsors!!! Means you're doing great work! Keep it up man! love the videos. I would just polish the crank and get new bearings. Keep it as "OEM" as possible and see how far we can take it!!
I have a feeling that more people will be using 8.1s after seeing you literally bust myths, granted there are anomalies that would support those myths as well lol. Can't wait to see what it does after the refresh.
Fresh rod, and main bearings. Polish the crank, new oil pump, and send it. Of coarse, you already said your going to check ring gap, which I fully agree is mandatory. Then, if you do find the 8.1's limit, it won't be because something stupid like the rings butting together caused it. Been watching your channel from the beginning but I don't comment very often. I always enjoy your content. Thanks
GM's 8.1L is a pretty durable engine, I have one in my Avalanche, and it has over 280,000 miles on it with no issues, that could have never happened with the 7.4L BB. The redesign made a difference and with the newer tech in the ECM it makes for a smoother more reliable motor. When Mercury Marine wanted to use it, they required it to pass their durability test which was to run at WOT (wide open throttle) for 300 hours, idling it for 5 minutes every hour then back to WOT, it passed no problem.
The spot on the rear main bearing looks like a moisture spot. And the lower main bearings are going to have alot more wear on them because the crankshaft is so heavy. From what I seen in the video I would get the crankshaft polished with a new set of bearings and send it. I love the content and would love to see exactly what the 8.1 can handle 👍👍
I say replace the bearings, check your rings open them up or replace um if needed.Polish the crank and continue with with your topend plans. Kind of keeping it simple.
Love this 'interactive' episode LT! My vote is seeing if the crank can polish out to where clearance with new replacement bearings is on the looser side of OE tolerances (it looks like it should, that might also require using a heavier oil). Clean everything, gap the rings, and sensibly bulletproof the valvetrain. Put the budget to handling the crankcase moisture issue. 9's is an imperative! More: another commenter mentioned a baffled pan to prevent sucking air upon launch, a great suggestion that won't break the budget.
Water in the oil is also an indication that the oil isn't getting hot enough for long enough. In a daily driver, when you take a 30 minute or longer highway drive, everything gets fully heat soaked and any moisture or even some fuel in the oil can get hot enough to evaporate or "burn off." Since your truck is currently a "race truck" it's either not being driven long enough since you're towing it everywhere, or your cooling system/thermostat is too cold. This is also why having a thermostat is important because when it is cold outside the thermostat needs to open and close to ensure the engine stays warm enough, but when it's hot out, the thermostat pretty much stays open. It will also stay open when you're pushing the engine hard and it needs the cooling
Love seeing the 8.1 stuff. I would polish the crank. From what I have read you can't reuse the rod bolts, so I would use ARP rod bolts, rebuild the rods, and go back with a better bearing to take the force of the boost. Of course check/adjust ring gap, and ARP head studs (they don't make a head bolt kit for that motor) and mls head gasket.
My understanding is that you are supposed to get the rods resized. I don't think it really has to do with the bolts themselves. In reality, it probably doesn't matter a ton.
LT, here's what you do, polish the crank, get a set of stock size but better material con rod and main bearings. Dingle ball hone the cylinders...lightly. check the ring gaps, grind the rings if you have to. Relap the valves, get better valve springs. Use head studs and valve train girddle. Put it back together and get back to the track, and make us proud with a 9.50 pass.
I busted a hole in the oil pan of my brand new 408 LS on my first drive. Tore it apart, and my rod bearings looked like your #5 main bearing, but worse. Dull gray spots everywhere. I put new cam, rod, and main bearings in the block and put everything back together. It has 40 psi of oil pressure when idling hot, so that's what I'd do if I were in your shoes. Keep the SBE dream alive.
Looking forward to seeing your approach to the PCV system. I was just contemplating this exact same thing today while looking under the hood at my 8.1 turbo. Currently, I just have a breather, and it was just a bandaid until I could figure something more permanent out.
Clevite bearings, have the crank polished, quick dingle ball hone and some new rings gapped for boost. Give it its best chance to survive while keeping the parts OEM
I agree with the junk yard rebuild. You have a beautiful motor in the 4x4 truck going on, new bearings and possible polished crank, open up ring gaps and send it
I love my 8.1. It was unknown milage, swapped into a 93 c3500 and has been worked like a borrowed mule for the past 7 years. 3 transmission, and 1 gear set.
At 18:00 - this is an easy reccommendation. Find JAMSI (Jim's automotive machine shop) since they'e kind of local now that you'e in Colorado, and have them polish out that crank. Then install a new set of bearings and go. As you were saying when I started this comment, you aleady have a "built" big block project going on, so keep this one reasonable and "cheap". This has the side benefit of being driveable again much faster. 😉
Since you are all about "doing it right" I would have the crank mains and journals turned 0.10" with all new bearings, check the ring gaps and open these ever soo slightly since there is a lot of boost that you are throwing into it and go ahead and install all of the new components that you bought for it so it still retains the "stock" setup but freshed up a bit. The motor does have 140,000 miles on it so it at least deserves this much and besides you already have the 535 to finish, save the $$$ and complete that motor and keep the ugly truck with just these upgrades. Really enjoy your channel and your shop is lookin great!! Thanks LT for this awesome video! :)
LT, I am.a professional engine builder and I have plenty of big block Chevy experience, including 8100s. I understand your position and the spirit of your project. What you need is little more than a freshen up with attention to some clearances. If the crank is in spec, and the main bearing bore alignment is good, get a fresh set of bearings. The OEM bearings are an aluminum composite. You could step up to a bearing like King HP, also aluminum composition but a bit stronger than the OEM bearing. This would be a good match for your OEM crank and rods and cushion some of the pounding under boost. A tri metal bearing is even stronger, but probably more so than you need and they don't cushion as well as the aluminum alloy bearings. Ring gap is certainly important. But especially important is piston pin to pin bore clearance. Often overlooked on boosted and nitrous engines, I suspect many people assume the failures they have had were insufficient ring gap when it was actually a seized piston pin that broke the piston. You probably want a piston pin to pin bore clearance of .0018. Clean everything up, adjust your ring gaps and piston pin to pin bore clearance, verify main and rod clearance, assemble and go. If you use fresh rings, a quick cylinder hone would be ideal. And you might want to touch up the valve seats. I know, this sounds like a lot. It's actually super easy and quick to do. I hope the cam spec is appropriate for the pressure ratio of the turbo you have. Best of luck with everything.
For sure send the crank to a machine shop see if it needs ground or just polished and then buy bearings for it and bomb it back together. Just had to do that with an ls3 that the customer wiped out the threads in the crank shaft. Car came in for a cam swap and fortunately we found a bearing that was about to spin so saved the engine from disaster. Keep up the good work buddy!
Clean the crank up (polish it) put new bearings, rings, timing chain and valve spring(updated or better ones) in it. And of course check clearances and run it. Oh yeah, give the rings a little more end gap clearance.
Personally I'd replace those main bearings and slap it back together with the new cam and springs. It's gone that far and without a doubt it'll last a few more years at least.
Nice job, love my 8.1 Why take it apart and have known issues and not address them while your in there? Do what you would do if you planned on keeping the truck but don’t go crazy with it. Save that for the other engine.
Keep to the spirit of it, wanna see if stockish engine can go in the 9’s with the turbo setup. Polish the crank standard to maybe oversized bearings depending on speck and let her rip.
If it were me, for testing purposes I'd check the Ring gaps for turbo clearance, and cleanup the crank install New Rod and main bearings, rework the heads add a larger cam, and run it at the track, and set that quest for 9's then later down the road drop the pan and check the bearings and see how they're looking👍🏻
Do what you know you should do. Rod and main bearings, polish the crank, check the ring gap and gap if necessary. Inspect the block and heads and hot tank if necessary, install the new cam and springs, put it back together and go for it.
Two approaches I would consider: 1. I would open up the oil clearances a little on the crank and rod bearings and run thicker oil for added cushion for the high boost levels. 2. Replace the rod and main bearings with standard bearings, have crank cleaned/polished and reinstall. 2 would be the true backyard mechanic/everyday wrencher’s approach.
LT you are shooting yourself in the foot! You are robbing yourself of future episodes and content. Take the approach of Cletus, make one modification, take it to the track, blow it up, repair, improve, take it to the track. I would’ve kept the motor in the truck, did a cam and upgraded the top end, took it to the track. Good channel! I’ve had a couple of beers so take what I said with a grain of salt😂
I stopped watching his channel because of the insane amount of money that Cletus blows. It seems as though he builds things just for the purpose of blowing them up.
LT I wish I could have shown you the main bearings in my Detroit when i rebuilt it. They looked like they had been eaten in spots. Pitted to beat hell. And the crank was still perfectly fine. The shape that thing looks in drop new bearings in and let her eat! Wouldn't scare me one bit. Especially with how meticulous you are with every detail.
Get Coated bearings that wear mark you talked about is oil starvation, will be negated with some coated bearings and a new pump. King is the move. Polish the crank, open the ring gap, and send it.
I used a 3000 grit to polish the crank to rod bearing and journal 5k miles ago on a diesel build that has seen pulling and loads. In all honesty it's still in the back of my mind and I wonder about long hauls away from home. I'm always scared it'll go boom a few hundred miles from home
Don't do least work is OK you'll never be happy with results and then will play a what if game. You're a professional and Ocd too as a fan I believe you'll do it right . Be safe not reckless .
Your OCD (and my "wiring" frankly" wouldn't let you leave well enough alone. I think your junkyard 8.1 should be machined where it needs to be, rebuilt, and sold. I loved seeing you finally tearing down the 8.1.
I'd probably go with polishing the crank, aftermarket bearings with a tiny bit more clearance since you already go with aftermarket parts for the valve train. a high flow/pressure oil pump combined with a thicker oil to top it off. And MAYBE an oil pan with baffles. Think that would help with the huge amounts of torque that thing is producing and you don't run into the risk of oil starvation on decel after a pass. Guess that's a fair cheat on a junkyard motor 😁
Every once in a while GM powertrain engineers actually get something made well past the bean counters that live to turn out garbage. The LS platform is probably their best effort at doing something right, at least before cylinder deactivation ruined it anyway. You’ve also put the 8.1 to the test and proved that it was well designed. Unfortunately I can’t think of much else GM engineers got past the bean counters unscathed with examples like the Quad 4, the 8-6-4, the 3.6 chain gobbler, and the North Star causing repetitive night terrors for owners everywhere.
Polish the crank and replace the bearings with OE. That gets you the spirit of the junkyard engine and seeing how far the stock parts will take you without doing something stupid like just putting it all back (you were never going to do that anyway) and something almost equally silly by fully building the engine (thereby killing any sense of "junkyard 8.1" that's left). My two cents.
In the spirit of what it is (budget build) do what most of us could realistically do. Replace the bearings, gap the rings like u were going to, and a diy port and polish, true spirit of hotrodding, go as far as you can on your own
I'd regrind the crank mains and polish the rods and new bearings. you've pushed it to a pretty good point in the stock configuration. it would be cool to go up a little in cam to something you could get away with using the stock valve train with.
Send it LT. That wear could have been caused before you boosted it. I personally would clean it up and put it back together. I have a feeling you’re going to do the right thing with the bearings and crank and there’s nothing wrong with that approach either. Do it for Dale and send it or full rebuild, I’ll still be watching. Keep up the good work LT!
I know this is older, but it's new to me. lol That bearing wear, especially the mains is NOT from combustion load/pressure. That's wear from neglect, bad oil etc (Possibly moisture in the oil? Ethanol anyone? It doesn't take much.) Wear from boost tends to push the crank sideways and thrust bearings fail. That's why Steve Morris puts those gargantuan roller thrust bearings in his motors as well. If rod bearings do get pounded out, it's usually from knock. It takes an INSANE amount of boost to pound out a rod bearing with no knock! Even 100psi is baby talk to combustion pressures the bearings deal with for 100,000 miles plus in normal use.
Get out the mic's and check the crank. Many cranks can polish right up and go back in service. If it is too far have the crank turned to next size, get your bearings and put back together. Pretty standard stuff here.
I would definitely change the bearings on the crank and the rods but use oem and fine polish on the crank itself, but just got done watching Richard holder yesterday and I would change to a zz502 or 506 cam (I don't recall at the moment) easy to tune in because your using boost already. Oh and ring gap with a good wash just to make sure. He's already going to change the oil pump so hey a half build 8.1 with a fully built one on the way. Fuck it have fun even tho it cost a lil!
New bearings and polish the crank bolt the flex plate to the crank and clamp it with the tire machine you can spin the crank while you polish it works great
Light ball hone the cylinders. Fresh wide gap rings. Polish the crank. Balance the rotating assembly. Outside of that throw it back together as stock and let her eat.
#5 main bearing looks vibration related. They were designed as a low rpm stump puller and perhaps the high rpm runs are creating a vibration on #5 where the torque converter is so close to. That’s just a guess on my part but it certainly doesn’t look like normal wear or crank flex.
Every engine deserves proper care. My opinion is to stay true to the “junkyard” stock setup, the grab an engine out of the yard repair, what is broke, send it. I’d Rather see you clean up the crank, put in just a good set of bearings, and go back to what you were doing. Just do turn a blind eye, whatever you decide. It kills everyone’s track day when your engine spills it guts at the 60ft.
ARP head studs, MLS gasket, new bearings, new rod bolts ARP, camshaft, forged pistons/rods, hone and go. I think this would allow you to really lean on it hard. Hyper pistons are gonna have a tough team surviving much longer if you plan on raising boost
I'm late to the party and haven't seen what you decided. Me having an 8.1 suburban I have loved following this build. I hope you kept the spirit of the jy 8.1... I want to see how far this thing can go. Plus I love when mechanics tell me in a round about way that you are lying about it being stock and never have watched any of your vids! 😂😂😂 8.1 jy ftw!!!
When my Dad switched from AV gas to Methanol in his race car, his oil had the same reaction and he was changing it after every pass. He asked a friend that had been running Methanol for years about the issue. He told my Dad to switch to Valvoline 20W 50 racing oil. He did and the issue went away.
Just replace the bearing this is a good test for when the 8.1 can handle stock if bearing become a wear item at 22psi that is great will give a duty cycle before the 8.1 need new bearing (could replace rods with new oem but keep old rods if a NDT (none destructive testing) can be done to compare new vs old on next rebuild that is awesome for data about 8.1)
Polish the crank, new bearings, check ring end gap, put it together and do routine maintenance, regular oil changes with the ethanol, and run it on gas to burn that crap out of the oil, running a PCV-that’s day one stuff
Polish crankshaft go with std bearings and send it. Also dont know if you did camshaft but nice bumpstick and better intake manifold to move powerband up some.
Junk yard builds are kinda my thing. I say go true junk yard build. Don't send the crank off. Polish the crank by hand with some sand paper and a some rope. New bearings and send it. I've done that method to several engines that's crank and bearings looks way worse and they all turned out great! About too boost the Ford 390GT we just did this too in his 68 ford f250
I would say to just replace bearings, maybe a bit of Hockey skate shoelace home polishing on the crank, add your springs and stuff and see where it goes just as originally planned. Use the other 8.1 for full send...
Use code LAWRENCE50 to get 50% off your first Factor box at bit.ly/3WVIQpi!
5.4 dohc.........patiently waiting.
Onopened isn't a word.
Would be an easy decision for me. Install new STD rod and main bearings and polish the crank.
OEM+
That’s what I did to our big block. Still doing good. Great oil pressure too.
Exactly this. 🎯
What @jakewade7388 said
Jip and proper oil
Oil pump
New bearings
Hand polish on the crank
I'd just add pistons (small overbore) rods and a balance to this list. No fancy bearings.
same but I'd add gapping the piston rings for boost and get a higher volume/pressure oil pump. That last bearing looked a little oil starved and I am betting it's happening at higher rpms.
@@actschp1 I think it was the bearing closest to the 4l80. Of course one would get new rings on the new pistons and hand gap appropriately. I don't even know what pump you can get for that engine but I'm not a big fan of higher pressure or volume. Or the 3 layer bearings, or big huge clearances. Get everything blueprinted correctly and make sure the can't bend (it's probably pretty beefy,) and the rods stay round (aftermarket) and let it rip
*crank can't bend
@@eighty6gt you're right about the bearing location, I think it's the last one to get oiled... And that's the reason why I think he needs a higher flow rate oil pump.
After the oil gets through all the rest of that heat soaked engine, it's bound to be slightly thinner and have less pressure. I'd want the extra protection, especially since it's getting wrung out on the track.
I think you should stay true to the spirit of a simple junkyard 8.1 with boost. Replace what needs to be replaced, like a guy working out of his garage on his work truck...on a budget. Dont throw it back together if the bearings or crank are likely to cause an issue very soon but dont give it special treatment because of the boost. Let's see what this engine will do. This is a cool series.
As a earlier subscriber commented:
"I think you should stay true to the spirit of a simple junkyard 8.1 with boost. Replace what needs to be replaced, like a guy working out of his garage on his work truck...on a budget." Replace the main and connecting rod bearings and send the crank out to be polished. Install the new cam and double-roller as you mentioned and take to Thunder Mountain before it closes in Oct. If you do get it finished in time PLEASE LET US KNOW WHEN YOU PLAN TO RACE AT BANDIMERE!! THANKS BROTHER
For my 2 cents I would polish the crank, turn it IF needed, and pop in new bearings and run it
Polish the crank, put new bearings in it. Check that ring gap. Get ARP studs instead of ARP bolts. Get ready for 1000 hp "stock" 8.1 ❤
Replace the bearings, check the rings open them up or replace if necessary I like the idea of new roller rockers an studs, new head bolts, clean everything else really good and then slap it together.
Said it before and I’ll say it again. Love the approach. Good honest and simple automotive content. Gives a guy a chance to learn and be entertained without all the gimmicks and click bait garbage. Thanks as always.
My $0.05 is keep the engine OEM + with the parts and stay away from the exotic stuff.
new bearings - polish crank (after its mic'ed to be good) - use 20-50w race oil for rips - add a massive oil cooler - possibly do a larger sump to hold more oil. that was a used engine so its hard to say what type of abuse it seen, but hot oil will destroy bearings. High volume pump is a good idea as well. GL! oh and i guess a new cam could be fun as well :)
I'm really happy you're getting sponsors!!! Means you're doing great work! Keep it up man! love the videos.
I would just polish the crank and get new bearings. Keep it as "OEM" as possible and see how far we can take it!!
And check to be sure the mains and rod journals are round, crank straight.
I have a feeling that more people will be using 8.1s after seeing you literally bust myths, granted there are anomalies that would support those myths as well lol. Can't wait to see what it does after the refresh.
I think 8,1 are going to raise in price after have shown the world how much power they can handle 💪
Fresh rod, and main bearings. Polish the crank, new oil pump, and send it. Of coarse, you already said your going to check ring gap, which I fully agree is mandatory. Then, if you do find the 8.1's limit, it won't be because something stupid like the rings butting together caused it. Been watching your channel from the beginning but I don't comment very often. I always enjoy your content. Thanks
GM's 8.1L is a pretty durable engine, I have one in my Avalanche, and it has over 280,000 miles on it with no issues, that could have never happened with the 7.4L BB. The redesign made a difference and with the newer tech in the ECM it makes for a smoother more reliable motor. When Mercury Marine wanted to use it, they required it to pass their durability test which was to run at WOT (wide open throttle) for 300 hours, idling it for 5 minutes every hour then back to WOT, it passed no problem.
The spot on the rear main bearing looks like a moisture spot. And the lower main bearings are going to have alot more wear on them because the crankshaft is so heavy. From what I seen in the video I would get the crankshaft polished with a new set of bearings and send it. I love the content and would love to see exactly what the 8.1 can handle 👍👍
I'd say new OEM bearings, polish the crank and send it... That would follow the stock 8.1.... that motor is making me a believer in the 8.1....
Its always been a good engine. GEP makes a revised DD 6.5 which is bullet proof over the gm bean counter dd 6.5
I say replace the bearings, check your rings open them up or replace um if needed.Polish the crank and continue with with your topend plans. Kind of keeping it simple.
Love this 'interactive' episode LT! My vote is seeing if the crank can polish out to where clearance with new replacement bearings is on the looser side of OE tolerances (it looks like it should, that might also require using a heavier oil). Clean everything, gap the rings, and sensibly bulletproof the valvetrain. Put the budget to handling the crankcase moisture issue. 9's is an imperative! More: another commenter mentioned a baffled pan to prevent sucking air upon launch, a great suggestion that won't break the budget.
Water in the oil is also an indication that the oil isn't getting hot enough for long enough. In a daily driver, when you take a 30 minute or longer highway drive, everything gets fully heat soaked and any moisture or even some fuel in the oil can get hot enough to evaporate or "burn off." Since your truck is currently a "race truck" it's either not being driven long enough since you're towing it everywhere, or your cooling system/thermostat is too cold. This is also why having a thermostat is important because when it is cold outside the thermostat needs to open and close to ensure the engine stays warm enough, but when it's hot out, the thermostat pretty much stays open. It will also stay open when you're pushing the engine hard and it needs the cooling
Love seeing the 8.1 stuff.
I would polish the crank. From what I have read you can't reuse the rod bolts, so I would use ARP rod bolts, rebuild the rods, and go back with a better bearing to take the force of the boost.
Of course check/adjust ring gap, and ARP head studs (they don't make a head bolt kit for that motor) and mls head gasket.
My understanding is that you are supposed to get the rods resized. I don't think it really has to do with the bolts themselves. In reality, it probably doesn't matter a ton.
LT, here's what you do, polish the crank, get a set of stock size but better material con rod and main bearings. Dingle ball hone the cylinders...lightly. check the ring gaps, grind the rings if you have to. Relap the valves, get better valve springs. Use head studs and valve train girddle. Put it back together and get back to the track, and make us proud with a 9.50 pass.
I busted a hole in the oil pan of my brand new 408 LS on my first drive. Tore it apart, and my rod bearings looked like your #5 main bearing, but worse. Dull gray spots everywhere.
I put new cam, rod, and main bearings in the block and put everything back together. It has 40 psi of oil pressure when idling hot, so that's what I'd do if I were in your shoes. Keep the SBE dream alive.
Take the time you need if you're sick. Your fans will still be here when you're well.
Looking forward to seeing your approach to the PCV system. I was just contemplating this exact same thing today while looking under the hood at my 8.1 turbo. Currently, I just have a breather, and it was just a bandaid until I could figure something more permanent out.
Clevite bearings, have the crank polished, quick dingle ball hone and some new rings gapped for boost. Give it its best chance to survive while keeping the parts OEM
I agree with the junk yard rebuild. You have a beautiful motor in the 4x4 truck going on, new bearings and possible polished crank, open up ring gaps and send it
I love my 8.1. It was unknown milage, swapped into a 93 c3500 and has been worked like a borrowed mule for the past 7 years. 3 transmission, and 1 gear set.
At 18:00 - this is an easy reccommendation. Find JAMSI (Jim's automotive machine shop) since they'e kind of local now that you'e in Colorado, and have them polish out that crank. Then install a new set of bearings and go. As you were saying when I started this comment, you aleady have a "built" big block project going on, so keep this one reasonable and "cheap".
This has the side benefit of being driveable again much faster. 😉
Polish the crank , stock berrings and a quick ball hone on the bores, similar to if someone was to do a shed rebuild or freshen it up.
Since you are all about "doing it right" I would have the crank mains and journals turned 0.10" with all new bearings, check the ring gaps and open these ever soo slightly since there is a lot of boost that you are throwing into it and go ahead and install all of the new components that you bought for it so it still retains the "stock" setup but freshed up a bit. The motor does have 140,000 miles on it so it at least deserves this much and besides you already have the 535 to finish, save the $$$ and complete that motor and keep the ugly truck with just these upgrades. Really enjoy your channel and your shop is lookin great!! Thanks LT for this awesome video! :)
Amazing motor. Even those bearings aren't bad.
New aftermarket bearings, crank polish and check rings. Then boost away !
In spirit of the build stock bearings and polish crank if it mics in good enough.
Finally! Someone showed love to the 8.1
Keep true to the spirit of the build. Only replace what needs replaced in standard sizes
LT, I am.a professional engine builder and I have plenty of big block Chevy experience, including 8100s. I understand your position and the spirit of your project.
What you need is little more than a freshen up with attention to some clearances. If the crank is in spec, and the main bearing bore alignment is good, get a fresh set of bearings. The OEM bearings are an aluminum composite. You could step up to a bearing like King HP, also aluminum composition but a bit stronger than the OEM bearing. This would be a good match for your OEM crank and rods and cushion some of the pounding under boost. A tri metal bearing is even stronger, but probably more so than you need and they don't cushion as well as the aluminum alloy bearings.
Ring gap is certainly important. But especially important is piston pin to pin bore clearance. Often overlooked on boosted and nitrous engines, I suspect many people assume the failures they have had were insufficient ring gap when it was actually a seized piston pin that broke the piston. You probably want a piston pin to pin bore clearance of .0018.
Clean everything up, adjust your ring gaps and piston pin to pin bore clearance, verify main and rod clearance, assemble and go. If you use fresh rings, a quick cylinder hone would be ideal. And you might want to touch up the valve seats. I know, this sounds like a lot. It's actually super easy and quick to do.
I hope the cam spec is appropriate for the pressure ratio of the turbo you have. Best of luck with everything.
For sure send the crank to a machine shop see if it needs ground or just polished and then buy bearings for it and bomb it back together. Just had to do that with an ls3 that the customer wiped out the threads in the crank shaft. Car came in for a cam swap and fortunately we found a bearing that was about to spin so saved the engine from disaster. Keep up the good work buddy!
Clean the crank up (polish it) put new bearings, rings, timing chain and valve spring(updated or better ones) in it. And of course check clearances and run it. Oh yeah, give the rings a little more end gap clearance.
Personally I'd replace those main bearings and slap it back together with the new cam and springs. It's gone that far and without a doubt it'll last a few more years at least.
I agree with Jake wade,
Install new stock bearings and polish the crank .
Reassemble and accomplish
Your goal , PERIOD
Them stamped rockers get the deep six
Save your money, polish the crank and put a new set of bearings in it, then send it
Polish the crank and some new bearings and keep it going. Don"t waste money on the rebuild when it can go toward that 535.
Nice job, love my 8.1
Why take it apart and have known issues and not address them while your in there?
Do what you would do if you planned on keeping the truck but don’t go crazy with it.
Save that for the other engine.
Keep to the spirit of it, wanna see if stockish engine can go in the 9’s with the turbo setup. Polish the crank standard to maybe oversized bearings depending on speck and let her rip.
If it were me, for testing purposes I'd check the Ring gaps for turbo clearance, and cleanup the crank install New Rod and main bearings, rework the heads add a larger cam, and run it at the track, and set that quest for 9's then later down the road drop the pan and check the bearings and see how they're looking👍🏻
Do what you know you should do. Rod and main bearings, polish the crank, check the ring gap and gap if necessary. Inspect the block and heads and hot tank if necessary, install the new cam and springs, put it back together and go for it.
I vote polish that crank, new bearings and fasteners and run it
Two approaches I would consider:
1. I would open up the oil clearances a little on the crank and rod bearings and run thicker oil for added cushion for the high boost levels.
2. Replace the rod and main bearings with standard bearings, have crank cleaned/polished and reinstall.
2 would be the true backyard mechanic/everyday wrencher’s approach.
LT you are shooting yourself in the foot! You are robbing yourself of future episodes and content. Take the approach of Cletus, make one modification, take it to the track, blow it up, repair, improve, take it to the track.
I would’ve kept the motor in the truck, did a cam and upgraded the top end, took it to the track.
Good channel! I’ve had a couple of beers so take what I said with a grain of salt😂
I stopped watching his channel because of the insane amount of money that Cletus blows. It seems as though he builds things just for the purpose of blowing them up.
LT I wish I could have shown you the main bearings in my Detroit when i rebuilt it. They looked like they had been eaten in spots. Pitted to beat hell. And the crank was still perfectly fine. The shape that thing looks in drop new bearings in and let her eat! Wouldn't scare me one bit. Especially with how meticulous you are with every detail.
Dingle ball hone, New rings and end gap, new bearings polish crank, top end springs and cam, lifters, roller rockers, new intake and Zoom!
Get Coated bearings that wear mark you talked about is oil starvation, will be negated with some coated bearings and a new pump. King is the move. Polish the crank, open the ring gap, and send it.
Polish the crank, install OEM main caps and run a little heavier oil.
I used a 3000 grit to polish the crank to rod bearing and journal 5k miles ago on a diesel build that has seen pulling and loads. In all honesty it's still in the back of my mind and I wonder about long hauls away from home. I'm always scared it'll go boom a few hundred miles from home
Don't do least work is OK you'll never be happy with results and then will play a what if game. You're a professional and Ocd too as a fan I believe you'll do it right . Be safe not reckless .
Your OCD (and my "wiring" frankly" wouldn't let you leave well enough alone. I think your junkyard 8.1 should be machined where it needs to be, rebuilt, and sold.
I loved seeing you finally tearing down the 8.1.
Polishing fresh bearings, that's the way to go given your goal of keeping the engine mostly stock to see how long it will hold up.
I'd probably go with polishing the crank, aftermarket bearings with a tiny bit more clearance since you already go with aftermarket parts for the valve train. a high flow/pressure oil pump combined with a thicker oil to top it off. And MAYBE an oil pan with baffles.
Think that would help with the huge amounts of torque that thing is producing and you don't run into the risk of oil starvation on decel after a pass.
Guess that's a fair cheat on a junkyard motor 😁
New bearings, make the crank shiney. Keep the cam and rods and pistons. Confirm gap on the rings. Put it all back together and go have some fun!
In-between compromise sounds good to me simply because of your original plan. You said it, you're building another 535ci for maximum thrills. 🎉🎉🎉😂😮
Every once in a while GM powertrain engineers actually get something made well past the bean counters that live to turn out garbage. The LS platform is probably their best effort at doing something right, at least before cylinder deactivation ruined it anyway.
You’ve also put the 8.1 to the test and proved that it was well designed. Unfortunately I can’t think of much else GM engineers got past the bean counters unscathed with examples like the Quad 4, the 8-6-4, the 3.6 chain gobbler, and the North Star causing repetitive night terrors for owners everywhere.
Polish the crank and replace the bearings with OE. That gets you the spirit of the junkyard engine and seeing how far the stock parts will take you without doing something stupid like just putting it all back (you were never going to do that anyway) and something almost equally silly by fully building the engine (thereby killing any sense of "junkyard 8.1" that's left).
My two cents.
Shoestring polish the crank, replace rod and main bearings. Measure everything of course. If it’s in spec, send it.
In the spirit of what it is (budget build) do what most of us could realistically do. Replace the bearings, gap the rings like u were going to, and a diy port and polish, true spirit of hotrodding, go as far as you can on your own
Polish the crank. Replace bearings. Twin turbo it.
LT has proved so many people wrong on how durable and good an 8.1 can be.
LT. I would replace the worn bearings with OEM replacements and polish crank, nothing more.
Clean it up and put standard size oem replacement bearings, maybe polish out crank journals
Just have the journals true-up & new bearing, set the ring gap for boost! Then the rest of what you were planning to do!! Than send it!!!
I'd regrind the crank mains and polish the rods and new bearings.
you've pushed it to a pretty good point in the stock configuration. it would be cool to go up a little in cam to something you could get away with using the stock valve train with.
New bearings and ring gaps and send to the 9s show what a stock 8.1 has!
Select upgrade in my humble opinion. Crank polish, valve train upgrade, etc.
Send it LT. That wear could have been caused before you boosted it. I personally would clean it up and put it back together. I have a feeling you’re going to do the right thing with the bearings and crank and there’s nothing wrong with that approach either. Do it for Dale and send it or full rebuild, I’ll still be watching. Keep up the good work LT!
Re-bearing with standard size bearings. No polish on the crank. Run a dingle berry hone in the bores and reassemble
I know this is older, but it's new to me. lol That bearing wear, especially the mains is NOT from combustion load/pressure. That's wear from neglect, bad oil etc (Possibly moisture in the oil? Ethanol anyone? It doesn't take much.) Wear from boost tends to push the crank sideways and thrust bearings fail. That's why Steve Morris puts those gargantuan roller thrust bearings in his motors as well. If rod bearings do get pounded out, it's usually from knock. It takes an INSANE amount of boost to pound out a rod bearing with no knock! Even 100psi is baby talk to combustion pressures the bearings deal with for 100,000 miles plus in normal use.
Get out the mic's and check the crank. Many cranks can polish right up and go back in service. If it is too far have the crank turned to next size, get your bearings and put back together. Pretty standard stuff here.
Keep it stock, just gap the rings, have the crank turned, and put new bearing on the bottom half. Done. Add new cam and springs and turn up the boost.
Because you’ve done the bigger engine already, I say freshen up this one and keep putting it through the paces
I would definitely change the bearings on the crank and the rods but use oem and fine polish on the crank itself, but just got done watching Richard holder yesterday and I would change to a zz502 or 506 cam (I don't recall at the moment) easy to tune in because your using boost already. Oh and ring gap with a good wash just to make sure. He's already going to change the oil pump so hey a half build 8.1 with a fully built one on the way. Fuck it have fun even tho it cost a lil!
New bearings and polish the crank bolt the flex plate to the crank and clamp it with the tire machine you can spin the crank while you polish it works great
Probably new crank bearings, polish the crank. Then reassemble. That sounds like the safest & cheapest way to go.
Polish and balance rotating assembly, new bearings, new rings, face the decks, hone bores. Should line bore mains too.
Light ball hone the cylinders. Fresh wide gap rings. Polish the crank. Balance the rotating assembly. Outside of that throw it back together as stock and let her eat.
Congratulations on your 135k
10/10 on that crank, size the rods with fresh bolts, and you will at least have a short block to use somewhere else afterwards.
#5 main bearing looks vibration related. They were designed as a low rpm stump puller and perhaps the high rpm runs are creating a vibration on #5 where the torque converter is so close to. That’s just a guess on my part but it certainly doesn’t look like normal wear or crank flex.
Every engine deserves proper care. My opinion is to stay true to the “junkyard” stock setup, the grab an engine out of the yard repair, what is broke, send it. I’d Rather see you clean up the crank, put in just a good set of bearings, and go back to what you were doing. Just do turn a blind eye, whatever you decide. It kills everyone’s track day when your engine spills it guts at the 60ft.
ARP head studs, MLS gasket, new bearings, new rod bolts ARP, camshaft, forged pistons/rods, hone and go. I think this would allow you to really lean on it hard. Hyper pistons are gonna have a tough team surviving much longer if you plan on raising boost
I'm late to the party and haven't seen what you decided. Me having an 8.1 suburban I have loved following this build. I hope you kept the spirit of the jy 8.1... I want to see how far this thing can go. Plus I love when mechanics tell me in a round about way that you are lying about it being stock and never have watched any of your vids! 😂😂😂
8.1 jy ftw!!!
When my Dad switched from AV gas to Methanol in his race car, his oil had the same reaction and he was changing it after every pass. He asked a friend that had been running Methanol for years about the issue. He told my Dad to switch to Valvoline 20W 50 racing oil. He did and the issue went away.
Clean the block, replace the bearings, stock intake, upgrade push rods, springs and rockers, all new seals
LT, Polish if possible, otherwise turn it and run some + bearings. Check those ring gaps, adjust it too tight, and send it.
Polish that crank and slip standard size bearings back in it. Touch hone it, re ring it gapped for boost, and screw it together.
polish the crank, king bearings where needed and open ring gaps and reassemble.
Just replace the bearing this is a good test for when the 8.1 can handle stock if bearing become a wear item at 22psi that is great will give a duty cycle before the 8.1 need new bearing (could replace rods with new oem but keep old rods if a NDT (none destructive testing) can be done to compare new vs old on next rebuild that is awesome for data about 8.1)
Get a shoestring, some sand paper and WD-40 and polish the crank. Replace the bearings add ring gap and send it
Polish the crank, new bearings, check ring end gap, put it together and do routine maintenance, regular oil changes with the ethanol, and run it on gas to burn that crap out of the oil, running a PCV-that’s day one stuff
Polish crankshaft go with std bearings and send it. Also dont know if you did camshaft but nice bumpstick and better intake manifold to move powerband up some.
Junk yard builds are kinda my thing. I say go true junk yard build. Don't send the crank off. Polish the crank by hand with some sand paper and a some rope. New bearings and send it. I've done that method to several engines that's crank and bearings looks way worse and they all turned out great! About too boost the Ford 390GT we just did this too in his 68 ford f250
Polish the crank yourself and put new bearing in.
If you make sure the clearances are good it will be fine
I would say to just replace bearings, maybe a bit of Hockey skate shoelace home polishing on the crank, add your springs and stuff and see where it goes just as originally planned. Use the other 8.1 for full send...