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Busted Motor photos and questions.

11K views 59 replies 19 participants last post by  wildcatlock 
#1 ·
Well, the "ticking" sound (discussed in a previous thread) turned out to be that of a time bomb. Got the oil pan off tonight and it looks like a spun bearing/broken rod.

Question 1: why does the neighboring cap look so dry? Severe heating?

Question 2: what are possible causes to breakage and is there any way to avoid it?

Question/Observation: There seems to be water/coolant dripping ONLY out of the cylinder area of the broken rod. Is it possible the head gasket was leaking and therefore caused this problem? I only ask because I am wondering if this motor is rebuildable (by someone else) or if its destined for the scrap pile. There were no other signs of a head gaskets leak. Oil and coolant levels were always in check and it never blew any smoke from the tailpipes. Never overheated.

We've basically come to the conclusion that we'll be dropping an LS motor in the nose now. Look for some threads regarding that later.

On to the photos:



Right side of photo is the passenger side:


All the shrapnel in the pan:


 
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#3 ·
Just a guess,and I'm no expert but it looks like there may have been a bit of heat on that crank journal and the still intact rod.
Looking forward to hearing what those that are in the know have to say....

By the way,if it were me I would go the LS route also!
I know if mine ever goes away as yours did that is the direction I will go.
 
#5 ·
You assume that the oil gauge was working. :laughing: "Little" things like that were creeping up the list...until now. Temp gauge apparently showed nothing abnormal.
 
#6 ·
It's strange that the next rod and cap look oil free
Either oil free which is pretty unlikely or a spun bearing that created so much heat that it just burned all the oil off the rod. It appears that a bunch of heat was involved. If it's just a spun bearing then a rebuild is a possibility if the rod and/or piston didn't score the cylinder walls very much.. Another crank will be a necessity though as will at least 2 new rods and a balancing job. Certainly a lot more easily repaired than a LS swap. While you're in there..............have some fun with other parts.;)
 
#7 ·
When a connecting fails like in You Corvette, The Rod beam breaks in 2, the cylinder wall gets a hairline crack or the the same cylinder wall gets punctured through.
Very likely source of dripping Green Antifreeze.

Severe Detonation will cause the big end of the connecting rod to go out of round. Upper & Lower bearing shells move inward at the parting lines & bite the crankshaft rod journal hard.
That wipes off all the oil film.
Failure is immanent.

Seen failures like your Vette sbc many times in drag & dirt track engines.
9 times out 10 severe detonation was to blame.
Engine ran out oil at High RPM's, oiling failure.
Connecting rod bolt failed.
Rod beam broke with engine spun over 8K rpm's with substandard parts used.
Cheap racers using China parts & Chinese won the War.
That Racer now broke.
 
#8 ·
Thanks guys. My fear is that there are more monsters lurking, like cracked cylinder walls, etc. and a simple repair will not cover it. Investigating all the possible breakages will cost money and that money could instead go into the LS swap instead.

Anyone need an old L48? Recently rebuilt carb and lots of new accessories. :laughing:
 
#9 ·
Anyone need an old L48? Recently rebuilt carb and lots of new accessories. :laughing:

Best path. Sell what is still good and usable. Just take lots of pics of all the individual pieces and start listing them on Craigslist because it's free. If items don't sell, you can try Ebay, but the fees will eat into your profits quickly on the smaller items. Typically, less than $25 isn't really worth my time or listing fee and I will either hold onto it as a spare or in case a friend needs it someday or I will add it to my scrap and take it all in one load for some cash at the scrap yard.
 
#11 ·
You ask the same question that my fiance and I have been kicking around for a few nights. Here's where we are coming from, and I welcome comments:

LS Motor, tranny, exhaust manifolds, ECM, interior and engine wiring harness: $3000
Obviously, there will be other incidentals as well, so add another $2000 to the tab (although I hope its not that high).
$5000 total for a LS with modern tech and better MPG.

Rebuild L48, add OD tranny and get vintage air installed: Around $3000 at my last estimate. This doesn't include the now needed 2 rods, pistons, oil pan, head gaskets as well as plucking the motor and having it inspected. I can see the bill getting me really close to $5000 total.

For about $1900 I can get a new GM block, but then I still need to add the tranny and A/C, so this option gets me to $5000 as well.

Just seems that no matter which way I cut it, $5000 is about the price.

If I'm off somewhere, please let me know. But now you see our thinking. :thumbsup:
 
#12 ·
Your being way to optimistic on a LS conversion , the work and mods and alterations pale in time and cost . Grab a crate and have a local respectable tranny shop build you a 2004r and you will be way ahead cash wise and have a good solid set up with good mpg
 
#13 ·
Optimistic on what part? Time is my own, so no real concern there. I've already have found all the LS stuff I listed at $3000. So, is the additional $2000 not a reasonable number? I appreciate the input.
 
#19 ·
And TRUST ME...I appreciate your thoughts!! It makes me re-double think things. I want as much info as possible.

This is HER car, and the last thing I want is to run into too many "up charges"....so hearing all the options is VERY helpful. I know that doesn't always come across in text...but trust me...THANK YOU!
 
#21 ·
Your welcome , I have struggled with choices just like yours and found for me direct swaps or the ability to but exact parts for the swap make doing the job a lot more pleasant. As well as more affordable down the road to service the car.


So GL both choices are good ones I may just be a tad lazy to tackle the LS swap lol opted for a cloned zz430 and 7ooR4
 
#22 ·
It sounds like you plan on doing the swap yourself, but you would not do a rebuild yourself. I have never done an LS swap, but I have rebuilt a lot of engines and I have swapped several engines into a vehicle they weren't designed for. I found swaps to be ten times harder than rebuilding even if you throw in some mods with your rebuild. Having said that, I hope you do the LS swap. It will be a fun project to watch. :thumbsup:
 
#23 ·
Well, I would attempt the rebuild myself if that were the route. I guess I'm just stuck on the fact that for similar money, She can have an LS that is reliable and more gas efficient than anything I could do to the old L48.

I look at it this way, I've never rebuilt a carb, and dove headlong into that. Never messed with a C3...and here we are. Lets just add swapping in a LS to the list.

Good thing is we have 2 other cars, so if this takes 6 months, there wont be TOO much bitching.
 
#27 ·
The LS swap isn't the mythical beast it used to be guys. You can do an LS swap for very little money other than the buy in cost of the LS motor as they are more than and normal SBC. but in the end you get a motor with endless possibilities and even in stock form offers more power than a built SBC. You can achieve more with less and still have daily driver reliability and a great platform to build on if you want more power later.


OF course this all comes from an LS advocate but I did my swap for about 5 grand and that includes building the motor. That's less than a 383 crate motor and is more motor.
 
#28 ·
If you can find a wrecked ls car with the 4l60+e you could save the cost of a new transmission, but you also have to consider either spending the time and headache removing unnecessary wiring or buy a already done harness, tuning he ecm to remove unneeded controls, the radiator may not work, manifolds may not work, transmission cross member, shortening the drive shaft. I mention these things cause i am currently helping a friend do and 4.8l swap into an 85 Pontiac Parisanne and we thought we would have plenty of room since it came with a 305/700r4 and think he has to buy a convertor box cause the ecm operates it as 2 4cyl engines and the tach doesn't.
 
#31 ·
If you are truly limited by a tight buget, You would be better off doing a weekend swap with a GM Gen 1 crate motor like this, it would have you back on the road in no time and give you a nice setup between HP and fuel mileage

http://www.jegs.com/i/Chevrolet-Performance/809/12499120/10002/-1?parentProductId=749882

Or any on of these that fit into your budget,

http://www.jegs.com/s/GM_Engines/GMEngines_freeshipping.html


Speaking from experience you will be better off cost wise to do a GM crate motor swap, this would be a new motor, Not a used high milage LS that may give you trouble sooner than you would think.

Riggs
 
#35 ·
:thumbsup: Get outta that cold weather and hang out in the 70's.
 
#40 ·
Have you considered an LQ instead of LS? Same motor basically just out of a truck instead of car. Much cheaper also. There would be accy. drive expense and the intake is different but I have seen LQ motors for under 1k with the computer and harness. If you go LS why stop at a 5.3. Go all out and find a 7.4 and tell her the car is now yours :laughing: Seriously you might want to check out the truck version of the LS just for a cost comparison.:thumbsup:



BTW Junkman and UCF cant be a good combo. Too many storys for him to tell in the future. But I guess if he takes some pics fo us then all is good.:partyon:
 
#41 ·
... BTW Junkman and UCF cant be a good combo. Too many storys for him to tell in the future. But I guess if he takes some pics fo us then all is good.:partyon:
I don't think that I will get anywhere with USF girls once they find out I'm from Louisville. We're in the same college conference and Louisville has been handing USF their ass over the last few years! :D
 
#55 ·
You didn't really expect a 4 page thread to stay on task did you?
:laughing: No. Of course not. Especially when we are talking about upgrades.

I could just see finishing the project and she walks out into the garage. There's a hole cut in her hood, she's getting 3 MPG and you can't leave a stoplight without lighting the tires for 2 blocks.
 
#56 ·
:laughing: No. Of course not. Especially when we are talking about upgrades.

I could just see finishing the project and she walks out into the garage. There's a hole cut in her hood, she's getting 3 MPG and you can't leave a stoplight without lighting the tires for 2 blocks.
I had that problem when I first got the El Camino back from the shop!
 
#42 ·
I say make a table from the old engine. replace the rod/piston and clean it up really pretty then drop a polycarbonate top on it.
 
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