Added another 5.7 "R" engine powered vehicle to the fleet!

[Fast355]

My little brother needed a shop truck. Picked up a 99 Suburban with a 165K and a massive rod knock on friday. Had it towed to the shop and DROVE (remember this its important later!) it into the shop after it was dropped off the wrecker. Had the old L31 out in a little over 2 hours on friday night. Worked all day saturday, but found time in the afternoon to strip the fresh remanufactured vortec heads off the engine in the suburban and tear down the TBI head L31 I had sitting in the garage for a project that we had started that was too far gone to save. The 1991 Formula that had hidden frame damage. I recently acquired a pair of F-car LT1s, one that was disassembled. Pirated the cam for the "new" L31. The L31 long block had come from a machine shop up north and was in a work van. Had blown intake gaskets and coolant contamination. Was already 0.020" over and the lower end bearings still looked great. Cam bearings are not perfect as one had a small gouge in it but not horrible either. Worked most of the day sunday repairing the half dozen failed helicoils we found on the block, got the engine assembled and the 202/207, .447/.459, 116* LSA cam degree'd in 4* advanced on a cloyes 3-way adjustable single roller timing chain and an 2* offset bushing to put it right at 112* ICL. The cloyes sprokets and chain/LT1 cam had 2* advance built in somwhere but thats why you degree cams. Got the timing cover, oil pan, and balancer installed. Pulled the balancer bolt threads out of the crank when the installer tool bottemed out. Either I am hercules or someone used the balancer bolt to install the balancer in its past. Subsequently found 7/16-20 helicoil kits are pretty hard to find on demand. Installed the DCLF S10 converter in the 4L60E and a new input shaft seal. Dropped the engine in the truck monday night, after having to pull the transmission out (flexplate was installed backwards)...As Homer would say "DOPE"! Get it all connected and fill all the fluids. Added all new Delco/Delphi cap, rotor, plug wires, spark plugs, fuel and air filter and replaced a broken knock sensor. Go to start it and VROOM...Blah.....Crank it again VROOOM, Blah....Won't stay running. So I check all the wiring, grounds and sensor connectors. Found one ground slightly loose on the back of the passenger head. Tighten it up. VROOOM, Blah!!! At this point I am PISSED, I knew we had DRIVEN the truck into the shop. Grab a test light and start checking the fuses. All but the dome lamp are good. Grab a multi tester, 5 volt reference is good from the PCM. I knew the cam/crank sensors and basic stuff was working, it would start. I pushed the shrader valve while with a screw driver and had a geyser of fuel. Still seemed like fuel to me. On a whim grabbed a can of carb cleaner, removed the airbox and doused the throttle body while my brother cranked it over. Vroooooooommmmmm and it started to idle. Fuel pump is running. Got out my noid light. It would flash while it was cranking then stop. Right that moment it hits me, the truck has a generic steel key that came with it and its a 99.... VATS!!! So I run across town, grab my tuning laptop and HP Tuners interface to discover I had used all my existing credits. So defeated for the night I go home and buy the credits online. Yesterday morning it was a trip to the Suburban, read the stock calibration, applied the license, and turned the VATS off. Crank, Crank, VROOOOOMMM...And drum roll....It keeps running on its own. Fixed a small vacuum leak by replacing a missing hose that ran to the heater control valve and solenoid and ran it long enough to discover the thermostat was not opening. Ran to Napa and grabbed a 180*F unit. A/C was cool, not cold, so I charged the a/c. I added 10% fuel to the MAF and VE tables to keep it safe and we took it for a drive. Did some datalogging and it was knocking a bit on the 6 month old fuel in the tank. So far very pleased with the truck. Needs the front end rebuilt as the front tires were worn on the inside edges and the busings are pretty bad. The 4L60E looked fairly fresh and the 3.73 G80 rear end is quiet despite the fact the fluid was absolutely disgusting.





Drove it around some last night after getting it buttoned up and worked on the tune a bit. To nobodys suprise, especially mine it is running 90%+ duty cycles with the factory style spider at higher rpm WOT. Saw as much as 92% at 5,500 rpm as it was shifting 1-2.
Tried three different times to get a clean 0-60 video, but was not able to. First time there was a cop camped out in a parking lot ahead. Second time the truck hazed the tires most of the way through first gear and absolutely destroyed them when the power enrichment fuel and timing kicked in at 3,200 rpm, making the suburban drift sideways. If it can light them up like it did on dry pavement, I am scared of what it will do on a rainy day. Too bad the Yokohoma 235/75R15s are almost new because it needs wider rubber on it with a shorter sidewall. The third time traffic prevented me from coming to a complete stop on a flat spot of road. Some other day.
Made a short video for a guy asking how streetable the cam/converter combination was. Being that both are factory GM parts it works very well. Very smooth off-idle and accelerates without excessive rpm or throttle opening. Probably only running 10-15% throttle opening here. If anyone ever gets a chance to tune a GM electronic transmission like a 4L60E or 4L80E, I highly recomeend the BC Trans tool program. Very helpful in getting all the shift tables and TCC tables setup to work with the powerband of a larger cam and higher stall. You can adjust what gears the converter locks in under acceleration, cruise, and WOT. Mine is set for accel lock in 4th, cruise 3rd, and WOT 5th. It will only lock the converter in acceleration in 4th gear. If the shifter is in 3rd for towing it will lock at speed. It will NEVER lock at WOT. Minimum RPM for converter lockup is 1,800 RPM.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RAqXKq1e9Y


I recorded a video for a guy that wanted to hear what it sounded like at idle. Not overly aggressive but if you know the GMT400 trucks well you can definately tell its not the stock L31 in there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BG_2awGJz-M

[Fast355]

After a couple of days cruising around has a couple of codes.

P0430----Bad bank 2 catalytic converter, the ceramic is literally crumbling and blowing out the tail pipe. Relatively easy fix!
http://www.jegs.com/i/Hooker/520/2462/10002/-1

http://www.jegs.com/i/Hooker-Headers...oductId=749142

http://www.jegs.com/i/Hooker/520/21005/10002/-1

http://performance-curve.com/225thun...ter415225.aspx

P1870----The PWM valve is sticking for the converter. Also want to beef up the shifts a little to hold the torque of the old L31. Probably only buy some time before it blows up and gets a 4L80E and 4.10 geared 454 SS 9.5" corporate 14-bolt.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TRG-4L60E-HD2/

[Fast355]

One other thing I forgot to mention that may save someone a headache on these trucks and vortec distributors. The plastic ears that hold the cap like to break or strip out. The aftermarket has finally come up with a solution!!! Found this in the Autozone Dorman "HELP" section.
http://www.dormanproducts.com/digita.../90449_DOR.PDF

[Fast355]

Stock spider at 70 psi with the LT1 cam, stock exhaust manifolds, and stock intake it is out of fuel at WOT.

[1project2many]

That plates a neat idea. The replacement distributors we use are an aluminum alloy so the plastic problems are gone. We change them for a variety of reasons so if you need a spare plastic distributor I have a small pile of 'em here. Also, with the vans, I drill out one of the vents and epoxy a 1/32" elbow into it then connect to the ported vacuum line on the RH side of the TB. It really cuts down on moisture build up and related damage under the cap.

[Fast355]

That plate's a neat idea. The replacement distributors we use are an aluminum alloy so the plastic problems are gone. We change them for a variety of reasons so if you need a spare plastic distributor I have a small pile of 'em here. Also, with the vans, I drill out one of the vents and epoxy a 1/32" elbow into it then connect to the ported vacuum line on the RH side of the TB. It really cuts down on moisture build up and related damage under the cap.

May have to take you up on the distributor offer sometime. A spare is always nice to have.

I have also done the same vent modification to my distributor. Works very nicely. Seems GM would have learned their lesson from the opticrap on the LT1 and LT4 engines.

[Fast355]

18.4 MPG on the last tank, 550 mile round trip on the highway, more than 2 hours stuck in traffic, and 75-85 mph cruising speed. Went to San Antonio and New Braunsfals with 7 people and all our stuff to stay for 2 nights, float the river saturday, and camp saturday night. A little in-town driving in San Antonio, New Braunsfals and Fort Worth. 682 miles on 37 gallons.

[Fast355]

My brother and i tackled the headers and new exhaust tonight. Roughly 2 hours start to finish. Still needs some tuning although it was running a little rich and now the fuel trims are fairly neutral.

This was him driving away from my house. Definately needs a H after the cats.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P41PfbTY1N4

My brother called me and told me it gained alot of torque at part-throttle. Told him to keep it under 3,500 and 1/2 pedal for a couple days for the PCM to adjust fuel trims so I can datalog it and make adjustments.

[Munchies]

For the trans and rear end. Find a 96+ Suburban 2500 with the 8600lb GVW. All have the 14B FF rear end, and many with 4:10,s and a G80. That and a traction bar, will make a happy camper!.

You also will get a nice 4l80e out of the same 2500 suburban.

[Fast355]

For the trans and rear end. Find a 96+ Suburban 2500 with the 8600lb GVW. All have the 14B FF rear end, and many with 4:10,s and a G80. That and a traction bar, will make a happy camper!.

You also will get a nice 4l80e out of the same 2500 suburban.

Already have the 80E from an 02 8.1 van (probably an 85E actually) and the 14 bolt 9.5" SF 454 SS 4.10 rear-end. I would go with the method you described if I wanted to swap to 8 lug. Staying with 5 lug for this truck to keep the factory wheels.

[Roadknee]

Fast - would you have the duration at 0.006" and duration at 0.200" numbers for that cam?

[Fast355]

Fast - would you have the duration at 0.006" and duration at 0.200" numbers for that cam?

Don't have .200" numbers but I have the numbers Mellings posted for a OBD2 1996 LT1 corvette which was used in the 96-97 F-cars too. Same cam was also used in some Ski boats such as the late 90s Indimar 330-350 HP 5.7.

270/276 @ .006, 201/208 @ .050, .446/.459" lift, 117° LSA, 117° ICL

The factory L31 cam

259/263 @ .006, 191/196 @ .050, .414/.428" lift, 111° LSA, 106° ICL

[Fast355]

Picked up another suburban on Saturday, its another 1999. This one is a K1500 with 226K on it, has had a rebuilt 4L60E and has a 3.73 rear-end. Bought it for $500 non running and it has some rust in the doors and fenders. It was sold with a "jumped" timing chain. I pulled the passenger valve cover and rolled over the crank until the #6 exhaust and intake rockers were just rocking back and forth. The timing marks on the front cover and balancer lined right up as this was happening. Dropped a distributer in it. First time it sounds like it tries to fire. Second attempt shoots fire and smoke from the throttle body. Had the same issue with the Express intermittently a few years back finally fixed it by changing a cam and crank sensor, ignition control module, coil, and 0411 swap.



Will be working on it later this week to hear it run. The extent of my work will likely be a non computer HEI tossed into it from my spare parts stash and a hotwire to get the ignition system working and a test start.

Picked up a knocking 97 K2500 today. Found a L31 that was complete from throttle body to pan, fan to flexplate after it was pulled for a 6.0 swap. Grabbed it from a local shop for $400. The owner claimed it had been rebuilt within the last 30K and it certainly looks it. Can't decide which engine to put into the 97If the suburban engine runs smoothly and carries good oil pressure it is going into the 97.

[Roadknee]

Don't have .200" numbers but I have the numbers Mellings posted for a OBD2 1996 LT1 corvette which was used in the 96-97 F-cars too. Same cam was also used in some Ski boats such as the late 90s Indimar 330-350 HP 5.7.

270/276 @ .006, 201/208 @ .050, .446/.459" lift, 117° LSA, 117° ICL

The factory L31 cam

259/263 @ .006, 191/196 @ .050, .414/.428" lift, 111° LSA, 106° ICL

I'd bet those LT1 lobes on a 111 LSA like the L31 cam would run really good to 5k or so.

[Fast355]

I'd bet those LT1 lobes on a 111 LSA like the L31 cam would run really good to 5k or so.

I personally like wider LSA cams. Better low-end torque and better fuel mileage. The LT1 cam 4* advanced in the L31 runs great, especially with the S10 2,800 rpm converter and 3.73s.