overdrive Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I'd ask them to detail how the block was cleaned. All oil galleys should have been thoroughly cleaned. Also, did they remove the pistons? Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gprimm Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 That mechanic will be smiling from ear to ear. I bet when you are there, he may offer to go over it and check the timing just to make sure it is running at it's best. The mechanics I know love working on our old cars. Brings them back to better years for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stangeba Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 I told my brother in-law (retired Chevy / GM power train engineer) of your dist gear problem. He asked a GM rep Saturday about your failure and was told, unofficially, it is an epidemic and could happen again! My brother in-law's suggestion to you is, after running a short time 200 miles or less, pull the dist out and check the driven gear for problems. Good luck! Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70 Iron Posted September 10, 2012 Share Posted September 10, 2012 Thanks Mike for sharing all that valuable info ,I also have that same engine. I'm glad you have it back and happy the way things went. Thanks Bruce for sharing that heads up from your brother in law too. After reading all the info I pulled the dizzy this morning to take a peak ,Happy to say that the gear looks new and shows no sign of wear. Gave it a lube and reinstalled it. I also called a friend with the same engine to give him the info and he's pulling his too. Terry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waupachino Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 Sounds to me that they did exactly what was needed to repair the Engine with a failed Distributer Gear. Only thing that might have been over looked was replacing the Piston Rings, but I'm pretty sure they were probably with in spec. I just went through a very similar process with a failed roller lifter and covered all the things the dealership did and the rings, not because I had to, but figured I should anyway since the Engine was apart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LS65Speed Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 I don't post a lot here more a "Lurker" but your comment about "GM Factory Mechanics take pride......." made me post a response. I bought a 454 LS6 crate some years ago, before the "ZZ454" appeared on the scene. I am one of those guys who just doesn't trust anything until the supplier has a track record with me. GM quality has caused some of that general distrust. I took the engine home put it on a stand and took it apart for an inspection. One connecting rod cap was INSTALLED BACKWARDS!!! Anyone here who has built an engine knows you cannot install a rod cap BACKWARDS without POUNDING IT DOWN. They just are not made to fit easily BACKWARDS. GM stepped up with a new rod and ate the machine shop charge to R&R the piston. I took the rest of the motor down to an empty block...checked all dimensions I could check myself and had a shop look over the rest of the block. This was not an oversight. This was just plain sloppy "I could give a S----T work by someone at GM. Just an FYI Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heckeng Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 Congrats on the rebuild, that is great news! I'm going to be a devil's advocate on the crate motor deal. Yes, we have all heard about bad crate motors and issues that have come from them. I may be the only one who has heard of this, but I have heard of many more issues with machine shops doing things wrong or having the exact same issues as the crate motors occur. Sometimes they fix things, and sometimes they blame it on the owner and do not fix things. On top of that, I have heard of some shops taking 6 or 8 months to get an engine together--it depends on if it is circle track season or not and what else is on their plate. I know there are good engine builders, as I am sure there are good crate engines. My 454 was a GM crate and I had no real issues with it for the 15 years I ran it. My current motor is a 502 crate and it has also been nice so far. Now, a rod cap installed backwards is absolutely ridiculous. That person should be fired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiham Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 I don't post a lot here more a "Lurker" but your comment about "GM Factory Mechanics take pride......." made me post a response. I bought a 454 LS6 crate some years ago, before the "ZZ454" appeared on the scene. I am one of those guys who just doesn't trust anything until the supplier has a track record with me. GM quality has caused some of that general distrust. I took the engine home put it on a stand and took it apart for an inspection. One connecting rod cap was INSTALLED BACKWARDS!!! Anyone here who has built an engine knows you cannot install a rod cap BACKWARDS without POUNDING IT DOWN. They just are not made to fit easily BACKWARDS. GM stepped up with a new rod and ate the machine shop charge to R&R the piston. I took the rest of the motor down to an empty block...checked all dimensions I could check myself and had a shop look over the rest of the block. This was not an oversight. This was just plain sloppy "I could give a S----T work by someone at GM. Just an FYI The worst part is that they would have actually had to work HARDER to put it in backwards than to do it correctly. Some people are just morons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
502ci Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 The worst part is that they would have actually had to work HARDER to put it in backwards than to do it correctly. Some people are just morons. I'm suddenly picturing a monkey trying to force a square peg into a round hole... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Brichta Posted September 26, 2012 Author Share Posted September 26, 2012 Well I have now had the engine back in the car for about 3 weeks now and have put around 150 miles on the car since the rebuild. The first thing I did when I got it installed was take it for a long drive. I got on a major highway and ran it for over an hour at around 70 mph non stop. The car ran great and had no issues at all so I guess I can say I am happy with the outcome. Looking back on the entire experience I don't think I could ask for much more from GM. They rebuilt while replacing any damaged parts without too many questions and did it all in around 1 week. I paid more for the GM engine because I wanted the warranty and in my case it was well worth it. Without it I would have been screwed. It's kind of like any other kind of insurance. If you never need it you think you never should have had it but if you do need it someday it is well worth it. This is my second GM crate motor and the other one is running great after 2 years. If the problem with the zz454 was that the distributor had the wrong gear on it I can't blame the dealer for that. All I want the dealer to do is make it right, which they did. So far I have not been able to find anyone who has had my same distributor gear issue that I had so I have to think mine was just a fluke and now it is fixed. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stangeba Posted September 26, 2012 Share Posted September 26, 2012 That's great! You may want to pull out the dist now and closely examine the gear, as a safety measure. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heckeng Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 The number of distributor gear wear issues seems to have gone up dramatically in the last several years. I have seen abnormal wear on an MSD gear personally. People are talking about metalurgy being the issue and I am sure that is part of the problem. Part of the issue is also that cam manufacturers are sometimes installing iron gears on billet cams, sometimes having billet gears on billet cams, and end users are running cast iron, melonized (basically a treated cast iron I believe), everwear, bronze, or probably a couple more different types and the key is to make sure they two are compatible. I also suspect that different oils may be a problem. I just read some testing posts on the Chevelle website for lots of oils and additives that showed that a ZDDP additive that I have used in the past actually makes things wear MORE than oil without it! Needless to say I will not be using that stuff any longer. I am also switching to use Penzoil 5w-30 Ultra as my oil. I have always used regular Valvoline 5w-30 which turned out to be ok, but not the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stangeba Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 I wonder if any of these problem gears were made outside the US and Canada? (note, I didn't say China!) Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heckeng Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 I have no idea but it is becoming all too common of a story. I also am now doubting if it is all the lack of zddp in the oil that everybody talks about. After seeing some tests, I'm just not so sure on that stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam (Bones) Posted September 28, 2012 Share Posted September 28, 2012 too much of it is just as bad, if using a roller cam, it's not necessary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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