Unreal

Well my build didn't last long. Was driving up to cars and coffee here. Was going 75mph on the highway when I noticed the knock sensor started going off. I turned the radio off and didn't hear anything but to the next exit. Made it into a parking lot and there was a light knocking noise. I popped the hood and couldn't see anything wrong but didn't want to try to start it so I towed it home.

Was thinking I broke a valve spring or something. I took the valve covers off and the plugs out. The front passenger plug was black which was the only strange thing. All the springs, rockers, pushrods, etc all looked good. I couldn't figure it out. I then pulled the valley plate and that is when I found the damage. The front cam lob was wiped out and the roller of the lifter was gone.





The roller tip of the lifter is snapped off. Not sure what the plan is besides continue to tear it down. Very least it will need to get a new cam, new lifters, etc but if I'm going that far I may just pull the motor and build it or buy a new motor and swap it in.

Ohh well, ran really good for 750 miles. Looking for suggestions on what to do.

3LZZ06

Man...that just sucks!!!

I know you had a blower but what was your the rest of your build list?...

Sorry to hear of your mess.

LS9Drew

Forge the bottom end ,lower the cr, and add more boost lol

Unreal

Stock bottom end. Comp 228/234 630/630 115lsa cam. Texas Speed PRC 285CC heads. A&A kit.

Need to see what can be saved and what is trashed. Now I can at least get a better cam in there. Not sure if I'll use this block or do a sleeved ls2/3. It really depends on what my options are. No way a stock motor is going back in if I have to pull the motor.

Mopar Jimmy

Sorry to hear that your boosted LS7 motor bit the dust, that really sucks and hope your up and running soone than later.

How many boosted miles did you have on the engine and what was the total mileage on the it?

Best of luck to you.

Unreal

32k miles, 700 since the heads/cam/blower. Wasn't even on it or boosting at all. Just cruising with the cruise control on at 75mph. I have the datalog recorded. You can see where it let go. Now I need to figure out what needs to be replaced.

Cheapest case:
New cam, New lifters, 2 new head gaskets. I'm worried junk in the pan though. I guess I'll see what the oil pump looks like when I pull it.

Worst case the lifter bore is trashed which means the block is trashed and I start new.

Hirohawa

Sorry for your troubles. I know you spent along time getting it all together.

Hope you have better news ahead as you continue to tear it down.

Unreal

Either way atleast one head/blower/cam/oil pan all have to come off to get this fixed. At that point I might as well just pull everything out. Ugh. Wondering how hard it is to pull the motor out the front/top.

johnnywoz

Bummer, I can relate. Lost my motor a couple weeks ago due to an oiling issue.

RedZ4me

curious, did you have adj. rockers and possible that they weren't properly set.....?? tough to wipe a lobe and incorrect adjustment is often the cause.

tjwong

You can sleeve the lifter bore to repair it, if the block is otherwise usable, that is a cheap repair compared to a new block.

rattt g

wow sorry to hear. what going on with all these motors

screaminchevy

Ah that sucks, just saw this. Sorry bro, I'm sure you'll have it up and running even stronger soon enough.

LFZ

Take it to the dealer....see if you can get that covered under warranty..

OnPoint

Sorry to see this.

Hope you get back up and running soon.

MarkRx

erikszr1

that would be great

sublime1996525

Damn Nick sorry to hear that. Hopefully it's not too bad and it probably would be too bad to pull the motor out the top. I figure if I could get the motor from the top on a 95 Z28 with the transmission still attached you should be able to do it on your Z. Good luck.

LFZ

If other popped modded - LS7s are getting replaced under warranty...so should his.

StreetRacingGuy

Wouldnt it be nice if GM overbuilt their cars like Ford does the supercharged 5.4 and now 5.8 motors?