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5.3L long block

I have two 1/4 million mile 6.0's in my rigs that were both less than. 001" out of round, didn't think twice about resealing and reinstalling with new rod/main bearings.

Carbs are really hard on cylinder walls both due to fuel mixtures probably not being right all the time and especially the choke, liquid gasoline is a pretty good solvent for oil. Plus maybe better metal in the newer stuff (but the LS Platform is 25 years old!)
 
For the few lifters that didn’t slide smoothly out, is there something I need to watch out for on the block in those spots? Or just clean it up and lube it well before installing new lifters?

My rebuild book said the lifters would probably come out when removing the plastic trays, but there was not even a hint of that happening.

Also, I was going to replace the cam, but starting to think, if the cam isn’t obviously worn, why not tun it along with the crank, rods, and pistons. This rebuild book keeps telling me to replace all that so it’s tough to tell what’s just “nice” to replace and what really should be. It says the pistons should never be reused and I’m ok replacing those but only if it’s common that they wear too much.
 
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I would reuse the pistons. The cam can probably go again, I would replace the lifters and trays though.
I don't understand why a book is telling you to replace the pistons and rods. For a stock engine, there shouldn't be a problem using the originals.
I am guessing that the lifters are sticking in the engine because of varnish. That valley area looks like it has a lot of deposits, like a coating all over it.
I have only opened up a half dozen or so of these, and haven't seen a coating like that. I have been into one with 300K, and one with 280K. They weren't terrible.
I wonder why yours looks like that. Was it getting a small amount of coolant into the oil? Just enough to cause a film?
 
This engine has 236K on it. This is why I question the film inside of yours.
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6872xtc said:
This engine has 236K on it. This is why I question the film inside of yours.
View attachment 413364
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Great question. If all those deposits could be caused by coolant in the oil, maybe one of the heads has a micro crack which might explain my slow coolant loss as well. I may spring for new heads. There’s two exhaust manifold studs broke off flush in one anyway.
 
Oven cleaner is the only DIY substance I've found that removes sludge. You just have to be prepared to deal with the run-off. Check the dollar stores.

My experience is that removing broken exhaust bolts is easy on these engines. They don't really seize in place, they just break off. Place a washer over the broken off bolt and weld it. With aluminum heads, the weld doesn't stick to the heads at all. Then weld a nut on top of the washer, let it cool and turn it out.
 
Tried a couple degreasers and none worked super well (I read oven cleaner has Lye in it which can damage aluminum so i didn’t try it) for the big junk so it got a pressure washing followed by some brake clean, then coated with an anti corrosion spray while I went to work. Got back from work, removed the cam, and went to town with purple degreaser. After that some berry man’s to wash off all the degreaser and get some of the hard to reach places and remove any moisture. Tomorrow I’ll finish removing the crank and cam bearings and measure everything to check if everything is standard size like I assume and then go get new bearings, rings, oil pump, and probably heads, along with related stuff.

CE71C6B2-7832-451B-B13F-2896EF7C65A5.jpeg42B84BD7-C61E-442C-80AF-2A1F350947E5.jpegC3F2659E-FCE2-4E23-8B4C-4C69EF0F0E48.jpeg
 
Got the block down as far as I plan to go. Cam bearings were pretty tired looking but the rest look normal for 295k miles. :saweet:

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And I started a YouTube playlist for this as I make progress.

 
My weekend is done. First cam bearing got buggered up during installation. I didn’t have the tool tightened down enough. Waiting on a new set from summit. I guess I can enjoy the holiday tomorrow.D6886248-1772-412B-B0E4-92F904696EE0.jpeg
 
One other issue I have is that little barbell oil galley plug. The oring ripped on the one I have and I wasn't even able to get it fully installed. Any tips for getting that in? Had to order another one.
 
Getting there.
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Anyone have an idea of what these here gaskets go to? I got a felpro 2601880 gasket set and these three have me stumped.
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