I'll be doing the swap either in Oregon City, or just a couple miles from your house. Probably Oregon City though.
CK5
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'90 K5 - The Nevada Blazer [Post 1437: School me on alternators)
- Thread starter colbystephens
- Start date
y5mgisi
1 ton status
Sounds good! Well depending on how the time line stacks up, I would be happy to drop by and give you a hand!
Thanks.
- Colby,you are right on the money with replacing your engine with a GM replacement engine. You will need part #12568758, and most dealers in the Portland area should stock them. I am a few hours away in Wenatchee,Wa and I always keep them in stock. You would be totally wasting a huge bunch of time and money upgrading to a vortec configuration or any other performance type engine if you are going to stick with your stock throttle body. I have personally experimented with a bunch of different configurations of engines, cam changes, head changes etc as well as custom made proms and different fuel pumps/pressures to work along side the GM throttle body and have never realized the results that I hoped for. The GM warranty on these engines has recently changed. They still offer a 3-year 100,000 mile warranty on parts and labor, but they require that a GM dealer or "certified" shop do the install. GM has not made it clear on what they consider a certified shop and after many conversations with GM district managers and their superiors, they have concluded that as long as it is an auto repair shop with a business license and they write you a receipt you should be covered. A distributor or a flexplate would be a waste of money unless they are damaged. What's important to validate the warranty would be a new water pump, spark plugs, oil filter, thermostat, pcv valve, oil filter adapter gasket, and a new intake gasket. They will also require that you have a receipt that proves that you had the radiator checked out or purchased a new one. I hope this clears things up a little and if you have any other questions please shoot me a pm!
That's why I recommended the car LO5.
It's the same engine as in the trucks. They both share the same LO5 RPO (the 305 version is an LO3). Just for what ever reason, GM decided to put roller cams in the cars and flat tappet cams in the trucks. There may be a small power difference, but it would be negligible. The difference is reliability. New oils are meant for roller cams, not flat tappet cams. You wouldn't have to worry about zinc in your oil.
Martin
This is from the 1990 Blazer Vehicle Information Kit.
Close up of the dyno chart.
This is from the 1992 Caprice Vehicle Information Kit.
Still Caprice.
Still Caprice.
Martin
Close up of the dyno chart.
This is from the 1992 Caprice Vehicle Information Kit.
Still Caprice.
Still Caprice.
Martin
I agree with Martin here. It's still a stock engine not sure if it would require a re tune on your computer.
I would absolutely get a new water pump.
I hate to say it but I see the sense in staying as stock as possible. Reliability is a huge issue.
I would absolutely get a new water pump.
I hate to say it but I see the sense in staying as stock as possible. Reliability is a huge issue.
Thanks for the concise, informative post! I appreciate it.
As to the install - can you tell me what GM considers an "install"? I'd love to have the warranty, but I'm not going to pay a shop to do the work. But, if I could remove my current engine, tow it down to a shop, and pay them pick up the block and put it in the motor mounts so that I could then complete everything from there - I'd do that to maintain the warranty.
That's interesting info. Thanks. If it is truly a direct replacement, no computer mods or anything necessary than just "install it and run it," I'd be willing to consider it.
On the flip side, I think it's worth posing the question: Will my engine really be damaged and explode me to death if I run flat tappets with modern oil? My current stock engine runs pretty great despite the mismatch of flat tappets and modern oil.
Yes flat tappet engines require a certain amount zddp this is one o the main reasons these engines not are good for 100-200k then wear out, if you stick with delo or rotella or a heavy duty Diesel engine oil you should be ok. Comp and others sell the zddp additives, the issue is the newer oils additive package is so high in detergents it washes the zinc away.. So hdeo is the alternative or a straight sae oil with the additive is ok.
The service L05 engine (#12513151) has been discontinued since February of 2012! It would also have been considerably more cash then the correct engine. It would not be a drop in with no issues as suggested because of a few factors. The first and most important in terms of compatibility is the difference in compression ratio. That combined with the different camshaft profile will not work properly with the stock ecm without custom programming. Will it start and run? Of course! But those specs shown would never come to life, and most likely would end up being less efficient than going the stock route. Can you make improvements on the stock ecm and throttle body? Sure, but the cost versus reward factor just doesn't make sense (ask me how I know). I have been at this dealer for 25 years and have watched some of my customers as well as myself run the gauntlet on computer friendly camshaft changes, cylinder head modifications, compression changes etc. You are still limited by a dinosaur in terms of tuning compatibility and fuel delivery. If your pockets are deep enough to try and make all of this work, why not just by the HT383 and throw the Holley Terminator EFI on it and rock on. I run that engine in my FJ40 and it is a beast! On the warranty issue, shoot me a pm and I will shed a little more light on it for you!
Colby, there are too many people throwing THEIR suggestions out there and clouding YOUR judgement as to what you want/need. In your case I would stick with a factory replacement engine and don't worry about the warranty being an issue. First of all an engine degrades over time so installing a new stock engine is going to have more power than what you take out. As far as warranty goes, if the engine is going to fail it will do so very quickly after install and unless you've done something stupid like drop a hose clamp down the intake and blow up a cylinder there will not be any issue with having the engine replaced "under warranty".
Isn't it fun to spend other people's money and time, though? After all, that IS why we have the government.....
So teach me a bit more about these zinc additives for the oil and whatnot. Also tell me what you all think about various radiators/options. I just sold my 2-Stroke Truck, so it's time to really get things planned so that when I get to Oregon it'll be a quick and simple replacement.
y5mgisi
1 ton status
4x4 high pretty well nailed it. Your smart Colby. You will do what's best/right for YOU. There is a most excellent read on the zinc topic on chevelles.com. The basics are that even the diesel oils are insufficient for flat tappet cams and that in order to have the correct levels of zinc or zddp or whatever, you have to run expensive oil, or a zinc additive at each oil change.
That being said, if you break in the cam properly at initial start up using a cam break in oil additive like the one offered from comp cams, you can pretty much run whatever oil in it you want for the rest of its life and likely be fine. I use whatever is cheapest in my flat tappet stuff. But, if I was installing a brand new engine, I would probably be inclined to run cheap oil WITH additive from the get go.
That being said, if you break in the cam properly at initial start up using a cam break in oil additive like the one offered from comp cams, you can pretty much run whatever oil in it you want for the rest of its life and likely be fine. I use whatever is cheapest in my flat tappet stuff. But, if I was installing a brand new engine, I would probably be inclined to run cheap oil WITH additive from the get go.
I am throwing stuff out there for the simple reason of bringing other things to light. Colby ismi knowledgeable enough to make his decisions on his own.
Being the fact the other motor is not available anymore dead stock replacement man. I love the reliability of Horton. Dead bone stock TBI don't even have headers cause I could never afford really good ones
Being the fact the other motor is not available anymore dead stock replacement man. I love the reliability of Horton. Dead bone stock TBI don't even have headers cause I could never afford really good ones
If you can't get the l05 anymore than regardless of the engine you drop in will require reprogramming of the r u period unless cam and compression etc are the same it will not work, tbi doesn't have much of a correction factor for something like that. At this point I'd rebuild the old engine and call it a day! No fuss nothing just drop it in and go.. Atk might offer long blocks might look at them.
I think they mean that the L05 car engine with the roller cam isn't available any more, but that the truck version with the flat tappets is still available.
Colby, the Valvoline VR1 racing oil still has the proper amount of ZDDP for flat tappet cams. You can only get the oil in either 10W30 or 20W50 though. In a new engine I would recommend you run the 10W30. Keep in mind you ONLY need to run this for initial break-in period (usually 500 miles). I personally like to run the VR1 10W30 for start-up and run for 500 miles then change oil AND filter and then run the VR1 oil again for 3000 miles after which you can run whatever brand of oil you want. I have been running conventional 10W30 Valvoline oil for years now with no issues but each to their own on the brand of oil they prefer.
http://www.valvoline.com/products/consumer-products/motor-oil/racing-motor-oil/6
http://www.valvoline.com/products/consumer-products/motor-oil/racing-motor-oil/6
Cool. Thanks!
I run what ever in whatever. Never started adding zinc till the last 2 motors I've done.
Seems a good share of trouble has come from guys with good sized cams and stiff valve springs, makes sense.
On a well worn old motor? I prob wouldn't worry. On a new, even stock replacement motor I'd spend the extra couple bucks and run some additive.
I run half a bottle of Lucas zinc additive after break in now.
Also, I'd be super tempted to put a stock roller cam in and be done with it. But ultimately that's your choice.
Seems a good share of trouble has come from guys with good sized cams and stiff valve springs, makes sense.
On a well worn old motor? I prob wouldn't worry. On a new, even stock replacement motor I'd spend the extra couple bucks and run some additive.
I run half a bottle of Lucas zinc additive after break in now.
Also, I'd be super tempted to put a stock roller cam in and be done with it. But ultimately that's your choice.
