What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

hello all, nice place you have here

M

mud_flinger

Registered Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2009
Posts
6
Reaction score
0
Location
mud pit
i look forward to reading all the info i've been told that is here.

but right now i have the need of an engine guru. the motor in my 78 k5 is swigging oil, i just had the heads rebuilt because i thought that was the problem, but no, still using 2 qts oil a day, and i have a friend who has a vortec shortblock with less than 50k miles on it. he sold the heads, as they seen to be in big demand. but he has offered it to me for a swap of some labor on his truck.

he let the engine roll over off the blocks it was sitting on and it dented the oil pan up pretty good, and it has a PLASTIC timing cover on it. will my metal timing cover go in its place and will my oilpan fit it also? and my older heads, will they bolt up to this engine, sorry for the ignorance, i've never worked on anything newer than an 82 model gm. is there anything else that i need to address to use this newer shortblock with older heads, intake and tin? i've looked around your site and i see alot of stuff that will get done to my k5 as time goes by, wish i had found this place years ago!
 
mud_flinger said:
i look forward to reading all the info i've been told that is here.

but right now i have the need of an engine guru. the motor in my 78 k5 is swigging oil, i just had the heads rebuilt because i thought that was the problem, but no, still using 2 qts oil a day, and i have a friend who has a vortec shortblock with less than 50k miles on it. he sold the heads, as they seen to be in big demand. but he has offered it to me for a swap of some labor on his truck.

he let the engine roll over off the blocks it was sitting on and it dented the oil pan up pretty good, and it has a PLASTIC timing cover on it. will my metal timing cover go in its place and will my oilpan fit it also? and my older heads, will they bolt up to this engine, sorry for the ignorance, i've never worked on anything newer than an 82 model gm. is there anything else that i need to address to use this newer shortblock with older heads, intake and tin? i've looked around your site and i see alot of stuff that will get done to my k5 as time goes by, wish i had found this place years ago!
Click to expand...

You can use your heads and intake on the vortec block. Your steel timing cover will swap over (assuming the dampner is the same size since the timing tab is welded to the cover and the dampner must clear the tab) but the oil pan will only swap if your engine is a 1 piece rear main seal engine (1986-up). If your engine is an earlier 2 piece rear main seal engine (1985-down, should be if it is the original 78 engine) then you will also need to buy a flexplate/flywheel for the 1986-up engine as the earlier one will not fit (bolt circle is different) and you should get the dual convertor bolt pattern if you're running an auto trans so the convertor will work.
 
my timing cover is 1 of those chrome chevrolet cover...it doesn't have a timing tab on it...so i need a 86 or newer oil pan, and i have a standard trans, will i still need a new flywheel? he told me that there was some kind of ring under that plastic timing cover, what is it, does it stay or go? will a standard gasket kit work for what i want to do? its my driver everyday and oil is gettin expensive, i really need to swap this shortblock in with my heads and my edelbrock performer intake as soon as possible. is there anything real time consuming or expensive on using the newer block with the older stuff...i searched and i see alot of people doing just the oppisite, the vortec heads on older blocks, but not the other way around. i can see this motor has roller lifters and the holder in the lifter valley, will i need different pushrods or rocker arms? is this going to be as easy as swapping in an older rebuilt engine?
 
i'm not sure, so i won't respond about the pushrods and stuff, i ussually put the whole vortec engine in when i swap them, but you will need a new/different flywheel, whether its an automatic or standard trans...i will tell you that you are in excellent hands w/4x4high, he builds engines for a living, you asked for a guru, and you got him!
 
cool, there really is alot of stuff on here from mild to WILD,..i can't wait to read up on all this stuff, i've already seen some stuff that gave me ideas!
 
huh, you just wait, this site is addictive if your truely into your gm 4x4's, and theres people on here that can spout out obsolete part #'s or at least find them or point you in the right direction!
 
Old Heads = Old Style Manifold
Newer Heads = Newer Style Manifold
As long as the heads and intake match the bolt angle I don't think there would be a problem, no matter what year block to an extent.
 
my heads and intake are the old style, i just don't know what i need to do to use them on the newer roller motor, and i don't like that plastic timing cover, and my buddy says it has some kind of ring inside it on the crank that the computer used, can it/does it come off when i take the plastic cover off to bolt on my steel timing cover, and what gasket set do i need, right now i just want to get this done over a weekend, hope its not a pipe dream, so i need oilpan,pushrods,gaskets.....anything else?
 
oh yea, thanks...i'm trying to get a list together, so we can get this done as soon and quick as possible
 
The roller lifter engines use a shorter pushrod so you'll need to reuse the pushrods from the vortec engine. You will need a flywheel also since your engine is the earlier 2 piece rear seal engine and the flywheel won't bolt onto the newer crank. The ring under the timing cover was used for the crank sensor on the newer stuff and i'm not sure what the arrangement is but pretty sure that it will either come off seperately of the timing set OR may be able to be left under the steel cover without issues (not sure on this one). Can you snap a picture of your heads on your current engine (under the valve cover area where the pushrods go through the head, i need to verify which style rockers you'll need). GM changed to a self centering rocker on later heads (i think mid 90's but once again not exactly sure) I am fairly sure though that your heads just use conventional rockers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom