@@jamesdougan8789 true but if you're resurfacing the heads and have the whole engine disassembled then resurfacing the lower block to heads is a must. And definitely honing out the cylinders is a must for a engine that will last. And with all that work there's no sense not to.
@@TonicofSonic Yes. When I took mechanics in high school, we would put "short blocks" that had been rebuilt in vehicles. We would overhaul the heads ourselves. We had a short block we were putting in a GMC pickup that was hitting "soft" on the 8th cylinder, and we finally realized the "proper facility" must have used the old cam shaft, and it had a worn lobe. They sent us a new one and we replaced it, and it ran perfect.
Like painting the walls in your kitchen. Then you repaint the cabinets. Then you replace the flooring. Then you replace the countertops. Then you replace the appliances. Then ............................................. on and on and on. Always nice to see Lauren.
That Who Framed Roger Rabbit reference was the best! As soon as Ray called that stuff dip I thought of that movie and I was hoping Ray was as well, I was not disappointed!
Check the cylinders too, and at least hone them and replace the rings. He is also going to wish he had stamped the rods before he removed them, (if they weren’t already numbered).
Rings, bearings, bolts, and washers every time no matter what or dont take the job!!! The customer will sue you when it blows up even if you told them they needed to replace those wear component's. Not worth the headache
At this stage of the game, it would be a wise move to just rebore the block and replace the pistons and rings in fresh, straight bores. Even if you hone the original bore, that opens it up even further and then you're asking for blowby and oil consumption issues. You can make the cylinder bore bigger...but you can't shrink it to fit the original sized pistons. The only way you can get by with just a hone is if the bore has extremely light wear on it and there's not excessive taper. This engine is high mileage, guarantee you the bores have taper in them that a simple hone job can't fix. If the bore isn't round and straight, even new rings won't seal properly. Each bore needs to be mic'ed to check the amount of wear and taper.
If you gonna tear it down that far I would send the block out and get it decked and honed. Or some copper spray to seal any gaps. Definitely new rings.
Speaking of California, a man was told he had to build a 6 foot fence around his "unsightly" boat or be fined each day it was visible. He built the fence and then had an artist paint an exact copy of the boat on the outside of the fence. It was awesome. Glad I don't live there.
I saw that story. It's not the state that made him do it, it's the city council who is acting like an HOA with overly tight underwear. I LOVE malicious compliance!
Hey brother, just a tip an old timers showed me. When you crack the rod bolts and just turn them a few turns, take the handle of your hammer or a piece of wood and lightly tap the rod bolt and it will pop it off of the crank with out damage.
Good thing the owner wanted you to change the cam. Those worn cam bearings could have ended up causing catastrophic damage to the engine. I'm not a mechanic and even I could see how bad those cam bearings are.
Performance upgrades to old engines are always a gamble. On tear down the weakest link or links are exposed. I'm sure Ray explained this before the operation began.
@@jkK-lw9lu when I tear an engine down, I look at everything. Of course all you can do is advise the customer to the best option, it's up to the customer to decide what they want done, they are paying the bill after all.
This a classic case of while you are there. Send the block to the machine shop. New rings too. Also, by the look of those cam bearings I would upgrade the oil pump too.
I haven't done an engine rebuild in a very long time. What you are showing the uninitiated is that the work is very often tedious and time consuming. My only objection to your disassembly is the use of "steel" to push out the pistons. I would suggest using a 3/4" wooden dowel. Absolutely no chance of cracking the piston. Totally agree with the "art for entertainment" comments. So very true.............
We used to stamp the rods with their cylinder number, either with a number stamp or using a center punch and put a number of dimples for the cylinder number. This it help to keep track of each piston, because someone will pick one up put it back in wrong order. Also a big wooden dowel makes a good push tool to push the piston out.
Ray, At this point the block will be completely rebuilt.check the bore for cross hatch and check rings. Ray ,you are now a builder of engine blocks Have good day Ray
@tradde11 Agreed, but is a pretty tough audience and this narrow window on RU-vid is not reality. Plus, Ray gets his feelings hurt for the effort and sacrifices he makes for this content.
Sequence of events: LS4 (using Jedi mind trick on its owner): "You will take me to Ray..." LS4 Owner: "I will take you to Ray" (LS4 turns to Dave) "Dave....you will remove me from the engine bay" Dave: "I will remove you from the engine bay" (LS4 turns to Ray) LS4: "Ray - you will rebuild me." Ray: "I will rebuild you."
Fun fact: The LS4 engine plant where that engine was manufactured is where my father used to work, he retired in 1988, before they started building the LS4. Also Yamalube Ring Free Plus can decarbon your pistons without having to spend hours taking it apart.
Ahh Chem Dip. My first job was at an International Harvester dealership back in 1973. We had a heated 8X4X4 ft tank full of that stuff. You'd put parts in there for a few hours then lift the basket out and steam clean them right next to the tank. Nothing like the occasional face full of that to get your day started!
I'm up turned on the RU-vid checked my recommended content and behold have not watched yet but seeing Ray's channel First and then the bonus is ALMOST AN HOUR of great content and knowledge. It's like I'm in grade school again and sesame Street is on Today is gonna be a great Day!!!!!💯
At this point ( for myself ), I would've done a full rebuild with the crank reground ( if needed ), rings, bearings the whole bit. You're so close now that to me, it doesn't make sense to not go all the way. But then im sitting here with 2 different weather apps saying no rain but its raining! Maybe I live in a different universe.
The painting of California grass [the turf type] is long gone. That was a thing during the last drought. But since all of their reservoirs have over filled, everyone can water their grass.
@Your_Friend_Now Nah more they can't blame it on "Climate Change" since it's not negative so it's not being blasted all over the new. (Also Fox is not rightwing media anymore... Not since a leftwinger bought it before COVID)
Ray ray ray I would never tear down an engine without with replacing the ring that closed and it’s not that extensive since you’re already there by the bullet and put the new rings in it big Ed coming to you from Central City Kentucky. Have a great and wonderful day Ray.
Talking about owning airspace. I recently listened to a lawyer talk about what you own in regards to land/airspace ownership. He said the original common laws goes back to an old latin term "Cuius est solum eius est usque ad coelum". Which means "To whomsoever it belongs, it is his all the way to the heavens (and all the way to hell)". Which basically means you own everything above and below your property. He later went into 2 expceptions. Airplanes have essentially an "easement" to be able to travel above your property, but there are also restrictions on that. Planes have to stay within certain altitudes, ie they can't skim 100ft above your property and not face consequences. The other exception is mineral rights. Now, if someone else has mineral rights, they may have to dig through your property to get to them, which means they should technically require your permission to get to those minerals. I don't know if "water" counts as a mineral though.
On jobs requiring to save as much money as possible, back in the day when reusing pistons and in order not to damage the ring lands we used a ridge reamer. This removed material at the very top on the cylinder where the rings would not travel. At this point all you would have to do is just push up on the rod and pop it out. This also is easier on your expandable hone since there are no sharp ridges. Cleaning chemicals these days are great, but if you don't have this stuff on hand another tried and trusted way of removing carbon from pistons is hot water and soap in a bucket. Put them in the bucket and let them sit overnight then wash or pressure wash it all away. I know they make ring groove cleaners, scrapers, but you can also break and old ring and use that too for cleaning some stubborn carbon spots. Like Victor suggested in the comments, hone the cylinders and do change those rings. After break in the compression will be up and the customer will be happy in the long run, where does one stop I know, but at least that, since the top end is being done at this point.
Torque to yield means you've stretched the bolt to the point where it becomes permanently longer. Up to that point as you tighten the bolt it stretches but when you loosen it, it returns to the original length. As you stretch the bolt beyond yield it gets permanently longer and stronger. Yield strength can be closely controlled in heat treated steel like high strength bolts so you can apply a known clamping force with the bolt torqued to yield. Below yield the clamping force varies widely with torque (stretch). If you want to see the strength vs stretch Google "stress-strain curve". I think nowadays the side bolts are more to reinforce the block skirt rather than help retain the main caps.
Back in '86 I was a hydrolic tech/mechanic when we has a ram rupture a line. Our Division Officer came out screaming to not touch the pretty blue liquid that sprayed out. I laughed and replied " to Late " stuff was so good at cleaning that they scrubbed the deck for 3 days before primer would stick. We wanted some for our parts cleaner.
Ope. You looked at the cam bearings. Tisk tisk. Looks like it had been chewing on some oil with the clean spots on the top and bottom of the piston, so the rings and a hone are worth doing
Ray the owner is very lucky he took this to you. This would have gave him a nice set of inspection ports on the engine. Take it from an old retired engine builder hoone the cylinders and give it a new set of rings and it will be good for a long time.
With that amount of labour, Id want a complete rebore, pistons, rings maybe main and big ends and a reground crank. Even just new bearings all round would be a start. Pity we didnt get a good look at the cylinder bore cross hatch. It does seem strange to have worn cam bearings but pretty much ok big ends and mains.
I hate to tell you your job Ray!!!. But when extracting the pistons. You should NOT allow the con rods touch the bore. This can add scratches to the bore. You should either put tape round them or use the nylon rods that screw into the threads on the piston which holds the bearing in place. This way the bores cannot be damaged when extracting the piston . Unlike what you done when extracting the pistons. Sorry mate bad practice. Also bores should be checked for wear. As the bores may need lapping out. This does not remove metal from bores rather gently square them up. Also it would be advisable to renew rings and oil seals. OK, gripe over good vid as usual Ray.
The rod won’t scratch the cylinder enough to make a difference if he is reusing the rings and not honing it. Go watch engine rebuilds in the Middle East
Back in the 60's I rebuilt my Corvair engine. A buddy of mine bought me a 5 gallon can of cleaner and I dipped the whole engine( in parts). After the parts soaked for a while I washed the parts off in hot water and then blew out with compressed air. The engine ran great when I was done! I still have a 1 gallon can that I bought in the 90's that I still use when needed. Keep it tightly sealed and stored in a cool area. It will last for a LONG time!
Ray, I water my lawn almost year round. The no watering thing was in certain parts of the state during out drought. The last 2 years have had record rain and snow. Saying California can't water lawns is like saying we can't get concealed carry permits. It probably costs more than almost anywhere else bit we can water and concealed carry. Lots of people want to that believe that but it's people from way outside the state.
A couple of notes @ 12:50. I think maybe not bash on states you haven't lived in or experienced first hand. I lived in SoCal and currently live in Florida. And they both are equally just as bad or good depending on how you look at it. As to the water well issue, it depends on if the deed to your property is worded to include water and mineral rights in most states. And FFS, use a fiber drift or some wood to knock the pistons out at least!
Wow Ray a tear down of the engine was pretty cool. You made it look effortless. No it's something I have never done but loved seeing you do it. Thanks for making great content on your channel.❤
I agree with you on the sad state of modern entertainment. Ray, I'm sure this gets said a lot, but your videos are way better than anything on TV these days.
Well send the block to the machine shop might as well do the full meal deal, hone the bores spec out the bearings change the rings An updated short block might have been the way to go but it is what it is.
Ray, Love following you and have been for a while now. Try not to put in my 2 cent worth, however my Dad had a machine shop and rebuilding engines every day that had to be guaranteed 3 years and or 36000 miles is a must. Examples of things needed to rebuild an engine… he built his own did tank that held 350 gallons of engine cleaner and was heated to 180 to 190 degrees and the engine was stripped down totally. Freeze plugs, oil galley plugs every bearing removed. The engined stayed in the tank for a minimum of 24 hours. Well after this it was brushed out and new galley and freeze plugs installed. Cam Aligned hone redecked and crank checked and repolished… reassembled in a clean room. I guess what I am saying there is a reason why machine shop can cost more….they are worth it. With all that said do I think the engine won’t be done to the best of your ability. I know it will, will you back up your work, I know you will. I really can’t wait for the rest of the build.😊
On an operation that deep, lots of cleaning time involved. So much time involved outside of the actual assembly of the engine. That carb cleaner is great stuff for cleaning parts. Did you know it's water soluble? Parts can be washed with water - like your pressure washer - to get all the cleaner out. Loved the Lauren/WifeUnit cameo...thanks. 😊
Didnt kniw Eric was in STL. Appears have driven past shop many times avoiding traffic jams on 270 and never noticed a salvage op there. Glad to know have a good resource in town if needed..👍
Hi Raymond Ray I’m from the UK. I find your channel excellent to watch and it does not matter what other people say about what you do on your channel or what you think is right or wrong. You’re doing a great job and be satisfied with that as it does not matter what other people say as it is their problem, not yours.
I had my car's engine overhauled by the dealership. I asked the foreman if the crank journals were polished. He said that it was not necessary. A couple of km down the line the job was repeated, and the crank had to be grinded to the next stage. It is impossible to see with the naked eye if the journal is out of round ness. But Ray you are doing the job and i just hope you do not get a comeback.
You were talking about getting that Dip on your knee and it burns. Back in the day, early 80's I was assisting in rebuilding a 240z engine. I was cleaning the pistons in that Dip. I was using a brush that had the Dip flowing through it. I was sitting on a short stool with the 5 gallon Dip container in front of me. At one point some some of it got on my crotch. After a few minutes I felt that burn. Wow that hurt. 🤣
It's nice to see you take apart an ls4. Now food for thought rings total seal rings would not only help with oil contamination but also increase the hp & tq a bit. You know while you are in there type of thing. Order is key 🔑 . Also not sure if a new oil pump is being installed or not. If you do prime the system, please show that in a video. Thank you team !
I was told by a guy who rebuilt Ed engines including race engines that the oil pump is the heart of an engine. Not replacing it is foolish. Not replacing the rings is also foolish. He didn't tell me that, it's just common sense. I bet if Ray pulled a ring and miced it or even visually looked at it he'd see one side worn more than the other. It's also half a wàste to deck the heads but not the block. LS blocks are known for being bad for flat. Not only up and down but also twisted. I have watched machine shops on YT have to take up to 7/1000 th off to get them flat.
I like the idea of zero gap rings to greatly reduce "blow by" and improve efficiency, preserve the oil, etc. I installed an OiL catch can on my PCV system to protect from reburning the blowby which deposits carbon on the intake valve stems and combustion chamber and Pistons.
@@rallywagon261 Nothing happens until the bean counters have a meeting of the minds,then only if the beans add up stuff happens . Money talks dreams walk .
Hey Ray, I believe that softbox you are using does make a difference in lowering the contrast of what you are filming. The shadows are filled in nicely too. Well done.
It is good when Mechanics can help each other out as said it is nice to9 see a engine rebuild when i was young we had to rely of special Garages to do the job because in the 60s you just could not buy the tools now a day you just switch on the computer and get them but one thing you can not buy of the computer is a mechanic like you in my book you are the tops nothing fads you as you just get on with the job , Thanks so much for the video
I think that the day I learned that when you send a block in to get boiled out -- that they really boil them . I thought they just sprayed them with chemicals , big surprise . This is an interesting video . Been more than a moment that I have taken a motor down like this .stay safe have fun. .
Ray very impressed with the way you plan on doing this engine I had slightl feeling that is wasn't going to be a straight forward cam change but who am I to say cause as far I am concerned you are the mechanic who knows more than me about these issues
Ray - If that dip is really "50 State Compliant", it has certainly been neutered to sell in California. That's the case for the solvents (carb and brake cleaner) from my local stores, they hardly work, usually smell like diluted diesel. Luckily most carry both here. So there might be a '48' state one that works faster. Also the ZEP purple de-greaser full strength will clean engine varnish off in no time, but it does attack aluminum. It's so strong after a year it ate through the side of a spray bottle I had it in. BTW it's not the same as "Purple Power", that stuff is usless for serious engine degreasing.
The Dodge dealership I worked at, had perforated pipe we stuck down in a 55 gal. drum of cleaner & hooked the air up to it, let it work over night. Worked great!
I'm not certain of the chemical Ray's using but the old "carburetor dip" was a caustic milky solution - it did the job, but the fumes were strong. It would dissolve away soft metal tags - so you had to remove those if you wanted to preserve them - that stuff would make chemical burns on the skin (it would turn white)
Yes sir!!! I changed my cam bearings in my ls3 swap. And every thing else. I had a 6.2 block fall in my lap stupid cheap, so I went that route instead of a 5.3 or 6.0. Complete machining and all new pistons and all of the good stuff. BTR Ls3 Stage 2 V2 cam. The crand bolts are torque to angle so they are reusable a couple times.
Ray,from my understanding ls engines blocks have bad machining from the factory and they line honed the cam journals with the cam bearings in the block.Thats why the copper shows thru.They claim this is normal.I could be wrong.
I've had two friends that had the machine shop install those cam bearings and not line up those holes. Oil started pouring out between the intake and block on the back of the engine. Talk about scary!
I was born in Southern CA and lived there until I was 63. I chose to leave that leftist micromanaging nanny state in favor of a much freer life in Idaho. While I miss the natural features of SoCal, I miss absolutely nothing else.
I live in the San Joaquin Valley in California. Born and raised here. I water my front yard and it looks nice but my back yard looks like an abandoned property 😅 priorities...
Same here. Born and raised in So Cal and came to Texas 20 years ago. Beat move for my family and I. I didn’t realize how much better life could be until I left.
@@RainmanRaysRepairs g`day ray didnt de santos take that away from disney after the dont say gay BS gay agenda bill trying to tell the government how to run the state ..on school gay/trans indoctrination secret agenda ???? i live in australia so if i am incorrect with facts please forgive me ... keep a close watch on the kids calcium especially if the teacher has multi coloured kool aid hair ray don't let them indoctrinate your kids and turn them against you and steal your children's innocence . mate be vigilante
I don't know where you're getting your california info, but I have green grass front & back yards, 3 days a week watering. There is no tax on private wells, you do have to pay for the electricity to run the well pump.
@@Your_Friend_Nowwhat’s the restrictions on drilling a water well in California now? Fox doesn’t give the rest of us that info, is it an easy and affordable alternative?
Please boys and girls, do not consider not replacing rings when the pistons are already out. If they have mileage on them, hone the cylinders and replace the rings. This has been a public service announcement. :)
Great video as usual. Being an older GM man I love seeing you work on the 5.3 . This card needs a Cadillac 4T80E trans to top it off! With a few mods it will make that SS bulletproof!
Oil those wrist pins ASAP. Years ago my buddy Richie dunked a set of pistons and rods in his parts washer. The caustic mix ate into the aluminum and after drying overnight they were frozen solid. Could not free them up at all, let alone use them.
Here’s a fun fact. For a state stricken with massive flooding and mud slides they have a river (The LA River) that’s just a giant concrete ditch that flows all of the excess water back into the ocean. When it could be used to fill the aquifer or maybe a storage or water treatment plant?
Fill the aquifer? The aquifer is supplied via rainwater that naturally seeps downward through hundreds or thousands of feet of sand/soil. Which is how it becomes potable again. STREET WATER runoff is filled with oil, contaminates and crap.....a treatment plant could not even help that water....but CA sure is happy to pollute the ocean with their contaminated runoff !
Because th egiant concrete ditch that is the LA river is little more than a small stream most of the year other than at spring thaw and then it becomes a raging torrent. Otherwise it's fairly arid most ofthe year and they are at the end of the line for the water so not a great place to try and recover the water.
At least you have a camera when you are making your noises... I used to work night shift in a semiconductor fab usually alone. It was 12 hour shifts. Hopefully nobody saw me making fart jokes to myself, but I usually worked with my back to the door so who knows... 🤫
After 4 years this is going to be the first engine rebuild I seen you do so dont Elma Fudd it and turn it into mission impossible..... Remember his ain't no easy-peasy brake fluid flush, all you need to do is stay focused, you only have 500k people watching so there's no pressure.....
