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Ok guys my 95TA LT1 has apparently bitten the dust. What I thought was originally just maybe some really loud valve train noise like a bad lifter or something has given me reason to believe its a spun rod bearing.
It started out as a small tick last summer and it got progressively worse, I always kept the idea of a spun bearing in the back of my mind but the motor never gave any other symptoms like metal in the oil (granted I never did cut open a single oil filter so who knows), and its kept the same oil pressure since before it started making the noise till now, 80+ psi cold idle and 35-40 psi+ hot idle and 60+ cruise
I also always thought it might be in the valve train thinking it was the valves out of adjustment so I tightened the adjusters and it got quieter so I chalked it up to the hot cam trashing a factory lifter pretty hard. Also the noise has always been from the top of the motor on the drivers side, mainly sounded like no 7 exhaust. Now here is the kicker today I was spinning the engine and it seems like on cyl no 7 compression stroke I can spin the crank pully pretty easily around 5 degrees of rotation and at either end it clanks slightly.
So here is my dilemma, I love the car, always been the nice v8 sports car ive always wanted with the power and its just a dang nice car. But it needs a whole new front end, rack and pinion and bushings and its rusted since its a ohio car, and of course, something serious in the engine and im not sure its worth the trouble.
My camaro on the other hand is also nice, rides alot better, has much better paint, but needs new interior and all new engine gaskets and transmission rebuilt since its slipping in OD which may just be the TCC but still constitutes a rebuild with 226k on it. Also its nowhere near the power I want and believe it or not I pull just about the same MPG out of the 3.4 stock as I do with the LT1 with the cam which is crazy it seems but thats how it was when I parked the Maro.
So what do you guys think? Rebuild....or...well....hehe rebuild? Only got about 1300 to play with and only working part time at minimum wage doesn't mean I have alot of options. I know a shop that might do the work on both for around the same possibly but I haven't contacted him yet.
It started out as a small tick last summer and it got progressively worse, I always kept the idea of a spun bearing in the back of my mind but the motor never gave any other symptoms like metal in the oil (granted I never did cut open a single oil filter so who knows), and its kept the same oil pressure since before it started making the noise till now, 80+ psi cold idle and 35-40 psi+ hot idle and 60+ cruise
I also always thought it might be in the valve train thinking it was the valves out of adjustment so I tightened the adjusters and it got quieter so I chalked it up to the hot cam trashing a factory lifter pretty hard. Also the noise has always been from the top of the motor on the drivers side, mainly sounded like no 7 exhaust. Now here is the kicker today I was spinning the engine and it seems like on cyl no 7 compression stroke I can spin the crank pully pretty easily around 5 degrees of rotation and at either end it clanks slightly.
So here is my dilemma, I love the car, always been the nice v8 sports car ive always wanted with the power and its just a dang nice car. But it needs a whole new front end, rack and pinion and bushings and its rusted since its a ohio car, and of course, something serious in the engine and im not sure its worth the trouble.
My camaro on the other hand is also nice, rides alot better, has much better paint, but needs new interior and all new engine gaskets and transmission rebuilt since its slipping in OD which may just be the TCC but still constitutes a rebuild with 226k on it. Also its nowhere near the power I want and believe it or not I pull just about the same MPG out of the 3.4 stock as I do with the LT1 with the cam which is crazy it seems but thats how it was when I parked the Maro.
So what do you guys think? Rebuild....or...well....hehe rebuild? Only got about 1300 to play with and only working part time at minimum wage doesn't mean I have alot of options. I know a shop that might do the work on both for around the same possibly but I haven't contacted him yet.
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