My buddy just sent me this. Pricey as hell, but a 1k HP ceiling is a confidence booster for what I'm doing. Plenty of cushion.

​​​​​​https://www.texas-speed.com/p-16439-...less-runt.aspx

 

You have an 07 and are probably missing multiple updated parts to remedy oil burning (valve cover being one of the main ones). I agree GM lost a lot of build quality with the GMT-900 but the engines are still damn good after upgrading them a little bit to fix original mistakes.

In my opinion buying a whole new engine is a waste of time and money (which is something you have mentioned). If you are afraid of this one then pull it, check ring gap, bearings and reinstall with go fast parts. That's it.

Edit: Just because it has plenty of ceiling doesn't mean it is a good purchase. Also why would you put a 5.3 in place of a 5.3. Might as well step up in CI.

 

I don't think my oil burning issue is AFM related. It only happens at high load, high RPM - that to me screams piston rings. Also backing that up is an early oil analysis I had done when I felt major changes in the running characteristics happening back around 77k miles - real high levels of iron and aluminum (rings / cylinder and piston). This got MUCH better with a switch to 10w-30 from 5w-30 and a shorter run time:

 

That's why I suggested check ring gap.

 

What's a good measurement on these?

 

You will re-gap for boost. I am unsure.

 

Ahh, true. I appreciate the reminder.

 

If Jannetty said that I would trust him because he won't have you unreliable on a daily. Nothing wrong with Golen far as I know but I'd really do what's been suggested here. I wouldn't overspend on this. You don't need a 1k hp sb for your purpose and the blower oil doesn't mix with the engine oil at least on Whipple. I'm assuming you'll be running 6-8 lbs? At 7.5 with 58k on it since the Whipple mine runs like brand new.

 

Thanks, man. That's exactly why I was hanging on to what he said, regardless of what everyone locally was telling me. That's what I'm after - RELIABILITY above ALL else.

Yeah, I plan on running 6. It's a Magnuson, but I believe you're right about the oil now that I think about it, but IF the thing blew up hard enough I'd wager some piston could pass through the rotors.

Great to hear you've got that kind of miles on 7.5 psi! That's what I like to hear, and that's the kind of reliability I'm after! The more the merrier. I'm probably just going to buy the rotating assembly (minus the crank) the next size up, and have the machine shop bore to match the pistons with the right clearance. I've got everything to make this thing non-AFM, plus a cam, so I might as well do it this way. I was thinking I could recoup some cash on my block, but probably much less than I think anyway. Better to just build what I know.

Thanks to everyone for their input - got the wheels in my brain turning the right direction now.

 

If no additional cyllnder or piston damage as a result of the oil consumption (which is unlikely), have new rings (properly gapped for supercharging) installed along with new cam bearings while you're in there and some ARP rod bolts. Then do your AFM delete new timing chain and pump, which was hopefully already part of the plan. Should last another 122k on 6 psi.