I don’t know why people use high volume pumps unless the bearings havse greater clearances

 

Long tubes ordered. Didn't like paying for them, they ain't cheap, and of course they're backordered by a month. At least my rotating assy should be in by then.
Looking at a Katech C5R chain single row, seems like the best option since the L8T crank will be using a modified single row crank gear. And from what I've been able to find, any normal LS motor running hydraulic roller lifters is fine with a quality single row. Is there any reason to purchase a new cam gear, or cam gear fasteners, if the take-off-parts look fine?
It seems like GM used 4 different cam gears on gen 3 and 4 motors. If i should replace it, would it matter which one as long as it's a 3-bolt? Since the CPS doesn't read the cam gear?

Got a cyl head CC kit as well. Probably going to order a custom cam grind from BTR (I talked to their sales rep on the phone) but I have to have real numbers for EVERY aspect of the build for the order form. And it seems like there's some variation in heads, seems like some LS3 823 heads are 68CC up to 70 from guys measuring independently on LS1tech. And the head may have to be decked if they've got any warpage (I assume warpage would be the correct term if the gasket surface isn't true flat).

Also I came across an interesting video from David Vizard where he was explaining that stroker SBC's gain more torque per CID than any other 350 setup, meaning stroke has an exponential increase in power, more than you'd theorize you could get from the simple increase in displacement. As long as you pick the right cam, and a cam for a 350 is NOT the right cam for a 383. He said the strokers want another 1-2 degrees tighter LSA. And 10-10.5 is the "sweet spot" for stroker compression on pump gas.

This is the video, I thought it had some great info on stoker engines. This was specific to SBC but I'm assuming the same principles apply. I know I'm old and I learned engine theory and formulas back in 2002-2003 so younger guys like to argue with me and say "it's not the 1990s anymore".

 

I hope to attempt this, I just don't have the budget for a $4000+ transmission. I have a known good 2wd 80E out of a 2500HD with around 180k miles. I'd like to overhaul it myself on the bench and save myself a ton of money. I have a small (12 ton) press, what else would you recommend for tools to properly do the job?

 

Let me look through my parts bin tomorrow. I'll also post some resources and useful information and links that will help you out. You can definitely do it and build yourself a bad a$$ unit.

 

at your recommendation I ordered the Transmission Bench video. Dug a little deeper on youtube, there is a lot going on in any transmission that I don't understand but I imagine an 8 hour video would be quite illuminating.

 

TorqueHD, I'm currently doing something very similar with my truck. After 337K miles, my stock bottom end LQ4 on my turbo set-up was very tired and leak down tests showed the rings were shot (50-55% leakage on a lot of cylinders). I took my block to the machine shop BEFORE ordering pistons and I'm glad I did. They found two stuck rings, one stuck ring had put a .011" score mark in the cylinder. I only wanted to go .010" over to get another rebuild out of the block, but had to go .030" over to get rid of scoring. Motor ran fine, I never would have known about the scoring. You only lose a week or so having the shop examine the block, then order pistons. Since my crank was fine, I went with forged pistons and rods with the stock crank to save some $$$.

With FI, unless you are going for 1000+ hp, forged pistons and rods on the stock crank will be fine and at least $1000 cheaper. If your crank is shot, then replace it with aftermarket or stoker. Since I drive my truck a lot, I went with forged Mahle Powerpak pistons made from 4032 material for longevity, K1 rods, and King bearings. The heads were relatively new and only needed one valve touched up in the scored cylinder. My machine shop bill was $4900, parts and labor. Add in gaskets, new Johnson 2110R lifters, new oil pump, ARP bolts in a few places, re-stalling convertor while it's out, cleaning injectors, all fluids, cleaning up some things in the engine bay... I bet I'll have $9k in it when its all said and done. I just got the short block and heads back yesterday, so the bills are not final yet. I'm reusing all my turbo stuff, so that is not part of the cost. It adds up fast!

Depending on your skill level, rebuilding auto transmissions are not that bad. I redid my 4L80E with a Jakes stage 4 kit. You have to take your time to make sure everything is right. I did the same thing, several hours watching on YouTube. I shimmed mine which meant taking everything out of the case, putting in all the new parts, reassemble most of the way, measure end play, take back apart to add proper shim amount, reassemble... It took me 3 weekends to complete taking my time. Finding proper sizes to press in and out all the bushings took a lot of time.

 

This guy has some good videos on transmissions, and also very helpful/responsive to comments. He made an account on silveradosierra.com seemingly just to give advice to people there, although I'm sure it helps his reputation as a builder as well. https://www.youtube.com/@nickstransmissions

 

@TorqueHD What headers did you go with?
catted or no?

 

While we're talking crankshafts... does anyone near Orlando, FL (within 3-4 hours) have a good stock 24X 6.0L crank? If I get one out of a 5.3L (same stroke) will it have to be rebalanced? The engine that was in my truck last year spun a few bearings. I tried getting a crank from one of the local auto parts stores, the mains were .010" under, and the rod journals were .020" under. I said no thanks and got a refund.

 

Yes, you can use a 5.3 crankshaft in a 6.0 block. You have to get it balanced to the heavier bob weight of the larger 6.0 pistons.

I'm building a Gen IV 6.0 engine with a 5.3 24x crank. I took the crank, rods, pistons and rings already filed to my local machine shop, although I forgot to tell them it was a 5.3 crank. They called me later telling me they had to drill and press those heavyweight slugs to get it balanced correctly. It was another $75 on top of the standard balancing job IIRC.


Edit: crankshafts with undersized journals should be okay, as long as you get the appropriate bearings. Although I admit I also shied away from them when I was looking for mine. 🤷