What to do, what to do....

OK. Here's the deal.
2000 LS1. It is obvious that the car has had a rough go of it.

already I have found that the plug at the back of the crank was leaking.

Today I did a leakdown on it. Engine was cold and on the stand.
#1 15
#2 15
#3 15
#4 25
#5 15
#6 30 with leaking exhaust port!
#7 10
#8 15

So the passenger side head has a leaking exhaust port (#6) and cylinder #4 is way too high for me.

Now the question: how much do I pick up if the engine is warm on the cyclinder that is low? I am guessing 5 - 10%??

For sure the head needs work.

I havent pulled the pan yet. Who knows what lurks there. Maybe i just take what I need from this one and buy a long block....
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I am worried that I have a ticking time bomb.

Yeah I agree. Maybe throw some new bearings in it, buy a replacement head from say ls1tech classifieds and sell it? May be fun to freshen it up yourself though. New bearings is easy and cheap and theres a crap load of good used heads out there from people whom have upgraded.

I would dive into the crankcase and see if its just the heads or if it would be a hole to throw money into...plastigage it!

Eww.

Getting a longblock with a warranty sounds nice.

On the other hand I litterally have a set of LS1 heads from a camaro z28 that were cleaned up/machined, looks like brand new valves and valve job. Send me a PM if you want them, I want them OUT of my garage.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

endrnet wrote:Eww.

Getting a longblock with a warranty sounds nice.

On the other hand I litterally have a set of LS1 heads from a camaro z28 that were cleaned up/machined, looks like brand new valves and valve job. Send me a PM if you want them, I want them OUT of my garage.

Whatever you decide, good luck!

Weeelll, I am gonna be just around the corner from you in just acouple of weeks.... Would still have to ship them back though. Also a very good excuse to check out your project!!

I am still concerned about the low cylinder readings. especially that 25 on #6. It wasnt leaking through the ports that I could tell so that leaves the rings.

Does anyone have experience with leakage readings hot vs. cold?

I seriously might just cut my losses and dump this one. I think a rebuilding this one would cost as much as buying the complete one that I posted earlier.

Rather than going the crate engine route, why not have a competent machine shop look at what needs to be done? Hone the cylinders, put some new rings and bearings in... It shouldn't cost much if the engine is still in pretty good shape. If the engine is really in bad shape the machine shop will be able to tell you before you get into it very far.