Vortec 454 Rebuild options

[ak diesel driver]

My gasser experience is all on manual tranny's. But I was running 36" tires with 4:10s behind a 428cj. I was running a 272 duration cam. Probably didn't tow near as heavy as you but I never lacked for power. If I needed more just drop a gear iirc it pulled hard to about 5500 rpm

 

[tanman_2006]

I'm not wanting to have to rev up alot. I don't mind down shifting to 3rd and cruising 60mph loaded.

 

[ak diesel driver]

Most of the cam/head swaps increase power but usually by more rpm possible. Not saying it won't help but if you want a stump puller there's no substitute for for cubic inches and to get diesel torque you'll need alot and preferably in stroke more than cylinder size

 

[WarWagon]

I'm not wanting to have to rev up alot. I don't mind down shifting to 3rd and cruising 60mph loaded.

You posted the price diffrence in gas vs. diesel... Rev it up when needed. I do agree you don't want to leave a gas engine wound up longer than necessary.

 

[tanman_2006]

You posted the price diffrence in gas vs. diesel... Rev it up when needed. I do agree you don't want to leave a gas engine wound up longer than necessary.

I figure 3rd gear on a 4l80 is the same as cruising in an 80's 454 if I'm only going 60mph with a big load. Now if its a load I am comfortable stopping from 70mph with then down shifting to 3rd isn't going to hurt anything but my ears.

 

[tanman_2006]

Cam, valve springs, and rocker kit show up 2mro.

Looking at my harmonic balancer it is for sure trash. Should I go ac delco or is there something like a fluid dampner that would smooth the big beast out?

 

[Will L.]

Having the rotating assembly —crank rods pistons, rings, with balancer and flywheel, bearings: this is usually $250-$300. There are few engines it doesn’t help and the heavier the components the more it helps.

Many people choose machine cost and do a stock balancer over the cost of something like fluidampr, ati, etc. then later if money butns hole in yer pocket, upgrade.
The cheapy balancers like doorman suck across the board, not just the 6.5 so avoid them.
A balnced assembly and stock balancer beats stock assemby and upgraded balancer 90% of the time.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

Not the direction I would have gone. I'm surprised they didn't reccomend one of there tri power cams they make just for the vortec efi engines.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

I borrow a stock 1993 454 now and then. Mainly to run it through emissions as a favor for a friend. It's a dog that is always out of fuel. However it's got near 200K on the original engine and not near the trouble of the 6.2/6.5 to "keep alive". Dog = Patch with the lowly 6.2TD (Uh... nothing stock about it) will eat it's lunch and send it home crying to mommy. I can't encourage you to warm it up a little enough esp. with the engine out. IMO your plan is a good one and the advice to call the cam company is pure gold. Again you only need to warm it up a little to get rid of the dog feel and stomp Patch is not off the table: off budget maybe.

Have you checked the cost of porting heads? Just saying don't take it off the table until you watch it kill the budget. Heads are the most important part of a NA engine bacause you don't have a turbo to overcome restrictions. Yes, I know this isn't a drag racer build as well. But with gas that cheap there is no reason it can't put a smile on your face when you stomp it. That makes up for the wallet pain and helps with "blown engine blown budget" PTSD therapy.

Here is a neat article the justify your plan that touches on the ugh retard cam used...

http://www.trucktrend.com/how-to/engine/0512st-1996-chevy-dually-cylinder-heads-roller-cam/

You cannot compare a peanut head tbi 454 to a 454 vortec. Thats like comparing a 6.2 n/a to a 6.5l turbo.

 

[tanman_2006]

Having the rotating assembly —crank rods pistons, rings, with balancer and flywheel, bearings: this is usually $250-$300. There are few engines it doesn’t help and the heavier the components the more it helps.

Many people choose machine cost and do a stock balancer over the cost of something like fluidampr, ati, etc. then later if money butns hole in yer pocket, upgrade.
The cheapy balancers like doorman suck across the board, not just the 6.5 so avoid them.
A balnced assembly and stock balancer beats stock assemby and upgraded balancer 90% of the time.

Not pulling the whole rotating assembly out of the rebuilt engine.

I'll just do the ac delco balancer, I try not to buy dorman anything.

 

[tanman_2006]

Not the direction I would have gone. I'm surprised they didn't reccomend one of there tri power cams they make just for the vortec efi engines.

Well I asked here first lol.

I had 5 posts asking advice on other forums and never got a response, once I said what I ordered I got 3 responses saying that is what comp usually recommends

 

[Will L.]

I understand. That is the decision i have made many times myself. Often “best” is not best.

Like my current optimizer build- best is not gonna happen, but will be far better than it was brand new. It’s like the dr.s say- first is do no harm. And no matter what I do it’s not the exact “right” thing, just ask my neighbors or relatives- haha.

 

[tanman_2006]

I understand. That is the decision i have made many times myself. Often “best” is not best.

Like my current optimizer build- best is not gonna happen, but will be far better than it was brand new. It’s like the dr.s say- first is do no harm. And no matter what I do it’s not the exact “right” thing, just ask my neighbors or relatives- haha.

I hear ya. Hope of warranty, speed of repairs, and the budget were big selling points here.

Once this thing is on the road and I can get the lml sold I can start thinking of what I might do if I'm still not happy.

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

Well I asked here first lol.

I had 5 posts asking advice on other forums and never got a response, once I said what I ordered I got 3 responses saying that is what comp usually recommends

I was just surprised they reccomended that cam instead of there tri power cam. Thecam you ordered will be fine, but will need a retune to get its full potential due to the reduced centerline.

 

[tanman_2006]

I was just surprised they reccomended that cam instead of there tri power cam. Thecam you ordered will be fine, but will need a retune to get its full potential due to the reduced centerline.

It is getting an 0411 pcm swap and blackbear tune

 

[tanman_2006]

Ok so turns out there is rust in the distributor and plug wires.

Is ac delco the best distributor? What about plug wires? Stick with 7mm ac delco?

 

[THEFERMANATOR]

Avoid the plastic distributors at all cost. Rockauto has a couple of aluminum replacement options, ebay has dozens of them, and eficonnection sells a nice billet piece. For plug wires, ac delco is normally good, just try and find a set of 8mm. As to cap and rotor, I normally picked up the marine caps with brass inserts. They were made of a very dark blue material.

 

[tanman_2006]

Avoid the plastic distributors at all cost. Rockauto has a couple of aluminum replacement options, ebay has dozens of them, and eficonnection sells a nice billet piece. For plug wires, ac delco is normally good, just try and find a set of 8mm. As to cap and rotor, I normally picked up the marine caps with brass inserts. They were made of a very dark blue material.

I ended up inspecting my distributor and just going with a cap and rotor. The mechanic told me there was rust in the "distibutor". After I showed up to look he said it was just in the ports on the cap where the plug wires hooked up, he also showed me where the plug wire connection had been pulled on and off enough times to not have any seals or clips in 6 of the 8. The plugs weren't "fouled" but they were pretty dirty with alot of carbon for a 7k mile motor.

I actually ordered the marine cap and rotor kit, 8.5mm wires, and new plugs.

 

[tanman_2006]

Also found out that all the "new" hoses, sensors, and water pump were all oem GM marked and likely original. Called the PO who had the receipt in hand, he had to "make a call" after a brief description of what I had found.

 

[tanman_2006]

So the engine lost a wrist pin, and scuffed a piston. There is silverish goo in the exhaust port. The pick up screen was plugged with 3 colors of rtv, the pan and all sealed surfaces had 3 layers of rtv in 3 colors.