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trop-a-cal's avatar
trop-a-cal
Explorer
Feb 20, 2014

454 L29 1997 moves to next stage of repair

So the trouble started last September when a fill up in NJ, (55 gallons), yielded a pinging and suspected bad gas. Then with confirmation it was not the gas, and after idling with octane booster, the pinging and loss of power turned into a ticking. Then in route to home,(in Florida), a stop overnight in So. Carolina for the night and morning start there was a knocking. Full power going to home not hearing a knock but at idle. Oil changed and garage not wanting to work on engine I headed home 8 miles away and it shuts down a mile from home. Towed in for evaluation told it started with a new distributor gear as old one was worn down on one side. Being told it needs total new engine at $8500 +- I then had it towed for second evaluation. Right bank 1,3,5,7 compression was off in 3 & 5, so head came off and proved to be a leak at center point between 3 & 5. towing so far $650, (reimbursed from insurance),work $495. New garage bill for head check and new gaskets was $1069. Now upon restart the engine has tick again perhaps at 7 cylinder; hydraulic lifter or spun bearing still not confirmed. Garage has no lift and can't get interested in doing check, as another opinionated engine man says rod bad? Ticking not heard other than idle, so third opinion from a 21 year Chevy service manager, tomorrow. First opinion was block cracked turned out head gasket leaking, second opinion rod knocking. Two other opinions say lifter stuck with coolant in it. This unit is a 36 Foot 14 foot slide Tropical 235S 1997 with new $4700 roof, all new brakes, plus everything else in great condition as it has only 43,886 miles on it and I am original owner. Sticker new $108,500. current value with engine repaired maybe $17,500. as is maybe $3,000. so fix well worth doing if it's under value repaired. MORE TO FOLLOW....as work gets. done.
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  • turbojimmy's avatar
    turbojimmy
    Explorer
    Feb 22, 2014
    WILDEBILL wrote:
    As long as you have the heads off I would either take them to some one and have the valves lapped or do it my self. Doing the heads now is lots easier than latter. Rebuilding the heads is cheap insurance. Check for play in the timing gear/chain. I would also look at a new cam. Get one for torque not one for racing. Long tube headers would also be a good improvement.
    Bill


    I was thinking of taking the heads to a local guy that I have experience with. He does good work, but having him build me a 454 would break the budget. I bought this RV in its current state for $200. The objective is to spend as little as possible to get it mobile again. It's in great shape and everything works except for this 454.

    I will probably go the header route because the stock AIR-equipped manifolds are shot. Cam is more than I want to get into, but I acknowledge that with the intake off of it, it would be an easy swap. But where do you stop? Lifters, better intake, better carb.....have to resist scope creep :)
  • WILDEBILL's avatar
    WILDEBILL
    Explorer
    Feb 22, 2014
    turbojimmy wrote:
    The #3 wristpin appears to have let go in mine. I haven't done a postmortem yet but it's loose in the bore. It looks like the connecting rod got under it and jammed it into the head. Pushrods and valves are bent, piston is broken and the bore is trashed. So I have a trashed block and potentially a trashed head.

    Since mine's an '84 I don't want to invest a lot in it. I picked up a complete 47k-mile 454 out of an '85 RV for $1k. Going to replace all the gaskets (have to anyway because it need to be stripped to a short block to get it in the RV's door) and give it a spray can rebuild. If it holds up for a couple of seasons I'll be happy.

    With regard to the OP a "tick" could be just about anything, but nothing major...yet. It's not likely a spun bearing. A spun bearing would cause a deep knock and/or a "death screech". It would also take out the crankshaft almost immediately, which would add to the cost of a rebuilt. If I were in that situation - with a complete, running engine with presumably no head, crank or block damage - I'd have it rebuilt. It would be no less reliable if done properly, be a fraction of the cost of a new engine and probably even cost less than a Jasper engine. You could even have the rebuilder tweak it a bit for more power (heads, intake, cam tweaks for example) and still come out pretty good cost-wise.

    As long as you have the heads off I would either take them to some one and have the valves lapped or do it my self. Doing the heads now is lots easier than latter. Rebuilding the heads is cheap insurance. Check for play in the timing gear/chain. I would also look at a new cam. Get one for torque not one for racing. Long tube headers would also be a good improvement.
    Bill
  • Mike_Hohnstein's avatar
    Mike_Hohnstein
    Explorer
    Feb 22, 2014
    WILDEBILL wrote:
    Hear are some options.
    http://www.summitracing.com/search?SortBy=BestKeywordMatch&SortOrder=Ascending&keyword=new%20454

    http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/KeywordSearchCmd?storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&langId=-1&Ntk=all&Jnar=0&itemPerPage=90&Ne=1%2B2%2B3%2B13%2B1147708&searchTerm=454+engines

    http://www.jegs.com/s/GM_Engines/GMEngines_freeshipping.html
    For the price they were quoting for a 454 you could put in a 504 and not worry about mountains again.
    Bill


    I stand corrected.
  • turbojimmy's avatar
    turbojimmy
    Explorer
    Feb 22, 2014
    The #3 wristpin appears to have let go in mine. I haven't done a postmortem yet but it's loose in the bore. It looks like the connecting rod got under it and jammed it into the head. Pushrods and valves are bent, piston is broken and the bore is trashed. So I have a trashed block and potentially a trashed head.

    Since mine's an '84 I don't want to invest a lot in it. I picked up a complete 47k-mile 454 out of an '85 RV for $1k. Going to replace all the gaskets (have to anyway because it need to be stripped to a short block to get it in the RV's door) and give it a spray can rebuild. If it holds up for a couple of seasons I'll be happy.

    With regard to the OP a "tick" could be just about anything, but nothing major...yet. It's not likely a spun bearing. A spun bearing would cause a deep knock and/or a "death screech". It would also take out the crankshaft almost immediately, which would add to the cost of a rebuilt. If I were in that situation - with a complete, running engine with presumably no head, crank or block damage - I'd have it rebuilt. It would be no less reliable if done properly, be a fraction of the cost of a new engine and probably even cost less than a Jasper engine. You could even have the rebuilder tweak it a bit for more power (heads, intake, cam tweaks for example) and still come out pretty good cost-wise.
  • WILDEBILL's avatar
    WILDEBILL
    Explorer
    Feb 21, 2014
    Hear are some options.
    http://www.summitracing.com/search?SortBy=BestKeywordMatch&SortOrder=Ascending&keyword=new%20454

    http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/KeywordSearchCmd?storeId=10001&catalogId=10002&langId=-1&Ntk=all&Jnar=0&itemPerPage=90&Ne=1%2B2%2B3%2B13%2B1147708&searchTerm=454+engines

    http://www.jegs.com/s/GM_Engines/GMEngines_freeshipping.html
    For the price they were quoting for a 454 you could put in a 504 and not worry about mountains again.
    Bill
  • Daveinet's avatar
    Daveinet
    Explorer
    Feb 21, 2014
    Mike Hohnstein wrote:
    No such thing as a NEW engine, only available in a NEW vehicle. BBC out of production for years, last version was the 8.1. I've had good luck with Goodwrench remans from GM dealers. Haven't use one since the bankruptcy however.
    Any solution will be a rebuilt or remanufactured example. Not much good feed back from Jasper on line. What ever you do, pre-oil the engine thoroughly before attempting to start.
    where do the GM Performance Crate motors come from? If they are sold as new, legally they have to be new. These also do not require a core, only the rebuilt ones want the old core.

    On Edit: If you are replacing your heads, it is well worth getting fast burn heads. This allows for higher compression and improved mileage. Its not just about performance - ie building a race engine. Fast burn is technology developed by a mutual partnership between Edelbrock and GM.
  • st687's avatar
    st687
    Explorer
    Feb 21, 2014
    Summit Racing has new Chevy performance 19207552 L29 crate motors.
  • Mike_Hohnstein's avatar
    Mike_Hohnstein
    Explorer
    Feb 21, 2014
    No such thing as a NEW engine, only available in a NEW vehicle. BBC out of production for years, last version was the 8.1. I've had good luck with Goodwrench remans from GM dealers. Haven't use one since the bankruptcy however.
    Any solution will be a rebuilt or remanufactured example. Not much good feed back from Jasper on line. What ever you do, pre-oil the engine throughly before attempting to start.
  • Flyfisherman128's avatar
    Flyfisherman128
    Explorer
    Feb 21, 2014
    Tough call..Personally I would go for a long block. And before I went for a rebuilt I would look at brand new OEM. You would be surprised that a new engine is not that much more than a rebuilt. Last year I got quoted a brand new Chevy 454 for $250 more than a rebuilt for a boat.
  • 22_Over's avatar
    22_Over
    Explorer
    Feb 20, 2014
    Deja Vu here on that with my previous MH. Ended up being a spun bearing and wrist pin on #7. Put the call in to Jasper engines and had a long block delivered end of week. Spent the week pulling old engine out, cleaning etc and put new one back in that weekend. Probably run you just under 5k. Make SURE that you replace the oil cooler in the radiator with the new one that comes with the engine. Radiator shop can install easily.

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