Suburban Project- Need Help!

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OldBlueDually

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For those unfamiliar with them, engine stands are one of the coolest devices ever invented to find washers on the shop floor...

And here I thought mine was special! Yeah, that does make them stop, quick. I sweep the garage a lot more now!
 

Turbo4whl

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@OldBlueDually

That's not a Chevy engine.... Oh yeah right, you know that!

My question, how much more does it cost to build an Olds?
I mean, you can go in the grocery store and order up a loaf of bread, one pound of cheese, and I'll take one small block Chevy intake manifold to go please...
 

OldBlueDually

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@OldBlueDually

That's not a Chevy engine.... Oh yeah right, you know that!

My question, how much more does it cost to build an Olds?
I mean, you can go in the grocery store and order up a loaf of bread, one pound of cheese, and I'll take one small block Chevy intake manifold to go please...

Hahahaha!! I hear ya!

Small block Chevy, what's that? One of them there new fangled things? :D

Olds stuff is a bit more $$$ to build, but I feel it is well worth it. First, they have a lower/deeper grumble than a BBC. Second, the spark plugs are above the exhaust manifolds/headers. Third, everyone builds Chevy for GM stuff, and builds Chevys in Ford Street rods....yuck. However cheap, and reliable though, not to mention great for low budget builds!

I wanted a 455 for this truck, so that is what I am doing. Bought it with no engine anyhow.

This engine I have done cam, valve springs, lifters, valve stem oil seals, timing set, high volume oil pump, gaskets and soon to add headers. That totals around $1,200 so far. No machine shop work, and I'm still not done buying for this engine.

I built an Olds 350 Rocket (put in '80 Olds 2-door Delta 88 Royal Brougham that I did bodywork and re-painted) back in '96/'97, and that was a total rebuild, line bored, all new rods/pistons....the works and that was a $3,800 build with my dad and I doing the entire assembly/startup. Not sure what it would cost today..??
 

Salty Crusty

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^ I understand they can have higher rpm oiling issues since the mains are about the same size as in a D-9 Cat.
Are there any mods - other than a high volume oil pump like you spec'd - that help? My old guru used to talk about using 3/8" copper tubing and tapping into a main, using the tubing to deliver pressurized oil to an area that typically caused problems.
I've gotten to the point where I appreciate pretty much all brands of engine and car building and modification. Kinda softening in my older years LOL.


As for the washers on the floor, I watched a guy with a fresh 460 Ford stroker build and a 3-wheeled engine stand dump the whole thing on the floor when it hit a washer.
Made a believer of me in 1)keeping the shop floor swept, and 2) never use a 3-wheeled engine stand
 

idahovette

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@Salty Crusty , I am liking this for the sweeping-non 3 wheeled engine stand statement, haven't embraced the NON-Chevy engine side!!!
 

OldBlueDually

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^ I understand they can have higher rpm oiling issues since the mains are about the same size as in a D-9 Cat.
Are there any mods - other than a high volume oil pump like you spec'd - that help? My old guru used to talk about using 3/8" copper tubing and tapping into a main, using the tubing to deliver pressurized oil to an area that typically caused problems.
I've gotten to the point where I appreciate pretty much all brands of engine and car building and modification. Kinda softening in my older years LOL.


As for the washers on the floor, I watched a guy with a fresh 460 Ford stroker build and a 3-wheeled engine stand dump the whole thing on the floor when it hit a washer.
Made a believer of me in 1)keeping the shop floor swept, and 2) never use a 3-wheeled engine stand

Holy crap, now that would totally suck!

The mains are pretty dang big! As for oiling issues in them, that I have not heard of. With high volume pumps, using a 3 speed trans, and on the highway could starve the top end because the pan could be nearing empty. With the HV pumps I have used, I usually add near an extra quart of oil which still leaves the crank lobes out of the oil and I won't be starving any of the engine, or the pump. No other mods, just a Thumpr cam & dual valve springs. Some year I plan to add a dual quad intake to it.

I too like most all engines out there, but I like giving people crap even more :anitoof: I cannot wait to hear people's comments about the Olds in my truck, it's gunna be fun :favorites13:
 

Turbo4whl

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I too like most all engines out there, but I like giving people crap even more :anitoof: I cannot wait to hear people's comments about the Olds in my truck, it's gunna be fun :favorites13:

Just to be clear, I also appreciate other brand engines. Wait till they here this, I have serviced many Ford light duty trucks with over 1/4 million miles on the original 5.4L engine. A few approaching 1/2 million miles too.
 

scenic760

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Got it all put together and ready to roll...no pub intended.

I'm actually surprised at how solid the stuff feels. I'm really not even sure if you could buy the tube to build these things yourself this cheap..$50 for the stand and $200 for the hoist... now I haven't actually used them yet but so far, so good

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scenic760

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Quick question for everyone....I've pulled probably about 5 engines in my lifetime and the last one about 25 years ago on an '83 Blazer. I can't remember needing to remove the hood on any of them. If memory serves it probably takes a little bit more time but no need to remove the hood, correct?
 

Salty Crusty

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Many times I have tried to effect repairs by removing as little as possible because I'm a helluva lot smarter than the guys trying to tell me how to do it.
It's always cost me time and I almost always end up going back to remove those items, costing me still more time.
Remove the hood, pull the radiator as Dave said.
 

80BrownK10

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Just to be clear, I also appreciate other brand engines. Wait till they here this, I have serviced many Ford light duty trucks with over 1/4 million miles on the original 5.4L engine. A few approaching 1/2 million miles too.
Oh yea I have heard of plenty like this too. Chevy and ford's...newer trucks. I'm a Forester and many wood buyers and foresters out there drive 40k miles a year. Those who don't get a new truck every 2 to 3 years or pass it on to a logging crew or whatever have many models in that mileage range. I am always running across guys with 1 or 2 year old trucks with 50 to 100k miles on them.
 

Grit dog

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Yup remove hood
 

Matt69olds

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^ I understand they can have higher rpm oiling issues since the mains are about the same size as in a D-9 Cat.
Are there any mods - other than a high volume oil pump like you spec'd - that help? My old guru used to talk about using 3/8" copper tubing and tapping into a main, using the tubing to deliver pressurized oil to an area that typically caused problems.
I've gotten to the point where I appreciate pretty much all brands of engine and car building and modification. Kinda softening in my older years LOL.


As for the washers on the floor, I watched a guy with a fresh 460 Ford stroker build and a 3-wheeled engine stand dump the whole thing on the floor when it hit a washer.
Made a believer of me in 1)keeping the shop floor swept, and 2) never use a 3-wheeled engine stand

Olds engines were designed to move heavy land yachts effortlessly down the highway. Keep the engine speed below 5000, they will live forever. Chances are, unless you swap in a more aggressive can, there is no need to spin the engine faster than 4500ish. The stock cam will have the engine gasping for air long before parts come apart.

If you want to beat on one and have it live a long life, there are a few things that need to be addressed.

The absolute best modification to a BBO oiling system is to machine the crank so the bearing clearance is a little on the loose side. I’m about the biggest Olds fanatic there is, but they do have their shortcomings. The biggest is the rods, while they are forged, they are soft as butter. The cranks are massive and heavy, that much weight spinning around and things tend to move around. If you don’t set them up with loose bearings clearance, they will “clearance” themselves.

The first 455 I built I used a well known Chevy shop. They machinist argued, saying he didn’t think the big clearances would benefit me, and would cause low oil pressure. The engine didn’t last long, I kept finding crap in the oil filter, the oil pressure at idle kept dropping, the oil pressure at high rpm was never that great to begin with. After one summer, I tore it back out to find copper showing on every bearing.

I used a different shop the second time. I found out the owner use to race Olds way back and was familiar with setting them up. The bearing clearance was .004-.005, combined with a high volume pump I have about 25psi hot idle, and almost 60 at speed. I shift the engine at 5600, go thru the traps at about 5800, and this is the 18 year on the short block.

For a truck, it’s really hard to beat a bbo. They don’t have a torque curve, more like a torque plane. The torque start high, hits its peak around 3600-4000, and slowly drop off again to high. Perfect for something that has to pull a heavy load.
 

scenic760

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Ok...I've got all the linkages and accessories removed and pulled to the side, exhaust manifolds unbolted, etc...the only thing I need to do at this point is remove the bellhousing bolts and motor mounts...any hard to see items that are easy to miss?

Leaving the tranny in the truck...from what I can tell the transfer case is going to support the tranny when the motor gets pulled?

Thanks again everyone!
 

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