Year long battle is finally over...

[Boricua SS]

well, I got the call from the dealership today... the back and forth battling since March 26th, 2012 is finally over... pretty much everyone knows the back story.. spun a bearing on March 26, 2012... went through 2 motors (both reman'd, both were defective) and it took a year of battling to get the crate motor instead of another reman... so yes, you're all correct, that's a total of 4 motors that have been under my hood ... total cost for the crate motor and install... over 8 grand!!! $6,000 for the motor itself, and over $2,000 for the labor...

so I got in, started her up, and immediately noticed the vibration was gone from the previous motor that was installed... got her home and popped the hood... brand new metal and gaskets everywhere... definitely noticed the difference from the reman motors and this crate motor... brand new valve covers, intake runner/valley plate(or whatever its called lol), new gaskets, I mean the whole nine yards here... the ONLY downfall to all of this... I can't open her up and let her breathe... there is a break in period, and I was advised not to get into the throttle.. so for the first 500 miles, I will be monitoring everything and babying her when I take her out.. after that, she will go in for an oil change where I will go back with the tech and check the oil and filter for any metal shavings/debris... needless to say, she will remain stock until next year when I bring her out of storage... but that's ok, I'm just happy to have her home...

onto the pix!! :wootwoot:

here she sits, waiting for me to get in...

first things first... she was thirsty... quick pit stop to fill her up...

motor shots with new valve covers, gaskets, etc...

the tech forgot to hook up my HID's relay harness and my power wire for my amps

home sweet home...

and here's the writeup of all the components used and the breakdown of labor costs, minus the cost of the motor...

so when is the next meet so I can put some miles on her

 

[Ryda55555]

Congrats!!! Hope everything stays running smooth
Whats next on the looong to do list?

 

[willn513]

Juan,

Congrats bro. I know this has been a long and unpleasant process for you. I am glad she's back in tip-top shape and I really am happy for you man! Enjoy the good times, and although this whole ordeal has probably left a bad taste in your mouth (I know it would for me too...) but just look at the plus side- a practically brand new BeaSSt to roll around the Buckeye State in! Welcome back BeaSSt!

PS- I like the plate, I don't think I've ever noticed that before

Will

 

[Wooluf1952]

So. Now we'll know what kind of gas mileage is possible for an SS?

 

[stormsurge]

Grats. Sounds like its road trip time.
:wootwoot:

 

[Boricua SS]

Congrats!!! Hope everything stays running smooth
Whats next on the looong to do list?

if I keep her, the list is verrrrrrrrry long ..lets just say she'll be needing trailered to the track when im done with her

Juan,

Congrats bro. I know this has been a long and unpleasant process for you. I am glad she's back in tip-top shape and I really am happy for you man! Enjoy the good times, and although this whole ordeal has probably left a bad taste in your mouth (I know it would for me too...) but just look at the plus side- a practically brand new BeaSSt to roll around the Buckeye State in! Welcome back BeaSSt!

PS- I like the plate, I don't think I've ever noticed that before

Will

bad taste to say the least... to the point of me having zero interest in her and having to decide if financially shes worth giving up on... and that's what my father keeps telling me, "its a brand new truck son, I would keep it, it has a rare color, and you have it looking unique and tastefully done up"... and I got that plate last year.. I actually got the idea from a forum screen name

So. Now we'll know what kind of gas mileage is possible for an SS?

calculations already in progress

Grats. Sounds like its road trip time.
:wootwoot:

whens the next meet ..

thx for the congrats everyone... persistence definitely pays off...

 

[Ryda55555]

Tough decision at least drive it until you can open her up again maybe you'll fall in love again
But one thing is for sure, she's a beauty

 

[Boricua SS]

Tough decision at least drive it until you can open her up again maybe you'll fall in love again
But one thing is for sure, she's a beauty

thx bro... the looks and attn. I get is one of the main reasons shes still here... one things for sure, first thing up is a new trans to compliment the new motor... especially since the trans is the weakest link...

now I cant decide if I should go 4l80e, or a built RPM, FLT, Phoenix 4l70e trans...

 

[Playsinsnow]

thx bro... the looks and attn. I get is one of the main reasons shes still here... one things for sure, first thing up is a new trans to compliment the new motor... especially since the trans is the weakest link...

now I cant decide if I should go 4l80e, or a built RPM, FLT, Phoenix 4l70e trans...

A new crate motor deserves the best tranny YOUR money can buy!

Break in periods suck. Not adhering to it could suck more.

I think I may have gotten on the interstate and drove 250 miles straight at 45mph with the cruise on then turn around to head back.













So, uh, does that thing do a burnout?

 

[Ryda55555]

thx bro... the looks and attn. I get is one of the main reasons shes still here... one things for sure, first thing up is a new trans to compliment the new motor... especially since the trans is the weakest link...

now I cant decide if I should go 4l80e, or a built RPM, FLT, Phoenix 4l70e trans...

Dont know too much about trannys but heard the l80 is the best but with a built l70 you know whats going in it so you can better suite it to your driving style

But i think its time to change that signature of yours

 

[djthumper]

I hope this works out for you Juan!

 

[Boricua SS]

A new crate motor deserves the best tranny YOUR money can buy!
Break in periods suck. Not adhering to it could suck more.
I think I may have gotten on the interstate and drove 250 miles straight at 45mph with the cruise on then turn around to head back.
So, uh, does that thing do a burnout?

believe me, im saving lol... but yes, im sticking to this break in period... no if ands or buts about it... for the first 500 miles, I will not go over 50mph...
, she is RWD.. might have to try that

Dont know too much about trannys but heard the l80 is the best but with a built l70 you know whats going in it so you can better suite it to your driving style

But i think its time to change that signature of yours

yea the 80 is the way to go, but also more expensive, and for higher horsepower builds.. looks like I have to decide how much power I wanna put to the ground lol...

and done... sig changed

I hope this works out for you Juan!

thx Larry... fingers crossed here

 

[dmanns67]

Beautiful TBSS! I am glad that everything finally worked out in your favor. I hope this motor lasts well over 200K

 

[fr34kout]

Not trying to tempt you or anything, but a lot of the best builders out there like to pound the shit out of their motors a little to break them in. Not red lining like crazy, but maybe going from 40-90 WOT once every trip until you hit the break in mileage. They say it helps train the motor to be in high revs and seals the piston rings better or some shit. Idk I'm kind of drunk but I know for a fact that a lot of engine builders push their engines after a rebuild or off a fresh block.

This is not the article / post I remember reading but it has similar content from very experienced people. Maybe take a look and see if it makes sense to you.

Engine break in question - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums - Camaro5.com

 

[CdnGMan]

Glad to see this whole ordeal finally work out in your favor mate...

Good luck during the break-in period... I can only imagine the insane amount of temptation that resides on that right pedal...

 

[SmokeyMcBlazer]

congratz on the new motor brother.

break in is a very personal experience but for what its worth. when i bought my last new atv i read everything about how to break in a new motor and a lot of info pointed towards running it at lots of different speeds and differing the rpms. putting it in cruise and going on a run is probably the worst thing that you can do. you probably already know but a new motors cylinder is rough and the rings are not completly seated to it. you need to use this roughness to wear a small amount of ring material off so there is a good seat between the ring and the clyinder. to acheive this correctly, you need both pressure from acceleration and also back pressure from engine breaking. if driven to softly, you could wear the roughness off of the clyinder wall before enough ring material has been removed. thus giving you a bad seal between the clyinder wall and ring. not enough to make it burn oil but enough to rob you of power. also minute amounts of exhaust gasses could end up seeping into the crank case and shorten the life of your oil and seals down there.

some people will argue that this is not right, that why i said that break in is very personal. do what you think is best but try to do as much reading as you can on the subject so you can make an informed decision. good luck with the new motor and have fun bro.

 

[Darkrider_LS]

Glad to see you finally got your SS back!

 

[MAY03LT]

Congrats man! Hope this motor does you right.

 

[TXBlazer]

Not trying to tempt you or anything, but a lot of the best builders out there like to pound the shit out of their motors a little to break them in. Not red lining like crazy, but maybe going from 40-90 WOT once every trip until you hit the break in mileage. They say it helps train the motor to be in high revs and seals the piston rings better or some shit. Idk I'm kind of drunk but I know for a fact that a lot of engine builders push their engines after a rebuild or off a fresh block.

This is not the article / post I remember reading but it has similar content from very experienced people. Maybe take a look and see if it makes sense to you.

Engine break in question - Camaro5 Chevy Camaro Forum / Camaro ZL1, SS and V6 Forums - Camaro5.com

Juan,
On every motor I have rebuilt and of the 2 crate motors I've had. I have always broken them in the way I'm going to drive them. I have never had a failure of any kind. Some say to follow their rules, but look at the guys who seriously drag race, tear down a motor between runs then go and redline them all the way down the track after only a 2-5 min break in (barely time to tune them) I'm not sayin, I'm just sayin.

I would follow their rules since this is their dime, but I know there are some of us out there (Caton & myself to name 2) that would beat the hell out of it. I know I would.

Either way, I'm glad you've got her back and she's running!!!

 

[fr34kout]

Yea that's why I said I'm not trying to tempt him to go against what the manufacturer said or anything, but if it were me I wouldn't baby a fresh motor. But I would feel horrible if he decided to do that and something did go wrong.

 

[Ryda55555]

Hahaha yea exactly what i was thinking,
But if it were me i'd drive it like i normally drove so it adjusts everything to my driving style

I think thats why the guys who drag rip them because it adjusts to what they're doing

 

[djthumper]

I would drive out as much of that 500 miles this weekend by just taking a road trip out across town and on the open road so that the RPMs are varied. Since it is their dime I would probably take it easy during those 500 miles but knock it out so I can drive it like I normally would. I know gas isn't cheap but 500 miles just doing what I do on a normal day could take up to almost 3 weeks. If you are running late during break-in you are going to want to get on it and get going... Just MHO.

 

[Boricua SS]

thx for all the love fellas... its definitely hard to stay out of it... I have people blowing past me, revvin motors as they go past me, and try and blow my doors off at stop lights... I just wanna punch it so bad and get sideways and show up what I got... buuuuuut... im going to stick to the manual that came with the crate motor... and keep in mind, this could all be for nothing if something happens in the near future, to where I have to take her in for work... any hiccups or extended periods of dealership visits, she is gone for trade in...

as for the break in period, and how I drive it, or if I even need a break in period at all... ive talked to numerous people, from engine builders, all the way down to all of your opinions/thoughts... and what I've come up with is simple.. im going to follow the break in procedure per the manual that came with the motor... reason being... there is a 100,000 mile warranty on this crate motor... with fall and winter approaching here in Ohio, the beaSSt will get parked in a few months, so she will remain stock this year and well into next year, all the way down to not even putting my CAI back on her... that way, it will be almost a full year so things should really be seating well by then or problems will arise by then (hopefully not thought lol).. plus as time passes, I will be saving money in the mean time, so when the time comes to build her up and make her the trailer queen I've always wanted her to be (plus have the money for when she breaks), this whole warranty/break in period will be a thing of the past... plus ive talked to other GM mechanics (guys on TBSSowners who called me last week because he's going through the same issues I just went through) and the way motors are built now and days compared to back then, its all rolling assemblies, and they don't even use break in oil anymore... but I will be varying the rpm's, taking her up to 50mph, 35mph, 25mph, 45mph, etc... im not too worried about the break in period though.. while I was test driving Camaro SS' while the beaSSt was first getting worked on, I was beating the piss out of them on the test drive to feel the power of the LS3, and they had less then 100 miles on them.. they seemed to react fine, and sold just as fast as I was testing them...

thx for all your inputs, here's to the beaSSt lasting forever and staying in my family

 

[Mark20]

Congratulations man! Would love to see it and ride in it some day.

As a side not, a couple of Chrysler products had the following note in their break-in section. "Within the bounds of local speed limits, a couple of full throttle accelerations are recommended." Now that's Chrysler. I have not seen that in GM, Ford, Toyota or Hyundai manuals.

Maybe they want you to buy a new engine in 5 years.

 

[mikeinDE]

CONGRATS!! You are definitely my role model when it comes to persistence......

 

[jrSS]

You know what I think about the whole ordeal. Awesome bud!!

 

[Boricua SS]

Congratulations man! Would love to see it and ride in it some day.

As a side not, a couple of Chrysler products had the following note in their break-in section. "Within the bounds of local speed limits, a couple of full throttle accelerations are recommended." Now that's Chrysler. I have not seen that in GM, Ford, Toyota or Hyundai manuals.

Maybe they want you to buy a new engine in 5 years.

Yea I'm sure there's differences across the board... I've kicked her up in rpm's while maintaining the speed limits, but I haven't exceeded 4000 rpm... tomorrow will be her first pull at highway speeds since I'm going to visit my parents, so her legs are going to get stretched at 70 mph...

CONGRATS!! You are definitely my role model when it comes to persistence......

It definitely pays off, but damn I was on my last leg here...

You know what I think about the whole ordeal. Awesome bud!!

You just want my go fast goofies

 

[Mooseman]

Here's an article that I read a while ago and it still makes sense. I actually applied this to our brand new 08 Montana when we got it by peeling out of the dealer's parking lot . I've also done this to rebuilt snowmobile motors and have had good results with them retaining compression.

http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

 

[Boricua SS]

interesting things being said there... now that im at 48 miles, im just going to go ahead and drive her like I would my daily driver... I goosed her a bit giving half throttle and letting the RPM's get up there... but that's all im going to do for now...