Thread: L67 "Inspection" Advice

pretty sure as soon as you take the motor/trans apart you void the warranty anyways...

Originally Posted by Explicit_Spade

Was that the best engine you could find out of a good bodied 210k mile car?

It wasn't the best I could find, it was the only I could find. I've been looking off and on since November of last year. There are always plenty of N/A 3800's, but this is the first L67 I've come across.

Originally Posted by Explicit_Spade

Odds are rod bearings could be a good reason for it being in the junkyard. Check the oil for any metal shavings before you do anything else.

Originally Posted by BillBoost37

If you are tearing down the heads, then look at the pistons and the gunk in the bottom of the pan.

I'm getting an engine stand today, and once I've got it up on that I'll definitely be checking these things. I don't have any prior experience with this engine (or GM as a whole), I'll put up some pictures if I see anything suspicious.

Originally Posted by 99PontiacGTP

pretty sure as soon as you take the motor/trans apart you void the warranty anyways...

It's from a self-service junkyard, I had a look through their warranty terms and it doesn't specify anything about that. They won't cover it if I modify it and cause damage, but tearing it down for a closer look is alright. Also their website suggests that the warranty is 6 months, not 30 days... I can print that out and argue with them if I need to bring it back in 31 days!

FYI- don't take the bottom end apart (leave the mains and rods alone). If you do this you will have to have a machine shop line bore and install all new hardware. These motors are very picky about the bottom ends and have been known to not last more than 100 miles if rebuilt improperly.

If in doubt, post pics as you said. There are plenty of people here than can help ID problems.

Easiest way take oil pan off and look for shavings and see of the rods move and if they seem loose.
Also it doesn't void the warranty as long as it still has the markings on it. Where did they mark the engine? You should try and switch it to you're old block and return it. Lol

I don't think they know the difference as long as you return it as a full block since it doesn't specify what kind of engine it is just saying if it's complete or not. Won't hurt lol

When taking the engine apart label all bolts in their own zip loc bags trust me it helps. It's always easier to take things off then put them back on.

I ran into a few snags hooking the stand up to the engine, so I didn't get to the oil pan (or anything else, really) tonight. I did take off the throttle body and took a peek inside the supercharger. It's got some scoring on the walls and rotors. It's just beyond my reach so I can't tell how deep it is. If it's really bad but the block turns out to be alright I can return just the supercharger, and maybe see about locating a Gen V to replace it with.



There was one very worrisome development though... While turning the crank to remove the bolts in the drive plate I heard a pop and then a clunk, as if something snapped and fell down into the oil pan. There wasn't much resistance in turning the crank, we'll find out tomorrow what that was. I'm staying optimistic until I see what's inside.

Originally Posted by dsmuts

That plate on the supercharger is for the pcv valve. The egr is also in the pic off to the side.

Ahh, PCV, thanks. Is that normally blocked in this application (2000 GTP)? After I went back out to the garage I did see the EGR pipes and found the valve, so I knew that wasn't it.

Originally Posted by GTP89

I don't think they know the difference as long as you return it as a full block since it doesn't specify what kind of engine it is just saying if it's complete or not. Won't hurt lol

Yeah, that'll work for the core refund but they mark the block so I can't return the LH0 and tell them it's the one I just bought. Unless some evil genius knows where to find those mysterious paint pens the use... Surely they can't be available at any old craft store.

Originally Posted by GTP89

When taking the engine apart label all bolts in their own zip loc bags trust me it helps. It's always easier to take things off then put them back on.

I like to put all nuts and bolts back where they came from after I take off a part. When that's not an option I've got tons of plastic bins and storage containers, I like to use those along with ziploc bags. Definitely makes re-assembly easier.

Might be bad news man looks like some chunks got into the sc tear it apart if you see damage return that. There are plenty of l67 here in Cali sometimes even a good 10 of em to choose from lol
hope its good though man.

Mystery solved.

Lmao. Saved that face to my phone.

Sent from my SGH-I317M using Tapatalk 2

so whats the problem? Lol

Well at least now you know that most likely the tranny works fine lol

So. I will be returning this to the junkyard as soon as I can get a truck. I doubt it'll be worth getting it to a machine shop. Undecided on what to do with the transmission.

Side-note I didn't mention before... This engine wasn't going back in a Grand Prix, it's for a swap into a Cutlass Supreme. I had been looking only for GP or Regal donors for all of the w-body specific parts. If I can remove them all from this block then I should have what I need, can I then broaden my "search parameters" to include the Bonneville SSEi, Impala SS, and Monte SS? That might help me locate another block in less time.