Grenaded OBS Chevy Truck L31 5.7L/5.0L Vortec V8 Engine Teardown! Positively A Ventilated Crankcase.
Vložit
- čas přidán 30. 09. 2022
- NOW IN HD! Somehow CZcams wouldn't process the HD/4K version so I uploaded it again.
Please visit www.Importapart.com to view some of the thousands of parts we have available for purchase! If you don't see what you need, you can fill out a request form which lets us know exactly what you are looking for. You can also email us at Importapartsales@gmail.com.
Todays teardown scratches the carnage itch many of you have! I wanted to do something simple, and something new to the channel. This engine fit the bill!
This L31 5.7L and L30 5.0L Vortec engine was GM's staple full size truck and van engine in the late 90's. Introducted for the 1996 model year, it had some new features over the old TBI engines including a spider injection system and different heads. This all iron V8 made 255hp and 330tq for the 350. GM replaced this engine in the truck when the OBS body style was replaced with the NBS in 1999/2000 however kept using this engine in the savanna and express vans until the 2003 model year.
If you're wondering why i'm doing this: I own and run a full service auto salvage yard and part of our model is dismantling blown engines to salvage the good parts to resell. Our business name is Importapart but we do domestic vehicles too.
As always I appreciate all of the comments, feedback, and even the criticism.
Catch you on the next one!
Will there be a midweek video? You'll have to wait and see!
-Eric - Auta a dopravní prostředky
The reason you didn't see the break in the block and actually. Was because it didn't have an arrow!
😉
😂
..right ..from now on ..I’ll arrow them when they happen too ..😂😂😂👍☕️😎
ah!!! a blast from my past. If I told you that I made the very first "96 truck intake manifolds" the year they introduced those... As seen in this video, well I did. I was a model maker - lead NX -CNC programmer and for 10 years at the Delphi R&D model shop in Rochester NY, all I did was machine development intake manifolds from billet. Most were machined on a Giddings and Lewis Orion 2200 horizontal machining center. It was the most fun time in my entire career. Yea, those poppet injectors also had HUGE issues with fuel additives locking the balls at the tip of the injectors. Weird thing was that the additives were only used in certain parts of the country and not in others, making the diagnosis really difficult. LOVE this entire series. Thanks Eric.
Very cool... I thank you for the work you did & my truck thanks you!
Why didn't you make the manifolds like the marine intakes would of been so much better
@@blue4980 just like asking why did they use plastic intake gaskets on them? All about the $$, engineer or tech above wanted to do it right, greedy MF at top told him to used $7 plastic garbage or else. And also greedy suit knew these would destroy many a vortec when the warantee was far gone. Davinci, would be interesting knowing the real reason they used those plastic intake gaskets if you are allowed to say? I'm assuming my hunch above is 35%+ correct.
I despise you
I currently work there now lol. Been here 20 years now, i saw those in the service dep, but no longer here
I have a very soft heart for this generation of Chevrolet/GMC trucks. The design has stood the test of time to this day and still looks good today.
My 1997 K3500 agrees!
I’m actually looking for an early 88-94 2wd truck for my fleet, once I get rid of a few. They’re such good looking trucks.
@@I_Do_Cars Got loads of 'em runnin' around out here west of you on the Dry Plains. TBI motors are just about indestructible if cared for, and if the injectors are rebuilt every-so-often. Brother's got a '94 mid-year-change longbed (newer interior) with a TBI 305, and he's hammered the absolute dogp!$$ out of it - killed the 5-speed in it, working on the next one; trying to convince him to bump it up to a 700r4/4l60e, since these nv3500 5-speeds seem to be turning into unobtainium.
I'm keeping my '99 Tahoe for as long as I can.
@@I_Do_Cars I used to have one of those, it was a 89' 1500 2wd, TBI 350 that I put a turbo 400 in after the 700R4 shit the bed, it was honestly one of the best trucks I've ever owned!!
I have this 5.7 Vortec engine in my 2000 GMC Savana which I bought brand new from the dealer. Best vehicle I have ever owned; like a member of the family. The engine has 210K miles and still runs like it is new. When the engine oil got dirty enough that I could see its color on the dipstick, I changed it.
The easier the dipstick comes out=the more "blowed-up" the engine is!🤣
I never would have believed that people were so negligent with their engines until I started watching your channel.
I'm pretty sure this one had some help as it was probably done intentionally after it started to knock. That along with the cracked head and coolant in the cylinder likely sealed its fate. At least it looks like they had fun until the rod wedged itself into the block.
If you want to see people being negligent with their cars, check out the Just Rolled In channel. It takes negligence to a whole new level!
I grew up and have lived most of my life on Reservations. I believe it.
@@shrodingerschat2258 "Customer declined repairs and drove off"
The 1996 5.7 Vortec had 255hp. The 5.0 had 220hp.
God bless America 🇺🇸
@@aidantanny7230 And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free.
@Land_Raver jokes aside, my 5.7 Tahoe isn't fast. But stoplight drags and pulling onto the highway, that torque curve makes it feel pretty quick (for a 25 year old truck)
@aidantanny7230 I remember the Vortec days. Riding in Fords of the day and the older TBI Chevys, those things felt so fast. Trannies never worked in Dodges long enough to compare. But I'll always love a Vortec 350.
I have to admit I am one of the people who finds the sound of the breaker bar very pleasing
"Positively A Ventilated Crankcase" - oh, that's what PVC stands for!
We get to see a short concise tear-down with sped up bolt removal, but there are hours worth of work behind the episode, thank you for being so thoughtful!
PS would love to see a Honda S2000 engine. I'm sure nobody ever money shifts them...
Alot of folks have no clue how much work these tear downs require . And possibly are not aware that he pays for these engines out of his own pocket. Mad respect from a fellow business owner . He's a really amazing individual for his gifts to is viewers.
Think you meant PCV- Positive Crankcase Ventilation. PVC is something completely different.
@@texasslingleadsomtingwong8751 If he paid for that engine except for maybe the cylinder heads being decent vortec's, he got ripped off big time.
Well, you got that EGR pipe.
GM Engineers specifically designated those as CrackerJack Pistons. They come with hidden prizes inside!!
In my best Billy May's voice "thats alot of damage "
Looks like someone dropped a frag grenadine the crank case. FIRE IN THE HOLE!
The whole neighbourhood heard that engine blow up
This one kind of hurt to watch, having a '97 Chevy 2500 that may not be very clean (no rust tho, Cali truck), but the 5.7 in it is still runnin strong.
Edit: This is also a good video to have in case I need to take the motor apart for some reason and get stuck somewhere
Nicely done, special thanks to the owner of that 5.7 for such an imaginative use of pistons and rods. Eric, excellent video as always. Thank you, sir.
5.0
2 engines with the exact same failures. Now that is unique and a first for the channel. Thank you for the video!!!!! I watched both. LOL. I mean I watched one twice. :) May have been the easiest dip stick in the history of the channel as well.
And the same guy seems to have marked both oil pans......
Great V8 archaeology! If you ever decide to add an intro, you should use the clip of a sledgehammer smacking a crank shaft!! Awesome!
Idk about you guys but this video is heart breaking. Tearing down a 5.7 motor is honestly a loss for words. Idc how bad the engine is, it’s just a testament of the labor hours behind what broke what.. and what human being owned it. These motors are a piece of history in my eyes. 😩
26:33 that ringtone cover was spot on
Oooooo... pretty sparkly unicorn oil 😂 only the best.
My brother and I may well have heard the demise of that very engine a few weeks back in Granite City. We were at a little ice cream stand and heard this screaming rev... and before we could look at each other and utter the words "dumb ass", there was a catastrophic noise that could best be described as ... supcalicatastrophicthowarodadocious... if you heard the sound of it, ''twas something quite atrocious...
That sound then dead silence. We looked at each other and got up and walked around the corner and there was a sad old truck that just shat itself... I wonder...
I'm embarrassed to say how many of these videos that I watched before I realized that the pew pew noises the air impact makes when you are speeding it up wasn't an edit trick, but the actual noise.
Laser sounds are the best!!!
I’m embarrassed for you😂
Star Wars, Star Trek…. The whole lot of them…. Where do you think they got the noise from ? 😂
We’re all embarrassed
Its our little secret 😉
That 5.7 did go 💥.. carnage goal achieved on this one. 👍👊
Don't forget even a very low idle of 600 RPM is still 10 revolutions per second so it can still do significant damage even at idle. Of course it's more fun at 6,000!
LOL My wife saw that spider injector and said "That would make a great Halloween deco". Cool vid. Mitsu 3cyl ;
Its amazing to me that there was still one of these engines that didn't get the update the GM did for the manifold...aftermarket you can get a replacement spider like this, but GM offered a replacement unit that upgraded to individual electronic injectors that eliminated many of the issues with these. Made my 4.3 equipped van and Blazer infinitely more driveable...
5.0L 1997 K1500 on this end looks like it has the separate injectors when I did the intake gaskets. 03' 4.3L S10 definitely has separate injectors since I had changed #3 years ago. The first/early ones had the spider which I cannot see being that bad, it is basically poor mans TPI, 1or 2 TBI injectors with pipes feeding the intake valves. I guess as usual like my Cousin who worked for GM dealers for years, they spend years perfecting something then ruin it, ie 700R4 to 4L60E or TBI to the spider contraption.
Speaking from experience, this one looks like a "Let's pull the oil filter, firewall it, and see how long it lasts. Gimme my beer and watch this!".
3:28 There is a factory Delphi MFI upgrade kit for that spider valve assembly - swaps straight in, replaces those spider tubes with actual pressurized fuel injectors into the intake manifold. For the cost of labor getting to and replacing one of those spiders, it's not much more to just bump up.
25:52 GM Universal Adjustment Tool, looks like a #8 🤣
I have the L31 PCM and engine in my car, sans that stupid injector assembly and manifold. Those god-awful poppet injector things are terrible. Had that in my Blazer and it was just one problem after another. Went with conventional high-impedance injectors for the car and modded the distributor so it would last forever. Its like they got 90% of the way there to a perfect EFI system, and just said nah fuck it, lets do it this way instead...
Took mine back to a carburetor when the injector assembly crapped out 😆 Could've just replaced with upgraded assembly but...the computer system sucks for any kind of tuning if hp is in your goals lol so carb it was, which in turn allowed me to a major top end upgrade including a bigger cam, new full roller valvetrain, aluminum heads, intake, carb etc... now she's right where she needs to be. I'll be going to Holley sniper next round and possibly a turbo if I feel like upgrading the bottom. We shall see
@@jjmccloudyou can run them with an LS ECM and they make a lot more power... The Vortec heads are easily capable of 450-475hp...
Super good engines dude. Even spider injectors, not flawless, but certainly durable and long-lasting!
Uncle Rodney is always fun at parties. Especially when his twin also named Rodney comes with him 🤣🤣🤣
I'm picturing this glorious moment of you at the local Hobo Freight, "Do these come with a bulk discount?"
I'd try and arrange a for a fleet discount and get them for all my mechanic/car guy wrenchin friends too at that point lol
Why all the grunt and groan when love tapping the crank? Thank you for the coffee out the nose!
Every episode, just waiting for the "oh BLUUUUUUE!" callout LOL.
I watched the low res version last night but I'll still give a comment and thumbs up. I mean 2 large orders of Rod Mcnuggets in one day deserves it!
That first opening in the pan... For some strange reason I just can't stop staring it it.
I really love the way you present those videos with passion and in a very natural relaxed way, keep it up 🙂
"Positively A Ventilated Crankcase" Just spat my lunch out at that one 🤣
Really enjoy the content and your commentary.... hope everything is going well with the new addition to your family
Engine went KABOOM. Nice teardown Eric!
First vortec heads I've seen without the heart shaped cambers
When you freed up the crank, that sound was me giving you a round of applause! 🖖
thanks for fixing the resolution. I'll watch this this evening
Outstanding carnage, thanks much for that one.
Like your work with the 'special service tool' for crank twisting - ha!
good morning. nice to see you in crisp hd!
The K2500 that was in the video didn’t look to bad from what we could see, probably had the passenger side removed. Those were pretty good trucks. The engine was trying to be a 4.3, was tired of being a 5.7. Thanks for the videos and comical commentary. Hope the family is doing well.
They did make a revised injector set up for these. It placed the injectors where the original factory nozzles where. I replaced mine with this setup about 10 years ago. So far at 335k miles my 97 k-1500 is still going strong. Its been in the family about 22 years. And as long as i can. I never plan to sell it.
22 years that's really a good thing I don't know any vehicle that would last this long except these vortec engines really a great design
I own a 99 GMC 3/4 ton with a 350 and 4L80E since new, just about to roll over 313,000 miles. It has been lacking power lately so we did a leak down test and found that two cylinders have broken (we suspect) valve springs. Instead of rebuilding the heads I ordered a new HD L31 crate engine from Gandrud Chevrolet. Looking forward to getting the new engine installed and having power again. Also, it will be interesting to see how many miles I will get out of the transmission. I've done a good job of changing the fluid every 50k mile, so we shall see if it survives the new engine or not.
Thank you for another in-depth analysis of a failed engine. This engine is a great example for stressing the importance of regular oil changes every 20,000 miles.
Forget 20k I'm doing 5k
Nah..... an oil change every 50-75k is enough, maybe even once every 100,000k.
@@ryanbrochu3336 “oil changes are a thing?”
@@MrOiram46as a wise man once said, "You don't need to worry about changing the oil."
What car recommends that oil interval?@@ryanbrochu3336
Great videos, good sense of humor and interesting to see what fails on these engines. Thanks. I watch your channel via Amazon/CZcams.
Very gracious of you to hold your hand under the block so when the piston comes out, it won't be damaged......lol
enjoy these vids, thanks from Carbondale, Illinois
That one brought back memories complete with the smell!
Good thing you treat that EGR pipe well. Because it was 1/4 of the usable parts.
EGR pipe. Oil pump and distributor drive. Dipstick tube.
My 99 suburban made it to 299,972 original miles before it quit compression was about 24lb across the board on all 8 cylinders. This is why I am looking for a 8.1 vortec for it to have fun with now and just a full drive train upgrade. She deserves it.
Hope you find a good one. The few i road tested after maintenance fixes were impressively kwik.
Arrow pointing to the hole in oil pan. Thanks for the assist😏
Great video and love the commentary as always.
I think you are going to have a start playing "we didn't need that" bingo
Along with other sayings such as "crankcase ventilation, piston mcnuggets, perfect, that's not broken at all" etc 🤣
Glad you bypassed the crow bars and went straight to the light hammer to "gently" persuade the crank to turn. Also appreciate that you "carefully" pulled the cam so as to minimize damage to block or cam! LOL!
Very practical to be able to blow fire 🔥🔥🔥 awesome video 😎
Wow that one was excellent. I spotted the crack in the block at the start but it didn't look *that* bad from the outside. Holy melons. That thing was SMASHED. Great video.
I am so happy to see the saying we have "Do not push it too hard, just get a bigger hammer" in real action here😂
Yup I watched it twice, and enjoyed it just as much the second time lol
I love the headbolt sound, sad this engine didn't have it
Dude this is one of the best videos ever
Those trucks are so good looking in my opinion!
I love the OBS Chevys are an easy favorite of mine, I'm currently un-rednecking and rebuilding a '97 K1500 so I can have a reliable daily driver for work.
Lol unrednecking is a specialty when it comes to Chevy, I've had to do it to both of mine
@@austinferguson2468that's always first on the list with these GMT400s. Depends where you are especially.
I am here for the unscheduled calamity and pandemonium of mechanical failures, and boy howdy did you deliver today lol
Thanks for being my new main source for vehicle related comedy
I bet the sound this engine made was magical.
I fucking love this Channel, seeing this makes me realize that this is something I want to do one day. Soo cool and soo fun.
It is amazing how good your videos are. If i get a new car I watch your video of the teardown to learn about it. Very informative. You also seem very comfortable in front of the camera. I haven't got an engine yet that you didn't have a video on. Thanks for all of it! 🎉🚗
I bet that made a hellaciously loud bang, then clank boom! Nice tear down, bud, I've seen craziness quite a bit too, and that ranks right up there.
I used to work as a mechanic and the shop I worked at for most of the early 2000s serviced multiple fleets. Chevy Express vans were a fleet staple, and most of the vans had the L31. These vehicles had lots of issues, including things bolted to the engine (distributors, water pumps, intake gaskets, fuel injection, etc) but the engine itself is incredibly durable. Of course, when there are so many out there, you’ll see some failures, but keeping in mind that many of these L31s are in fleet vans and trucks that live at WOT (they have to, that’s what is necessary to get a loaded 1-ton van with 220hp to get up to speed), I found them to be incredibly reliable. Especially given how poorly most of the drivers took care of them. They would routinely get dropped off at the shop with 2qts of oil in the engine, a gallon low on coolant and 10k miles overdue for service, but they just kept running. I have one in my 97 Suburban and it’s been trouble-free as a backup vehicle for nearly a decade now. These are way, way more reliable than the current 5.3 or anything that Chrysler has put in a truck in the past 20 years.
Most of the trucks and vans that had small-blocks in them died because they needed the entire front end replaced. Except for those with 4L60s…yeah…
Ni in cty yd tucci unknown.
@@jaygober2081 You bring up a great point. /s
I have the very first year of that engine in my 1996 Express. 190k miles, runs great! However, I did do the MPFI spider upgrade, timing chain, new distributor (aluminum body, not the plastic crap), and the problem solver lower intake gasket. This engine didn't have the good gaskets...LOL
Great tip about the push rods.
Thank you for an interesting show I will stay tuned for future shows on your channel.😀
The fact that I watched this video, then within a week needed to replace the spider FI harness on my 99 is insane. Your videos are awesome. After seeing this, I had zero hesitation about swapping it out on my own.
Just found your channel, really like the work. Keep it coming! 👍👍👍
Very good video. Please continue on making them.
Its funny how the small block 350 was so good it out lived the lt1 and almost out lived the ls1
I'm not sure how old this show is but I just started watching your channel on my TV. But I can't get it to send comments or subscribe so I'm doing it on my phone. If this is one of your early shows and you have just 1000 subscribers don't worry I just watched the show that you had got your 200.000 subscribers so that makes me your 200.001 subscriber. Have watched a out 10 of your shows and I like seeing you pull them apart and seeing all the damage. Some of these are normal wear and tear on others you can tell that it blew apart at high rpm. Keep up the teardown and congratulations on 200.001 subscriber.
Great find, amazing destruction from an old cast iron engine.
IDC thanks for an informative and entertaining video Happy Holidays FWIW I put 140k miles on a '97 1500 Silverado Ext cab sb like you mentiined it had intake manifold coolant lesks but Felpro gskt fixed that and GM replaced the spider web on a recall went thru alot of rotors and brskes and 4l60E had to be rebuilt but I pulled a 24' camp trlr and usually had bed full of dirt bikes, fuel, and gear so probably over gvwr going up to 10k' in Sierras always made it back without drama and still retained it's resale for the '05 Silverado CCDA LLY that replaced it. Those were durable, reliable trucks in those days.
A bed full of dirtbikes and fuel with a trailer sounds like back in the good days
So much for a quick and easy tear down.
Like some others I came back to see it in HD!
BTW - I guess "Old Blue" has a new partner - "Part Red" the hammer???
Well worth the wait
Excellent video as always
Well Mr. Eric by my count this engine is # 1 !!!! You had no problem 😊 with removing the dipstick tube, it almost fell off. Thank you foe another great video. How is the new baby doing 🤔 😍 😩 😫 😳 ???? TMP from N.J.
Good ole chevy tree-fiddy. Love mine, and its little brother the 4.3 (got one of them to!).
The actual engines are fine. It's GMs kinda prowess for being cheap sometimes that causes issues (spider injectors (instead of the "LS/marine" style intake with injectors)), and their choice of intake gaskets.
I had a 1998 Z-71 with a Vortec 350. It had some kind of pot metal quick disconnect coolant hose connector on the intake that corroded and I replaced it with an aftermarket standard type fitting. Other than that, It ran great and I had no other issues as long as I owned it. I ran into the guy I sold it to a few years ago and he had sold it to someone who worked for him. He said the engine lasted over 200k but was finally replaced.
is the quick connect on the back of the intake manifold? my 4.3tbi in my Safari van has the same type fitting and it sometimes sweats if i disturb it while doing work under the doghouse, I'll have to look into replacing it eitb something else like you did!
@@snoofayy6150 I think it was. It's been so long I can't remember exactly where it was on the intake. I had to get it out with a big ez-out extractor because it broke when I tried to unscrew it. But I was able to get the extractor and the replacement steel fitting at Autozone. It was so long ago that that's the only parts stores around besides NAPA! LOL
I have a 98 z71 with the 350. Original engine and transmission with 322,000 miles on it. Just put a new power steering pump on it today
I have a 98 z71 rcsb it's got about 250 thousand miles on it, though the flex plate just cracked 😢
Awesome video bro!
Wrist pins in good shape, as usual
I've never seen an engine that LITERALLY grenaded like that...whoa...
I would love, on just ONE of these, for someone to come on and say, "Hey, that was mine! So here's what happened..."
No one would admit to it being theirs, though!
great teardown!
another great video as usual :-) but that cracked block was even better! 😀
thank you!
I had the exact motor at 102,000 miles the oil pressure pegged out then the pressure went to 0. Bombed the whole motor
Dang! I thought we just got really lucky with 2 catastrophic 5.7 teardowns in one day!
Same videos with different resolutions is seems 🤣
Thanks for the re-upload. Love the video dude. Can ya do a AMC 258 when you find one (blown up of course)
How would one of those ever blow up? Without oil they just stop.
They were probably in downtown St Louis on 70 in the left hand lane, thought "well, I aint stopping here" and just kept going until St Charles