some possible used motor problems

[jimmy p]

I purchased my an ls1/4l60e combo from a guy down south last summer. Said it was removed from a 98 camaro(block number agrees) and had 70k on it. He apparently bought it off of a friend who wrecked his camaro. He said he drove this camaro into the garage and removed the motor.

The power steering pulley was broken and there was a small chip on the crank pulley. The accesories were all removed when I got it and the oil pan and intake were not tightened down. I also noticed the head bolts were marked from being removed and the heads were marked L/R and the block had the cylinder numbers written on them with a marker. The guy I bought it from said that he did not touch anything in the motor or the remove the heads but was just removing the parts he was going to change for his swap.

So I was about to reinstall the oil pan today when I noticed this:


If you look at the bottom left of the pic inside the engine there is a square hole cut in that pan between those two bolts. I can tell its not factory and it appears to have been cut out with a cut off wheel.

Anyone have any insight on this? Was this cut to provide more oil flow or to have access to a piston...?

Also while im at it....what kind of things can I check for to see if the stock heads/cam are still on the motor?

I appreciate any help you guys can give me....ive been working on this project for two years and pretty much have my llife savings invested into it. I just dont want any more problems down the road.

thanks and sorry for the long ass post

[RedHeartbeat]

The serial code for the engine will be stenciled on the back of the block and on each head. Check to see if they match.

I don't know why anyone would cut an access hole in a windage tray other than to help oil return to the sump. It appears someone did that to reduce windage for drag racing since all the oil sloshes to the rear of the engine upon acceleration. It would be a bigger hassle to cut the tray than to remove and replace it considering grinding residue contaminating everything in the engine. I would not be concerned but would probably replace it with a new one only because it's not the way GM designed it. I would go through the whole engine now that I found that it was raced. New bearings, rings and gaskets would be a must for me after a thorough inspection.

[FastEscalade]

That is a wierd place to cut that piece. If they were trying to get to a piston you would think they would just remove the windage tray instead of cutting it... The heads you can just check the casting numbers on them and check online to be able to tell what year ls1 they came off of. As for the cam I have no idea how to tell ya if it is stock... Maybe just upgrade the cam while its already out of the car..
Good luck with everything!!!

[Hit Man X]

Man people do weird stuff to motors don't they.

[jimmy p]

thanks for the replies guys...turns out the heads are stock.

Also the previous owner said he was going to install a truck oil pan and that was cut out to make room for the 5.3 truck oil pickup tube...
Does that make sense?

What do ya think...should I replace it or just let it be?

[jimmy p]

found a pic of a truck windage tray and pickup tube

[6gear]

Go with the truck windage tray and pickup tube

[jimmy p]

for anyone who is following along here I pulled the oil pan and windage tray off. Turns out the 2nd pair of pistons and rods from the back have been replaced at some point. They have part numbers on them and are "cleaner" than the rest of the inside of the motor.

Other than that the cylinder walls look clean and there arent any large pieces of metal anywhere.