Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Engine Block Done!! So Long 53 block!!

[EricBu12]

Well Got my baby back today and it runs great!!



Got a new clutch in it and new bearings for it and they put Redline MTL Fluid back in the transmission... . The brand of the clutch is LUK It is a ferous and friction combination... . seems to do good... Funny thing is th back side of my South bent clutch said Luk as well... . ???... Should do OK... . will see on the trailer... . I had the clutch hang up due to a Pilot bearing go out..... So far this clutch feels real nice. .



But first a little history on my problem... .



My Truck has almost 72,000 miles on it and the 53 crack happened... . I tried the Lock-n-stitch shown here



#ad




I added a little JB Weld to try to strengthen it... . didn't work



#ad




I was told by cliffman that he did his repair, towed his trailer, and it made another crack 3" away from the other repair... . so, I got another Block, A Mexican block (suposed to be thicker)... from another member,... . had to have it bored . 020 over because someone honed it . 003 too big to be standard. . So add $1000 for new pistons..... Then built and installed the motor..... I wasn't around for the job step by step as I am an hour away and I drive truck for a week at a time... But I have some interresting pictures of my engine and the cross section of the thin area where my Lock N stitch repair was...



This is a very bad cel phone pic but you see where I tried some more JB Weld and a stiffener... . didn't work...



#ad




Pic of my cylinders..... These are in very clean condition... I was even able to see the hone marks from the factory on the walls. I have almost 400 Hp and tow a 15K 5th... . I hardly see any abuse of heat at all...



#ad




#ad




So, all of the engine was perfect, ran great, had no problem... ... except for the crack... ... . Geez!



The pic shows the the grinding of a piece of metal out of the block for a souvenier... now, see the cross of the grinding... the vertical one shows thick metal above and below the curved area... . now look at the horizontal one, see where it brocke through very soon near the intersection of the cross? Thats the thin area...



#ad




This is going to be the best 53 crack picture yet to show what is the problem... . The thin area is where the curved area is, and where I did the Lock n stitch thing... . Amazing huh?



#ad




Here is my souvenier I had ground out of the block... this shows the outside ... you can see the Ls pins...



#ad




This is the inside of the block... . The pins that was of the LS. . were not totally overlapped inside so that is why it leaked but still the weak block had to go...



#ad

 

[EricBu12]

Truck runs great... I was able to paint certain areas back to black... they had the audacity to paint the block grey... yeauuccchhh!!



Put the 19. 5 rims and tires on the truck and shined it up... my baby is back to is brawney self!! Gonna tow the 5th to the desert next weekend with my new Rhino and predator setup.



Nothing like working the cummins to break it in!..... Gonna work it a little tomorrow, I have the Rhino on a utility trailer to do a day ride to a local area so I can pull the power a bit...



Take a look at the 3rd pic from the bottom of the last post... Amazing the thinness of the metal at the curved area... this is where the bocks crack and no wonder... too much heat and stress, and she goes bye bye.

 

[Gary - K7GLD]

Sorry to hear about your problem Eric - I know how proud you are of that truck, and the care you put into it!



Hope the new block works out OK - my '02 block is also supposedly a Mexican block.



SBC does, or did use LUK core plates as the platform for their stuff after some mods to them - I have the LUK Cerametallic, and it has worked well for nearly 2 years now - not a trace of slippage under load.

 

[EricBu12]

Thanks for the reply Gary. . Good to know LUK Clutches are good. . I got the truck lookin' pretty again...



When I put the 16" tires on for the winter, it takes something away from the look of the truck. . I love summer! The 19. 5 tires are awesome



#ad




When I picked up the truck, I had to wait a bit for them to finish charging the A/C and fill the radiator... It was hard to start and he said there was air in the lines and was run only once... . OK I said then when drove home and started later, it was still hard...



Looked under the hood and the Idiots dis-reguarded my Fuel regulator... . which I have plumbed into the pre-filter behind the pusher pump so they went pump to filter instead of pump, to "T", to filter and regulator... once I bled the air it started and ran fine... Charged the battery and cleaned up the parts under hood... .

 

[BPINE]

Good to see you are running again Eric, if you don't mind me asking what was the final cost?

 

[EricBu12]

Engine machining, Boring out to . 020 over, new pistons, rebuild kit, Grind valve seats and replace valve guides, new LUK Clutch stage 2, Water pump, Radiator Cored out, and the all important labor... (which was $2800)



$6900... . ouch!



Now I think I have an issue with my nv5600 trans. 5th gear is clashing and I think the synchro is gone... If I have to rebuild or replace witha reman transmission that will cost like $2-3000 sighhh

 

[BPINE]

WOW sorry to here about that Eric !!!! I knew you weren't going to do the job for 2,800 but I didn't want to say anything until you were done. That job is a lot of work to do correctly and that costs money. We spent 9k on Cliffman's truck but we ported the head put in an aftermarket cam, turbo and balanced. That added a bit to the cost but it ran great right up until the blocked cracked. The Loc and stitch is still holding with only a slight drip from a few of the pins which will be fixed soon if I know Cliffman.

 

[Cliffman]

That's not too bad Eric but I'm still ahead at $9000. 00 including labor. Did pretty much the same thing you did but add a stage II head port job, Balanced the crank, HP Cam, new turbo. Too bad I didn’t replace the block but the rebuild was at 145k and we thought that if it hadn’t cracked by then it would never crack. WRONG!!!

 

[EricBu12]

The #'s I posted above did not include the cost of buying the block from the other member $1000... so total is $7900...



Well, on my transmission, I am going to bite it and have the 6 speed rebuilt... have new engine and clutch... might as well have a new transmission then I know everything will be good... .



Going to cost like $1800-2500 to rebuild it... better than being on the side of the road... .

 

[csutton7]

great pics and thanks for doing that--



I see no reason to not rebuild the transmission---but it sucks that you have to do it now--but you'll be good to go as you say when it's done--chris

 

[HeberRam]

Go Rhino!!!!

Eric, glad your're almost completely back on the road... In hind-site would you have traded your truck in or sold it before investing so much more $$$$'s into the repair???? :{ It's probably one of those things, you commit and then it goes from there. I realize you have other mods on your truck, so in reality you may still have come out ahead? I think you should put that 53 block in your Rhino. :-laf :-laf :-laf

 

[EricBu12]

Steve,



yeah I wasconsidering trading but I have built so much to this truck to tow my trailer, I would have to get... .



ATS manifold

Mag-Hytec diff covers

New 5th wheel hitch

Some kind of suspension helper like airbags... . don't know if the roadmasters I have would fit... .

performance boxes

Air intake system

and then figure out what to do with the fuel system... .

Replacement fuel tank for larger capacity...



so all these things would add up plus the new truck payment of 800/mo or more..... so yeah as long as the main components are good, just rebuild and keep going..... Maybe when Dodge finally comes out with a true 4500 then I might be tempted...

 

[EricBu12]

Wel,l did a first tow with my new engine!



Went to Moab with my 15K 5th wheel... Boy, Do I know how to break in an engine or what? !!!



Power is wonderfull and a neat thing on the Hybrid Turbo, It does more work at less pressure. I have a HX 35/40 hybrid that has a wastegate set at 40 PSI but I rarely get above 35 and that is full throttle... I notice about 200 degrees less on the EGT at the same power.



Engine runs pretty quiet and I averaged about 10 MPG even with a headwind. Good cooling with the Horton fan clutch... BOY!! If ever you want top cool your truck while towing, GET A HORTON!! by far the best cooling ability I have ever seen.



So next week I am going to have the transmission rebuilt as 5th gear is clashing and I have a shop here that is able to do it so might as well and have everything done... . SO, Good report on engine performance.



Eric