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L67 "Inspection" Advice

Quaraxkad

Quaraxkad

New member
I've got an L67 (with 4T65E-HD) from a junkyard, I took it out of a 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix. Odometer showed just over 210K miles, the body was a decent shape, it wasn't in an accident so I'm suspecting it had engine or transmission issues that led to its residence in the junkyard. I won't be able to get it installed in my car to test it within the 30 day warranty period. So I want to tear it down a bit and get a better look at the internals. I'll take off the S/C, the heads, probably the oil pan. I'd rather not do a *full* rebuild, so what are some problem areas that I should pay special attention to here (aside from the obvious, cracked pistons, bent rods, etc)?
 
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Was that the best engine you could find out of a good bodied 210k mile car?

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

Explicit_Spade said:
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.
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BillBoost37 said:
If you are tearing down the heads, then look at the pistons and the gunk in the bottom of the pan.
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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.

99PontiacGTP said:
pretty sure as soon as you take the motor/trans apart you void the warranty anyways...
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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've just finished pulling off the wiring harness and misc hoses and pipes. This is the first time I've really spent a moment looking it over externally and I don't see any glaring issues. The biggest thing so far is a small dent in one of the "fins" (not sure if they have a name) on the SC snout. Looks like the previous owner used a pry bar on that to rotate the engine forward.

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The only other thing is insignificant. This picture doesn't show it very well, but one of the coilpacks is super rusty, the others are perfectly clean and shiny:

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Am I right in assuming this is where the EGR is supposed to be?

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Also the shift cable is broken. Makes no difference to me, I wouldn't have been using it anyway. This I did notice at the JY, so rather than unhook it I just cut the cable.

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FordMan77 said:
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.
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Thanks, I'll definitely not touch that stuff. I may have some "innards" pictures tonight or tomorrow, I'm now separating the engine from the transmission so I can put it on the stand.

GTP89 said:
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
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:th_laugh-lol3: I might be tempted to do that, problem is the old block is a 3.1 LH0! Worst case scenario I'll return it for a core refund.
 
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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.

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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.

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

GTP89 said:
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
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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.

GTP89 said:
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.
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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.
 


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.
 
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