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DOD Delete + LS9 Cam

Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 6:20 pm
by Silversled
I buttoned up a DOD delete and cam change recently (in time to beat Hurricane Irma).

I was looking for a cam with good balance of long term valve train reliability, low valvetrain noise, and good performance for a PD blower which will go on next. I wasn't looking for the biggest power or an overly choppy idle (been there, done that). After much consideration, I finally decided on the LS9 cam with its moderate lift and conservative LSA numbers which also has proven history of making good power.

I currently have fueling spot on right thru WOT but am running conservative timing due to no availability of 93 Octane during the Hurricane Irma. From the seat of the pants, the LS9 cam on 87 Octane is significantly stronger in the midrange/WOT than the stock L77 cam tuned on 93 Octane.

Here's a quick idle vid running at 600rpm, 20 degrees of Idle advance, and 6.36 g/s Min Idle Airflow @ 600rpm. It still chops just enough to tell people you are not totally stock, even though it actually is. Backing off 2 degrees and about 30-40rpm gets it nice and choppy for those that want more.

https://youtu.be/DCpaq5IcHlc

The major parts:
LS9 Cam
Morel 6504 Lifters
Trend Performance custom ground pushrods
Engine Pro Bronze bushing and Trunnion rocker arm upgrade
PAC 1218 0.600" lift beehive springs
LS2 Chain guide
Stock LS3 chain and cam sprocket
Melling 10295 oil pump
Stock MLS head and other gaskets
LSA Harmonic balancer with ARP bolt
ARP head bolts

Random picts:

Block and pistons crowns cleaned. This short block will run another 100K miles without sweating!
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DOD valley oil pillars plugged with Lingenfelter Blind Rivets (especially when using a high pressure pump),
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LS9 Cam going in! I use Redline Assembly lube on everything,
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The "textbook" way to install the oil pump onto the pickup tube. If you shim your oil pump housing, you almost have to do it this way. Yes the engine has to be lifted and oil pan dropped.
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Melling 10295 oil pump housing shimmed into place.
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Engine Pro Bronze bushing and trunnions installed (PS. One rocker is missing from the pict. I dropped it onto the concrete floor. I culled it and I ordered a new one)
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Berkebile Gum Cutter --- most awesome-est cleaner on earth (except for the resulting nervous system damage from working with it!). My twitching has almost gone away though so I think I'll be fine.
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My redneck pressure oiler...
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"Textbook" oiling location. Push oil in until you see it come up the pushrods and rocker oil holes. I continued to push 5 quarts in. Hey look, a third pulley for the LSA blower.
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Re: DOD Delete + LS9 Cam

Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 9:13 pm
by kevink
I'm not following you about the oil pump and pickup tube. I was able to shim my oil pump with the front of the pan slightly lowered and the pickup tube loosened without lifting the engine.

Your trunnion kit looks like the Straub/Smith Brothers kit. Do your shafts have the two oil grooves at 10 and 2 o'clock or the skinny oil groove all the way around the bearing surface?

How many miles do you have on the trunnion kit so far?

Re: DOD Delete + LS9 Cam

Posted: Tue Sep 12, 2017 10:28 pm
by loopy127
Very nice work. Takes me back to....a couple months ago when I did mine.

Re: DOD Delete + LS9 Cam

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 8:02 pm
by Silversled
kevink wrote:I'm not following you about the oil pump and pickup tube. I was able to shim my oil pump with the front of the pan slightly lowered and the pickup tube loosened without lifting the engine.

Your trunnion kit looks like the Straub/Smith Brothers kit. Do your shafts have the two oil grooves at 10 and 2 o'clock or the skinny oil groove all the way around the bearing surface?

How many miles do you have on the trunnion kit so far?
Kevink,

I've done a few Mellings and have had mixed results with shimming them while on the oil pickup tube. For the PPV, I actually got the pump housing shimmed in place as you did but I had to apply enough force to the housing to get it aligned and shimmed that I personally didn't like the preload I was placing on the pickup tube. It would have been fine but I'm a stickler for these things. I figured I'd just spend then extra 30 minutes to zip the lower engine mount nuts off and jack the engine up. The heads and intake manifold was already removed and the wire harness pulled forward so I had more clearance than I needed. I redid it and the housing just floated into place. The bolt holes on the pickup tube body are oversized to the mating studs so the tube found a happy position with zero preload. I had a new oil pan gasket and genuine AC Delco RTV goop sitting around anyways. I slept better that night. LOL. Having said that, I've installed one other like you have and it worked out great.

The trunnion kit is actually an Engine Pro brand and has the circumfrential rings with the flat to let oil between the trunnion and bushing. Engine Pro also originally had the 10/2 O'clock version at one point as well. I'm pretty sure Engine Pro and Powell Machine makes these kits for a majority of companies out there to rebrand (Straub, Steve Morris, etc) but I'm not 100% sure who makes what for which company.

I have about 100 miles on the bushings. They are quiet!

Re: DOD Delete + LS9 Cam

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 8:03 pm
by Silversled
loopy127 wrote:Very nice work. Takes me back to....a couple months ago when I did mine.
I really enjoyed looking at your post.

Re: DOD Delete + LS9 Cam

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 9:29 pm
by kevink
Silversled wrote:
kevink wrote:I'm not following you about the oil pump and pickup tube. I was able to shim my oil pump with the front of the pan slightly lowered and the pickup tube loosened without lifting the engine.

Your trunnion kit looks like the Straub/Smith Brothers kit. Do your shafts have the two oil grooves at 10 and 2 o'clock or the skinny oil groove all the way around the bearing surface?

How many miles do you have on the trunnion kit so far?
Kevink,

I've done a few Mellings and have had mixed results with shimming them while on the oil pickup tube. For the PPV, I actually got the pump housing shimmed in place as you did but I had to apply enough force to the housing to get it aligned and shimmed that I personally didn't like the preload I was placing on the pickup tube. It would have been fine but I'm a stickler for these things. I figured I'd just spend then extra 30 minutes to zip the lower engine mount nuts off and jack the engine up. The heads and intake manifold was already removed and the wire harness pulled forward so I had more clearance than I needed. I redid it and the housing just floated into place. The bolt holes on the pickup tube body are oversized to the mating studs so the tube found a happy position with zero preload. I had a new oil pan gasket and genuine AC Delco RTV goop sitting around anyways. I slept better that night. LOL. Having said that, I've installed one other like you have and it worked out great.

The trunnion kit is actually an Engine Pro brand and has the circumfrential rings with the flat to let oil between the trunnion and bushing. Engine Pro also originally had the 10/2 O'clock version at one point as well. I'm pretty sure Engine Pro and Powell Machine makes these kits for a majority of companies out there to rebrand (Straub, Steve Morris, etc) but I'm not 100% sure who makes what for which company.

I have about 100 miles on the bushings. They are quiet!
You're more anal than me, and that's not healthy! Stock pump here, no weird preload on anything. More than 99% of people messing with LSs don't even shim the pump at all and they run fine forever, so I think we're good!

That is the latest style shaft that you have, and the one that I have and bought from Straub. Nobody seems to know who actually makes these things. Morris is definitely a rebranded version. Manton told me that Smith Brothers makes them ans Straub claims that he makes them, but who really knows. It's all very confusing.

Re: DOD Delete + LS9 Cam

Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 9:44 pm
by Silversled
kevink wrote: You're more anal than me, and that's not healthy! Stock pump here, no weird preload on anything. More than 99% of people messing with LSs don't even shim the pump at all and they run fine forever, so I think we're good!

That is the latest style shaft that you have, and the one that I have and bought from Straub. Nobody seems to know who actually makes these things. Morris is definitely a rebranded version. Manton told me that Smith Brothers makes them ans Straub claims that he makes them, but who really knows. It's all very confusing.
It's a carryover from building split case Porsche engines and split case Desmo Ducati engines where details like this will eat an engine in 5000 miles. LOL. Don't judge ;)

Bronze Trunnion kit: yes it's confusing but they appear to be all similar enough. Mine are working well so far. Are you running them as well?

Re: DOD Delete + LS9 Cam

Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 8:57 am
by CrashTestDummy
So I'll admit right here that I haven't ever built a LS-based engine, so don't know about all the nuances of these things, but what's all this 'oil pump shimming' stuff?

Re: DOD Delete + LS9 Cam

Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:52 am
by lastcall190
Not OP but I recall from my LSx days that the only reason I would've shimmed the Melling on my install would have been either due to running a double roller chain, or shimming the spring in the pump itself to boost pressure. I am looking at the shim pic and it seems that the shimming is done from a radial vs axial standpoint and not even related to the internal spring, so now I'm even less sure.

Nice pics btw.

-J

Re: DOD Delete + LS9 Cam

Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 11:20 am
by kevink
CrashTestDummy wrote:So I'll admit right here that I haven't ever built a LS-based engine, so don't know about all the nuances of these things, but what's all this 'oil pump shimming' stuff?
The bolt holes on the pump are oversized and shimming it centers everything to the crank. This should make it clear:
https://www.powernationtv.com/two-minut ... s-oil-pump