So I have this disaster of a motor that Tim Dickhead Jenkins of Dead On Arrival Racing built for me (pretty well describes the motor too.) The build was right out of nightmares and before all was said and done it blew up three times, over $10k in this POS & nearly a year of downtime. I’ve sworn that I’ll not put another dime in this pos and when it goes the truck’s getting a Chevy.

That was 30,000 mi ago.

It runs decent, but if I don't put the uber expensive oil in it there's zero oil pressure at hot idle. W/ Mobile1 15w-50 it'll hold 5-10psi hot idle and 35-40psi hot running on the highway at 4000rpm.

OK, that's background.

So I'm dragging a U-Haul 6x12 parachute to Nashville & back (360mi each way.) The poor little truck is getting it done, but is working just as hard as it can the whole way. Pretty well held 4000 rpm the whole time and getting 9mpg.

Some oil is going away along the trip, but it's a little wet underneath so I figure I have a little leak somewhere, add 1/4 of a qt per fuel stop and don't worry about it. Mostly I ride the motorcycle and the truck doesn't get used much – so I’m not quite in tune with new occurrences.

About 50 mi from home I begin to notice a loss of power, the 6ch EGT loses about 500° on #4. The #2 probe is broken so I don't know if may be effected too.

Pull into the driveway and it's like the thing gives the last gasp, clunk, bonk, big puff. The girlfriend is sitting on the porch and says "that doesn't sound good."

Ditch the U-Haul and it's clearly smoking out the exhaust badly. It's not knocking or banging, but it's a mosquito fogger for sure.

So, before I go digging on my own, recommendations? The potential probs that occur to me are:
PCV valve barfing into the intake
Valve Seal
Head gasket (though I've only seen coolant leaks in the 6 prior HGs I've seen - is oil even a possibility? There are no signs of oil in the coolent or coolent in the oil.)
Hole in the piston or cracked ring.
Cracked heads

If it's a HG or valve seal or some other simple repair I'll fix it, otherwise I'll be looking for an LS1 - but I'm really not in the position to tackle another big project right this moment so I'm hoping this POS can be fixed.

I do have one of those little scope things that let me look into the cylinder so I guess pulling #2&4’s plug and taking a peek would be step 1.

Any advise, suggestions or expectations & predictions would be greatly appreciated.

 

#s 1,2,3 all look good (plug) and have 160+psi compression.
#4 is badly fouled and has 30psi of compression

Didn't pull 5&6 (they are a pita), but have good EGT on them.

Whatcha think? a deader? is it even possible that this is a head gasket or do I need to start the chevy conversion?

 

ahhhh nother DOA!

sounds like you blue chunks on the HG to me... unless its rings on a craptastic rebuild.... either way its a tare down and investigate if you ask me.

 

did you try a leakdown test on the dead cyl?

And why havent you filed a lawsuit on Tim at DOA?

If major issues then the LS1/LS2 gets my vote!

 

Ahh, hmmm, I think what we have here is the death of the 3VZE. What we'd call in the dirt bike world: 'squeeked'

What you are looking at is an optical probe down the plug hole and my SonyT-30 set in magnifing mode. It's a little more clear to the naked eye, but clearly a scuffed pistion and huge amounts of blowby - there's oil running down the cylinder wall and a big scrape on one end.

I will have some nice 3VZE high performance parts available for sale soon.

 

what am I looking at there?

verticle scoring on the cylinderwalls?

 

Yes, a big scrape covering 30° of the cylinder wall and tons of oil that was pooled on top of the piston dripping down the wall when I turned the crank to bring the piston down.

It needs a rebuild on that hole anyway.


I didn't sue Tim because I'm in SC and he's in CA and he knew he could f_ me and get away with it because it costs too much to sue someone accross country.

 

I admire you for still wanting to keep the truck!--If I had anywhere near that much trouble with a vehicle (whom evers fault it may be) that truck would have been down a one way road. Congratulations on the future LS1.

 

3.4 swap it, then stuff in a supercharger. More horspower and less weight.

 

OMG, is DOA still in business? I've heard some real horror stories about him. I wouldn't touch his stuff now with a toilet plunger. What's a LS1?

 

That really sucks. And to think, I was very close to buying some of DOA's heads during my HG repair. Thankfully, a little research on this great forum saved my ass. You should think about starting a seperate thread about your experience with DOA. If you could keep one poor bastard from going down that road, it will have been well worth the effort.

 

3.4L stock hptq = 190hp/220tq
LS1 stock hptq = 350hp/360 tq

the 3.4 could never keep up with an LS1. Thats like comparing a 600cc nighthawk to a 1300cc hyabusa....

 

IIRC Tim moved to the right coast! It may be cheaper than you think to get some justice.

D.O.A. Racing Engines
Tim Jenkins, owner
128 Milbros Lane
Mooresville, NC 28117
DOARACING@AOL.COM
(704) 799-6261

 

Chevy's Gen III small block that replaced the LT1 and is FAR superior! It was introduced in 1997 with 345hp/350tq with a torque curve flat as a pancake all the way to its 6200rpm red line. It was renovated in 2001 with the LS6 intake and a few other changes that bumped up the output to 350hp/360tq.

The cool thing about these motors isthat if you freaking look at them funny they will gain 50hp!

Even with a 10.1:1 CR you can easily throw a 150 wet or 125 dry on them with no other mods. Supercharging or turbocharging is DEFINATELY an option and gaining over 500hp is damn near easy...

 

It's past the time when a lawsuite can be done. And if I went up there I'd end up in jail for giving that punk the ass whipping he so badly needs.
It would be enjoyable though.


On the topic of the 3VZE, I really want the LS1/2, but I have to move first. A one car garage and a driveway tilted at 5° are just not the right place to do a big conversion. I'm ready to move, but haven't found a house that I'm ready to spend my hard earned money on. Another year and I'll be where I can do a major conversion like this.
So, as of this morning (and the plan seems to be changing hourly) my plan is to fix the one hole that's dead in the 3VZE (bore, piston, gaskets & bearings) and push forward on research for the LS1/2 conversion so that when I am in a new place I'm ready to go. If I could just get another 5-10 thousand miles out of the 3VZE I'd be in a better place to do the LS1/2 swap.

 

im kinda in the sam spot...my 3vze has shat out on me a long time ago. rod knock, etc. just keep the oil and othe vitals going, if you can stand the constant desire to strap some high power explosives to it, you can pull some more miles out of it. I thought i wasnt going to be able to pull 220k outta mine, but already at 221k. as ĊĊĊĊty as the 3vze is, you gotta love yotas for still pulling...
jb

 

lol mine went ot 275,000 running strong then a highly unusual form of HG blow took mine out...itll be back...

Maxx - in the mean time check out www.ls1tech.com