HG repair update
 

I started yesterday and got the heads off today just to find this...
#4 and #6 cylinders have chunks missing from the pistons and burnt oil all over.. the passenger cylinders are all looking good from what i can tell. I just got off the phone with oregon engine rebuilders and they said to ship it back to them and he will let us know what he thinks...i'm debating on saving the few hundred dollars to ship it there and back and putting in a 5spd and chevy 4.3 or something. I need ideas on the cheapest/easiest swap i can do in place of the 3vze. thanks guys
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...7/IMG_0433.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...7/IMG_0432.jpg
chunks of the #4 piston
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...7/IMG_0428.jpg
#4 cylinder
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...7/IMG_0424.jpg
driver's side
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...7/IMG_0426.jpg
driver's head
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...7/IMG_0427.jpg

are those chunks of cylinder/block or piston?

oops typo...the chunks are piston...

Was it still running when before you took it apart? How hard were you on that motor's life? Did you ever get a replacement?


R.I.P. 3VZE
Rest In Pieces that is!!! LOL

that truck probably wasnt very happy....... haha

Miles on engine?
Detonation whooped them pistons and it's odd since there is a knock sensor which is there to prevent this kind of problem.
I see scoring on the cylinder walls from the chunks.
I suspect the rings are stuck from the heat, carbon and detonation. You can always bore it and install a good set of coated headers and quit lugging the engine so much which was the likely culprit unless there are other problems.
I would pull the block and give it to your local engine rebuilder for a refresh. A new radiator is probably in order because heat soak is what kills those motors. Run synthetic oil in the future.

My $0.02

I'm guessing those are not OEM pistons.. What brand are they?

A friend of mine had a 3.0 built by Oregon Engine Rebuilders and it was awesome for about 3 years. Then the #5 cylinder died, so he called them up. It took 4 days for him to go through the whole motor, but he rebuilt the whole thing for free. While it was apart, the rest of the parts were gone through, cleaned and preped for the new motor.

He has a little over 60k on the motor now and it still runs like a champ. They build an even better 22R motor. They are only about an hour away, so I don't have to worry about shipping. Unlimited mileage is awesome.