Nice Video Scruf! Sorry you had a issue with the fit. We have only heard of a few times where this has happened. We think the cause is during manufacturing after boring the galley hole for the Barbell in hundreds from blocks the bit get worn and the hole is a little smaller on a few blocks just before they change the bit. The main goal with our barbell is to keep unfiltered oil out of the bearings and lifters that is why the close tolerance fit. Our latest Barbells are .0005" smaller to help with this issue but we don't want to go any smaller for only a very few blocks that have this issue and defeat the goal of keeping unfiltered oil out. For the customer that run into this issue we don't recommend drilling the block. Instead we recommend cutting the head off of a 1/4-20 bolt, chucking it in a drill, screw barbell on and while running the drill use fine sand paper and take the barbell down until it fits. You will barely have to take it down so don't over do it. Hope this helps! Thank you, Christian SacCityCorvette

The note at the end makes me feel much better. Awesome customer service. I have one in my CTSV and it slide right in.

We don't recommend drilling the block! It is very rare for our barbell to be to tight. Texas speed buys 200 at a time from us, if there was a fitment issue we would have heard from them, along with all The LS engine builders like WS6Store that buy quantities from us. We are the original designers/inventors of the billet Barbell all others are cheap copycats. If it is tight follow the instructions. This is what they say. SacCityCorvette’s Billet Barbell Installation: NON O-ring end of Barbell goes into engine, O-ring faces rear of engine! Because the Barbell is such a precision fit, we test fit every Barbell in a jig that is exactly the size of the oil port in the engine. It is very rare, but there is the possibility that your new Barbell may be too tight upon test fitting. We believe that during manufacturing with some engines the drill bit drilling the oil port was worn and ready to be changed out. Maybe that is another reason GM makes the factory Barbell so loose. Because it is so rare to have this issue, we will not make our Barbell smaller to accommodate the issue of a very few and defeat the purpose of our Barbells goal of keeping unfiltered oil out of your bearings. If you encounter a Barbell that is too tight upon installation, we recommend cutting the head off a 1/4-20 bolt and putting it in a drill and screw the Barbell on to it, then use it to lightly sand the Barbell with fine sand paper until it fits properly. Only sand the end without the O-ring! Only a very small amount of sanding should be necessary. Lube O-Ring before installing and the non-O-Ring end of Barbell goes in first toward front of engine! Please contact SacCityCorvette if you have any questions. Sales@saccitycorvette.com or call/text (916) 968-4451 Thank you, Christian

In the 80's the SnapOn truck had a hone-type tool I've never seen before. It was called a "Flex-Stone" hone and sold from 1/2" up to 4 inches for bores in wheel cylinders to block cylinders for that nice cross-hatch to help seal rings. McMaster-Carr sells them now. With replacing certain sizes multiple time and becoming more expensive, I decided to make something to get by. A mild steel rod drilled on the side, with a two holes the thickness of my air cut-off tool. By connecting the two holes with a slot, I could pull a cut piece of "Scotch-Brite" to an equal length, hold while chucked in a drill motor and wind it up. With its new reduced outside diameter to fit the "Hole of the Day" I could hone it with Red, Green or Gray. Need a tighter fit to remove more material (By the thousandths) if controlled, work great. People forget that even with gray nodular iron blocks or aluminum, combined with todays "Green Crap" ( Sorry snow-flakes / I blame climate change on 1,000 years of Buffalo Farts), but it is still a requirement to bottle brush, carb spray and apply compressed air into every oil gallery period. This makes one more enlightened on the path your oil takes. Every engine is different but similar. Yes, this bar-bell from Sac City Corvette fits tight, but there are 3 holes drilled into the horizontal oil pump feed. 1 into the filter, filter oil out, but also that long angled one that feeds 2 sides of the cam going into lifter bores. My bet is a brown film of old oil built up inside this gallery. Either way, you showed us how, each can-be different reasons. But with understanding of the oil path, that can allow micron-sized particles to pass the filter and enter the roller lifters...Well, you know. I like it. I got mine! Thanks Scruff. ASE Master Tech-Retired

I just put a barbell in my and had the same problem watched your video to help get it in so a big thanks man.

I had a custom LS3 built for my vette..... they installed this plug backwards.. caused all sorts of oil psi fluctuation at higher RPM... what a PITA to find... randomly caught it after upgrading this barbell during a clutch swap :(

Never used this or heard of this until a buddy of mine used one on his ls1 build. Been using the stock plastic one and made some pretty insane power for years and never had an issue lol built my 408 nitrous motor makes 1100+ on a 450 shot used stock barbell

I just installed mine And it went in perfect no issues.

Very good video on basic services for our Corvettes. I hope your race efforts are working out. (:

This is a very common issue and I feel your pain. Mine did the same thing as yours and when I pulled it out it was bent and not sealing properly. If it's hard to push in it's going to bend it. I had to try 3 different ones to finally get one that fit properly. The quality is so cheap on those billet ones they are all different sizes. Honestly the plastic one works better and seals tighter. The double o-ring ones always cut the o-ring going past the sharp edges.

Instructions on my barbell says to lightly sand the galley 1/4-20th just to get the clearance. Thanks for uploading. I had the same issue with it not fitting initially.

I used the billet barbell in a stroker LS1 I built and it snapped right in. I got it from Sac City as well. It's definitely worth the $27 if you are building a nice piece. Their front/rear cover install tools are great too!

I had no issues on a 6.0 Lq4 block. Fit snug. Using their product on an up coming 7.0LSX block

great video and very helpful

Don't use a drill...use a reamer! Mic the reamer to ensure size and try that...should get better results without leaving spiral cut marks.

Our shop has been building LS engines for years and we have always used new replacement plastic ones and have never had an issue. This looks like a major waste of time to me. Good job for sticking with it though!

Mind went rite in the same LS1 !

That's odd..I just bought one, as well as the front plug that replaces the press fit in front, and didn't have any issues with it going in. I hope it was worth the money! The way I figured, it's one less piece that is plastic in my motor!

Mine was a snug fit but mine seems to slide right in with little pressure 2003 l59 5.3

Mine usually fit perfect. However, I've learned when installing them, including cheap barbells from Ebay all you budge builders, that the blocks need to be CLEAN CLEAN!!! During install it helps to lube the barbell, especially the oring, with a small amount with assembly lube. Using a small rat tail file will help to remove the burrs from inside, then compressed air to help remove them, followed by a small rag soaked with carb cleaner or Brakekleen, then forced through the galley (front to back) with a wooden or steel rod, will help to remove any oil sludge or metal particles that could cause it to bind. Finally, I've seen deposits of burn oil get stuck in the galley of a motor that was over heated. This may take some effort to remove as its usually hard. (Carbon)... Soaking with a large amount of carb cleaner and using a long thin pipe cleaner or very soft long wire brush with parts cleaner or carb clean can help to remove these deposits.. If using a wire brush, follow up with the rag again, to remove any wire bristles that break off. Its still metal in the motor and will do harm if it gets to the right spot... Taking an extra 5mins to clean the stuff now, will help save your motor on 1st startup. I've found that's when most bearing damage occurs... A clean motor is a happy motor. Unless its an old Mopar... (Just kidding... Keep'em clean) **** A previous reply says about using a flex hone. This will work too. Just be sure to clean the particles out after ****

There is always 3 assholes who dislike a video if you don't like it don't watch it! Thanks for the help man! Great video! eBay actually lead me here. I will install mine this weekend!

Damn good video man, man what a head fuck to get it in! Good info!

Doing my ls3 now and having the same issue with the installation, guess I'm gonna have to use the drill bit also. No happy to do that though.

Its better if they fit as tight as possible. The tightest fit will allow MORE filtered oil into your engine.

Is this on all LS'S ? Mind is a 4.8 does t have one ? Thinks guys this is all very helpful to us ALL !!!!!

can a clog or defect in the barbell cause low oil pressure? as in dropping to 5 psi, rising with rpm but will drop with a hold at 3000 rpm, and will only rise to around 25 psi before dropping. brand new 5.3 all new internals..

El motor 3.6 chevrolet ,trajo un problema de fabrica que muchos mecanicos no encuentran el problema nunca y cambian cadenas vvt guias tensores y el problema sigue,y es que esa valvula de control de precion se llena de costra ya que el agujero es muy pequeño, y si no se le da el mantenimiento cada 3meses sin fallar uso medio y cada 2 meses uso largo, se aruina por costra, pero hay una solucion que no esta escrita ni la recomiendan los mecanicos ,pero les digo que yo lo aprendi hace mas de 30 años y es que cuando hay costra en el motor , y no hay mucho dinero para reparacion profunda , con tan solo 1q de haceite de trasmicion las posibilidades de limpiar todo los agujeros es de mas del 70% solo que cuando lo agas no puedes correr el motor por mas de 2 dias solo 1 dia y cambiar el haceite y tendras que gastar 1q adicional para que cuando estes baciando el carter le heches el nuebo q para que bacie bien y luego le cambias filtro y haceite nuebo y listo eso limpiara los vvt los elevadores o listher la bomba de haceite y esa valvula que tanto se atapona y hace que la lubrucaciin no lleque en en arranque y suene como matraca, gracias.

I just bought one

Would it not have been better to remove the material from the barbell in a controlled way to prevent the potential of ANY shaving to migrate into the oil system????

I installed one in my LS1 and had on problem!

Why not use a bar bell with an o-ring at the other end also, so 2 o-rings? That's why I'm going to use the one made by Improved Racing.

This may be a dumb question but I'm gonna ask anyway.. How do you get the stock one out?

I build tons of Ls. Fit means nothing . Its better if dog bone is looser at the business end as the stock unit is, will allow a bit of flow as filter looses flow . I sand the diameter down to get a slip for. All oil filters and oil pump bypass any ways while engine is running !

Scruf do you have an update on how the barbell performed.

Just bought a set, I'll see if it sticks. If I don't reply then it didn't stick, LOL.

Sorry. Old guy, hotroder. I'm just now getting into the LS build/swap. What's the point of this upgrade?

It slid right into mine

That’s a Chinesium copy of Sac City Corvette billet barbell, available on eBay for a fraction of the cost of the real one.

Quality control should catch that oversized issue, They probably do not mic the valve part To bulk ratio enough times . shame on the manufacture. wouldn’t use a drill bit , perhaps a ream would be better, and do you think this upgrade is rally worth it.

doing this mod to the engine, does it help with the oil pressure drop?

SEEMS LIKE THAT SPRING AT THE PUMP WOULD ONLY EFFECT HI OIL PRESSURE , NO ? NOT IDLE PRESSURE .

*Gallery

It's not a galley, it's a gallery

Freeze it next time?

Does a bad barbell cause low oil pressure?

How do you get the original one out

What oil pan Is that for?

Same problem....mine won't go in at all.....JUNK. ON MY WAY TO GET PLASTIC ORIGINAL.

You better have that powerwashed and cleaned by a machine shop.

there is no way i am taking a drill bit to an machined oil passage in my block to use an aftermarket part. pass.....

I would have sanded the barbell with emery cloth first

Why do people go out of their way to create problems for themselves. The factory piece will last longer than the engine. It is foolish to "upgrade" it. I have rebuilt dozens, if not a hundred LS engines and have never seen a single issue with the factory piece. My advice, leave it alone and worry about something that really matters.

Seems like more of a hassle than what its worth. Prob pass on this.

It is not a load bearing part why does it have to be stronger? This does nothing to improve how the engine works. This is designed to make your wallet lighter!