Starting my swap in 48 hrs, tips?

[bikedude189]

so i'm starting my stroker swap saturday morning, already have it built, just need to pull the old motor, swap all the accessories and such over, and clean paint the old covers, yada yada, but what are some tips and tricks i might need when doing this? assume its a straight engine swap plus 99+intake and ps pump. i've done a clutch job before so i know about the e12 torx and the mile long extension, but what else should i know? i've never had an engine out...

i'll post up a build thread in a week or so as well...

[gonridnu]

I'm about 2 weeks behin ya brother and have been mulling over a few things in my head. Whenever you're breaking in a flat tappet cam you want to be sure you can run it for 20 mins at 2000+ RPM without interruption so you get a good cam break in. Mine is a Renix to later model throttle body conversion so it is a little different but these are a few of things at the top of my list....

1. Be sure the coolant system is burped and full. The last thing you want to do is choose between overheating and a flat cam.

2. Check sensors with an ohm meter to assure they are reading in the correct range. I'm not well versed on the computer systems on these engines but typically if computers go into open loop or "limp mode" they usually run pretty rich and that can cause trouble with ring seal.

3. Prelube the engine

4. If it is a stick be sure your pilot bearing dimensions match your trans input shaft.

5. don't worry about small oil leaks and minor things that are not right...it is important to keep it at RPM until the cam breaks in. Did you get a new distributor gear or are you using the old one?

That's all I got....would be interested in hearing what else to watch for

[gradon]

The engine is gonna get hot due to the tight clearances and sharp edges--if you can get a big fan or two to help blow on the engine, that'd help. Remove the e12s first then the other bolts.

[bikedude189]

cool, thanks.

what's the best way to burp the cooling system?

i'm re-using my distributor and gear.

[03GC]

Just did the same thing a month ago. We(my uncle and I ) started pulling the old engine at noon on Friday and I drove it home Saturday at 6 PM. Some things I did to speed the process.
- Have your oil and coolant ready, I had enough oil and oil filters for 2 oil changes. I used 3 gallons of coolant mix. I left the cap off the radiator until the t-stat opened
-I re-used all my old sensors,because I knew they all worked. I did not want to worry about false readings on gauges or the ecu freaking out during cam break in
-Don't try to do any extra stuff you do not have to to get it running reliably. Do not worry about air fuel gauges, piggyback computers,new unproven ecu's, etc. Try to use as much old proven stuff as you can.
-Don't freak out from the smoke coming off the engine when you first start it. Fresh paint and oily hand prints on exhaust will make a lot of stinky smoke untill it burns off.
-Have something around to put out a fire . Hopefully you won't need it, but people have burned down cars before .
- I recommended reusing as much old ,proven stuff as possible. Obviously this is not possible on all builds. If you are building a turbo motor or a huge stroker that requires a different engine management setup, you are probably not going to reuse an old MAP sensor for example.
-Make a list of stuff to do.It helps keep you organized and you and your help canjust work your way down the list.
-Get help you can trust.Last thing you want is your help getting drunk half-way through the job and forgetting to tighten header bolts or something stupid like that.

Hope this helps. Have fun
Paul

[bikedude189]

good job, that was a quick intstall. i plan on reusing everything i can, and hop to have it running by monday or so. my help (step dad) is a diesel mechanic so fairly reliable.

still need a procedure for burping the coolant system, i've always just filled it as full as possible and the air pockets (namely the upper rad hose) kind of worked themselves out...

[bikedude189]

so.... i really could use a reply to burping the coolant system, i'm heading out to my parents to do this at 7:00...don't want to overheat my engine...

[omegatron]

Possibly rotate the water pump manually before connecting the serpentine belt? might help... otherwise I assume you leave off the radiator cap and top off as it burps itself.

good luck with the swap! post some pics when you're done

[live24wheel]

Depends on what year you have, I would check your profile but im on my phone and can't. On the older closed loop system you jack the rear end up or put it on blocks, pull the temp sensor on the rear of the head and fill it through the pressure bottle till all the air burps out, however the pressure bottle is mountes higher than the motor on the older style so it wont work on the new system. The only procedure for the newer system i have ever heard was to fill the radiator, run motor till thermostat opens and top off, then make sure your over flow bottle is full, as the motor cools it will draw fluid out and fill in those pockets. Good luck and keep us posted!

[amcinstaller]

the old driveway i was using was sloped heavily. i just parked pointing up and left the cap open. burped itself. if you raise the front end, it may help with the burping.

[Exos]

Starting my swap in 48 hrs, tips?

Buy some beer!