Hello all,

I'm putting the finishing touches on an LS swap into my 3rd gen camaro. The car is H/C/I with every seal, sensor and accessory replaced.

I'm real nervous about hitting the key for the first time. Scared even. Within the next week or two it will be time.

Any pre/post start suggestions?

 

Per GM, disconnect the coils and disable the fuel pump. Then run up the oil pressure using the starter, be sure that you filled the oil filter. Shouldn't take too much to get oil pressure. Once you have pressure, then look under the car for any leaks (coolant, oil, trans).

Then finding no leaks, reconnect the coils and fuel pump. Shouldn't need to crank it much. Mine started in about 1/2 a rotation. Then do a double check on leaks & electrical issues.

Now build a punch list once it runs. This is everything from suspension, to tire pressure to electrical gremlins. Be sure the D-shaft is bolted down, cross member bolted down and so on.

I made a paper list that gets marked off as I go. Keep it until you test drive the car and know that everything is right.

Jim

 

Man.... that a nice job you did, did the car start out in decent shape? love the claw hammer

 

Good advice will do. How noisy should the motor be on first start up ?

 

The car was nice already. I've had it twenty years. The undercarriage was getting discolored so I took "everything" out and replaced/refurbished.

A claw hammer is mandatory equipment on any build! Not for the car, but to scare the kids away!

 

If you have new cam and lifters, make sure you follow the break in procedure for the vendor. Shouldn't be as critical as a flat tappet like a old SBC engine.

Make sure you have a water hose near by in case there are bubbles in the cooling system and it burps and drops your coolant level.

 

Good call on break in procedure. As goofy as it sounds, I hadn't even thought about that aspect of it. Thanks!

 

make sure you have some cold brews to crack in celebration

 

Yea, since they took all the "good stuff" out of the motor oil break in is really important on some cams. I watched a 35K sprint motor eat a brand new billet cam and lifter set in one 20 minute session at a track a couple years ago. Whole motor had to be freshed to get all the shrapnel out of it..

On the sprints most of the engine guys I know are using the joe gibbs break in oil so the contact parts get enough zinc to surface harden correctly.. It has that once old smell too it,, like its bad for you,,, gotta love it..

 

Really nice car you got there

 

yes I hope so! If not they will dull the pain lol.

 

that is absolutely brutal. The guy must have been sick....I have Mobil 1 5-30 in it now. Should something else be in there? I was pretty liberal with assembly lube when I put the top end together. The bottom is untouched.

 

thank for the compliment. I actually watched this video just before the motor whent in. Although mine seemed to take just a bit less than that guy said. I'm running the TSP ported ls6 pump.

 

Just went through what you're about to go through a few months ago on my start up - brand new crate LS3. I used my Motive pressure brake bleeder to fill the system with oil through that same port that he used in the vid to prime the pump. I used about 15 psig until I'd run 5.5 qts. in -- filled the filter, the oil cooler/hoses and pushed it all to the top of the motor where it drained back into the sump. As others have said - double check for tight connections, fittings, etc. Jumper fuel system to run pump and check for leaks. Be sure exhaust system is connected through muffler --- open exhaust is too noisy to listen to see if the engine is making any noises it shouldn't. Fire it up - check oil pressure with a GAUGE. Lifters may be a bit noisy for a few seconds (mine were) - but then it should quiet right down. Roller lifter cam = virtually no "break in" ---- it's flat tappets that require care and feeding (20 minutes at 2000 rpm, sometimes weak valve springs during break in, etc.). I'd guess the race car story above was a flat tappet motor.

Check for leaks, let temps come up, check for fans coming on (assuming electric), etc. I like to have the car ready to actually drive when first start up is close --- if no noises, pressure and temps are good - go for a ride and check drivability. May want to change out initial oil/filter somewhere in the first 100-1000 miles. Mine fired about 1/2 a second after the first turn of the key and settle right into a 600-650 rpm idle --- like it had been running that way for years.

Oh - if you're running a mass air set up, be sure all your air inlet piping hoses/fittings/clamps are tight/secure. I had some minor leaks between mass air sensor and the throttle body -- set off a check engine light that took some head scratching to figure out. Seems my ecu (08 Corvette) compares mass air readings to what it's seeing form the MAP sensor -- and if air flow calcs don't jive, it sets a check engine light. Cleaning up/greasing some rubber/clamped connections solved the problem.

Fear not -- turn the key!!! The sooner you do, the sooner you'll find any problems you'll have to correct. Because I already have another car using it -- I used Honda antifreeze and distilled water in mine.

 

Great advice. I love the idea of having the exhaust complete. I had been toying with firing it with open headers. It seems wise to take a few hours (read beers) and make up the y pipe. Your engine bay looks great! What's the car?

 

...in my signature...

 

Add a 15-30 lbs. oil pressure switch, spliced into ignition hot wire so it won't fire up until you have oil pressure vs and shuts down if you loose oil pressure. Protects your investment!

 

A properly functioning gauge (and driver...) with no hysteresis has worked just fine for the 5 or so decades that I've been piddling around with cars. BTW - 30 psig too high for a lot of cars -- many would shut off at warm idle with a 30 psig switch. Some of the aftermarket ecu's offer the possibility of a pressure check as part of the ecu function - uses the factory oil pressure switch and you can program the pressure parameters you want.

 

I always like to have a fire extinguisher handy for a first time startup. A buddy to help is worth their weight in gold, too.

 

Advise I wasn't trying to challenge your 5 decades of experience, oil pressure switch benefits are longer bearing life and some High pressure oil pumps idle at 30 pounds and who would want the motor to keep running without oil pressure? Cheap insurance is a 12 dollar switch