Three77

Tomorrow I begin my swap of an iron LS3 clone into a '92 camper van, and other than pre lubing the oil pump and making sure I have oil pressure up to the lifters is there anything else that I should be aware of, or do y'all have any tips for my first start?

I feel like I've read nearly everything ever written about these engines and this particular swap, but anxiety can be a bugger sometimes. 😂

​Thanks in advance!

Quito195

Fill the coolant through the upper radiator hose. They can be a bitch to get air out of and doing it that way helps quite a bit.

Three77

Awesome. That's great info as I have a rear heater unit that can sometimes make things more complicated.

Thanks!

NHRATA01

iTrader: (10)

I like to pull the small hose at the coolant crossover under the TB and use that as the high point vent when filling, gets most of the air out, particularly if the front end is raised up a bit. I've really never had an issue with air pockets when filling an LS.

It also may be helpful to look up the bug sprayer method of priming just to help get oil pressure up quicker on a new build.

Three77

That's a really good tip, thank you! I watched a video that Melling has on YouTube that shows a similar method to what you shared, which is what I'll definitely do.

To be expected, this swap is kicking my *** with a bunch of little issues that one only discovers once they're into it. I thought I was pretty well prepped, but unfortunately that's not the case. At the very least I'm learning a ton, and am looking forward to the satisfaction of doing (most) of it myself.

Thanks again for the help!