I'm getting closer to finishing the rebuild. It's very cold and wet here in the Northwest so I want to assemble as much as I can before popping the engine back in.

Planned pre-assembly

• Sump (I know there is debate on this one. Im going to get a crank pulley holder tool fabbed)
• exhaust manifolds
• accessory brackets + PS pump + alternator
• heads
• lower inlet manifold
• valve covers
• SAI valves (round things)
• wiring harness (to starter, etc)
• water pump
• pulleys

Basically everything except for the upper intake.

Questionables
- Coil pack? I haven't looked where this thing bolts on.. it would be nice to pre-wire the spark plugs

The radiator and y-pipe is currently taken out. Plan is to put those back in after the engine.

I think I will also hook up an oil pressure gauge for the break-in, and swap the sensor back after.

Any other tips or suggestions? Not looking forward to those bell housing bolts AT ALL.

Side question, I know it can take multiple restarts of the engine to bleed the cooling system properly, but since I need to do the 25 minute breakin @ 2500 RPM I'm worried that I will have air in the system but not be able to interrupt the breakin.

 

Use this to fill the cooling system.

UView 550000 System Bleeder - Cooling System

 

Hey Jeff,
First, i was following your build and you are doing great. I finished my HG project yesterday and very happy with results. Some obstacles I got into was my son took most parts off in the beginning, missing bolts etc. Had to order them. Also the difficult part i encountered was the SAI metal tube because my son told me that goes last after the intake manifold.
Better, make sure you connect everything from the back between the firewall and engine first. Prep the coils with the wires ready and numbered and leave it wtween the wall. The injector tube in the bottom behind to connect. The coil connectors, connect too. Just leave the SAI tube ready at back before you install the intake manifold. The wire harness will be on the way if you install the manifold first. Its possible but took me longer tome to get it between the small space. Also, the ground to the firewall, not so difficult but if you left it for last, it gets really tight in there. I also learned that its good to have the spark plugs in the head already before installing. Hehe.
Cheers!

 

Not sure about SAI since I don't have it, but I did and am doing mine again as listed:
Heads on
Valve covers on
Sump, crank, and water pump on
Headers on
Lower manifold on

Coil pack off
Engine mounts off
Steering, alt, ac off
Round crossmember off

This allows you to lower the engine and tranny as far as it will go to mount together and bolt in. Then lift back up, install mounts to engine and mate to frame. The front accessories are easy to install with engine back in and radiator out.


What's the deal with the sump though? I've reinstalled mine without tools just fine. Maybe I missed something though...

 

oops, i forgot that he took the entire engine out A much bigger task.

 

Cool, thanks. I removed the studs in the upper intake in favor of bolts, to make attaching the SAI easier.

With the sump - its easier to torque on the 4 flex plate screws with the sump off... but I don't find it to be an issue through the access hole. Also its easier to hold the crank in place by jamming a block of wood between the crank webbing and block (if you don't have the crank pulley holder tool)

I almost put on the exhaust manifolds before the engine mount brackets - thankfully I spotted the top bolt for the bracket .. and it would have been inaccessible.

$120 for a cooling bleeder.. dang. Another expense, another delay.

 

The last time that I drained and refilled the coolant, I opted in favor of leaving the overflow tank pressure cap OFF entirely and ran the engine maybe 45 mins with a 180-deg traditional thermostat and the operating temp barely got up to 180. This could be an option worth investigating to be sure the break-in goes flawlessly. It is an alternate method to purging the air that I read about on this forum that I will continue to use in the future. To be sure that operating temp was high enough to open the Tstat completely, I put the cap on loosely and drove the truck carefully around the block so that any air could still escape via the tank.

Dedicated coolant temp gauge is mandatory and oil pressure gauge should be also. I use the GlowShift line for monitoring coolant temp and look to add for oil pressure in the near future using this piece i found on Roverware.

http://www.roverware.us/oil-pressure-sender-t-piece/
http://www.glowshiftdirect.com/white...ure-gauge.aspx
http://www.glowshiftdirect.com/Unive...illar-Pod.aspx

GlowShift puts out a top notch product with all the accessories needed for a clean installation. I like this Roverware unit to adapt the aftermarket sender rather than a bulky sandwich adapter on the filter.