5.3 swap ready to start.. no run.

[faribran]

Sounds like you are on the right trail. Good luck!

[atownsend]

I got my Nylon fuel line and fittings, got it all installed, and don't have any leaks. Fuel pressure is about 65PSI with key on position. The engine still needs starting fluid to keep running. When running, I noticed the fuel pressure tingling between 65 and 70 psi. when I shut the engine off, the pressure drops to 45 psi and stays there for about 10 minutes, and, on occasion, it raises to 50 psi.

I put some injector cleaner in my fuel today. I will let that run through the system so see f the injectors are dirty or dirty enough to prevent a first crank start-up.

Again, first start up attempt, fuel pressure is 60 psi, and drops down to 45 psi. What is normal for the psi for these engines when the key is in the run position?

[ls1nova71]

You should have 58psi. Your 65 is high, what are you using for a regulator? Return rail or returnless?

[atownsend]

Everything is stock with the exception of the radiator and the fuel tank, and of course, I modified the fuel feed and return lines to accommodate my swap.

As of today, April 16, the engine now starts with no help from starting fluid. Got all of the fluids up to par. One problem is that the top radiator hose is hot when the engine gets up to normal operating temperature and the bottom hose is cold. The engine temperature goes beyond the half way mark, and the bottom hose is still cold. The engine is noticeably over heating, yet the bottom hose is cold.

I replaced the thermostat, and it is doing the same thing. When I put fluid in the radiator, I saw circulation, but that bottom hose....

Any way, the current psi read on my fuel pressure tester is between 65 and 70psi, consistently. The fuel pressure regulator is stock (came with the motor), and there is no gas in it when I checked on Saturday, April 15.

The only problem that I have with my swap is the over heating. My next fix is to install a new water pump.

I have n electric fan controller being delivered on Monday, April 17. I am not using the clutch fan, and, of course, the electric fan is not hooked up. Perhaps, the engine has not gotten hot enough to open the thermostat. Any way, I will have an electric fan to compensate for heat.

[ls1nova71]

You need to take the upper radiator hose off the radiator and fill the block through the hose. Just filling the radiator gets coolant in it, but since the thermostat is in the bottom hose, and is closed since its cold, no coolant gets into the block, then the thermostat cant open because there's no hot coolant on the engine side to make it open.

[mongocanfly]

^^^^^ what he said on coolant fill^^^^^
When you said your fuel pressure reg is stock and came with the motor what are you referring to? The reg on the rails or a inline..

[atownsend]

The regulator in the fuel rail is what I was referring to. I checked it with the engine running and fuel pressure tester hooked up to the rail. The engine increased in RPM when I took the hose off, and I did not see fuel in the vacuum line. It was dry and in good shape.

I will back fill the upper hose today, and we will see if that solves my cooling problem. Thanks.

So far, everything else seems to be on point. The low coolant light is on, but, I believe that is because I don't have the overflow bottle on yet. I ordered one and it should be here in a few days.

For now, my biggest issue is the over heating. I ran the engine several times in the donor Suburban, and I checked all of these functions. Temperature gauge showed below the middle mark, engine started quickly, very strong, and smooth operation. I am using everything from the donor that can be fitted or modified to fit on my 1960.

Does anyone know if the axles from the 2002 Suburban will fit into my 12 bolt rear end? I want to use the disc brakes off of the donor. Might as well take the axles also.

[mongocanfly]

swapping the axles is a no-go I'm purty sure..very doubtful they will fit..but I'm not 100% sure..

[atownsend]

Problems fixed:

So, I have read lots and lots and lots of posts on a variety of sites and have fixed my issues using random solutions that eventually included a fix. The last thing that I did about my starting problem was dump some liquid injector cleaner in about 5 gallons of fuel in the tank. The engine finally started on it's own and has been since. Today, April 28, 2017, I am driving the truck every day, and I am continuing to get all of the loose ends fixed so that I have a daily driver.

So, here are the highlights:
1960 C10 Stepside
Implant 2002 Suburban 5.3L complete with transmission
Aftermarket 4-core aluminum radiator
store bought radiator hoses fitted to work on my application
Lots of fabrication (motor mounts, transmission mounts, exhaust, frame to get the engine to fit)
Driveshaft modification (u-joints and caps for u-joints). I used my drive shaft and installed the u-joints from the Suburban on the transmission side.
Lots of wiring harness work (used fuse boxes and wiring from Suburban, including the instrument panel)
Fabricated air intake equipment with Autozone round filter - working fine
I used my existing single electric fan and installed a Summit bought Hayden system to operate the electric fan.
I could not get the engine to spin over using the key. So, I purchased a replacement key cylinder and wired in a push button start (mounted in the dash) and it looks cool.

If anyone has questions or needs help, please pass my information on to folks are are doing this swap. I have learned enough to help someone else from start to finish. I did this swap in my drive way.

[BR3W CITY]

So are we concluding that stuck/gummy injectors or varnish in the system was the no-run cause?

[atownsend]

My injectors could have been dirty enough to keep the engine running when I started the engine. However, as I mentioned, I did several things to improve the likelihood that the engine would start and keep running.

The mechanical things that I did was fabricate an intake housing that i could attach the MAF and a filter that was aesthetically pleasing and functioning. I did the fuel injector cleaner in the fuel tank. I found a crimped return fuel line, so I fixed it.

Right now, mechanically, I can drive the vehicle everyday. I have loose ends to fix, including a Blue w/Black tracer wire and a purple wire on the PCM harness that I think goes to the transmission. I cut them to get rid of the passenger side fuse box in the Suburban. I think that one of them controls the speedometer. The speedometer does not work, nor does the odometer. The truck shifts regularly, but the speedometer does not register speed. I think that one or both wires are tied to the speedometer. I need to fix that.

Again, two wires, one blue with black stripe, the other purple. The come out of the connector under the hood, seemingly from the transmission. The speedometer nor the odometer is working. I need a fix - thanks

[davepl]

I'm not sure exactly what engine you're running, but I noticed you mentioned the vacuum line on your fuel pressure regulator.

All of the LS cars I've worked on lately (mostly LS3s though) use a fixed 58psi that is NOT vaccum/boost referenced.

If you have a vacuum reference it's going to pull a bunch of fuel pressure as soon as it starts, and if the ECM doesn't expect that, bad mojo.

If it's set up the way it's supposed to be, ignore me, was just a shot in the dark...