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OK For my Sanity and for those following this thread (and Future 1st time Motor Swappers):
The Round Plug is the other transmission plug that goes on the passenger side behind the Heat Shield, almost directly across from the Passenger side Cat. I removed one of the bolts (10mm) in the heat shield and loosened the other and was able to get to it.
The Square plug under the hood is the DBW electronics plug - but since I am going or staying DBC - this plug is not needed in my case.
And in order to take care of the O2 sensors Female to Female issue - I ordered 2 new upstream O2 Sensors with Male connectors (AC DELCO 213-1702). The rears will be deleted when the computer gets tuned.
More to Come - Hopefully I can fire it up sometime this weekend. Fingers-Crossed!
OK Boys and Girls - it was a VERY Productive weekend. Spent all day Saturday and part of Sunday out there but g
ot the motor all in and ready to crank (still need to finish installing P/S, Cooling System, O2, etc) but it was complete enough to at least crank it on. Well I managed to get it cranking but that's about all it would do - the PCM will require tuning. so now I must wait for that but I still have about a dozen more things to do before it gets on the road. I have added some pics for your viewing pleasure - Enjoy! Grabbed the Fire Extinguisher for Start-up - Just in case. LOL.
Well guys Status update: I got the reprogrammed PCM in the mail yesterday so I quickly installed it to see if it will at least start and it started right up. Still have to finish installing the cooling system, the exhaust and a few odds and ends before I get to drive it but it’s looking like I should be able to drive it by this weekend. It’s been long overdue!!!!!! I’ll keep you guys updated.
Another Status Update:
OK so after getting the truck almost ready to start I ran into a small Hic-cup. unfortunately the V6 4.3 Radiator is "NOT" the same as the V8 Radiator!!!! It's missing one of the coolant plugs for the Heads that runs under the T/B. FML!!!!!!!!! So after spending most of Saturday completely running all new coolant lines and finish bolting down the coils, Headers, O2 Sensors, etc. I went to install the radiator to find out that I could not finish because of this damn issue. So I had to order a new Radiator - Be here this week.
I also learned the hard way that the Transmission Flexplate Access cover that goes around the starter is also different from a 4.3 to the 5.3. after spending at least 30 mins under the truck with unbolting the starter to install the cover - I could not for the life of me figure out how it was oriented and then come to find out that it is different altogether so had to order a new one of those as well.
Additionally, I was only able to remove 1 of the 2 upstream O2 Sensors - so I gotta get the other one out before I can take the truck off the Jackstands and back on the ground.
Pic of the truck all buttoned up. It’s been over 7 months since the trucks been together and it was good to see it all put together even if I was not able to drive it yet.
Well I got the correct radiator in last week and I finally finished up with the truck (even in the monsoon rain storms that we had this weekend) and got to crank it on this weekend (with issues - of course, pinched the Tstat Gasket and lost a gallon of Coolant before I realized - so removed and reinstalled new gasket correctly, I am also running with a new Drivers side O2 sensor, because I managed to rip the Passenger side sensor off but not able to get the nut off to install a new sensor).
So as I am burping the cooling system, the truck cranks on and seems to be running fine with no erratic or rough idle issues (but I got the P0507 - Idle Control System RPM High - however I don't know if the idle is high because my RPM gauge does not work) but it seemed to be running fine from hearing it. So as I am waiting for the truck to get up to Operating Temp (for the coolant burping purposes) I notice that the headers are "GLOWING BRIGHT RED"!!!!!!!!!! The Temperature gauge on the dash never gets over 200 - so it never overheated at all.
So I let it sit overnight and do some internet research and it wasn't much help as it said it was either too rich or too lean and the only real way to tell was to pull the plugs. So the next morning I pull 4 plugs (2 on each side) and they are covered in white - which means that its lean - Right. So I do some more online reading and the issues pointed to "unmetered" air leaks or vacuum leak. So I check the Vacuum ports and they are covered, I also check the TB bolts to ensure tightness and they are tight, then I check the bolts on the Intake Manifold and they were not all tight. And I knew I should've replaced the Intake Manifold gasket - just never got a chance to - "ROOKIE MISTAKE" (Remember I have never done anything like this before) so I ordered a new Gasket for the Manifold and the TB.
Another thing I noticed was that whenever I hit the gas the engine would rev up and stay revved up after I release the pedal for about another 20-40 seconds. I also noticed that if I went to shift the car into gear that I would feel the engine increase in RPMs also - could both of those issues be because of the intake manifold/Vacuum leak???
I know its kinda long but I wanted to hopefully help others that have encountered the same issues so I will keep this thread updated if anyone is reading but more for my own historical purposes so I can always revert back to my issues and how I fixed them all. if anyone has any advice/ideas they are always appreciated. Now onto the pics
Isn’t this freaky!!!! I just realized- I coated the inside of these headers with high-Temp paint in order to keep them shiny chrome as long as possible. You guys think that might be the issue that’s making them glowing red? She’s back on all 4’s! Good to see that at least.
Well I don't know who is tracking this post but I was troubleshooting this damn truck all day Saturday (and part of Sunday), just to ensure that there was no possible "Mechanical" issues, since I am new to all this motor swap business. but below is a list:
-Checked Starter- CHECK! starter turns over fine, but still tapped starter while cranking to eliminate the starter from the equation. -Pulled plugs to ensure not fouled- CHECK! no problems. reinstalled plugs and wires.
-Cranked motor with no plugs- CHECK! motor spins freely and does not spit anything out of the plug holes so its not Hydrolocked.
-Check for Fuel - CHECK! I can hear the fuel pump cycle on. I also checked the port on the fuel line and it spewed gas out. -Checked Grounds- CHECK! all grounds located and checked to make sure they were tight. -Checked Battery voltage -13.5 CHECK! Kept battery on a plugin Battery box to eliminate any concerns of low/dead battery. -Checked voltage at Starter while Cranking - CHECK! voltage was 12.8 at Starter - so not the issue there. -Tried to start the truck while in Neutral- CHECK! in case it was the Neutral switch failure - still no start!!!!!
-Checked voltage at Crank Position Sensor-CHECK! voltage reading at sensor was 10.75. so its getting power.-Tested Voltage and Ground at main connectors for coil packs- CHECK! voltage was 12.3 at both power/ground, so that's getting power.-Checked Battery Voltage at Battery while cranking- CHECK! Again I had a battery box on it but I checked it nevertheless it was at over 12V.
- I spinned the Crank bolt with a breaker bar - CHECK! although not entirely easy because of plugs etc - the motor spins so its not locked up.
So with all that said, all things point to me getting screwed over by the tuner (on this board) that tuned the PCM because there is no logical/mechanical explanation as to why the motor will not start with my "allegedly" tuned PCM but it started with the other PCM that was sent to me and had the headers glowing bright red and having idle control issues/codes. The truck is doing exactly the same thing it was doing before I sent the PCM out to get tuned but I will post further on this "issue" at a later time once I confirm from another tuner what the issue is. Unfortunately the closest tuner is about 30+ miles away one way so its difficult to get him out in a timely manner but I'm working on that.
If anyone has any ideas as to what I should consider as my next step to test or troubleshoot it will be greatly appreciated.
I think a o2 wideband would be a good investment so you can monitor the air/fuel ratio, especially at wot. Those white ashy plugs and glowing pipes are kind of disconcerting IMO. I didn't catch in your posts if you still have cats installed. If so clogged cats can also get the primaries quite toasty.
This is the wideband I got, works great and easy to install if you already have a bung on the crossover pipe. If not it comes with a weldable bung.
06-29-2018, 05:37 AM
