Help me prepare for my motor swap.

tRidiot said:

Yeah I always use Wix filters. I was debating about first oil...

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First start oil is basically a flush to get any loose debris in the engine down to the filter. It's not in there long enough for it to break down or lose any of its wear additives, so a cheap basic conventional oil is perfect. It's also advised to not run full synthetic during a break-in period since it may be TOO "slick" and could prevent the parts from properly bedding ("seating") together, particularly the rings. The second round of basic oil that you run for a few hundred to 1,000 miles is to lubricate (but not over-lubricate) the engine during the break-in period, but not have the particulates that should've been flushed during that first start oil cycle. You dump that to get rid of the break-in contaminates to switch to the high quality, semi- or full-synthetic that you'll be running long-term.

iamdub said:

I run the cheap SuperTech conventional 10w-30 from Walmart for the first warm-up, short drive and cool-down cycle. Change it and the filter for the same stuff and run that for 500ish, then switch to a full synthetic that I'll be sticking with for normal OCIs. Even with the cheap oil, I ALWAYS run a good filter. I run the Fram Ultra or Wix for the break-in cycles and K&N for the regular, long-term (5,000 mile) OCIs.

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I switched to 10w-30 for ***** and giggles...and since my coolant leak/head swap been running short OCI's with the SuperTech conventional. My rear main is getting progressively worse, so I need to top the oil off. Stopped by Wally World the other day and they had ZERO conventional on the shelves. I also looked for the SuperTech brake cleaner that wasn't all hippified that I think you've recommended. None. I was also considering running another bottle of Marvel Mystery Oil through...they didn't have that anymore, either.

Anywho, carry on.

Should I do my fuel pump while I have all this going on? Any concerns about an 18 y/o fuel pump and upgrading motor, etc? I mean, it's the same intake and injectors, fuel rails, etc. Looks like the 2500 Suburbans and such have a different fuel pump - I don't know if there's a reason for that, particularly.

mattbta said:

I switched to 10w-30 for ***** and giggles...and since my coolant leak/head swap been running short OCI's with the SuperTech conventional. My rear main is getting progressively worse, so I need to top the oil off. Stopped by Wally World the other day and they had ZERO conventional on the shelves. I also looked for the SuperTech brake cleaner that wasn't all hippified that I think you've recommended. None. I was also considering running another bottle of Marvel Mystery Oil through...they didn't have that anymore, either.

Anywho, carry on.

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Thanks for the warning. I'll add that "non-hippified" brake cleaner to my Walmart list cuz I'm down to 3 or 4 cans. That's concerning about the oils, too.

tRidiot said:

Should I do my fuel pump while I have all this going on? Any concerns about an 18 y/o fuel pump and upgrading motor, etc? I mean, it's the same intake and injectors, fuel rails, etc. Looks like the 2500 Suburbans and such have a different fuel pump - I don't know if there's a reason for that, particularly.

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If yours is original, then it's a gamble to keep running it. Isn't yours FlexFuel? I don't think the 2500s were. That, alone, would explain the differences in the fuel pumps.

Yes, mine is VIN Z, so that should mean Flex fuel.

Turns out that my fuel pump apparently has up to double the pressure/flow of the 2500 one, according to specs on the parts store computer. 70 vs 35 (psi? gph? something).

I really don't want to add yet ANOTHER $200 part and couple more hours onto this project... <sigh>

tRidiot said:

Should I do my fuel pump while I have all this going on? Any concerns about an 18 y/o fuel pump and upgrading motor, etc? I mean, it's the same intake and injectors, fuel rails, etc. Looks like the 2500 Suburbans and such have a different fuel pump - I don't know if there's a reason for that, particularly.

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What vehicle do you have the L59 in? Fuel pumps not the same between Tahoe and Sub......different tanks.

iamdub said:

Thanks for the warning. I'll add that "non-hippified" brake cleaner to my Walmart list cuz I'm down to 3 or 4 cans. That's concerning about the oils, too.

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Stopped at another local one with an auto center and no conventional Super Tech. A few Penn/Castrol/Valvoline, but not much variety. Northern suburbs of Dallas.

mattt said:

What vehicle do you have the L59 in? Fuel pumps not the same between Tahoe and Sub......different tanks.

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Correct... the L59 is in an '04 Tahoe LT. Dropping the LQ9 in to replace it, as I blew a head gasket, presumably after changing the thermostat a few days before an out of town trip. Incidentally, it had the slow leak from the Castech 706 heads defect, but I had been maintaining coolant levels by topping it off every few days. It had just been topped off before the trip and was not dry, so the only potential cause of the overheating I can point to is the O'Reilly thermostat which had worked ok for 3 days after changing it.

Now I'm changing the motor, rebuilt the trans and changing most, if not all, the sensors. I don't know why the Tahoe fuel pump would have such drastically higher pressures than the Subie 2500 one listed, but that's what they told me at the parts store.

Anyways, I just don't know if I should go ahead and drop another couple hundred on the fuel pump or not.

The 2500 Suburban has a different pump because it has a different tank than your Tahoe. It has nothing to do with the fact it's a 2500 6.0. That's what my last reply was inferring. Suburbans(whether 1500 or 2500), Escalade EXT and Yukon XL's have a larger tank that is physically larger and holds more fuel than the Tahoe, std Yukon & std Escalade. I would doubt the info you were given by the auto parts store about pressure or gph flow differences. A better comparison vehicle than the 2500 Suburban to use for reference in fuel pump differences for your Tahoe would be a 6.0 Escalade or Yukon Denali.