Let me start off by giving a little background.

I do all my own work,for the most part, but I have never ever built a motor. I've put parts on one and taken them off, but never from the oil pan to valve cover.

I have a few tools and thats about it. Nothing else. I also have no money set aside for this so it will be a slow build so I don't cut into my other priorities. I will aquire tools and other needed supplies as well. I am literally starting from scratch.

I went out about bought this today:




To help me along. As well as my few tools I have that have saved my *** more than once



I also bought a full LS motor that was torn down by the PO and Never put back together.

I am somewhat sure what I want to do. I'm thinking of building it for boost, from the ground up. But in Retrospect, since it's my first motor, should I build it with OEM parts just to get some expirence at it?

So hopefully this will be my build thread. I plan on asking numerous questions once problems arise and look foward to help from the select few of knowledgable people that browse this fourm.

Thank you.

 

Get a torque wrench and a service manual. A service manual for the motor you plan on building. they are very detailed and will help you out a bunch if this is your first build. if you have any questions feel free to ask. I have access to ALLDATA for specifications.

 

I plan on aquiring more tools. I also have access to alldata through my garage.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BuddhaSiR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Get a torque wrench and a service manual.</TD></TR></TABLE>


The Helm manual specifically. Alldata is wonderful, but if it's at the garage and you're working on the motor at home at 3am on a Tuesday night, it's easier to pop open the book than drive to work. Ask me how I know

The torque wrench is also a must have, despite what has been said in other threads. It takes an extra 10 seconds to set the tq wrench over a regular socket, and that's cheap insurance. Make sure it's a clicker or dial/digital gauge type, not a bending beam model, but you probably knew that. You might end up with 2, since there is a large variation in torques between some of the bolts, like I did.

You might want to pick up some additional sockets too. On the last couple of engines I rebuilt, I used my 3/8" drive metric deep well set about 95% of the time, but that other 5% I was really glad to have the extras. I have a small 1/2" set for crank pulleys and stuck bolts:
* a couple of breaker bars for disassembly (3/8" and 1/2").
* 14mm 1/2" drive hex bit socket (oil galley and coolant brass plugs)
* 14mm 3/8" drive and 19mm 1/2" drive impact sockets for the head bolts and crank pulley respectively
They're not specifically required, but I've broken my share of non-impact sockets (Craftsman, SK, Mac) installing and removing bolts, so it's cheap insurance. SK impact sockets are super cheap locally, and they have a warranty equal to Craftsman if you have a local center. I've never needed to own an impact gun, but if you don't have a friend with one and you're working on axle nuts, you'll want one. Never use an impact on the engine.

Impact gun + steel bolt + aluminum block = trouble.

I'd recommend buying a big box of nitrile gloves. Vinyl and latex will puncture and tear and occasionally dissolve in common automotive chemicals. The nifty blue nitrile gloves are significantly more durable. Plus, you get to look just like those guys on the car shows on TV. I wear them under a set of Mechanix work gloves a lot of the time for a better grip on things.

Aside from that, clean as you go, be absolutely meticulous about keeping the parts dust and oil free as you assemble, and enjoy the build.

Oh, one last tip, a quick wipe with a rag that has WD40 on it will keep non-aluminum parts from rusting, as well as making it very easy to slide the pistons into the block.