Vortec Engine Swap

[Red Baron]

Hello, I have enjoyed reading and learning about sytys. My son bought a syclone from my brother that had been setting up a little over a year. The engine was locked up and I helped him pull the engine and discovered #4 rod had broke and caused a big problem. I installed a 1996 vortec into the truck, had to install the oil drain line into the aluminum oil pan and built some spacer adapters to bolt the original syclone intake onto the vortec. The vortec had a little more spread. The truck runs very smooth and good. I know we have to limit the amount of boost we put to the higher compression pistons. I was thinking about trying around 10 - 12 lbs, but am having trouble limiting it. The first problem was what blew the original motor, the waste gate was froze close, way over boost, luckily I was closely monitoring and realized something was wrong when it overboosted even with the boost regulator bypassed and hooked directly to the wastegate.

I know the ic pump is not working and have one on order to replace, but also would like to know if anyone could give me advice on what I need and how to properly tune the truck with this setup. I have the timing set at 0 with the esc line unpluged.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[The Devils Own Chariot]

Re: Vortec Engine Swap

Hello, I have enjoyed reading and learning about sytys. My son bought a syclone from my brother that had been setting up a little over a year. The engine was locked up and I helped him pull the engine and discovered #4 rod had broke and caused a big problem. I installed a 1996 vortec into the truck, had to install the oil drain line into the aluminum oil pan and built some spacer adapters to bolt the original syclone intake onto the vortec. The vortec had a little more spread. The truck runs very smooth and good. I know we have to limit the amount of boost we put to the higher compression pistons. I was thinking about trying around 10 - 12 lbs, but am having trouble limiting it. The first problem was what blew the original motor, the waste gate was froze close, way over boost, luckily I was closely monitoring and realized something was wrong when it overboosted even with the boost regulator bypassed and hooked directly to the wastegate.

I know the ic pump is not working and have one on order to replace, but also would like to know if anyone could give me advice on what I need and how to properly tune the truck with this setup. I have the timing set at 0 with the esc line unpluged.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.

Interesting. You should post some pictures of that up on the forum. I’m not familiar with burning chips. It can be done. There are guys running v8s with the stock computer. I’m sure someone on the forum might be able to help you out. Its going to be a different animal since its a regular 4.3L Personally I think 10-12 psi might be a bit much for that motor. I would stick with 8psi and work from there. If your wastegate is stuck I would consider a few options. Depending on the condition and mileage on the turbo and depending on shaft play. I may or may not buy a new one. You could also weld or wire the wastegate puck shut and run an external wastegate on the exhaust crossover pipe. It would be interesting to see what kind of power you can lay down with that setup.

 

[dgoodhue]

Re: Vortec Engine Swap

I figure about 10-11 psi should be around a comparable boost to stock when factoring in the compression ratio of the Vortec motor. I am doing a custom tune with mine, but before you do anything you will need to address your sticky wastegate.

 

[The Devils Own Chariot]

Re: Vortec Engine Swap

Oh and Im not sure about fuel delivery. If you run 10 psi you obviously need to run more fuel than stock. What size injectors do the regular 4.3L vortec motors run? A Walbro fuel pump is also a must if you have not installed one already.
Do the new vortec motors run MAF or speed density? You have it wired for speed density right?
Im not trying to make a sale here but I see people running dual Walbro fuel pumps. To save yourself some money how about running dual stock Syclone fuel pumps? I have a working stock pump for $20 + shipping. I cant imagine anyone has ever tried that but there is no reason that should not work. Modifying the linkage in the gas tank might not be worth the hastle of running two pumps when a single Walbro fits right in.
I would pick up a adjustabel fuel pressure regulartor also. Turning up fuel pressure might be all you need with a bigger fuel pump.
Im not as good as some of the other guys on here. They may say otherwise.

 

[dgoodhue]

Re: Vortec Engine Swap

I think he is talking about installing the Vortec long block and using the SyTy intake & ECM

 

[NecroWolf]

Re: Vortec Engine Swap

Oh and Im not sure about fuel delivery. If you run 10 psi you obviously need to run more fuel than stock. What size injectors do the regular 4.3L vortec motors run? A Walbro fuel pump is also a must if you have not installed one already.
Do the new vortec motors run MAF or speed density? You have it wired for speed density right?
Im not trying to make a sale here but I see people running dual Walbro fuel pumps. To save yourself some money how about running dual stock Syclone fuel pumps? I have a working stock pump for $20 + shipping. I cant imagine anyone has ever tried that but there is no reason that should not work. Modifying the linkage in the gas tank might not be worth the hastle of running two pumps when a single Walbro fits right in.
I would pick up a adjustabel fuel pressure regulartor also. Turning up fuel pressure might be all you need with a bigger fuel pump.
Im not as good as some of the other guys on here. They may say otherwise.

he put the a vortec long block in a syclone. why would you run a pair of stock pumps when a single walbro would be cheaper and easier and easily support 10 psi? a single stock syclone pump would support 10 psi.


oh and i'll agree w/ you that you're not as good as some of the other guys. :tup: j/k

 

[The Devils Own Chariot]

Re: Vortec Engine Swap

oh and i'll agree w/ you that you're not as good as some of the other guys. :tup: j/k

Ha ha, yeah.

 

[Red Baron]

Re: Vortec Engine Swap

It is a vortec long block with the syclone intake. I have fixed the wastegate (removed turbo and took three days lubricating and soaking but is moving freely). It still tries to overboost, but not as bad, but I have factory gauge and it may not be reliable. I still have the factory fuel pump and settings. From reading posts it sounds like I should only get 8-10 lbs of boost if I bypass the boost controller and put the line directly to the wastegate diaphragm. Is my next best solution to adjust linkage on the wastegate arm to open it a little and do I need to get datamaster to help with this.

The truck has 90000 miles and as far as I know is original fuel pump. The turbo looked to be in good shape. It sounds like the fuel pump and pressure is where I need to start. I have factory injectors so what kind of pressure should I need. Anything else you think of please let me know. I know I will have a lot of questions throughout this process. Thanks again.

 

[dgoodhue]

Re: Vortec Engine Swap

I agree and would definately swap the fuel pump. The vortec heads and vortec cam shaft flow quite a bit more than the stock LB4 parts.

 

[Don W.]

Re: Vortec Engine Swap

Stock FP is around 40, it should go up 1lb for every pound of boost. I'd get a real boost ga. Yes on the datamaster. On the linkage for that wastgate; with the actuating rod disconnected hold the lever in the closed position and they should be "off" by 1/2 of the hole in the rod. IOW you'll have to pull the rod out the distance of 1/2 the hole to get it on the pin. Little bit less is safer but not more. The less you have to move it the less base boost you'll have.

 

[Red Baron]

Re: Vortec Engine Swap

Thanks for the info, I will get started with the fuel pump swap and getting datamaster so I can check other information. I will keep you all posted on my progress. Thanks again for your help.

 

[Aeroking]

Re: Vortec Engine Swap

i had the same setup when i first bought my truck. it had a AC Delco vortec longblock and SyTy heads/intake. The most boost i could run on pumpgas was 12psi. anything above that and it knocked a ton. I ran 1 walbro intank pump, and it was fine. I 'd just watch the amount of boost your running. try to limit it to 10.